Toyota Company Corporate Culture - Report Example

Toyota Company Corporate Culture Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction An organization is a social entity that is consciously co-ordinated and has an identifiable boundary, functioning on a relatively continuous basis to accomplish the stipulated common goals (Parker, 2000). Organizations have structures showing ways of how different positions within the organization interact, displaying where decision-making process takes place within the organization and at what level. Significantly important, organizations have organizational designs that clearly show the organization structure and how the flow of work is executed; these designs can be redesigned to ensure that organization performs effectively. Organizations with good organizational designs are positioned to gain the competitive advantage in the market place since they have the ability to foresee external forces that impact on them and come up with strategies that will help them survive even in turbulent situations. Culture is defined as a way of life of a group of people; these includes their behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along through communication and imitation from one generation to another. Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, beliefs, and values, that develops within an organization and that guides its members to specific models of behaviour. These behavioural models include things such as general habits, behaviours, rules, dominant ethics, mood, and or climate conveyed within the organization. Within the organization, organizational culture is the basis on which its members react, reply, and manipulate how things should be accomplished. Organizational culture is a vital tool as it commands the organizational behavioural norms, values, objects and central considerations (Driskill & Brenton, 2010). On the same line of discussion, it is regarded as a critical factor for the firm’s accomplishment and achievement of organizational tasks, integrates the organization’s success and also acts as the alliance of change. Culture within any organization is expressed through organizational heroes, myths, legends, rites, rituals, stories, and jargons (Parker, 2000). Corporate culture across the world has been found to be a crucial element for averting obstacles that hinder firm’s successful operations. In this regard, organizational culture is said to be the collective programming of the mind that differentiates members of one corporate organization from the other. It defines the future course of action of an organization while at the same time acts as the hub of team construction that provide a common purpose for the members of that organization. Accordingly, it is the critical basis that aids how work is done within the organization and how infrastructure could be operated (Want, 2007). Corporate culture provides a clear picture of how things are done within the organization; it defines a framework of meaning that guides and directs the construction of reality in an organization. Similarly, it elaborates the extent to which certain behaviour are expected or taken for granted (Driskill & Brenton, 2010). The latter also helps organizations to make sense of themselves together with their surroundings while at the same time being simultaneously informed and shaped by those sense-making activities. Above all, not only does the organization culture dictate what must and should be done within the organization, but also differentiates it form other organization (Driskill & Brenton, 2010) The discussion above; shows that organizational culture is a complex phenomenon comprising of complex beliefs; ideologies; symbols; and core values that an organization must ensure they are shared across all its functions in order to fully influence its day today operations. For this matter, in order for an organization to outstandingly perform its duties, it is vitally significant for it to shape its corporate culture to the central task of efficient strategic leadership (Want, 2007). Concerning this, corporate culture proponents describe it as the pattern of shared basic assumptions held by an organization and that the shared values are the key determinants of how they perceive things, think, and/or feel (Want, 2007). A sound organization has its own cultural identity that instils internal stability and cohesion as well as differentiating it from other organizations. This paper is a comprehensive discussion of Toyota Company corporate culture and how it has helped in its effectiveness in the marketplace. Toyota Company Overview Toyota is a renowned global automobile manufacturer that has outlets across the world. It is one of the top automobile producers in the world and boasts of its integrity, passion, and innovation t prevailing beyond vehicle manufacturing (Toyota, 2013). The company name is Toyota Motor Corporation; Akio Toyoda is the current president and representative director. The company was founded in 1937; the company’s head office is in Toyota-Ocho, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture 471-8571, Japan (Toyota, 2013). The company’s operating capital by March 2013 was 397.05 billion yen. Like any other multinational Toyota was immensely affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. However, with regard to a sound corporate culture that the company has helped it to remain on a thriving and profitable course. For instance, since 2011, the company’s sales have been on the rise as well as production levels (Toyota, 2013). Nature of Organizational culture The Toyota Motor Corporation has a culture known as “The Toyota Way” which is a summary of values and conduct that all employees must commit to (Kermer, 2007). This culture works within two pillars; respect for people and continuous improvement. The company has lived to uphold this culture through various business strategies. With regard to this, the company has won the hearts of car lovers and its customer base has always been on the increase as established by unending demand for Toyota car models (Kermer, 2007). This culture has been the centre of all company’s operations, as it demands that the company has to fully dedicate their energies to produce excellent quality products. The Toyota Way With regard to the above, the Toyota Way is anchored or accomplished through two pillars; continuous improvement and respect for people (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010). Continuous Improvement Under this pillar, there are three objectives that the company must always adhere to ensure continued improvement. Challenge: we form a long-term vision, meeting challenges with courage and creativity to realize our dreams. With regard to this wide vision, the company has subdivided it into sub-units including Ensuring value through manufacturing and delivery of products and services Spirit of challenge Long-range perspective Thorough consideration in decision making (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010) Kaizen: we improve our business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution Kaizen mind and innovative thinking Building lean systems and structure Promoting organizational learning (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010) Genchi Genbbutsu: we practice genchi genbutsu: go to the source to find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus, and achieve goals at our best speed Genchi genbutsu Effective consensus building Commitment to achievement (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010) Respect for people Respect: we respect other, make every effort to understand others, take responsibility, and do our best to build mutual trust. Respect for stakeholders Mutual trust and mutual responsibility Sincere communication (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010) Teamwork: we stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development, and maximize individual and team performance Commitment to education and development Respect for the individual; realizing consolidated power of team (Culture Shock Coaching, 2010) With regard to the company’s belief that ‘People make the difference,’ the company has made nurturing employees’ potential a key objective through involvement, empowerment, and continuous learning. The company’s structure is structure in a manner that encourages and emphasizes delegation: something that has massively helped in the development and maintenance of its culture (Kermer, 2007). In this manner, the structure has allowed unending improvement across all sectors within the company; for instance, managers are not worried about the daily operations of the company rather they are tasked with focusing on making breakthrough improvements. Accordingly, the art of delegation has been pivotal in engaging lower level managers thus instilling an initiative and risk taking culture. The company’s culture is designed in a manner that recognizes individuals as well as teams through achievements. Something unique about Toyota’s culture is that teams are recognized for ‘best Kaizens.’ On the other hand, individual’s growth is linked to his/her performance in the team. Workers within this company are known as associates and not just workers this helped employees to have a sense of belonging and thus develop loyalty towards the company (Stanford, 2011). Teams in this company are usually developed to submerge interests to the needs of the group thus building on strengths, complementing on weaknesses of other team members, and hence allowing the objectives of the group to be achieved (Stanford, 2011). In this regard, each team member is proud of part of the team. In order to strengthen a sense of belonging to the team: there are always inter-team contests, team building exercises, continued interaction and counselling by team developers, and also there is celebration for every small success. The company regards itself as a forward thinking company; they foresee the growth that will occur ahead, and for them to achieve this, they always revisit their past first. The company also understands that people possess different strengths and abilities have been advantageous to the company by exploiting as many talents as possible in one area thus increasing the growth opportunity for the company (Stanford, 2011). The company has a diversified recruitment and employment procedures that have ensured selection of excellent talents that help the company to build new ideas and future concepts that help the company to maintain its global market position in the automotive industry. For example, the top ten Toyota business strategies are to recruit the best and brightest talents thus creating new opportunities for partnership (Liker & Meier, 2005). Accordingly, these key strategies incarnate employee and consumer’s perception that Toyota embraces reputation for excellence across all its operational levels. Consequently, Toyota Corporation believes in being ethical in all its undertakings both in business and in social sense. It begins at the core of the company and works its way out (Stanford, 2011). At Toyota there are no prejudices and stereotypes but a collection of talented individuals rich in leadership and innovation. Toyota considers itself as part of a large family and works to strengthen this feeling by providing leadership, which generates enthusiasm that is transpired across all company levels. Similarly, it is the culture of the company that each employee likes to contribute (Liker & Meier, 2005). For instance, the company upholds the belief that if given opportunity, each individual has the capacity to contribute and would like to contribute to the growth of the organization. Toyota employees have high self-discipline thus each individual do what is expected of him/her. This is achieved through openness that encourages the exercise of initiative, enterprise and creativity (Liker & Meier, 2005). The company also has basic trust in people; the company believes that generally people are good (Liker & Meier, 2005). In this regard, the company always works to foster the spirit of cooperation between people and groups with trust and understanding that he/she might be a colleague, a dealer or a vendor. Above all, the company prides in itself the products they produce; having a sense of belonging and taking pride in the company products and services derives a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from employee involvement and participation in the work (Flamboltz & Randle, 2011). The company also combines accountability, flexibility and freedom, which are basic characteristics of a family with strength of a larger organization. Toyota Corporation understands that relationships can be established on mutual respect and hence there is no need to have a formal approach towards one’s behaviour and communication. Individual’s information in behaviour and communication should be based on friendship and not in a sense of ewe when dealing with superiors or colleagues (Flamboltz & Randle, 2011). In this regard, communication channels at Toyota are open at all levels and across the organization; there are no hierarchical barriers. The company provide opportunity for employee career advancement: promotion from within through training and career planning. Employee individual initiative, ability and accomplishment are always encouraged at this company (Stanford, 2011). As already mentioned, employees are offered opportunities to integrate their skills and capabilities in order to be able to handle more responsibilities. For instance, career paths within Toyota are open within various functions and also by moving an employee from one function to another, together with experience and qualification as demanded by each successive level (Flamboltz & Randle, 2011). The company has it that employee potentials should be fulfilled within the framework of available opportunities through the use of structured succession planning, career planning and analysis of performance and training needs. Toyota has a healthy working environment, which ensures quality of working life that is maintained through out the organization. There are various employee service atmospheres that are maintained to ensure enhanced self-respect. Similarly, the company’s top management always set and example for what they expect from their junior employees. They are role models, and for subordinates to have a particular behaviour, the top management must and should do the same. Significantly important, the top management is always fair and firm; for instance, if any employee is wronged he has the access to the top management where genuine grievances are fairly addressed (Stanford, 2011). Nevertheless, the top management do not yield to wrong actions under pressure; however, if the top management is in the wrong, have the strength to accept their mistakes and correct them accordingly (Stanford, 2011). In this regard at Toyota, there is no compromise to honesty and integrity. As already mentioned, the top management is visible and accessible; the organizational structure is clearly defined and visible to all. In this regard, all employees understand their roles together with the interaction with their colleagues. The values of the top management are also made known to all employees for them to follow in their seniors footsteps. This discussion has wholly described the Toyota culture, which has been very instrumental in ensuring that the company maintains its position in the global motor industry market. With regard to the company fostering the production of high quality products, their products have always elicited an unending demand across the world (Kermer, 2007). Employees at Toyota are highly motivated and focused to ensure that they work to meet the company’s goals and objectives. The Toyota Way is a culture that fosters involvement of all employees, teamwork, and above all excellent performance. Toyota’s priority has always been safety, quality, and then volume. This culture though instrumental as explained above, a slight deviation from it can result into insurmountable loses. For instance, when the company confused their priorities and produced masses of vehicles without considering quality, the company ended up incurring loses of billions of dollars by recalling all vehicles that they had already sold (Time Magazine, 2010). Conclusion Organizational culture as defined above is a system of shared assumptions, beliefs, and values, that develops within an organization and that guides its members to specific models of behaviour. It is a vital tool in ensuring, performance, cohesion, learning, and promotion within any company. Following the case of Toyota Motor Corporation culture The Toyota Way, we see that strong organizational culture provides a clear picture of how things are done within the organization. It provides a framework of meaning that guides the construction of reality, defines space within which certain behaviours are expected, helps the organization to understanding within which it operates, and more importantly, it helps organization understand who they are. Toyota has consistently maintained its credibility in the market place due to its sound corporate culture. References Culture Shock Coaching. (2010). Toyota’s Corporate Culture may save them in the End. Retrieved on 11/08/2013, from; http://cultureshockcoaching.blogspot.com/2010/03/toyotas-corporate-culture-may-save-them.html Toyota. (2013). Company Overview. Retrieved on 11/08/2013, from; http://www.toyota-global.com/company/profile/overview/ Liker, J. and Meier, D. (2005). The Toyota Way Fieldbook. New York: McGraw Hill Stanford, N. (2011). Corporate Culture: Getting it Right. London: John Willey & Sons Kermer, D. (2007). The Open Secret of Toyota’s Change. Washington: GRIN Verlag Flamboltz, E. and Randle, Y. (2011). Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset. Stanford University Press Want, J. H. (2007). Corporate Culture: Illuminating the Black hole. New York: St. Martin’s Press Driskill, W. G. and Brenton, A. L. (2010). Organizational Culture in Action: A Cultural Analysis Workbook. Frankfurt: Sage Parker, M. (2000). Organizational Culture and Identity: Unity and Division at Work. Stanford: Sage Time Magazine. (2010). Behind the Troubles at Toyota. Retrieved on 11/08/2013, from; http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1963744,00.html Read More