Six sigma for managers

I don’t think many managers heard of the term “six sigma.” I only heard about it over a year ago and never really had a chance to look deep in the meaning and applications of “six sigma” methodology until recently. Six sigma consists of set of tools to improve business processes, the term was originally developed by Motorola and was mainly focused on eliminating manufacturing defects but it gradually evolved into other parts of quality management process, from manufacturing to software testing to business planning.
According to Motorola website: http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=3088,
Six Sigma has evolved over the last two decades and so has its definition. Six Sigma has literal, conceptual, and practical definitions. At Motorola University, we think about Six Sigma at three different levels:

• As a metric
• As a methodology
• As a management system
Six Sigma Management System

Through experience, Motorola has learned that disciplined use of metrics and application of the methodology is still not enough to drive desired breakthrough improvements and results that are sustainable over time. For greatest impact, Motorola ensures that process metrics and structured methodology are applied to improvement opportunities that are directly linked to the organizational strategy.
When practiced as a management system, Six Sigma is a high performance system for executing business strategy. Six Sigma is a top-down solution to help organizations:
Align their business strategy to critical improvement efforts
Mobilize teams to attack high impact projects
Accelerate improved business results
Govern efforts to ensure improvements are sustained
The Six Sigma Management System drives clarity around the business strategy and the metrics that most reflect success with that strategy. It provides the framework to prioritize resources for projects that will improve the metrics, and it leverages leaders who will manage the efforts for rapid, sustainable, and improved business results.

You can check the above link for more details on six sigma in addition to free lessons on six sigma from Motorola.