Critical success factors of Lean Six Sigma in higher education institutions

Abstract

In this globalization era, the competition in industries becoming more vigorous as organizations are under constant pressure to outperform each other. Similarly in the educational sector, where Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) facing intense competition. In order to stay competitive and sustainable, continuous improvement tools are highly required by these organizations. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is one of the powerful continuous improvement tools to enhance HEIs’ competitive advantages and performance. In order to improve the successful rate of implementation, this paper aimed to identify and reviewed on previous study regarding to the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of LSS. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that all CSFs are relevant in the context of HEIs, and management plays an important role in all CSFs of LSS. However, the involvement of employees serves as the support and also vital for the successful of LSS implementation as employees are the fundamental of HEIs and decides the accomplishment of task and performance of HEIs. Management should take the initiative to stimulate the employees, and with these CSFs serve as guidelines of LSS, HEIs can adapt LSS to improve its operation and services.