Managing Operations

Managing Operations

Managing Operations

Introduction

The service industry chosen for this paper is the healthcare industry. The chosen organisation is the London Clinic. The operations in the clinic are much organised. The clinic works in way that supports the patients, as well, as the officials. People in this field should be very careful while performing their duty because they deal with the lives of other people; therefore, it is very important for them to improve their services. While visiting the organisation, I observed that the organisation follows certain quality management approaches which help the clinic in providing good quality services.

Six Sigma as Quality Management Tool

Six Sigma, the general approach to quality management, is focused on achieving concrete results, better quality, more efficient processes, and improved value. Results-oriented methodologies, in particular Six Sigma, have demonstrated measurable results in terms of quality, cost, and relevant efficiency metrics on the clinical, operational and administrative sides of healthcare (Trusko, Et. al, 2007, , pp. 43). Six Sigma is an effective approach to quality improvement that originated in the manufacturing sector and later was adopted by service industries . A core principle is the elimination of chronic quality problems and waste from processes. A key feature of the Six Sigma approach to quality improvement that makes it particularly well suited for healthcare is that it is fundamentally similar in spirit and philosophy to good old established medical practice used since the time of Hippocrates:

1.First, carefully define the problem.

2.Then gather all relevant data and information.

3.Proceed to carefully and deliberately diagnose the problem.

4.After completing a thorough diagnosis, with possible additional iterations of more information-gathering and analysis, proceed to propose a remedy

5.Implement (deploy) the remedy.

6.Finally, check to see if the remedy turned out to be effective.

As in any investigation, it may be necessary to iterate some of these steps. In SIX SIGMA terminology, the problem-solving strategy deploys five phases— define (D), measure (M), analyze (A), improve (I), and control (C)—that are rigorously followed whenever a problem, large or small, is approached.

Billing Department

Imagine a billing department has reduced the number of errors in its processes of billing by implementing the sigma six strategies. The improvement in this department will bring efficiency in the organization (Schroeder & Mikel, 2006, pp. 10). Today, several health organizations, have applied six sigma strategies in to their healthcare and management services. It has witnessed the success in various health organizations by reducing the rate of errors in the billing department. In this process, the implementation of service provider and service seeker should have consent on the strategies of Six Sigma, without the consent of the both the process cannot be improved. There should be bonding of trust between provider and seeker .

Emergency Department

Emergency department is the most important department in the healthcare organization. Emergency department always needs an extra ordinary care in many aspects. The failure in the department may lead to the disastrous outcome. Emergency department can be more efficient by introducing viable and empirical ...