Project management software gives a business a competitive edge. With a clear plan, an organization can allocate resources efficiently and prevent process bottlenecks. However, with a steep initial learning curve when learning the Microsoft Project software, how do you approach an application like Microsoft Project if there is no staff expert? T

They are also trying hard to get the best possible performance out of their existing business processes so as to achieve maximum productivity at all times and also to stay ahead in the race. Efforts are also being made to create competencies that make it easier for businesses to tackle critical business challenges such as VOC (voice of customer)

However, businesses still need to use caution, because what is also true is that not all innovative techniques deliver the desired results - and that some may even result in gross failures and redundancies. This is applicable even to some of the most effective techniques such as Six Sigma that aims at improving quality and reducing costs by lim

What businesses need to remember is that even though Six Sigma is theoretically foolproof, its eventual success depends on many other factors such as how it is deployed and the type of organizational culture. The thing that complicates the matter even more is that it takes quite a long time to achieve the desired results. This is the main reason

This is because when employees develop negative feelings for Lean concepts being implemented, it becomes very difficult for the organization to garner their full support and cooperation, something that is vital for the successful implementation of Lean concepts and methodologies. Large scale employee dissatisfaction can in turn also begin affecting

Innovative strategies may certainly aid the implementation process, but since the success of such implementations depends a lot more on the performance of organizational members, businesses need to concentrate more on this vital aspect. What businesses can do is initiate a performance review program using scorecards that keep a tab on the actual

The deployment however is not an easy task because, in most companies, there is a huge communications gap between people who actually run the business and people who might be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying the desired IT systems. What this implies is that if the people who actually run the day to day operations fail to conv

Using Six Sigma to improve office processes may be a relatively new phenomenon, but since the success rate of such quality improvement initiatives is high enough, it will not be wrong to proclaim that the future is certainly bright for such implementations. Here, we look at how Six Sigma helping businesses to improve their office processes.

Commonly utilized risk management tools such as FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) are no doubt quite effective, but since they often make risk management a long drawn process, businesses need to try out other less taxing options that might be just as effective. For example, businesses that are not afraid to take calculated risks can try

Another problem that is even more unnerving is the inability of the implementation team members to understand the real essence of value stream analysis as the Black Belt might be trying to communicate to them. Black Belts, however, need not worry too much - because if they use the prescribed methods, they can easily eliminate all these problems.

When a decision is made based on figures and statistics rather than instinctive feelings, the results are likely to be more realistic and beneficial and that which can be readily incorporated. In such projects, the amount of data that is to be collected and analyzed is often too large to be handled manually. Thus, it is necessary for the companies

You will easily notice that the unexpected implementation problems and issues are the landmines that often take a heavy toll; the lack of support from project sponsors and top management represents the big guns that can decimate a battalion; and employee disinterest is the small weapons fire that just refuses to die down and often seems to be comin

Washington DC corporations will have a wealth of outlets when it comes to getting out of the office and hosting an event. So what an event planner would keep in mind is the overlying theme in Washington. It's the birth of American political infrastructure, and there are a ton of tour-type events that can be scheduled. Corporate event planning i

But since the success of such projects depends a lot on how well an individual understands the intricacies of the targeted business process, Black Belts, especially those hired from outside, have no other option but to get help from existing employees. Not many Black Belts will savor this idea, obviously because the idea would transform them fro

The problem is that today's CIOs (Chief Information Officer) and CTOs (Chief Technical Officer), who are mostly delegated the task of managing the implementations, fail to understand the importance and benefits of Lean Six Sigma. Thinking that the implementations will be an unnecessary drag on the organization, they often try their best to convince