This book introduces the Look Forward approach to continuous improvement (CI). Look Forward is a management approach to CI that fosters an environment that infuses CI into the very fabric of the organisation. As a result, improvement is not an initiative or a project but rather a naturally occurring event that is anticipated, expected and prevalent. Look Forward is not a substitute for Six Sigma, Lean or Theory of Constraints (TOC), but rather is a necessary complement to each of these in order to assure self-perpetuating improvement that is ingrained in the corporate culture. Any business serious about improvement is going to consider these methodologies in the overall scope of their operations and the unique benefits they bring to the table. This book shows that for unbeatable sustained improvement they need to be intertwined with the Look Forward methodology.

Six Sigma is a data-driven management system with near-perfect performance that is a statistical target of operating with no more that 3.4 defects per one million chances. Six sigma has both created avid interest and raised concerns among executives and its practioners. This is all very well for multinationals like Motorola or General Electric but how can it help small and medium-sized enterprises or the service industry? How do you ensure that solutions stick? Quality Beyond Six Sigma responds to this challenge and provides a practical implementation of the issues of Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise and Total Quality and aligns the 'hard' sigma message with the softer sustainable 'strategic issues'. The result is FIT SIGMA. The authors utilize major and minor case studies to support principles and learnings of FIT SIGMA and include review examples and self-assessment that underpin the sustainable process. The three major case studies are contributed by General Electric, Dow Chemical and Seagate Technology. Senior Executives and Managers of organizations of all types and sizes, Management Consultants and Students of all disciplines will find this book a stimulating guide to quality and operational excellence.

This volume thoroughly documents Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE) benefits and measurement techniques and provides a step-by-step Project Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (P-DMAIC) roadmap, enabling a true integration of Six Sigma and Lean tools.

This book presents some definitions and concepts applied in Latin America on lean manufacturing (LM), the LM tools most widely used and human and cultural aspects that most matter in this field. The book contains a total of 14 tools used and reported by authors from different countries in Latin America, with definition, timeline with related research, benefits that have been reported in literature and case studies implemented in Latin American companies. Finally, the book presents a list of softwares available to facilitate the tools' implementation, monitoring and improvement.

Competitive advantage is a key factor to the success of any business in modern society. To achieve this goal, effective strategies for process improvement must be researched and implemented into an organization. The Handbook of Research on Managerial Strategies for Achieving Optimal Performance in Industrial Processes examines optimization techniques for improved business operations and procedures in the industrial sector. Highlighting management techniques, innovative approaches, and technological tools, this publication is an essential reference source for professionals, researchers, consultants, upper-level students, and academicians interested in the advancement of knowledge in industrial communities.

Beginning in the mid-2010s, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has seen remarkable changes in information technology that have blurred the boundaries between the physical, digital and biological worlds. Industry 4.0 has enabled so-called smart factories in which computer systems equipped with machine learning algorithms can learn and control robotics with minimal need for human input. While smart technology has enabled many manufacturing businesses to increase efficiency and cut costs, many others are still struggling with implementing it. This book aims to help students, practitioners and industry leaders to become change agents and take their first steps on the path of transformation. Smart Business and Digital Transformation addresses the challenge of becoming "smart" from three different perspectives: smart factory, smart industry and smart environment. Covering technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, 5G and big data analytics, the book shows how enterprises can take advantage of them and ultimately beat the competition. The book considers the importance of operational processes, business models and organisational culture. The contributing authors and editors, based at Corvinus University, present a multidimensional picture of Industry 4.0 which is both diverse in its voices and unified in its vision. Smart Business and Digital Transformation meets the growing demand for a textbook that not only presents the latest concepts and theories but is also practical for planning, managing and implementing digital transformation in practice. The chapters include case studies to demonstrate the practical applications, and each chapter ends with review and discussion questions to develop students’ skills and competencies. Students of business and digital transformation on advanced undergraduate and MBA courses will find it an indispensable guide to a vibrant and challenging topic.

This revised second edition of Comparative Tort Law: Global Perspectives offers an updated and enriched framework for analysing and understanding the current state of tort law around the world. Using a critical comparative methodology, it covers not only the common tort law issues but also many jurisdictions often overlooked in the mainstream literature. Contributions explore illuminating case studies from tort systems in Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including new chapters specifically discussing tort law in Brazil, India and Russia.