The literature suggests that Six Sigma has made many contributions to quality and strategic management. However, there is a certain lack of information about this subject in the Brazilian organizational scene. This paper aims to reduce this lack by means of a practical vision of the contributions that came from the investment of Brazilian companies in Six Sigma implementation. The relevance of essentials requirements, such as: quality concept; combination of statistical and strategic approaches; methodological systemizing; belt training; and project management is discussed from both the theoretical and practical aspects. Case study method was applied to obtain an empirical basis for the research. The investment in Six Sigma undertaken by two Brazilian branches of large multinationals (one a Manufacturing Company and the other a Service Company) are described and analyzed, underlining the relevance of these requirements.
Six Sigma; Quality management; Six Sigma projects; Automotive industry; Credit cards
