Operations Management - Toyota Corporation In China - Coursework Example

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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - Toyota Corporation in China Table of contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Part One 1 Dominant operational transformation process in Toyota – description and classification 6 1.2 Characteristics of operational processes of Toyota in China 8 1.3 Challenges related to operational processes of Toyota in China 9 1.4 Operational objectives of Toyota in China – presentation, justification and prioritization 12 Part Two 2.1 Classification and analysis of the firm’s existing operations strategy in accordance with the relevant literature 13 2.2 Evaluation of the potentials of the firm’s current operations strategy to meet the current operational objectives. 15 2.3 Improvements required so that the firm’s operational objectives are met 16 2.4 Performance management systems available for measuring the success of the suggested strategies. 18 Conclusion 19 References 21 Appendix 24 Executive Summary The increase of business activities in industries worldwide has led to the significant development of competition. This trend has influenced the firms’ strategies in regard to all their activities. The achievement of competitive advantage has become a key target for organizations of all sizes. However, it seems that the potentials for growth are not equal for firms in different countries. More specifically, there are markets, which offer more perspectives for long-term growth in various business activities. China is such market. In the past, the Chinese market was quite attractive for organizations in different industries; the specific market has been very popular especially for firms operating in the manufacturing sector. This market has attracted the interest of Japanese firms, which have been aware of the market’s prospects, mostly because of its size. However, through the years, the terms of operations in the Chinese market have been differentiated. The increase of wages and taxes has reduced the level of profit. Still, the Chinese market is quite important for firms operating in the manufacturing industry. Toyota has entered the Chinese market about 30 years before. Initially, the growth of the firm in the specific market has been impressive. However, gradually, the firm’s performance in China has been declined, a fact which has been mostly related to the failures in the firm’s operational strategy. The recent efforts of the firm to upgrade its operational strategy and develop a research and development unit in China are expect to highly benefit the organizational performance offering to the organization a competitive advantage towards its rivals. Introduction Because of the continuous expansion of globalisation, the decisions of firms to expand their activities internationally are highly depended on the perspectives available in regard to business activities in each country. China can be characterized as one of the strongest countries worldwide in terms of its financial perspectives. The last decade, the rapid development of entrepreneurial activities across China has led to the increase of the country’s competitiveness in the global market. At the same time, the fixed exchange rate, which the country’s policy makers have initiated, has further supported the development of the country as a popular destination for businesses of all types (Horch 2009). However, the fixed exchange rate in China has not helped towards the control of inflation, which in 2008 has reached the level of 8.5%, the highest level since 1996 (Rongala 2008). The relationship between the fixed exchange rate and inflation in China explains the following phenomenon: firms and capital from many countries worldwide have entered the Chinese market in order to enjoy the benefits of the country’s fixed exchange rate policy (Horch 2009). However, through the years, the increase of inflation, which resulted because of the above policy, led to the increase of manufacturing costs across the country (Rongala 2008). As a result, manufacturing costs for firms of different size have been gradually increased, being influenced by the significant increase of wage growth in firms of all industries as indicated in the diagram presented in Appendix (Figure 1). Foreign firms in China have to face the following dilemma: the continuous growth of the country as a major economy worldwide can highly favour entrepreneurial activities in all industries. At the same time, risks related to the country’s economic policy need to be carefully addressed as they can harm all levels of business operations. In any case, Chinese market continues to attract foreign firms from all countries worldwide. The specific market has been proved to be highly popular for Japanese firms; in fact, Japanese firms have been among the first firms, which entered the Chinese market, about 30 years ago (Economist 2010). However, through the years, the performance of Japanese firms in China has been continuously declined, a fact related to the increase of operational costs, the development of labour disputes and strikes, the problems in supply chain management and the increase of anti-Japanese movements across the country (Economist 2010). The quality and the potentials of operations of a Japanese firm in China are reviewed in this paper. Reference is made to Toyota and the challenges that the firm’s unit in China has to face in regard to its operations. The last decade, Toyota has faced severe organizational failures, which led to the recall of a significant part of its products worldwide (Hays 2011). This phenomenon has been also reported in the country’s unit in China. In addition, in China Toyota had to face another challenge: the lack of parts necessary in the fitting of the firm’s products. This problem has been related to a series of factors, which are analytically presented below. It seems that the firm’s current operations strategy in China needs to be aligned with the local market characteristics. Also, in this way, the exposure of the firm to the risks of the Chinese market would be reduced, securing the stabilization of the firm’s performance. The use of theoretical models for the improvement of Toyota’s operational strategy could significantly increase the chances for success of the relevant project under the following terms: the models chosen will be aligned with the firm’s existing operational characteristics taking into consideration the changes suggested in regard to the firm’s operational objectives. In other words, existing elements of the firm’s operational strategy will be taken into consideration combined with the firm’s new operational schemes, as incorporated in the firm’s relevant strategic plan. Also, the organization’s resources would be identified and evaluated, in order to ensure that they can respond to the demands of such plan. Part One 1.1 Dominant operational transformation process in Toyota – description and classification Toyota is a major competitor in the global automotive industry. The firm focuses on the manufacturing of cars of various types. The success of the firm around the world has been strongly based on its operations strategy. A well-designed production system is the basis of the firm’s operations strategy; the above production system is further supported by a series of elements and principles that strengthen the firm’s competitiveness in terms of its operations. In fact, the firm’s ‘just-in-time production system, known also as kanban’ (Hays 2011) has been often characterized as a revolution in the global automotive industry. The specific production system is presented in Figure 2 (Appendix). One of the major advantages of the particular system is the following one: the firm’s units do not have ‘to store car plants’ (Hays 2011). Instead, car parts are likely to be delivered to ‘the assembly line just in time to be installed on the car as it is being built’ (Hays 2011). Another element of the firm’s operations strategy is the ‘Jidoka’, meaning ‘the automation with a human touch’ (Hays 2011). This principle means that any worker of the organization can stop the production process at any time, in case that that a problem is diagnosed. Most important, the firm has incorporated lean manufacturing, meaning that minor changes are likely to be continuously made on the firm’s production – if such need appears (Hays 2011). These changes are mainly based on the suggestions of workers in regard to the improvement of the firm’s operational processes, at one or more levels of the firm’s production system. In other words, employees are key part of the organization’s operations strategy, meaning that employees are assigned each part of the operations process in accordance with their competencies and experience. The above practice is part of the ‘Kaizen culture’ on which the firm’s corporate culture is based. In the context of this culture, a firm’s success is depended on its ability to continuously improve its operations so that failures in operations are prevented early (Hays 2011). The Kaizen culture, which has been combined with a lean manufacturing system, as described above, can be characterized as the major advantage of the organization towards its competitors. It should be noted that Toyota is a firm based on mass production, meaning that it has to deliver a high amount of products at quite short period of time in customers worldwide. In this way, their products are likely to meet specific standards, being categorized in accordance with their technical characteristics and their price. In order for the production system of Toyota to be further understood, its phases should be made clearer. The sequence of production processes in Toyota could be, briefly, described as follows: the firm’s headquarters are in Japan, where the firm’s production is based, meaning that parts of the firm’s car are sent to the firm’s units worldwide, so that the organization’s cars are built (Mattera 2010). In accordance with Dingli (2010) the operational advantages of Toyota, compared to other firms in the particular industry, can be summarized as follows: ‘meticulous attitude to technological innovation and extremely high quality standards’ (Dingli 2010). However, the failures in the firm’s cars, as started to appear in mid 2000s (Hays 2011) proved that the firm’s employees, at all levels, have not been able to follow the rate of growth of the organization. The increase in the orders, which resulted to the need for high increase in the rate of production, was not appropriately managed leading to the delivery of faulty cars, which were, after, recalled (Hays 2011). In the meantime, many, deadly, accidents have been reported worldwide in relation to the use of the car’s products. The above accidents have been related to failures at all levels of the firm’s operations, including ‘design, development, suppliers and maintenance’ (Hays 2011). It is clear that the firm’s existing operations strategy need to be designed. In order to identify the most appropriate methods for improving the firm’s current operational processes, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics of these processes, as identified through the performance of the specific organizational sector up today. 1.2 Characteristics of operational processes of Toyota in China Toyota has been operating in China for about 3 decades; in an advertisement of 1980s, Toyota emphasized the popularity of its products in China using the following slogan: ‘Where there is a way for cars, there is a Toyota’ (Tianyang 2010). Today, the performance of the firm in China is under significant pressures. The firm needs to gain the trust of customers, which has been reduced because of ‘the massive recalls of the firm’s vehicles the last 2 years’ (Tianyang 2010). The lack of effective operational strategy has led to the increase of failures in the firm’s cars; it has been made clear that the firm has not been prepared for such rapid expansion globally. However, despite the difficulties in regard to its operational policies, the firm’s branch in China has managed to sell 800,000 vehicles in 2009 (Tianyang 2010). Traditionally, the firm’s operations in China were based on the following policy: car parts were introduced from Japan and were fitted in the firm’s unit in China. In this way, it has been easier to follow the firm’s standards in regard to design and quality of its cars. However, in terms of quality, the above target has not been achieved. The massive demand for the firm’s products in the Chinese market led to the following problem: the parts introduced have not been of the standard required; as a result, severe operational problems were revealed in many of the firm’s models, not just in China but also in countries worldwide. Currently, the firm’s managers review the potential change on the firm’s operational strategy on the following basis: the car parts will not be imported from Japan, at least not all of them, but they will be also developed in China. For responding to the demands of such project, the firm established in 2011 its first Research and Development Center in China (Vaidya 2011). In this way, it is expected that operational failures in the firm’s cars will be eliminated, a fact that would increase the trust of Chinese consumers and boost the firm’s sales (Vaidya 2011). It should be noted that the above project has been initiated in accordance with the relevant suggestions of Chinese authorities; indeed, important concerns have been developed by Chinese authorities in regard to the ability of the firm to respond to the quality standards of hybrid cars (Zhao 2011). The establishment of the firm’s Research and Development in China would help the firm to develop a series of operational activities; apart from the manufacturing of hybrid cars, the firm would be able to proceed to other, similar, operational activities, being able ‘to improve internal combustion engine, develop hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and fuel-cell vehicles’ (Zhao 2011). 1.3 Challenges related to operational processes of Toyota in China Quality has been among the key characteristics of Japanese firms operating in the automotive industry. Indeed, Japanese automakers have traditionally promoted quality and value in regard to their products (Harner 2011), a fact that has been the key factor for their success in the global market. In accordance with Harner (2011) the leading position of Japanese automakers internationally, seems to be threatened by a series of factors: the high level of yen, compared to other currencies, the need for developing design and manufacturing units within foreign markets, and not just in Japan as until now, and the increase of the capabilities of automakers in other countries, meaning especially the automakers in Korea and Germany (Harner 2011). Toyota had to face the above challenges especially in regard to its unit in China, where a major part of the firm’s products is manufactured (Harner 2011). Moreover, China represents one of the most perspective markets for autos; in 2010 the number of autos sold in the context of the Chinese market reached the 18 million (Harner 2011). One of the primary issue for managers in Toyota has been the improvement of the Chinese market’s perception on Toyota brand (Harner 2011). At the level of the firm’s operations, the following problems have to be addressed: the price of its products had to be decreased without the quality of the products to be influenced (Dawson & Anhalt 2011). Also, the firm had to align its operations with the new environmental standards related to manufacturing activities (Dawson & Anhalt 2011), a challenge that was faced by promoting the manufacturing of hybrid cars. At the same time, the organization had to face the following issue: the efforts of the firm’s managers to limit costs in manufacturing process, as explained below, have not been successful, at least not at the level expected. Indeed, in 2005, the reduction of the firm’s costs in regard to its operations reached the 15%, significantly lower compared to the target set (Dawson and Anhalt 2005). Currently, the firm’s major challenge in regard to its operations is the following one: The firm needs to increase its customer base in China; the development of competitive products, compared to other firms operating in the automotive industry of the Chinese market, would help the firm to increase its performance in China. It seems that the above target can be achieved by promoting ‘HV technology, ecological friendliness and economy’ (Harner 2011). The production of hybrid vehicles could support the growth of the organization in the Chinese market. However, at this point the following problem appears: as already noted, for about a decade, the organization has focused on the limitation of its operational costs, especially the costs of the parts required in fitting its products. It should be noted that, the needs of hybrid vehicles in terms of technology would be high; how can the organization manage to incorporate advanced technology in its hybrid vehicles at low cost? The above issue seems to be the key challenge that the organization has to face in regard to its operations in China. On the other hand, the efforts of the firm to keep its operational costs low, even in regard to autos of common technology, can lead to severe concerns whether the firm will manage to respond to the needs of hybrid technology without violating its CCC21 strategy, i.e. its plan for keeping operational costs low during the 21st century. Moreover, the earthquake in Japan in March 2011 has resulted to severe delays in the firm’s production line (Kitamura, Hagiwara and Mukai 2011). Due to the above event, the potential of the organization’s headquarters to respond to the needs of the firm’s units worldwide is doubted. The firm’s current operational objectives should be reviewed, becoming more flexible to the changes of the external organizational environment. 1.4 Operational objectives of Toyota in China – presentation, justification and prioritization Due to the continuous increase of competition in the automotive industry worldwide, managers in Toyota had decided to promote a plan for securing the firm’s position towards its rivals. The plan is known as ‘Construction of Cost Competitiveness for the 21st Century (CCC21)’ (Dawson and Anhalt 2005) and reflects the change in the firm’s network of traditional suppliers, known as ‘keiretsu’, so that the cost of the parts of the firm’s autos to be reduced at least by a 30% (Dawson & Anhalt 2005). The above plan was first introduced in 2000 and aimed to support the firm’s position in the global market, especially in regard to the firm’s major competitors, such as DaimlerChrysler (Dawson & Anhalt 2005). In the context of the above plan, the limitation of costs in regard to the materials used in the manufacturing of the firm’s products has been the key operational objective of the organization. Recently, the firm’s managers have set different priorities in regard to the firm’s operations in China: establishing the firm’s production in terms of hybrid vehicles has become the priority in regard to the firm’s operations in China. However, the achievement of this operational objective is related to a series of challenges, as analyzed above. These challenges can be faced only if the firm’s existing operational strategy is appropriately adjusted using models developed in the literature related to the particular field. The operational objectives of the firm in China can be characterized as absolutely justified. Indeed, the Chinese market is quite powerful, in terms of the demand for autos. Toyota has managed to gain a significant share of the particular market. However, as noted above, the firm’s share in the Chinese market has been declined – currently it is estimated ‘to 6.6% (as of January 2011) from 10.3% in 2008’ (Tianyang 2010). In accordance with ‘Marvin Zhu, a senior market analyst at JD Power Consulting Co Ltd, the market share of Toyota in China is expected to further declined in 2011’ (Tianyang 2010). In this context, the manufacturing of hybrid cars as a means for increasing the firm’s performance in China is considered as a highly important strategic decision. The above initiative has many prospects to succeed, taking into consideration the fact that the parts of the firm’s autos will be manufactured in China – and not introduced from Japan, as until now. The firm’s new operations objective in regard to its activity in China, i.e. to develop a powerful and autonomous plant in the country is expected to highly benefit the organization’s performance in the particular country, even in the long term. Part Two 2.1 Classification and analysis of the firm’s existing operations strategy in accordance with the relevant literature As explained earlier, the firm’s current operations strategy is based on the ‘just-in-time’ production system (Figure 2, Appendix). This system ensures that inputs are made at the appropriate time point so that outputs (ready cars) are delivered at the time point set. The above operations strategy has many similarities to the operations management model, which is consisted, from three main parts: inputs (such as labour, technology and assets), the transformation process and outputs (products/ services) (Koontz and Weihrich 2006). The above model can be characterized as quite effective but it may hide certain risks, mostly involved in the following issue: in the context of this model, a firm’s operations processes can be negatively influenced by external factors (Koontz and Weihrich 2006). The specific problem can be also related to the operations strategy of Toyota: the firm’s employees have not been prepared (trained) to meet the rapid increase in the firm’s orders; in this way, the increase of the popularity of the organization has revealed the weaknesses in the firm’s operations strategy. The influence of the firm’s operations strategy is also revealed by the following fact: the earthquake in Japan resulted to the decrease of the firm’s production potentials (Kitamura, Hagiwara and Mukai 2011), as explained above in section 1.3 above. This fact proves the influence of external factors on the organization’s production processes, verifying the alignment of the firm’s operations processes with the operations management model, described above. On the other hand, the operations process described in the study of Vidler (2001) seems also to have similarities with the operations system of Toyota. In the context of the model suggested by Vidler (2001), the manufacturing process of modern organizations is likely to be developed through the following phases: ‘project – jobbing – batch – mass – continue’ (Vidler 2001, p.20). The above model involves in firms based on mass production, like in the case of Toyota. Moreover, the alignment of each project to appropriately trained employees and the continuous repeat of the process are key elements of the above strategy. These elements are also incorporated in the operations strategy of Toyota, as described in section 1.1. In the study of Leseure (2010) reference is made to ‘the bottom-up approaches of operations strategy’ (Leseure 2010, p.81). It is noted that the specific approaches can be significant for organizations where employees at all levels of the organizational hierarchy are likely to participate in the development of operations strategy (Leseure 2010). As already noted, in Toyota the Kaizen culture is promoted. In the context of this culture employees are asked to give their suggestions in regard to the potential improvement of the firm’s operational processes. Therefore, the operations strategy of Toyota can be characterized as a ‘bottom-up operations strategy’, at the level that all members of the workforce can influence the organization’s strategic decisions in regard to its operations. 2.2 Evaluation of the potentials of the firm’s current operations strategy to meet the current operational objectives. In accordance with the issues discussed above, the firm’s current operation strategy cannot meet the current operational objectives. Recently, the organization had to change its operational objectives, focusing more on innovation and establishing its production units outside Japan, an initiative that can be characterized as unique if considering the fact that since its appearance in the market the organization has been highly based on its centralized system of production. However, the development of production units outside Japan, not just in China but also in other regions, would not result to the increase of the organization’s competitiveness unless it would be based on the following criterion: the firm’s production processes would not be standardized, as up to now, but they would be flexible, being able to meet the changing market trends. For many years, the firm has been the major competitor in the global automotive industry by promoting a ‘just-in-time’ production system. The failures of this system, as reported in market worldwide, prove that the firm’s existing operations strategy needs to be changed ensuring safety and quality. Certain improvements would be initiated in the firm’s existing operations strategy using the literature published in the particular field. The efforts of the organization to increase its competitiveness and gain the customers’ trust, as described above, cannot be ignored. 2.3 Improvements required so that the firm’s operational objectives are met In March 2010, the firm’s Special Committee had its first meeting in regard to the improvement of Global Quality (Toyota Corporation 2010). The review of the firm’s operational failures worldwide, as reported from mid 2000s onwards, had led the firm’s Special Committee to develop a scheme for improving the organization’s operations strategy. Emphasis has been given on the following points: safety decisions in the firm’s units worldwide should be recalled, based on the relevant suggestions of customers, the information gathering processes of the organization should be improved, the control on the quality of the firm’s product would be more effective and close and the existing training programs available to the firm’s employees should be increased’ (Toyota Corporation 2011). At a first level, the above improvements can be characterized as effective, significantly helping towards the increase of customers’ trust to the organization’s products. However, additional measures could be developed, using relevant theoretical models, as appropriate, so that the chances for failures in the firm’s operational processes in the future are minimized. One of the most important gaps in regard to the firm’s operations system seems to be the following one: since a failure is identified the time required for replacing the components, or else parts, involved is significant. In this way, valuable time is lost and the time available for notifying the public in regard to the specific issue is limited (Slack, Chambers & Johnston 2009). In accordance with Khanna (2007), the producer/ seller has to replace the products, which have been found to be faulty quite rapidly so that major damages on people’s health and property are avoided. The operations strategy of Toyota should incorporate such mechanism ensuring that when a car is found to have critical faults, it is recalled immediately. Up today, the delays in recalling the firm’s cars worldwide have led to many deaths, a fact that severely harmed the firm’s image in the global market. Toyota is a firm that focuses on mass production. For this reason, its operations should focus on ‘reduction, efficiency and scale’ (Coyle et al. 2008, p.600). On the other hand, Lowson (2002) notes that firms based on mass production should also try to incorporate mechanisms for promoting ‘mass customization’ (Lowson 2002, p.114), which reflects a mass production process combined with ‘flexibility and high delivery capacity’ (Lowson 2002, p.114). The potential benefits of mass customization for firms in the manufacturing industry are also highlighted in the study of Fogliatto (2010). In accordance with the above, Toyota’s operations strategy should be aligned with the requirements of mass customization that would allow the organization to improve its relationship with the public. Another important change in the firm’s operations strategy would be the following one: the processes manager should be allowed to act more independently, promoting his own ideas and sharing his views with employees in all phases of production (Wild 2002). Such plan would not limit the ‘Kaizen culture’ of the organization but it would make clear to the employees their obligation to meet deadlines and to follow strictly the guidelines in regard to the tasks assigned to them. The power of leader, which is not clear in Toyota, should be promoted at all organizational levels, urging employees to perform their best, especially when the firm has to face critical challenges, as the recent earthquake in Japan (Waters 2006). The improvement of the operations strategy of Toyota in China would be also achieved through a series of initiatives, developed both in the internal and the external organizational environment: a) the local policies for business initiatives should be reviewed, controlling bureaucracy and other similar practices that set limits to organizational activities (Badri & Davis 2000), b) the firm’s strategic framework would be used as the basis for the design of its operations strategy (Wang & Cao 2008). 2.4 Performance management systems available for measuring the success of the suggested strategies. In accordance with Rudberg & West (2008) successful operations systems focus on the following elements: ‘cost competitiveness, flexibility, and innovativeness’ (Rudberg & West 2008, p.91). In the case of Toyota, the improvements suggested above would be monitored and checked using an appropriately customized performance management system. In this way, any failures in regard to the development of the relevant plan could be identified early. A system that would be used for such purpose would be the one suggested in the study of De Lima, Da Cost & De Faria (2009); it is entitled as ‘Process Approach’ or ‘Cambridge Approach’ and it is characterized as a ‘technique that systematizes procedures for generating a performance measures set coherent to operations strategy objectives’ (Lima, Da Cost & De Faria 2009, p.403). Another system of similar use would be based on a Global Manufacturing Virtual Network (GMVN), which incorporates the information necessary for the establishment of successful operational initiatives worldwide, mainly through the collaboration between firms with similar characteristics and goals (Monroy & Arto 2010). Conclusion The success of operations of Japanese auto firms in China seems to be related to certain factors: the quality of communication across the organization, the freedom of leaders to take initiatives and the willingness of the employees to support the relevant plans. In accordance with Tan & Matthews (2009) the quality of a firm’s operational processes is related to the ability of the firm to achieve a long-term growth in its market, meaning that the strategies chosen should focus rather on the achievement of long term benefits rather than on profits in the short term. In the case of Toyota, such approach has been used for establishing the firm’s operations globally. For many years, this target has been achieved. However, when failures appeared in regard to certain components of the firm’s products, the response of the organization has been quite slow, as explained above. In July 2011, the organization’s strategic managers decided to promote the merger of the firm’s unit in northern Japan, aiming probably to reduce operational costs and increase the output capacity of these units (Hays 2011). Financial analysts worldwide have welcomed the specific initiative (Hays 2011) but concerns have been developed as to whether such strategic choices could significantly help towards the limitation of the firm’s operational failures worldwide. The operations strategy suggested through this paper would help the firm to control its major weaknesses: communication between employees at various organizational departments would be improved. In this way, any potential problem in the firm’s operational processes would be faced immediately, preventing any major damage for the public and the organization. On the other hand, the confidence of the firm’s operations managers would be increased, leading to the increase of innovation and cooperation within the organization. At the same time, the firm would be able to face a significant challenge: it could keep the quality of its products high, even if they are manufactured locally, without their price to be increased. As a result, the competitiveness of the firm in the particular market could be significantly developed. References A. Books Bamford, D. & Forrester, P. 2010. Essential Guide to Operations Management: Concepts and Case Notes. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Bygrave, W. & Zacharakis, A. 2010. Entrepreneurship. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Coyle, J., Langley, J., Gibson, B., Novack, R. & Bardi, E. 2008. Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Fogliatto, F. 2010. Mass Customization: Engineering and Managing Global Operations. New York: Springer. Horch, N. 2009. Management Control of Global Supply Chains. Lohmar: Verlag. Khanna, R. 2007. Production and Operations Management. New Delhi: PHI Learning. Koontz, H., & Weihrich, H. 2006. Essentials Of Management. 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Online, Available from [Accessed at 28 December 09.40am] Zhao, S. 2011. “Toyota opens R&D Center in China” China Car Times. Online, Available from [Accessed at 28 December 09.15am] Appendix Figure 1 – Rate of growth of wage growth in China, from 1997 up to 2006 (Source: Rongala 2008) Figure 2 – Toyota’s ‘Just – in – time’ production system (Hays 2011) Read More