The Six Sigma Handbook, Revised and Expanded, 2nd Edition

5.1. SIX SIGMA TEAMS

The structure of modern organizations is based on the principle of division of labor. Most organizations today consist of a number of departments, each devoted to their own specialty. A fundamental problem is that the separate functional departments tend to optimize their own operations, often to the detriment of the organization as a whole.

Traditional organizations, in effect, create barriers between departments. Departmental managers are often forced to compete for shares of limited budgets; in other words, they are playing a "zero sum game" where another manager's gain is viewed as their department's loss. Behavioral research has shown that people engaged in zero sum games think in terms of win-lose. This leads to self-destructive, ...