Strategy Implementation: Toyota Company - Essay Example

In this scenario we look at the structure, culture and controls at the Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan and consider their role in the current safety scandals that they have been facing over faulty braking and emergency systems etc. A Brief History The Toyota Motor Corporation was started in 1937. However it was financed by the entrepreneurial ability of Sakichi Toyoda, who had invented an automatic loom in 1924. With the proceeds of this sale, his son Kichiro Toyoda started the automobile company as a spinoff from the father’s loom business.

The name was changed to the more fortuitous sounding Toyota upon its registration as a company in 1937. In the beginning they competed on price but later were able to develop smaller vehicles compared to American cars which concentrated on ease of maneuverability and lesser fuel consumption. In response to the Chicken Tax of 1960s they began building plants in the USA. In 1982, the Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales merged into one entity named Toyota Motor Corporation. They had also partnered with General Motors in rejuvenating an abandoned plant in Fremont, California.

By the end of the 1980s they began producing their own models and today are into the production of models such as the Camry, Prius and Corolla. Toyota is today the leading producer of cars in the world, with over 8.6 million vehicles sold in 2010. They have branched out into the luxury vehicle segment as well as Formula 1 racing endorsements, finance and robotics. Structure, Culture and Controls at the Toyota Company Behind every success story lies a lot of thinking and hard work. Toyota has been successful in following certain management principles and owes its success to Lean Manufacturing and Just In Time Production, concepts which it developed in its production and management philosophy.

The company considers the following five principles as the cornerstones of its success: (1) Challenge; (2) Improvement; (3) Go and See; (4) Respect and (5) Teamwork. Toyota believes in using a long term strategy, using continuous process flows in working and dealing with possible problems, leveling out the workload, doing it right the first time, using pull strategies to avoid overproduction, standardizing tasks, using visual control so no problems are hidden, using consensus in decision making taking into account the needs of the entire supply chain, seeing and understanding things for yourself rather than relying on others and becoming a learning organization through incorporation of reflective thinking and continuous improvement in its culture and way of working (Liker, 2004).

Safety Scandals and the Role of Implementation Factors Toyota has been facing some rough times in recent years. It was hit by the global financial crisis of 2007 and announced a loss of $4.2 billion in 2009. Added to this predicament was a spate of recalls from November 2009 to March 2010, involving more than 8 million trucks and cars worldwide but especially in the USA due to defective accelerator pedals that would not work satisfactorily in an emergency situation. The Toyota US Sales Chief James Lentz was questioned by the US Congress Committee on Oversight and Investigations on 23 February 2010, and its Chairman Akido Toyoda himself came to the USA to testify before the same committee a day later.

It appears that while some faults lay in sticky accelerator pedals