SIPOC - a process view of the organization showing: Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers. A view showing the flow of work through an organization if much more useful to understanding and improvement than the typical "organization chart" showing boxes with people's names and lines showing who reports to whom.
The organization takes inputs from suppliers, processes those inputs creating outputs, that are used by their customers. By showing the process through which the organization creates value (by taking input and processing it) you gain an understanding of what the organization does. This can then be used to improve using quality tools to, for example, eliminate non-value added steps, determine where it may make sense to take process measures etc..
The SIPOC view is based on Dr. Deming's systems diagram that he used in his presentations to Japanese leaders in the 1950's.
Chapter 3 of the Leader's Handbook does an excellent job of going over the model in more detail. Related Terms:
Management Dictionary: Affinity Diagram, Kaizen, PDSA, Poka-Yoke, Six Sigma, Statistical Process Control (SPC), Variation
Curious Cat Directories of online resources: