Effects of six sigma initiatives in Malaysian private hospitals
Purpose – This study aims to investigate applications of Six Sigma methodology in Malaysian private hospitals. It measures Six Sigma initiatives of the private hospitals based on demographics such as gender, position and working experience. Design/methodology/approach – The present study measures...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English English |
| Published: |
Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/1/71732_Effects%20of%20Six%20Sigma%20initiatives_article.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/2/71732_Effects%20of%20Six%20Sigma%20initiatives_wos.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/71732/3/71732_Effects%20of%20Six%20Sigma%20initiatives_scopus.pdf |
| Summary: | Purpose – This study aims to investigate applications of Six Sigma methodology in Malaysian private
hospitals. It measures Six Sigma initiatives of the private hospitals based on demographics such as gender,
position and working experience.
Design/methodology/approach – The present study measures Six Sigma initiatives of private
hospitals and used stratified random sampling to collect data from eight selected hospitals in Peninsular
Malaysia. The respondents of the study include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical laboratory
technologists. In this study, 520 questionnaires were distributed to respondents who are working in
Malaysian private hospitals. In total, 251 responses were received (48.27 per cent response rate). The
descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were undertaken using SPSS
version 23.
Findings – The findings of this study indicate that male respondents have better perception on four
aspects of Six Sigma applications such as process improvement tools, process improvement methods,
manage quality improvement activities and formal planning process compared to female respondents.
The research findings also indicate that doctors have better perception regarding process improvement
tools to measure quality improvement process, leadership to continuous improvement processes,
training in process improvement tools for employees’ skill improvement compared to nurses,
pharmacists, medical laboratory technologists.
Research limitations/implications – The present research focussed solely on the Malaysian
private hospitals, and thus the results might not be applicable to other countries. This study focussed on
Six Sigma initiatives of private hospitals in Malaysia, while the future research may consider
investigating the difference or conformance between private and public hospitals on Six Sigma
initiatives and its relationship with quality performance. In addition, present study findings are
expected to provide guidelines to enhance the applications of Six Sigma methodology in private
hospitals in Malaysia as well as other countries.
Originality/value – This research provides theoretical and practical contributions for the Six Sigma
initiatives in private hospitals. Most of the past studies of Six Sigma initiatives are centred on manufacturing
sector, but few empirical studies have been conducted on the health-care organisation. Thus, findings of the
present study on the health-care sector contribute to the on-going pursuit of knowledge in the area of Six
Sigma by using the strength of related theories and parent disciplines. |
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