A survey of the six sigma management practices in the banking industry in Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to explore the six sigma management practices 111 the banking industry in Kenya. Emphasis was on the following research questions; extent of integration of six sigma practices with business strategy for competitiveness? and challenges hindering effective implementation of six sigma practices. Primary data was collected through questionnaires and distributed to senior managers 111 the banks operating in Kenya. Data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and SPSS (12.0) was used for the purpose of the analysis. Results obtained indicate that the use of six sigma management practices in the banking industry is quite low. This is the case when it comes to identifying critical-to-quality customer requirements (through market research) before embarking on quality improvement initiatives, use of tools and techniques in the whole process of quality management, adherence to project implementation variables, and development of parameters to measure effectiveness of various processes used in delivery of services to customers. Most ideas for quality improvement were from employees. The critical challenges faced by most organizations are among others, failure to understand customer needs, inadequate employee needs, lack of appropriate data to measure service gaps, inappropriate culture/resistance to change, weak leadership/commitment by top management and inappropriate organization structures/bureaucracies. The study's major limitation was the low response rate considering the size of the banking industry in Kenya. However, on the positive side, the study can be used as the foundation in which six sigma can be implemented in the banking industry as well as other service industries in Kenya for competitiveness. Key words: Six sigma, Management Practices, Key challenges.