As of 2018 there were some 60,000 multinational corporations worldwide, controlling more than 500,000 subsidiaries. They are responsible for half of international trade.*

Multinational corporations work across multiple countries with different cultures. Lean and Six Sigma implementations must take these multicultural environments into account if the implementations are to be successful. We’ll look at recommendations for achieving this and finish with a short video interview of Genpact’s CEO on cultural differences.

*Source 

Six Sigma and National Patterns of Corporate Culture

In a paper titled “Six Sigma diplomacy - the impact of Six Sigma on national patterns of corporate culture” authors Peter Cronemyr, Magnus Eriksson and Sebastian Jakolini discuss the implications of implementing and applying Six Sigma in countries with different national cultures, especially countries with non-American cultures.

The paper includes:

  • Cultural Layers
  • National Patterns of Corporate Culture
  • Case Studies of Implementing and Using Six Sigma

You can read the paper here. 

[Citation: Peter Cronemyr, Magnus Eriksson and Sebastian Jakolini, Six Sigma diplomacy - the impact

of Six Sigma on national patterns of corporate culture, 2014, Total Quality Management and

Business Excellence, (25), 7-8, 827-841.]

Lean Six Sigma Adaptability in a Multicultural Workplace                                                                                                                

In a case study titled “Adaptability of the Lean-Sigma Methodology for Operations in a Multicultural Workplace” authors Noé Gaudencio Alba-Baena and Aldo Salcido-Delgado discuss the implementation of Lean Six Sigma methodology in Juarez Mexico. A study of the local culture helped in the selection of the tools used.

The case study includes:

  • Failure Rates After Implementing Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing
  • Characteristic Parameters Of The Personnel Surveyed In Two Locations
  • Comparisons of the Six Dimensions Of Culture Among the Locations, Mexico, Italy, France, and the USA
  • Graph Comparing Means Of Data Values From The Tools Used In The Analyzed Projects
  • Adaptability of the Lean-Sigma Methodology for Operations 
  • Relationship Between Problem-Solving Tools And Dimensions Of Work-Culture
  • Initial Setup of the Pad Printing (Tampography) Process
  • Examples of Cosmetic Defects
  • Gage R&R Results
  • Cause and Effect Diagram for Low Productivity
  • Options for Solving the Pad Printing Problem

Copy and paste the following link into your browser to read the case study.

Applying Lean Six Sigma in an Islamic Country

In an article titled “Evaluating the Application of Lean Six Sigma in the Creative Industry: The Case of a Spanish Company in an Islamic Country” author Luis M Anuel Cerdá S Uárez discusses the main dimensions for success of Lean Six Sigma core processes at a museum in an Islamic country.

“From a comparative perspective, the application of Lean Six Sigma in the context of cultural institutions and organizations shows the usefulness to intervene on certain variables at different levels of management performance.”

“In this manuscript we have identified some variables playing an active role in a cultural environment,

such as a museum but our findings can be generalized to other contexts”

Click on the following link to download a copy of the paper.

Genpact CEO’s take of the Importance of Cultural Differences

In a video interview titled “What is the importance of cultural differences?” interviewee Tiger Tyagarajan, President and CEO of Genpact, gives his opinion on the topic.

You can watch the video from Russell Sarder here.