Salentijn, W, Antony, J and Douglas, J (2021) Six Sigma to distinguish patterns in COVID-19 approaches. The TQM Journal, 33 (8). pp. 1633-1646. ISSN 1754-2731

Preview

Text Six Sigma to distinguish patterns in COVID-19 approaches.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (766kB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose: COVID-19 has changed life as we know. Data are scarce and necessary for making decisions on fighting COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to apply Six Sigma techniques on the current COVID-19 pandemic to distinguish between special cause and common cause variation. In the DMAIC structure, different approaches applied in three countries are compared.
Design/methodology/approach: For three countries the mortality is compared to the population to distinguish between special cause variation and common cause variation. This variation and the patterns in it are assessed to the countries' different approaches to COVID-19.
Findings: In the DMAIC problem-solving approach, patterns in the data are distinguished. The special cause variation is assessed to the special causes and approaches. The moment on which measures were taken has been essential, as well as policies on testing and distancing. Research limitations/implications: Cross-national data comparisons are a challenge as countries have different moments on which they register data on their population. Furthermore, different intervals are taken, varying from registering weekly to registering yearly. For the research, three countries with similar data registration and different approaches in fighting COVID-19 were taken.
Originality/value: This is the first study with Master Black Belts from different countries on the application of Six Sigma techniques and the DMAIC from the viewpoint of special cause variation on COVID-19.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0299 Other Physical Sciences; 0399 Other Chemical Sciences; 1503 Business and Management; Business & Management
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General) R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine > RA0440 Study and Teaching. Research
Divisions:	Doctoral Management Studies (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Emerald
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2023 10:33
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2023 10:33
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/TQM-11-2020-0271
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18544

View Item