Quality Management-Toyota Essay Example for Free

type Management-Toyota EssayThis paper explores multiple published articles discussing Toyota labor corporations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A review of Toyotas decisions to hide heavy information prior to recalls leads us to a discussion of where Toyota can go from here. The paper includes recommendations for Toyota beat back Company in order to move forward afterwards their 2010 recalls.In addition, organisational changes will assist Toyota force back Company in overcoming their recall problems. QUALITY focussing 3 Quality Management within Toyota Motor Company After a human action of discouraging recalls at Toyota Motor Company in 2010, a figure of speech of quality management techniques were implemented. Toyota Motor Companys SWOT Analysis played into the youngly implemented quality management techniques.Toyotas strengths allowed them to fight back quickly against these recalls that could have ultimately conduct to Toyotas fall from one of t he pull in motor companys. Toyota Motor Companys strengths include dominant dapple in the merchandiseplace, strong crack recognition, strong focus on research and development, and broad merchandise and distribution net naturalize. In addition to Toyotas strengths, their weaknesses were reviewed in order to find opportunities to capitalize upon.The recalls were seemingly a large weakness at Toyota. Opportunities were reviewed which included the growth of the global automotive industry. Last, Toyotas threats were reviewed. Here it was found that powerful rival is a commove for Toyota Motor Company. After the review of Toyota Motor Companys SWOT Analysis, the issue of the recalls was assessed. Analysis shows the issue within Toyota Motor Company did not go forth overnight. However, secretive management styles let the company astray. A diagram was created by functional area to summarize how Toyota has responded to these recall problems.The functional areas reviewed include man agement, performance construct and caoutchouc, quality, and manufacturing. Last, the analysis of Toyota Motor Companys recall and quality management issues are discussed from a point of solving the problem. Recommendations are discussed that will second Toyota Motor Company to turn their weaknesses into strengths. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 4 Method Discussion SWOT Analysis Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses Product Dominant position in the marketplace Strong brand recognition Strong focus on Research Development Broad production and distribution network. Product recalls have the ability to ostracizely affect brand image Declining sales in crucial geographic areas External Factors Opportunities Threats Competition Growth of the global automotive industry Potential well-being from partnering with BMW The outlook for the new global car market is strong Powerful competition Appreciation of the Japanese Yen Environmental regulations Natural disasters Strengths. Toyota has a number of internal product strengths as noted in the SWOT Analysis table above. Toyotas market partake in 2011 was 16. 5 percent, its highest market share in 4 grades.This strong market share allowed Toyota to hold a competitive advantage against their competition. In addition to holding a dominant position in the marketplace, Toyota possesses strong brand recognition through a number of brands. These brands include Toyota, Lexus, Prius, Corolla, Yaris, Camry, Sequoia, 4Runner, Scion tC, Highlander, Land Cruiser, and a number of other brand names. These brands are some of the most desired premium brands in the world according to the Company Profile report for Toyota Motor Company documented by MarketLine. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 5 Another strength of Toyota is their strong attention to research and development.According to the Company Profile report, Toyotas focus on research and development is pointed towards the creative activity of new and improved products. Research and developme nt operations are conducted at 14 facilities located around the world. This strength has allowed Toyota to increase the technology included in pull rounding products. One of these products, a Pre-collision System (PCS) helps drivers avoid collisions. Overall, the strong focus on research and development has been a big strength for Toyota. Last, Toyotas production and distribution network has been a big strength for the company.Toyota produces automobiles, related parts, and other components through more than 50 manufacturing companies throughout 27 countries and regions, not including Japan. As mentioned on the Toyota Motor Company website, major locations include Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Thailand, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. As account by Toyota Motor Company, during fiscal year 2013 the company had consolidate vehicle sales totals of 8. 871 million units (TCM, 2013). As report by Toyota Motor Company, this was an increase of 1.519 million units compared to the old fiscal year. In addition to the widespread production of Toyota products, the company has a large distribution network. Toyotas distribution network is one of the largest in Japan encompassing four sales channels (Toyota, Toyopet, Corolla, and Netz). In 2012 the distribution network of these channels was comprised of 283 dealers. In addition to this network, Toyota operates over 170 Lexus sales channels in Japan. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 6 As reported by Toyota Motor Company, in fiscal year 2013 these networks accounted for the following vehicle sales JAPAN SALES TOTALED 2.279 one thousand million UNITS IN NORTH the States VEHICLE SALES TOTALED 2. 469 MILLION UNITS IN EUROPE VEHICLE SALES TOTALED 799,085 UNITS ASIA CAME IN AT TOTAL VEHICLE SALES OF 1. 684 MILLION UNITS CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, OCEANIA AND AFRICA CAME IN AT 1. 640 MILLION UNITS As you can see, Toyotas distribution network is widesprea d allowing for diversification and a wide go past of clientele, ultimately boosting revenues and sales. Weaknesses. A large focus of the case study focuses on the weakness of Toyotas product recalls. As many are aware, Toyota has resonateed a number of recalls in the new-made past.It is a concern that these recalls could negatively affect Toyotas brand imagine ultimately leading to decreased sales for the company. When searching for Toyota recalls it was flabby to find a few recent recalls. The most recent is a recall of 700,000 Toyota Prius models which were recalled over electronic issues in the United States (csmonitor. com, 2014). Another very recent recall includes certain versions of the Lexus RX crossover. In this case, more than 261,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a brake issue (csmonitor. com, 2014). In addition to the many recalls, Toyota has been involved in a number of lawsuits.In declination 2012, Toyota settled a suit by paying $17. 4 million to the Nationa l Highway Traffic sanctuary Administration to settle claims related to the June 2012 recall of potential accelerator pedal entrapment issues. This bad press will ultimately result in a negative effect on consumers confidence in Toyotas brand. In addition, the settlement of suits ultimately decreases Toyotas QUALITY MANAGEMENT 7 profits. As a result of this bad press Toyota saw a decline in 2012 sales in important geographic areas. Declining sales in fiscal year 2012 were seen across North America, Asia, and Europe. Opportunities.As reported by the article, Global automotive industry to experience modest growth in 2012, a number of opportunities exist in the global automotive industry (2012). The Japanese auto industry responded from natural disasters which had caused reduced inventories and production. It is forecasted that the industry will continue to grow increasing Toyota revenues. In June of 2012, BMW and Toyota signed a long-term partnership. The two companies are partnering on the developments that will help to increase market share and sales.This relationship is expected to increase technology between the two companies as well as result in new product development. In addition to these opportunities, the new car market is experiencing guard growth which will assist in increased sales and profits. Threats. Intense competition in the worldwide car market has become very competitive. This competition will likely increase in the upcoming years as competitors add more technology and increase developments. In addition to the intense competition, the appreciating Japanese Yen has become a big concern for Toyota.Last, environment regulations have the potential to increase production costs. Emissions regulations that are updated periodically could cause issues in new car production. Evolvement of Quality Management Issues At first glance, it seems that Toyotas gas pedal issue appeared overnight. However, upon further research, evidence was found to prove the o pposite.As reported in the article Secretive Culture Let Toyota Astray, evidence that Toyota cars could suddenly speed up had been piling up for years (2010). At the time of the recalls, Toyota had know about this gas QUALITY MANAGEMENT 8 pedal problem for more than a year. The problem was stated to be Toyotas secretive unified culture in Japan which ultimately conflicted with United States requirements that auto makers disclose safety threats.New initiatives brought to the table by Toyota have attempted to correct the previous secretive culture of Toyota. Total quality management initiatives have been put in place to assist in better customer service and safety and repair issues. According to Jacobs and Chase, total quality management can be defined as managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and work that are important to the customer (Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 296). The table following this discussion addresses the steps Toyota has taken in response to its recent quality recall problems.Functional theater Quality Management Steps Management Managing Director names to oversee any safety-related issues Top down management approach Product normal Safety Troubleshooting teams known as Swift Market Analysis Response Teams work to find any safety issues that need to be reported Quality TAQIC Toyota Advanced Quality Information Center staffed by a mathematical group of employees who compile repair reports from dealerships worldwide 1000 engineers hired to spot-check quality Manufacturing No drastic changes to assembly lines QUALITY MANAGEMENT 9 Results/Discussion Problem Solution As discussed in the diagram above, there were many opportunities for Toyota after their encounter with the recall situation.Akio Toyoda, the head of the company, acted quickly by implementing a top down management approach instead of the more popular Japanese bottom up approach that slows down the decision making. In addition, Akio cut board of directors by fifty percent and cut out management layers. Akio also began meeting with his top five advisers on a weekly basis. In these meetings decisions were made quickly. Akio pushed his team to make always better cars. This change in the way the organization is managed helped Toyota to impediment on top even through the recalls. Recommendations Many recommendations have been made to assist Toyota Motor Company in improving the recall situation they encountered in 2011. Some recommendations Toyota should follow include as recommended by the North American Quality Advisory Panel include the following GIVE NORTH American OPERATIONS much INDEPENDENCE IN MAKING RECALL DECISIONS capabilityEN QUALITY CONTROL PROCESSES EXTEND DEVELOPMENT TIME OF NEW PRODUCTS TO INCLUDE MORE SAFETY TESTS CREATE A ROLE OF CHIEF SAFETY TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.CREATE AND LAUNCH A SAFETY RESEARCH CENTER FOCUSED ON PROTECTING THE MOST IMPORTANT clientele (children, teens, and seniors) QUALITY MANAGEM ENT 10 These ideas follow the concept of total quality management which focuses on two inherent goals CAREFUL DESIGN OF THE PRODUCT (IN THE CASE OF TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY, THE VEHICLE) ENSURE THAT TOYOTA MOTOR COMPANY SYSTEMS CAN PRODUCE THIS DESIGN IN A CONSISTENT means Quality at the source seems to be a great way for Toyota Motor Company to proceed.Quality at the source means that the person who is doing the work is taking the responsibility for making sure the work meets specifications. As previously discussed, safety control will be a huge initiative for Toyota Motor Company going forward. If implemented, these recommendations can do a lot to help Toyota Motor Company increase their organizational effectiveness.As previously discussed, many organizational steps were taken by Akio Toyoda after these recalls. It seems that Toyota could greatly benefit from organizational acquirement. As stated by Operations and Supply Chain Management, it has been argued that organizational lear ning is critical to sustaining a competitive advantage (Chase and Jacobs, 2014, p. 138).Organizational realignment was important to Toyota Motor Company after the 2010 and 2011 recalls. According to a Toyota news release in December of 2008 organizational changes include the establishment of the below QUALITY MANAGEMENT 11 A GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP WHICH WAS FOCUSED ON lovesome RESPONSE TO inquiries from around the world while also unifying public affairs functions.AN ACCOUNTING GROUP AIMED AT STRENGTHENING THE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND fiscal management system of Toyota Motor Company. A EUROPE AND AFRICA OPERATIONS GROUP INTENDED TO ASSIST WITH BUSINESS PLANNING IN African and Central Asia.The group was also established to conduct business promotion events in both Europe and Africa. A PRODUCTION ENGINEERING GROUP AIMED AT INCREASING THE STRENGTH OF THE QUALITY control system for semiconductors for hybrid vehicles. The recommendations made are important to Toyotas future. Reorganization and creation of new groups within the organization will help Toyota to overcome these recalls. QUALITY MANAGEMENT 12 References Ingram, A. (2014, Feb 12). Toyota recall 1. 9 million Prius vehicles recalled to fix software glitch. Retrieved from http//www. csmonitor. com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0212/Toyota-recall-1. 9-million-Prius-vehicles-recalled-to-fix-software-glitch Jacobs, F. R. , Chase, R. (2014). Operations and supply chain management. (14 ed. ). New York, NY McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Lassa, T. (Feb, 2012). U. s. market share for the top five automakers.Retrieved from http//www. motortrend. com/features/auto_news/2011/1202_u_s_markets_share_for_the_ top_five_automakers/ Linebaugh, K. , Searcey , D. , Shirouzu, N. (Feb, 2010 08). Secretive culture led toyota astray. Retrieved from http//online. wsj. com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238 ? mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollectionmg=reno64-wsjurl=http//online. wsj. com/artic le/SB10001424052748704820904575 055733096312238. html? mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection Marketline. (2013, Jan). Toyota motor corporation swot analysis.Retrieved from http//web. a. ebscohost. com. library3. webster. edu/ehost/ breaker point? vid=4emailprotectedhid=4212bdat a=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ== Ridley , G. (2012, Jan 06). Global automotive industry to experience modest growth in 2012. Retrieved from QUALITY MANAGEMENT 13 http//www. ey. com/GL/en/Newsroom/News-releases/Global-automotive-industry-to-exp erience-modest-growth-in-2012 Taylor, A. (2012, Feb 27). Toyotas comeback kid.Fortune, 165(3), 72-79. Retrieved from http//web. b. ebscohost. com. library3. webster. edu/ehost/detail? emailprotectedvid=1hid=126bdata= JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ TMC. (2013, may 08). TMC announces year-end financial results for fiscal year ended march 31, 2013. Retrieved from http//www2. toyota. co. jp/en/news/13/05/0508_1. html Voss, M. (2011, May 23). Toyota receives recommendations from north american quality consultive panel. Retri eved from http//corporatenews. pressroom. toyota. com/releases/toyota receives recommendations north american quality advisory panel. htm.