Operation Management - Essay Example

Operation Management OVERVIEW Toyota Motor Corporation was established in the year 1937 in Japan. It sets a benchmark in the context of operation management. It has been viewed that the managers belonging to the company are quite capable enough in handling various operational management functions like demand forecasting, price determining and adopting effective managerial decisions among others. The managers of the company focus upon developing different operational management related functions of the company with the prime intention of generating greater customer value by using minimal resources.

In order to accomplish its predetermined business targets, the managers of the company can be observed to adopt as well as to execute certain effective strategies or initiatives. In this regard, the strategies or the initiatives comprise eliminating unnecessary resources and focusing more upon generating greater value to the customers by effectively utilizing available resources efficiently (Toyota Motor Corporation, “History of Technological Development”). DECISION MAKING CAPABILITIES ON A DAILY, MONTHLY OR ANNUAL BASIS In order to determine the decision-making capabilities of the managers of Toyota on a daily, monthly or an annual basis, it can be apparently observed that the managers follow the facet of PDCA (plan, do, check and act) model which denotes incessant development.

The managers sincerely follow the above described factors of the model in a continuous basis. Apart from the aforesaid factors, the managers belonging to Toyota also follow the e processes like problem clarification, breaking down any sort of problem, set targets, analyze the root cause, extend countermeasures, evaluate and standardize different processes (Toyota Motor Corporation, “Environmental & Social Report” .). PLANNING ON STAFFING With regard to staffing, the managers of Toyota focuses upon recruiting skilled as well as competent professionals in its various operational departments like customer relations, information technology, logistics/distribution, marketing/strategic marketing research and product planning/strategic planning among others.

Most significantly, it has been viewed that the staffing planning of the managers of Toyota is chiefly concerned with meeting long-term need. An important part of developing a staffing plan includes how many people are going to be recruited and for which functional areas they are going to be employed. Preparation of staffing plan seems to be one of the decisive of the managers belonging to different organizations (Jacobs and Chase 1-40). Toyota focuses it minority staffing mainly recruiting the group of college graduates and undergraduates.

Its staffing procedures encompass corporate presentations, career fairs and conducting on-campus interviews among others (Toyota Motor North America, Inc., “Recruitment”). DETERMINING CORRECT INVENTORY LEVEL It can be apparently observed that the managers of Toyota adopt as well as utilize several techniques especially for the purpose of determining correct inventory levels. In this regard, the different techniques comprise include Kanban system, Just in Time (JIT) and Six Sigma technology.

Through the execution of these specialized techniques, the managers belonging to Toyota tends to control its material movements by lessening operational costs by a certain degree. This is to be stated that the above discusses techniques ultimately supports the organization to effectively determine correct inventory levels which eventually results in attaining superior profitability along with enhancing overall productivity by a greater level (BITS Pilani, “Inventory Management and Control”).

TECHNIQUE OF FORECASTING DEMAND Forecasting demand can be regarded as one of the significant concerns of any organization due to its strong link with its profitability along with overall productivity. In this regard, in order to determine about how the managers of Toyota forecasts demand, it has been viewed that the managers broadly adopts as well as executes the aspect of lean manufacturing system. Through this particular system, the managers are able to forecast demand by recognizing as well as eliminating wastes at large (BITS Pilani, “Inventory Management and Control”).

DETERMINATION OF PRICING With regard to acquire a better understanding about how the managers of Toyota determine pricing, it can be viewed that the budgeting system of the organization is not purely based on target costing but instead on cost control and target costing. Thus, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the pricing as well as the manufacturing control system of Toyota can be associated with the aspect of Total Quality Control (TQC). The determination of pricing which follows by the managers of Toyota ultimately supports the organization to lessen its operational costs and most vitally to accomplish its expected business targets by a significant level in terms of finance related concerns (Tanaka, “Kaizen Budgeting: Toyota's Cost-Control System Under TQC”.). Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be affirmed that the aforementioned aspects relating to operation management effectively performs by the managers of Toyota with the prime intention of accomplishing its expected business targets at large.

It can be stated that the managers of Toyota are quite successful in their decision-making rules which can be used in other operational aspects of the organization like making marketing plans and designing different product offerings among others. Works Cited “Environmental & Social Report”. Contents. Toyota Motor Corporation, 2005. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. “History of Technological Development”. History of Toyota. Toyota Motor Corporation, 2013. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. . “Inventory Management and Control”.

Objectives of Inventory Management and Control. BITS Pilani, n.d. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. < http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/dlpd/courses/coursecontent/courseMaterial%5Cmmzg511%5CMOML16.pdf> Jacobs, F. Robert and Richard B. Chase. Operations and Supply Chain Management. United States of America: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. “Recruitment”. Employees. Toyota Motor North America, Inc., 2013. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. Tanaka, T. “Kaizen Budgeting: Toyota's Cost-Control System under TQC”. Journal of Cost Management (1994 ): 56-62. Print.