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Six-Sigma Application in the Hotel Industry: Is It Effective for Performance Improvement?

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Hotel Studies, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Sadat City University, EGYPT

Res. J. Management Sci., Volume 3, Issue (12), Pages 1-14, December,6 (2014)

Abstract

Six-Sigma (6) is a quality improvement strategy that provides a clear roadmap for organizations to deliver nearly perfect products and services. After initial success in manufacturing organizations, Six-Sigma has gradually gained widespread application in service organizations, including hotels and lodging. Although the hotel industry has an increased interest in Six-Sigma implementation and many hotels have yielded tangible benefits from this approach, the literature is limited. Moreover, the relationship between Six-Sigma implementation and its performance improvement outcomes is a rarely examined subject in the hospitality context. Therefore, this study attempts to assess the effectiveness of Six-Sigma and examine its impacts on various performance measures of upscale hotels in Egypt, seeking for what values and benefits it brings to improve the overall performance. To achieve this objective, the researcher surveyed 123upscale hotels in Egypt. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 18). The results indicated that only 31 percent of the respondent hotels are actively involved in a documented Six-Sigma project. A notable proportion of these hotels have less than three years experience with the Six-Sigma approach. This clearly illustrates that Six-Sigma is a relatively new approach within the Egyptian hotel industry. The findings indicated that Six-Sigma implementation is positively and significantly associated with the operational and competitive performance of the surveyed hotels. Hotels implementing Six-Sigma have achieved more benefits as compared to other hotels implementing other quality management programs (i.e. TQM and ISO 9001). Therefore, it seems advisable for Egyptian hotels to be involved in formal Six-Sigma projects in order to improve their overall performance.

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