Lean Six Sigma as a Source of Competitive Advantage

110 Pages·2016·0.71 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
2008-11-14
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Alessandro Giorgio Cavallini
Brigham Young University - Provo
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Part of the Business Commons, and the Manufacturing Commons
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Cavallini, Alessandro Giorgio, "Lean Six Sigma as a Source of Competitive Advantage" (2008). Theses and
Dissertations. 1597.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1597
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LEAN SIX SIGMA AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

by
Alessandro Giorgio Cavallini

A thesis submitted to the faculty of
Brigham Young University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

School of Technology
Brigham Young University
December 2008

Copyright © 2008 Alessandro Giorgio Cavallini

All Rights Reserved

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL

of a thesis submitted by

Alessandro Giorgio Cavallini

This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by
majority vote has been found to be satisfactory.

Date Michael P. Miles, Chair
Date Nile W. Hatch
Date Charles R. Harrell

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Alessandro
Giorgio Cavallini in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and
bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and
department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables,
and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate
committee and is ready for submission to the university library.

Date Michael P. Miles
Chair, Graduate Committee

Accepted for the Department
Barry M. Lunt
Graduate Coordinator, School of Technology

Accepted for the College
Alan R. Parkinson
Dean, Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering
and Technology

ABSTRACT

LEAN SIX SIGMA AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Alessandro Giorgio Cavallini
School of Technology
Master of Science

Anecdotal data affirms that companies applying Lean Six Sigma in their
operations not only deliver higher quality products and services, but also obtain superior
financial results. The goal of this research was to empirically verify anecdotal data. The
study proposed to analyze a group of publicly traded manufacturing companies with the
intent of verifying if a correlation exists between companies being lean and the
attainment of superior returns on investments. The researcher performed a series of
statistical tests comparing key Financial Performance Indicators (FPI) extracted from
annual reports (10-K) from a large pool of companies. The outcome of this study showed
that superior financial rewards result from a systematic application of lean and quality
tools.
At the conclusion of this thesis we verified that companies having a business
model that stimulates a high level of communication between them and their markets –
because they are lean – obtained substantially higher financial advantages when