MGNT Strategy Implementation - Essay Example

?MGT 499 (MOD 5) Case assign MGNT Strategy Implementation Table of Contents Background 3 Strategic Implementation Factors 4 Structure 5 Culture 6 Control 6 Conclusion 7 Reference 9 Background Toyota Motor Corporation is a car manufacturing company from Toyota, Aichi, Japan. There are about 317,734 employees working in Toyota. It is considered to be one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the world and the ninth largest company in terms of revenue generation (Yamasa Student Network, n.d.). The production system used in Toyota was very efficient. The main focus of the company was on eliminating the wastage of time and raw materials at every step of the production process. Due to this reason the company introduced fast and flexible process of manufacturing so that they could supply the customers with the best product on the right time and at an affordable price (Becker, 2012). Toyota improved their production quality by: Implementing a culture of learning within the organization for continuous improvement. Increasing the quality of the working systems. Introducing affordable alternatives for new expensive technology in the market. Creating a perfect business process within the company (ICMR, 2010). Toyota faced different business problems from other automobile companies. The company targeted a small market segment but it had to produce a variety of cars on the same assembly line. The only solution of this problem was to introduce flexible operation. This is when Toyota production system was introduced in the company. They incorporated the idea of Just-In-time system, inspired by the ideas from American supermarkets. The company also became inspired by the idea of W. Edward Deming, which encouraged Toyota to adopt a systematic approach for solving the problems and this would lead to continuous improvement. This process was called Kaizen (Weemooseus- edublogs, 2010). The main motive of Toyota Production system was to minimize the time spend on activities which are not important or necessary. The major activities in the organization which were non-value adding waste were: Defects Disguise employment Inventory in excess Overproduction Strategic Implementation Factors Strategies are usually formulated by the top level management of the company, but the people responsible for implementing the strategy are different. Implementation is the process that links the top level management with the other employees of the organization. Strategy formulation and implementation of the strategy are two sides of the same coin. Implementation is a process with the help of which the strategies and the policies of the company are put in action by developing programs, budgets and procedures (Kachru, 2005, p. 391). To see that the strategies have been properly implemented it is important to use the capabilities of a few to check those implementations. The factors such as the structure, culture, people of the organization, commutation, control and the outcome is very important for an organization to successfully implement the strategies. To see that the strategies formulated have been carefully implemented, the organizational structure and culture should be reviewed. In the mid of 2000 Toyota faced number of safety issues in their cars. The most notable problems Toyota faced in its design, development, suppliers, production and maintenance was due to the resignation of a number of talented professionals from Toyota. The 2007 consumer reports did not give any ratings to the cars manufactured by Toyota. The companies had shortage of experts, and maintaining high quality became a million dollar question for Toyota. They had time pressure and lack of resources. The sales went down and the strengths, hybrids and electric cars were not helping the company revive (The Guardian, 2010). Structure The structure affects the organization indirectly. It also affects the implementation of strategies through the flow and control of information. The organization should always align the design and the capabilities of the organization with the strategies. This is because the structure helps to install accountability and helps in achieving goals and objectives of the organization (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2010, p. 30). In the backdrop of the quality issues faced by Toyota, there is cold war that is prevailing between the president of the company, Akio Toyoda and a group of top level managers of the company. Both of them are blaming each other for the quality defects that prevailed in the automobiles of Toyota. The president has even pushed out Katsuaki Watanabe, the vice chairman and asked him to leave the company. It has created a situation of confusion and divided leadership within the organization. The employees are not divided into two groups (The Wall Street Journal, 2010). Culture One of the main building blocks of the organization is the culture. Culture consists of the values, beliefs and other behavioral assumptions. It is very important to study the culture of the organization to build an effective structure. The strategic decision-making is always done by the top level management or the governing body of the organization. Strategy of the organization deals with the culture and the people who interact in that culture (Cant, Strydom, & Jooste, 2009, p. 288). Toyota had to recall about half a million of its SUVs due to their suspension problems. About 11 accidents took place due to such defects in the cars. The problem prevailed with different models of Toyota and for each consecutive year, Toyota had to recall cars for repair in different parts. This created a situation of chaos within the company. The vice chairman was overthrown and the president blamed the top level managers for such condition of the company. The environment of the company has turned into a battle field where the employees have divided themselves into two groups. They are into open battle with each other and accusing each other for weakening the base of the company. The president of the company is further accusing some people in the top level management of focusing too much on earning profit. The fight has now turned in between family and non-family members of Toyota. Control Strategies of the company need to be built around certain premises about the future events. The top level management needs to have control over the strategies formulated and the implementation of such strategies in the organizational structure. Control helps in assessing the overall strategy of the firm and sees that if any modification is required or not in the strategies formulated. Toyota is facing tough situations due to technical defects in the SUVs and other car models. So it is necessary for Toyota to control such situation by implementing effective strategies for fast removal of technical defects in cars. But the management could not sort out the issues. So such situations has be controlled otherwise it may affect the company badly. Conclusion The study is conducted on one of the biggest companies in the automobile industry, called Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota Motor Corporation is not only famous for its quality and affordable cars but also for a perfect car production system that they follow. Toyota had implemented various models to implement a perfect organizational structure. The problem that Toyota faced in the early days was to build different car models on the same assembly line. However Toyota did overcome such issues by implementing Kaizen and Just in time processes in their company. The recent reports relating to the company is not so enthusiastic compared to its past. Toyota cars, especially the SUVs owners are facing several major problems and accidents due to faults in the manufacturing of such models. These problems have been widespread over a period of about five to ten years. The president of the company is blaming the top level management and vice-versa. The internal environment of the company is not fit for experts to maintain the same reputation of the company. The president of the company is blaming the group of top executive for focusing mainly on earning profit rather than providing quality products to customers. This situation has not only disorganized the structure of the company but also disturbed the healthy culture. Controlling such situation is very important but when the top level management and the owner is at war, controlling such situations become difficult. Reference Becker, R. M. (2012). Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Retrieved from http://www.sae.org/manufacturing/lean/column/leanjun01.htm. Cant, M. C., Strydom, J. W., & Jooste, C. J. (2009). Marketing Management. Cape Town :Juta and Company Ltd. ICMR. (2010). Toyota Motor Company: Losing its Quality Edge? Retrieved from http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Operations/OPER095.htm. Kachru, U., (2005). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Delhi: Excel Books India. The Guardian. (2010). Timeline: Toyota's Recall Woes. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/29/timeline-toyota-recall-accelerator-pedal. The Wall Street Journal. (2010). Inside Toyota, Executives Trade Blame Over Debacle. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303395904575157452266613406.html. Toyota Motor Corporation. (2010). Annual Report 2011. Retrieved from http://www.toyota-global.com/investors/ir_library/annual/pdf/2011/ar11_e.pdf. Weemooseus- edublogs (2010). Quality, Toyota, Kaizen, and the Implications for Education. Retrieved from http://weemooseus.edublogs.org/2010/03/17/qualitytoyota-kaizen-and-the-implications-for-education/. Yamasa Student Network. (no date). JAPAN GUIDE: Toyota Motor Company Retrieved from CFO World. Retrieved from http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/network/english/newsletter/japan_guide_16.html. Read More