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There is a video but you dont need to watch it, I will copy some friends discussion, you can read them and write or paraphrase them.

Through his Chain of Causation Dr. Mikel J. Harry of the Six Sigma Academy states:

• Our survival is dependent upon growing the business.
• Our business growth is largely determined by customer satisfaction.
• Customer satisfaction is governed by quality, price and delivery.
• Quality, price and delivery are controlled by process capability.
• Our process capability is greatly limited by variation [and waste].
• Process variation [and waste] lead to an increase in defects, cost and cycle time.
• To eliminate variation [and waste], we must apply the right knowledge.
• In order to apply the right knowledge, we must first acquire it.
• To acquire new knowledge means that we must have the will to survive.

Discuss the merits of these interlocking causations.

Discussion 1

Our survival depends on growing the business. Dr. Mikel J Harry shows in his Chain of Causation how these causations relate to the survival of business and us. Our survival depends on the growth of businesses. This is because the world of business is competitive, without competition businesses would not grow or develop. And if businesses remain stagnant the quality of goods will not be good enough and this can lead to a lot of losses. This in turn affects the demand for goods or services from the customer, thereby leading to the crumbling of the business.

Business growth is largely determined by customer satisfaction. Without customers, there will be no business and no reason to create or provide anything. If the customer’s are not satisfied with the goods or services a business provides they will most likely not return. Furthermore, they will leave a bad review on your business and advice their friends against it and the cycle continues. But with. satisfied customers, they will be loyal to your business and tell their friends about it. This, in turn, increases profits and maintains the growth of the business

Customer satisfaction is governed by quality, price, and delivery. For a customer to be truly satisfied quality is very important, if the quality of the goods or services provided is not good, the customer will be dissatisfied. Another important factor is the price as much as customers want a product of good quality if the price is not reasonable the customer is going to look for other options from the competitors. Delivery also affects customer satisfaction if goods don’t come in a timely fashion or are delivered roughly thereby damaging the product. The customer will be unhappy and less likely to repurchase.

Process capability is what your process can deliver as compared to requirements. If a business is able to use their process capability to create good quality products alongside safe and timely delivery, the business is most likely to grow because the customers are satisfied. Process capability is limited by variation and waste. These variations can appear in various forms like an unsatisfied customer who returns the goods back leading to waste. These process variations can lead to an increase in defects and cost because of the unforeseen circumstances if they keep arising there will be more waste leading to an increase in cost and time etc.

To eliminate this variation and waste, the application of the knowledge of six sigma and lean is very important to help reduce these waste and maximize accuracy. In order to apply this knowledge, we must first acquire this knowledge by studying it and experimenting with it. For us to be able to acquire this knowledge we must desire it and have the will to grow our businesses with this knowledge.

Discussion 2

r. Mikel J. Harry provides an interesting closed loop that explains how he sees an optimal business model.

To begin the cycle, he states that “Our survival is dependent upon growing the business.” This first statement is general enough to be considered true, although it contradicts the text as it mentions that growth alone is not enough to survive (example, blockbuster Vs Netflix). However, his second statement: “Our business growth is largely determined by customer satisfaction,” allows to tie the success from the company to the costumer. It is noted in various sources that the heart of Six Sigma is the focus to attention to the costumer, not the process, and Dr. Harry does not delay to make this point. A natural first question after this statement would revolve around “what does the costumer want?” to which Dr. Harry responds that it is the quality, price, and delivery of the product.

This is where a divide between the costumer and our business can be drawn, as for us to be able to provide the service/goods they desire we need to provide control to process capability, which is correlated to variation. This is exactly the context that led to the development of Six Sigma, as without the control of variation we lose control of the amount of defects, cost, and their cycle time.

The next section is Dr. Harry’s perspective on how to fix these issues:”Process variation [and waste] lead to an increase in defects, cost and cycle time.
To eliminate variation [and waste], we must apply the right knowledge.
In order to apply the right knowledge, we must first acquire it.” This statement resembles the DMAIC [Define/Measure/Analyse/Improve/Control] process described in the readings, where it streamlines the approach that will ultimately lead us to understanding the process while avoiding loses.

With the right usage of the learning of this class, we will ultimately acquire the knowledge and tools to problem solve, but even with these tools Dr. Harry argues that we need the will to do so, completing the closed loop.

Discussion 3

Dr. Mikel’s Chain of Causation is logical interlocked series of events that if implemented correctly will results in customer satisfaction and ultimately the company’s continued success. A healthy business is a business that is not stagnant and floundering. If a company is not growing, its competitors are, and therefore it is in the decline. The most effective way to grow a business is to ensure customer satisfaction and continued satisfaction after they have purchased the product. Customer satisfaction equates to repeat business and also free marketing via brand power and reputation. A firm directly impacts a customer’s satisfaction in its products by ensuring quality, price and delivery all meets the customers’ needs and expectations. A successful product can actually have poorer quality relative to other products as long as the customer is satisfied that the price paid and speed that the product was delivered were sufficient enough to meet the overall customers’ expectations. The key is meeting the customers’ expectations.

Quality, price, and delivery (speed) are all competing constraints, so as long as the customer understands what they are buying and they have a consistent experience with the product, their expectations will be met. Quality, price and delivery are all dictated by the process capability. If a process is under control and efficient/lean it is a very capable process and thus is able to produce the product at a minimum cost. Since the cost is low it can be sold for a lower price while still maintaining higher profit margins than a competitor whose process is not as capable and not under control. A process that is in control/capable will also produce a consistently higher quality product.

The process capability is limited by variation in that if only five out of ten products manufactured meet the parameters to be sold to the customer, then the price of the product is essentially double what it should be since half the manufactured products are unfit to be sold and are waste. The ability for a process to be reproducible means its effective and efficient, which thereby allows the product to be sold at a lower price and still retain good margins.

If those five defective products now require significant rework it adds to the cost and time that could otherwise be spent on manufacture products that meet spec, vs wasted time on rework. Rework cost time and money and increase the overall cost per unit. In order correctly identify the root cause of the issue, which is causing all the rework, an individual must first have the proper training and education to be able to correctly diagnose the issue. Without the right knowledge an individual will likely not dig deep enough to identify the root cause but will likely just put out fires and address the issues at the surface. For the individual or the firm to put forth the time and effort to gain the education or skills necessary to fully diagnose issues and improve and control their processes they need to have the drive and will to survive otherwise the investment would not be there.