Author: HOWARD S. GITLOW and DAVID M. LEVINE:

 ISBN: 0-13-117262-X.

Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions is structured into 5 sections that contain a total of nineteen chapters.  Four appendices contain reviews for arithmetic and algebra, summation notation, statistical tables and data file documentation in this 705 page, hardbound book.

            As the title suggests, this book is designed for those already committed to Six Sigma.  For those already at the Green Belt or Champion level, it will represent an excellent choice for a permanent addition to your personal library as a reference book, though it is designed for those aspiring to achieve these certification levels.

            This is not likely to be a first book you would select on this topic unless you are (1) a seasoned manager, project manager or executive, perhaps with experience or some level of sophistication in other, alternative techniques introduced at undergraduate and refined at graduate business coursework levels (e.g., TQM, SPC, ABC, BSc, benchmarking and/or BPO), (2) an MBA, engineer or statistician, and/or (3) a recent graduate, entering a firm already committed to Six Sigma, either in the early stages or with a mature, seasoned team in place.  In fact, in the latter case, it is not inconceivable that the firm might purchase this book for you, upon request, to supplement your education or maturation with Six Sigma and to facilitate the “tooling up” process.

            The authors, Howard S. Gitlow and David M. Levine, are statisticians with significant additional expertise in quality control (QC) and statistical software applications (Minitab® and Microsoft Excel®), respectively.  The combination of these skill sets is ideal for authoring a book at this level, and says much with respect to what you might expect as you read this book the first time and refer to it frequently, over time.  Before purchasing the book, you may wish to ‘Google the authors’ and examine their impressive credentials on this and related topics.

            Chapters 18 and 19 contain details on certifications for Champion and Green Belt levels, respectively, including a brief summary of the 6 Six Sigma certifications offered through the University of Miami (H.S. Gitlow’s institution).  Firms interested in exploiting Six Sigma will often pay most or all of the cost associated with these certifications.

            As a long-time user of Minitab®, I found the statistical applications components sufficiently complete and easy to follow.  Those with engineering backgrounds or recent engineering degrees may wish to supplement Part III (Chapters 9 through 15) of this book with some new or used texts on applied statistics, or can easily “tool up” in these areas with Internet searches of key words, as any weaknesses in their own education or training are identified through the first reading of this book.  Having said this, the significant portion of the content, devoted to introductory applied statistics (including hypothesis testing and experiment design), are those techniques that would be covered in the first or first two semester(s) of a course(s) designed for business undergraduates, but, of course, with applications tailored for Six Sigma.  The case studies contained in Part IV (Chapters 16 and 17) provide the reader with an opportunity to apply and reinforce Six Sigma models and theory or the framework developed in the early chapters (Parts I and II, or the first 8 Chapters), practically.

All should find the book well-organized, well-written, with helpful and appropriately-placed tables and figures, and, yet, sufficiently parsimonious.

The above review was contributed by: A.J. Cataldo, Ph.D., CPA, CMA Northeastern University Boston, MA

Dr. Cataldo holds a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , MAc ( University of Arizona)  unofficial minor in Marketing , BSBA  (University of Arizona). He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant:  Click Here to view Anthony's Reviews