Motorola University: bringing proven business improvement techniques to Latin American organizations. (Focus On: Special Advertising Feature).

In the mid-1980s, Motorola invented a powerful tool called Six Sigma(r) to improve its internal manufacturing process - and in doing so created a mechanism that has helped organizations around the world become more efficient, more profitable and more responsive to their customers.

Six Sigma's impressive results led the company to win one of the world's first Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards in 1988. Since then, Motorola has made its Six Sigma improvement program available to customers, suppliers and channel partners around the world. Numerous companies, including GE, Ford and Allied Signal, have followed Motorola's lead, invested in Six Sigma initiatives and realized tremendous savings. Among the results:

* Improved customer satisfaction.

* Far better operational efficiency.

* Increased competitive advantage and market share.

* Significant savings in operating expenses.

Now the Motorola University Consulting Services team is offering this proven methodology to organizations throughout Latin America through a series of executive briefings, as well as "Black Belt" and "Green Belt" open-enrollment programs designed to solve an organization's specific issues.

"In the past 12 years, Motorola has saved more than $16 billion with our Six Sigma program, while improving customer service and overall responsiveness," says Augustin M. Rojas, vice president, external sales and marketing, for Chicago-based Motorola. "We truly practice what we teach. Based on our own results, as well as the experience of more than 100 global organizations using our Six Sigma program, a committed company can achieve a payback of at least $150,000 into the millions for completing a Six Sigma Black Belt program.

Since the formal creation of the consulting arm of Motorola University in June 2001, the team has assisted clients throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

"For multinationals, one of the tremendous added values from Six Sigma is the ability for everyone to speak the same language," says S. Julian Menendez, director, Six Sigma. "The terminology is the same everywhere, so project leaders from around the world can easily communicate their ideas, measurements and results with each other."

Motorola calls its program Six Sigma because it provides a quality measure that can be used throughout a corporation, from sales to manufacturing to support functions. For example, a Latin American manufacturing company that obtains a rate of just 3.4 defects per 1 million "opportunities" has reached the Six Sigma quality level. Menendez notes that Six Sigma provides tools that can be used to evaluate each step in the business process for potential problems - then find effective solutions.

"Our goal is to build better organizations," says Menendez, who leads a Florida-based team that covers Mexico and most of Latin America. "We bring our consultants right to the workplace in Latin America and show our clients what we've learned from our experience."

To solve vexing organizational problems, the Motorola University consultants use the "DMAIC" problem-solving approach:

* Define the problem and understand how it is happening.

* Measure the gap between current and desired results.

* Analyze the situation using a variety of statistical tools.

* Improve the process and eliminate problems.

* Control results by putting in practices and systems that will sustain the improvement.

"Organizations face different kinds of problems," says Clovis Cocenzo, principal consultant who focuses on Brazil. "Some are more complex than others. That determines what tools you will use to solve the problem. Initially, we focus on improvement projects that will yield results with the highest business impact."

In addition to resolving the types of issues that keep senior management awake at night, the DMAIC approach can also be used to identify sales and marketing opportunities, Cocenzo says. "If an organization wants to grow its market share from 10 percent to 80 percent, our methodology can break down the steps necessary to achieve that goal."

In fact, Rojas stresses the fact that customers should be tied into the business process. In other words, a business needs to understand what the customer wants and needs, and then align its processes to deliver the desired results. "Six Sigma connects the voice of the customer to the business, helping to sustain the company's long-term success in its marketplace."

Motorola University's methodologies incorporate powerful statistical process control techniques to achieve results in the first six months of implementation. Implementation of a "Campaign Plan" ensures that all of an organization's improvement projects are managed in an integrated fashion.

"Motorola University has been fortunate over the last 20 years to be recognized as a premier corporate university," notes Jill Brosig, director of strategic marketing and business development. "Now in response to our key customers and suppliers asking us to share our knowledge of Six Sigma, Motorola University is redefining itself as a strategic partner focused upon business improvement consulting solutions. Our approach allows organizations to sustain their realized bottom-line results and to be even more successful over time."