LSS, a problem solving skill for graduates and SMEs : Case study of investigation in a UK business school curriculum

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of a systematic Lean Six Sigma (LSS) education through the curriculum of business schools to respond to the existing gap between the graduate’s expectation of employability and skill requirements by the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – A UK business school has been used as a case study to conduct extensive module and programme review followed by a semi-structured interview with potentially suitable core and programme-specific module tutors and comparative analysis. Findings – The result revealed a high potential of the existing modules in the business schools equivalent to the private sector training providers to increase the level of LSS problem-solving knowledge and skill for all graduates and improve their employability and productivity for the SMEs. Originality/value – The result of this study highlights the role of LSS to reduce the knowledge and skill gap between the business schools as the source of the explicit knowledge, graduates as the knowledge and skill bearer and SMEs as the knowledge and skill users.