Preview

Learning to Lead at Toyota

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1608 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Learning to Lead at Toyota
I. Executive Summary
Toyota is one of the world’s largest car manufacturers which have a better approach on developing their product and management’s quality, reliability, productivity, cost reduction, sales and market share growth, and market capitalization. It is one thing to realize that the Toyota Production System (TPS) is a system of nested experiments which operations are constantly improved also known as Kaizen. It is another from TPS to have an organization in which employees and managers at all levels in all functions are able to live those principles and teach others to apply them. Being in a big company like Toyota is a long process to go, especially on Managerial position, they must follow the long, hard way importantly on training. For this following analysis we took the experience of Bob Dallis who trained for Toyota US Plant.
II. Defining the Issue
What is the effective way of developing a manager’s process improvement capabilities? The pseudonymous Bob Dallis, a talented young American was hired for an upper-level position at one of Toyota’s US plants. Dallis, who had taken two (2) Master’s Degree in Engineering and previously worked for various large plants of Toyota’s North American competitors, thought that he already knew the necessary knowledge on managing the company. Before formally working at the said plant, however, he had undergone a tremendous training under Mike Takahashi, a senior manager of the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC) for more than three (3) months. One of Toyota’s principles is to transform individuals into great managers, let alone generating superb cars. The study emphasizes how the company newbie had learned and realized the real essence of being a manager, hence, learning it the long, hard way. This aspect is relevant, but does the ‘Toyota way’ of training the managers complement the needed traits for them to achieve operational excellence?
III. Analysis of the Case Data
All managers at Toyota

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS) The TPS model depends on its Human Infrastructure. The entire model is base on its PEOPLE & TEAMWORK being successful in doing their job and there buy in to the Key Elements of the TPS culture, which are as follows;  Selection  Ringi decision making  Common Goals  Cross-Trained TPS emphasize the point of its human infrastructure as a “COMMON GOAL” for all personnel in the corporation, which again is emphasize that its employees are its greatest assets as shown by the corporate slogan “GOOD THINKING, GOOD PRODUCT”. The “SELECTION” or hiring process is a very aggressive beginning in bringing on employees to ensure that TPS gets the right people who can be a team player. This was shown in the case study “……TMM initiated a hiring and training program (run out of a trailer office). It began with top managers and proceeded to core operations personnel;…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Toyota production system

    • 2139 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The success of Toyota Motor Company is due to the unique reduction systems that focus on continuous improvement and just in time management. Toyota has created a decentralised structure that encourages employee participation and team working. Toyota incorporated concepts just as supply chain management and inventory management to create high quality automobiles and gain a competitive edge in the highly competitive global automobile market. Toyota’s success and its lean manufacturing philosophy have been widely studied. The Toyota manufacturing system is centred on achieving a high level of productivity. The company has a unique approach to problem solving and it continuously trains its employees.…

    • 2139 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    NUMMI and GM

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At NUMMI, Toyota started by implementing a business strategy based on trust, respect, and teamwork, as opposite with the GM strategy based on high-tech solutions over worker initiatives, which ultimately conducted to mistrust and adversity between management and workers. The change at NUMMI emphasized “human development” and constant follow up on details as the key for continuous improvement and permanent strive to perfection. Continuous productivity improvement and quality become not only the center of the new system but also the responsibility of every worker. Starting from materials and components outsourcing, to transportation, tools and assembly, Toyota created an integrated system where the key for success was teamwork.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    From its humble family business origins, Toyota had modernized management, manufacturing, and production philosophies. Many business scholars applauded its values and business methods and, as a result, the Toyota Way was adopted by many businesses in a wide range of industries. The Toyota Way mandates planning for the long term; highlighting problems instead of hiding them; promoting team work with colleagues and suppliers; and, perhaps most importantly, instilling a self-critical culture that fosters continuous and unrelenting improvement. From the assembly line to the boardroom, Toyota’s principles urge employees to strive for perfection (Greto, Schotter, & Teagarden, 2010, p. 3).…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    BUS 357 Research Paper

    • 2491 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Toyota Motor Corporation from a global and international business standpoint so that the reader may understand why the company has become one of the largest automobile producing countries in the world. Toyota is an auto making company that has been around since the 1940s and has gradually made its way towards the top to become one of the largest industries in the world. The company has goals that they continually work to achieve, and also strong management practices that keep them slightly ahead of their competition. The leadership that Toyota pursues has a positive affect on where the company stands globally. The company also uses e-commerce, which has greatly benefitted the company in several ways. It has allowed the business to grow, as well as save them money and work more efficiently. Their organizational structure consists of teamwork between employees and the company stands behind having satisfied employees. After all, the most important philosophy that the company possesses states that the customer is the priority and the key to success is in its people.…

    • 2491 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Operation Improvement Plan

    • 2867 Words
    • 12 Pages

    This operation improvement plan is to help improve the internal communication process at Toyota between their employees and management. There has been a loss of ideas and knowledge, which is a complete violation of their founding principles defined in the Toyota Way. With the suggested recommendations, Toyota can once again reclaim its dominance in the world automobile market while at the same time improving their operational efficiency and quality.…

    • 2867 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leading Change

    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Also, due to the competing nature of the firms in the manufacturing industry, Toyota 's company management has found that change is inevitable. This is evident from the new manufacturing models and subsequent new brands from Mercedes Benz, Peugeot and Nissan Motor companies. By changing their process and products to fit the demand in the market, the Toyota company management 's objective is to become more efficient, effective and competitive. Failure to change is critical. Everyone at should…

    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Toyota Way is a collection of fourteen principles that drive the decision making process based on a philosophical sense of purpose. It is something that I was initially introduced to by my father, but have recently grown to appreciate as an adult (I drive a Toyota truck). Toyota Corporation teaches all of their employees that these principles of management are based exclusively on a long-term perspective. They also stress a systematic process for problem solving and an organic growth among company personnel. The company believes that organizational learning is based on an individual’s ability to solve problems systematically. Despite a recent public setback with product recall, Toyota Corporation has consistently stood for quality products, and quality management. In my opinion, the fourteen theories that comprise “The Toyota Way” most accurately depict the optimal principles of management.…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The first plan of action is to pick an innovative plan that is suitable for the company. Toyota believes the best processes will produce the best results. Many try to imitate Toyota’s system of production or its alternative, Lean Manufacturing. Most improve their day to day procedures but few can tackle the proficiency and excellence attained at Toyota. The impact of innovation is made quite understandable when we look in any business and see how they handle the pressures of the ever so changing market. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Steven Spear and H. Kent Bowen categorize certain features of Toyota 's corporate culture to help Toyota recommence, adjust and thrive. “One central tenet of this corporate culture is responsible for JIT and Toyota 's continuing success. That tenet is: All work processes are controlled, scientific experiments constantly modified and improved by the people who do the work.” (Spear & Bowen. 1999). This implicit, unrecognized certainty shows the increasing rise for business behavior and processes. Spear and Bowen identified four rules that pertain to such. Each rule originates from Toyota’s production process. If they are indeed factual, then there are no problems. When problems do occur, as shown by the signs, the process is fixed according to the responses.…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Question 1: Do you think Toyota has succeeded because of its team-oriented culture, or do you think it would have succeeded without it?…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Corporate Strategy of TOYOTA

    • 4075 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Liker, J (2004). The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World 's Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill…

    • 4075 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Liker, J. (2003), the Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World 's Greatest Manufacturer, 1st ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.…

    • 2811 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    En este sistema existen tres pilares principales que se basan en conceptos y técnicas de hombres que dedicaron su vida a la administración y a los procesos de manufactura, tales como Edward Deming, Ichiro Ohno, Henry Ford, etc. Estos tres pilares forman la cultura de la compañía Toyota:…

    • 2302 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Toyota Production System

    • 3179 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The Toyota motor corporation, by contrast, combines the advantages of craft and mass production, while avoiding the high cost of the former and the rigidity of the latter. Toward this end, they employ teams of multi-skilled workers at all levels of the…

    • 3179 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Culture on Toyota

    • 4144 Words
    • 17 Pages

    5.9. Measures which they could take to effectively embed the proper culture to its employees…

    • 4144 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays