Toyota: Origins, Evolution, and Current Prospects - Case Study Example

The main office of Toyota company is situated in Tokyo.  The company is one of the greatest giants in the field of the world machine building, though it also has expanded into the area of robot building.

            The mission of Toyota can be summarized as the following “to attract clients who value safety and quality as the first priority”.  The company also has a well-established system of principles that is strictly followed in all countries of its operation. It proclaims the principle of the respect of any language and traditions of the nation that they involve in their operation or marketing processes. One of the most significant principles is to do one’s best to create a comfortable atmosphere in the company to motivate the staff to be dedicated to their work.

            The vision of the company covers the company’s prosperity up to 2020. They see the company’s goal in constant development, penetration into new territories, increasing the quality of the car, and improvement of the life quality. According to the company statute, the eventual goal is to achieve the total satisfaction of a customer. Up to 2020, the company is planning to set the car production or at least its assembly in several countries that still do not have Toyota plants in. They also intend to introduce several new car models.

            The current strategy of Toyota originates from the one within its foundation. The main principle of it is ‘Just in Time production’ (that implies the manufacturing process follows the time-plan strictly).  The company has worked out the System of Toyota Production that covers such elements as teamwork, mutual respect, constant improvement, and facing challenges. The company’s strategy is to achieve expansion and development.

            In the industry of operation, the company possesses fifth place in the world. By now a comfortable, safe, and reasonably priced car has also captured the American market that with the world crisis started looking for less luxurious cars. Toyota Company is present all over the world, having its plant in Russia and the USA.  Here the company follows the strategy of a cheap labor force. It prefers producing the components and part in the country of the marketing.

            The machine building industry is one of the most attractive since the turnover is great and the opportunities are promising. The thing is that the industry is formed and that is why the monopolists will never allow another company to enter the market. The entry barriers are so tough that it demands not only enormous initial investments but also big production capacity.

            The key element of the company's success is the good quality and safety of the car. The crash test proves that passengers are more likely to stay alive even in the most disastrous accident than in any other brand of car. SWOT analysis suggests that the greatest disadvantage of Toyota is a very expensive post-selling service. It sometimes exceeds the price of the car. The threats come from the main competitors Mercedes, BMW, and Ford. The market share can be easily redistributed among these participants in certain conditions.

            The profit of Toyota makes 14 billion per year. The production cycle is long and complicated because one of the prime goals of the company is to provide safety to the customers.

            The main problem for the company nowadays is that because of the financial crisis, it started losing its market share. The way out here is to launch a new model intended for the middle class or to decrease the price of current models.