Toyota: A Visionary Company - Admission/Application Essay Example

Their claims seem contrary to what they are doing; for the way they treated customers by not implementing the recall procedure, even once they came to know some major mechanical problems with the products, raises several ethical questions. The company had two unforgettable slogans during the 70s and early 80s such as, “You asked for it, you got it Toyota” and the other one says “Oh what a feeling, Toyota” (Hunter, 2010). They sounded very attractive and were catch jingles that remained in the heads of the customers, which had an effect on sales to some extent.

However, today, the company’s mission is to “Make Better Cars and Contribute to Society”, a mission under much controversies and discussion about its adequacy of guiding the company’s actions. They claim to have a strong commitment to putting the customer first, by providing high-quality vehicles at an affordable price so that the customers around the world can enjoy the benefits of having better automobiles (Toyotaglobal.com, 2009). The company wants to be a unique thing when its actions take them somewhere else.

The customers, stockholders and the employees are ultimately getting hurt by such diverted operations of the firm. The Sustainability report of the Toyota explains the ‘Toyota Global Vision’ announced in March 2011, which articulates what kind of company they want to be. The report makes it clear that “we want Toyota to be a company that customers choose and brings a smile to every customer who chooses it” (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2011). Nevertheless, from the history of the firm, we find that Toyota often did not bring their mission into line with the needs of their stakeholders, especially the employees.

There are a number of examples from the past that informs how the firm imposed physical as well as psychological strains on its employees. One of such incident is reported about Sayaka Kobayashi, 42, who was the assistant of Hideaki Otaka, Toyota’s North America President and CEO, having endured continuous sexual harassment from him (Kobayashi-Nelson, 2006). Even though Toyota’s vehicles are to the top with greater levels of quality and integrity, its top-level management is often below the lines, selecting the crooked path.

When Kobayashi had complained to a higher-level executive, nothing changed other than just offering her a bribe to leave the company. As Toyota tries to keep “moving forward”, such immorality and tenacity will have some sort of adverse impact on Toyota’s sales. In the same way, the company has been slow in responding to the needs of its customers. Though Toyota has received exoneration from the U.S. Departments for its control electronics associated with a rash of unintended acceleration events, it cannot forever attribute the blame on driver error (DeMeis, 2011).

The company was not ready to take the responsibility at first, and did not recall for replacing floor mats that could make foul acceleration. The company was slow to respond to the issues of sticking pedals and came up with confusing statements. Such incidents prove that the firm was not acting upon its core mission of the “right way forward.” The incidents occurred after the litigation, seeking class action status on behalf of the company’s stockholders again proves that the company is on the wrong path.

The securities lawsuit filed in the U. S.