Business Innovation - Six Sigma program and Motorola Term Paper

Business Innovation - Six Sigma program and Motorola - Term Paper Example This process saves a great deal of time that is used to improve on design and general quality aspects of products. Introduction Motorola’s history is quite helpful for many businesses especially in the manufacturing sector. Its major contribution to this sector is the Six Sigma initiative in production where focus was shifted from measuring quality in percentages to parts per million. This idea stemmed from the realisation that the advancement in technology cannot stick with the conservative forms of measurement. Six Sigma was introduced to achieve the set quality goals so as to minimise chances of wastage in terms of resources and time. The company since the adoption of this strategy has saved its shareholders billions of dollars in terms of resources and time. The initiative has also enabled it to deliver high quality products to its consumers all over the world. Cell phone sales have shot up tremendously in the last decade and Motorola was well positioned in the 1990s to ca ter for the rising demand. For the initiative to work the company has to ensure that it changes its leadership and invest in rewarding innovation coupled with creating the right metrics. This paper will aim at discussing the circumstances that led to the innovation of Six Sigma in Motorola, how Six Sigma project was implemented at Motorola and the results achieved by the company after implementation. Company overview Motorola is one of the leading companies in the electronic communications business. It deals in designing and manufacturing cellular and cordless phones, broadband products and modems among other products. It ranks as the second largest producer of mobile phones behind Nokia. It has for a long time controlled about 17% of the entire world market in regards to mobile phones but leading in two-way radios (Pande, Neuman & Cavanagh, 2000). It has concentrated a great deal in wireless communication and internet related technology. The company further produces a wide range of products for use in the automotive industry together with computer and navigation. It is also important to appreciate that the company enjoys a bigger market outside the USA at almost 60%. Motorola’s glory can be attributed heavily on its quality products which in 1988 saw it receive Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This award recognises businesses that act as role models for others in various areas of management and general operations. It is the Six Sigma initiative at Motorola that attracted this admiration. Motorola acted as the first company to incorporate this Six Sigma in its operations back in January 1987 and due to its almost-immediate success, many other companies followed suit. Before this initiative Motorola was experiencing one of the most turbulent times since it was Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 (Coronado & Jiju 2002). However, since February 2011 Motorola became two separate companies; Motorola Mobile and Motorola Mobility. Motorola and Six Sigma Before Motorola came up with the Six Sigma initiative, it was on its downward trend and it required an intensively innovative approach to the market. The competitive market arena had become too competitive for the company to rely on its traditional management practices and operational methods. The changes towards a fully-fledged Six Sigma project