Workplace Culture and Management - Report Example

Workplace Cultural and Management Introduction Toyota Motor Corporation was started August 28, 1937 and it’s the 3rd largest world car manufacturer. Japan has few natural resources which encouraged the development of fuel efficient automobiles by Toyota Motor Corporation. Change in political situation in Japan also encouraged Japanese auto manufacturers to depend on new skills to guarantee achievement in manufacturing. Unlike other countries that focused on big, luxury vehicles, Japanese manufactures focused on small, fuel-efficient automobiles. Understanding cultures of countries that they export their products to helped the corporation in achieving its strategic goals. They place great importance on good public relations with many countries majorly the United States which has led continuous global growth of the corporation. Goals for conducting cultural analysis and their potential values Cultural analysis is founded on using qualitative research methods to collect data on a given phenomenon and to interpret cultural practices. It gives an interdisciplinary method to the analysis of cultural practices and representations. Its` also a technique for reconsidering our relation to past because it makes observable the situation of researcher. Cultural analysis discloses how the ancient forms the present through cultural memory’s role for instance. It comprehends culture, so, as a continually altering set of practices that are in interchange with the past as it has been recorded through images, stories, texts, documents and myths. Cultural analysis also as a practice in human kinds deliberates the codes and behaviors, texts and images, the beliefs and thoughts that you might study. But cultural analysis however doesn’t restrain the senses to the corrective methods. It permits and necessitates negotiation across many methods of understanding what individuals have done and are doing through practices and statements. Cultural analysis cuts across the borders between disciplines but also amongst formal and informal cultural events. Its major purpose is to develop analytical gears for reading and understanding extensive range of cultural practices. Strategies for conducting research Data mining- various approaches through the use of computer searches, public data, books etc. to obtain data. Observations-This is when the researcher visits the place and observes different things that are carried out for example how daily activities are carried out, communication and how many other things undertaken in the research area. Interviews-This is where the researcher gets information through enquiry and documented by enumerators. Can be structured (use of interview guide) or unstructured (open discussions). This strategy of conducting research is very effective because it provides accurate answers for research. Questionnaires-A questionnaire is a pre-formulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answers. Questionnaires can be; personally administered (face to face, telephone, etc.), mailed questionnaires or electronic questionnaires. REPORT Reports communicate data that has been collected as a result of research, based on analysis of material/significant data to the issues at hand. So far I have conducted research on personnel’s, practices, motivation, communication, success and challenges using the following methods; 1) Questionnaires I used questionnaires to collect regular data; respondents were required to fill out forms which required higher level of knowledge. In order to make the most of return rates, questionnaires were simply designed with clearly focused sections and questions. To enable filling out forms in an organized format, the forms were ideally machine-readable, in overall, writings were reduced to a minimum for example ticking boxes or multiple choices to save on time. Several employees were able to respond to almost all questionnaires positively 2) Interviews Open-ended interviews-Open-ended interviews covered a variety of data collection activities this included a number of research methods. Focus groups- Comprised 5-15 individuals that represented members of a group who had similar practices beliefs or opinions. By asking questions and arranging the succeeding discussion, I obtained information on common practices, and general cultural style of Toyota Motor Corporation. Panel surveys comprised small representative individuals from a group, who agreed to be available for a particular period in which they will serve as stratified random sample of individuals from which data can be continuously collected from on various topics Structured interview-Conducted in a well-designed form, filled in by researchers, instead of respondents 3) Direct observation Observed how Toyota employees carried how their routine tasks. This includes; how they relate to each other at work, ease of movements, reporting time to work and departure time from work. I also observed on different skills that they use in production, presence of supervisors, the total number of employees performing different tasks etc. How I plan to organize and analyze my data. Data analysis is a process of gathering and altering data with an aim of stressing on useful information, signifying conclusion, and supporting decision making. Techniques that I will use to organize and analyze data are as follows; a) Data editing/cleaning b) Data coding c) Data entry Data cleaning - At this stage, erroneous entries are inspected and corrected. I will do data editing as soon as data is collected so that respondents may be conducted for further information or clarification. The following activities will be used for data editing/cleaning Checking for the accuracy of data Checking information’s completeness Checking data uniformity Checking data consistency with other information Data coding-It involves assigning number or other symbols to various answers so that various responses obtained can be grouped into a limited number of categories. Data entry- This involves converting information gathered (either from primary or secondary sources) to a medium for viewing and manipulation e.g. entry/input into computer programs. Data analysis methods mainly depend on purpose of the study and type of information collected (qualitative and quantitative). In our case we will focus on qualitative data which will be analyzed using content analysis method. That include; Categorizing phrases Describing logical structures of expressions Ascertaining associations connotations Deducing the sociological or political interpretations etc. Final report Introduction Toyota Motor Corporation has over many years remained a dominant name in vehicle manufacturing. Despite of several challenges, it has still remained the leading vehicle manufacturing corporation. Toyota Motor Corporation has different and unique techniques of ensuring that they remain the largest vehicles producers in the competitive market. Toyota Motor Corporation has undertaken the motorized market not only in Japan and parts of America, but in many other countries. There are numerous factors both external and internal which lead to success and failure of the corporation. Research carried out through data mining, interviews, questionnaires and direct observations proved the following to be the sources of success for Toyota Motor Corporation. Corporate governance The Toyota Motor Corporation has several important members, like the founding President Katsuaki Watanabe and other board members like Fujio Cho, Katshuhiro Nakagawa, and other several senior managers who have collectively contributed to the success of TMC. Through my observation I noted that there exists a good relationship and communication between the senior management and its employees which is a contributing factor to greater profits. Performance Responsibility and Interaction The general performance and achievements of the Toyota Motor Corporation are a responsibility of employee’s at all departmental levels. This is because of the mutual relationship in the corporation. While the senior level members compose the company laws and rules that must be adhered to, to ensure success, it is often the employees, especially administration, that determine the guidelines that need to be changed and new ones that need to be defined. In addition, it’s through lower level employee compliance that determines the success of the corporation, through their conduct and communications. Corporate culture TMCs corporate culture appears to emulate the quantity of expressive intelligence that most organizations now try to adopt in their own surroundings. The mutual relationship that the corporation encourages allows each individual to feel that they are a valued team member and that their opinions and inputs are important and valued. Sharing of ideas and critiques is encouraged to all employees. This promotes creativity and innovation which has contributed to the success of TMC. How employees and management behave, and how they should perfect their communication is also clearly stated. Teamwork is encouraged and all individuals in the corporation work as ‘family’ towards achieving one common goal. It is an environment where mutuality, respect, humbleness and gratitude are key. However, this concept does not end with the employees, but passed on to new customers, making them feel like they belong to the ‘Toyota family’ too. Because of the way in which objectives are stated, reliability between TMCs future corporate culture and its goals, plans, policies and programs is justly constant. As mentioned above, how employees should achieve these goals in a moral manner is inspired into them on a determined base. The culture is not unpredictable with the companys goals, since they are strong-minded with the moral culture and workplace atmosphere in mind. The struggle to apply the idea of gratitude and teamwork is also favorable to all of the administrations objectives, as it makes for personnel who feel more appreciated which in turn will make them to put more efforts. This improved corporation performance as a whole Marketing Toyota Motor Corporation is pursuing numerous marketing goals currently. They target all markets globally and try to gain a large market share. This is done through good corporate culture relationships between employees and also good relations with its customers. Through interviews I noted that Toyota Motor Corporation carry out their own analysis on which specific markets to enter or which markets should be expand as a result of high customer demand for their products. For example last year TMC had a total of 52 production sources in 27 countries, that produce 5,610 thousand units overseas and 2,354 thousand units produced in excess domestically. Just-in-Time The just in time concept declares that vehicles are produced only when there are consumers orders or demands. Through questionnaires and interviews carried out, employees confirmed that the system did help much in evading issues of excess capacity and waste elimination. It also ensures that production costs are minimized while profits still remain on the higher level evading the need of selling at a loss just to get rid of aging product. Technology plays a major role in TMCs manufacturing processes, by cutting down on wasted time from the slow pace of human manufacture. Human Resources At Toyota Motor Corporation human resources serve to meet all employees’ needs, as well as creating an environment that’s productive and favorable to employee satisfaction. Toyotas Human Resource section is completely aware that happy and joyful employees lead to improved job performance. This improves quality of their products leading to increased number of satisfied customers. Through questionnaires provided individuals showed that high quality individuals are hired in the corporation which improves its success. Continual training of employees, promotions, rewarding extra performing employees, quick resolutions of differences, encouraging teamwork etc, was all factors that contributed to success Research also showed that despite of its success Toyota faced the following challenges Language Barriers Employees working at Toyota Motor Corporation experienced language difficulties. This is because the corporation employs different people with different expertise knowledge who unfortunately some speak different languages making their communication difficult. Communication is a way of observing the world, and even expert interpreters find it complicated to convey composite feelings and ideas, that can lead to confusions. When you contemplate about how frequently you don’t understand an individual speaking your language, you can picture how hard it is to get a complete sense from something said to u by an individual with a diverse cultural contextual. Hostile Stereotypes Wrong and unfriendly stereotypes of persons from other places were seen as a barrier to communication in the working environment. Stereotypes are traditions individuals make approximately the personalities of associates of a group. For example, a stereotypical American is thought not to be patient and over confident as well as also being friendly and easygoing. It’s always advisable to avoid stereotyping when managing cross-cultural communications. Though culture is defined in a particular manner it doesn’t mean such are applicable to all individuals because regional differences are important also. Behavior Differences Behavioral alterations between personnel of different cultures can result to misunderstandings. This results in many performance problems between employees. Some behaviors that may be seen as right to employees from other cultures may be interpreted wrongly in employees from other cultures. For example looking at someone straight in the eye when being addressed is seen as rude, while in not doing so in other cultures is considered disrespectful. Getting straight to the point at a corporate conference may be seen as impolite by some, especially those who expect to have" minor talk" before the corporate dialogue. These differences are thus barriers to effective communication if not recognized and addressed in time. Emotional Display What is seen as appropriate show of emotion differs in different cultures. In some cultures, showing anger, anxieties and frustrations in workplace is considered not appropriate in a commercial situation. Individuals from these cultures hide their emotions and only deliberate the accurate aspects of the situation; whereas in other cultures, members participating in a discussion are expected to disclose their feelings. These differences therefore pose a great challenge to employee performance of the corporation. Culture diversity is common in many businesses today, but most importantly is to guarantee that managers and personnel are efficiently cooperating when cultural differences arise. Research showed that poor practices of communication create conflicts, poor performance, and general low employee turnover which shows that effective communication builds trust and good relationship that helps you to act on threats and opportunities, and endorse productivity (Keyton, 2011) For example are important to address language barriers because information can easily be misinterpreted. Some workers may pretend to know something when in real sense they are uncomfortable or frustrated with communication. Roles and status, body language and personal space are other social issues that affect communication in the workplace (Hoosain & Salili, 2007). For example roles and status between men and women, can affect how male employees relates to their female superiors or how female workers feel when they are addressed by male superiors. Ways of improving cross cultural communication at workplace Learn how information is best received by different individuals from different cultures. Some cultures give less trust to information that comes from top management level and gives more attention to information from team leaders. Prepare your personnel with cultural consciousness and diversity programs. Teach compassion and shared respect. New trainings to employees should also be provided for them to understand the company’s general culture, goals and expected behaviors. Assign tutors to employees to facilitate employee development Avoid using vernacular, common jargon or descriptions when addressing different cultures employees. Use graphics where possible to explain goals and developments to personnel of diverse cultures. Asking for feedback and be ready to respond to them. . Reference Hoosain, R., & Salili, F. (2007). Culture, motivation, and learning: A multicultural perspective. Charlotte, NC: IAP. Pratt, B., & Loizos, P. (1992). Choosing research methods: Data collection for development workers. Oxford: Oxfam. Clyne, M. (1999). Inter-cultural communication at work: Cultural values in discourse. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press. Guirdham, M. (2011). Communicating across cultures at work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Keyton, J. (2011). Communication & organizational culture: A key to understanding work experiences. Los Angeles: SAGE. Read More