Six Sigma is supposedly useful and effective in manufacturing. In engineering and systems, it's a useless and total fucking waste of time.
Applied to financial services it basically loses all meaning.
EDIT: Especially those aspects of financial services that relate to customer services. I can kind of (without having thought about it too hard) see it making sense in the risk assessment or underwriting.
I worked at GE Capital's reinsurance division for a while (until they were bought out by Swiss Re) and their giant quarterly losses, despite like half the people there being "black belts," really put the lie to this.
I like the incompetence theory explanation - so many of us have this to some degree, combine that with laziness and the such and I can imagine some managers/shareholders are always desperately searching for some sort of Holy Grail to save them
Oh yeah. Look how many companies roll out SAP or some other ERP system and completely botch the introduction, creating significantly more work for people whose lives are supposed to be improved by the new system. I mean, the ideal is a competent manager who understands the business they're in, is aware of the work that their employees do, and has employees who are engaged and knowledgeable. And that manager should have the resources and support to handle their projects or ongoing tasks adequately, from any people above them.
How many businesses can you think of that do that? I mean almost everyone bitches about their workplace lacking one of the above elements. And then instead of fixing shit they hire a consultant who tells them what they should already know (and probably do already know), and even then, after spending all the money, don't follow through on what the consultants say. So then they look into a "process" or a "seminar" to see if that fixes things.
Six Sigma is supposedly useful and effective in manufacturing. In engineering and systems, it's a useless and total fucking waste of time.
Applied to financial services it basically loses all meaning.
EDIT: Especially those aspects of financial services that relate to customer services. I can kind of (without having thought about it too hard) see it making sense in the risk assessment or underwriting.
I worked at GE Capital's reinsurance division for a while (until they were bought out by Swiss Re) and their giant quarterly losses, despite like half the people there being "black belts," really put the lie to this.
Another former reinsurance guy? I worked at Guy Carpenter for a year or so and I thank the lord that the worst of their corporate culture was just about bitchy looks, cliques and rampant alcoholism. In no way was there anything driving the management side of business besides goading people into joining the basketball and taking AICPCU courses.
Posts
I worked at GE Capital's reinsurance division for a while (until they were bought out by Swiss Re) and their giant quarterly losses, despite like half the people there being "black belts," really put the lie to this.
Oh yeah. Look how many companies roll out SAP or some other ERP system and completely botch the introduction, creating significantly more work for people whose lives are supposed to be improved by the new system. I mean, the ideal is a competent manager who understands the business they're in, is aware of the work that their employees do, and has employees who are engaged and knowledgeable. And that manager should have the resources and support to handle their projects or ongoing tasks adequately, from any people above them.
How many businesses can you think of that do that? I mean almost everyone bitches about their workplace lacking one of the above elements. And then instead of fixing shit they hire a consultant who tells them what they should already know (and probably do already know), and even then, after spending all the money, don't follow through on what the consultants say. So then they look into a "process" or a "seminar" to see if that fixes things.
Another former reinsurance guy? I worked at Guy Carpenter for a year or so and I thank the lord that the worst of their corporate culture was just about bitchy looks, cliques and rampant alcoholism. In no way was there anything driving the management side of business besides goading people into joining the basketball and taking AICPCU courses.