Six sigma in service industry: A case study

Service quality continues to be a challenging topic in contemporary quality management theory and practice. Unlike products, services are not easily measured, tested or controlled for quality and this topic has been the subject of study from different perspectives since early 1980s. Since its development by Motorola Corporation in late 1980s, six sigma quality has gained considerable attention. The most consistent findings of two decades of service quality research are that: (i) service quality is more difficult for the consumer to evaluate than product quality; (ii) service quality perceptions result from a comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance; and (iii) quality evaluations are not based solely on the outcome of a service but also involve evaluation of the delivery process. This paper summarizes the literature of six sigma and service quality in healthcare industry, highlighting the potential and possible limitations of six sigma applications in service industry. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the use of SERVQUAL for measuring patients' satisfaction of health care quality in terms of six sigma logic. Data gathered by a survey conducted on 250 patients whom got services from a private healthcare center, has been evaluated by statistical methods and findings are analyzed.Keywords: Six Sigma, Service Quality, Patient Satisfaction, SERVQUAL