Toyota Operations Improvement Plan

User Generated

pzneplwze

Business Finance

Description

Toyota Operations Improvement Plan

**I have provided all five assignments needed to complete this assignment.**

Note: You must complete Assessments 1–5 before beginning this assessment.

For this assessment, submit your final operations improvement plan (OIP). In the assessments you have completed thus far, you have submitted drafts of each of the components of an OIP. Take time now to update the work you have already completed with the information and understanding you have gained throughout the course. Take into consideration all of the research and groundwork you have completed along the way. Incorporate feedback from previous assessments as well as the tools, techniques, and methodologies you have examined throughout the course. Finalize your comprehensive OIP as if you were to present it as a formal recommendation to the organizational leaders of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Focus your writing appropriately for that audience. Make sure each piece of your OIP fits together and supports the other elements.

Your final OIP should include the following elements:

  • A problem statement, including an overview of the Toyota recall crisis, with a brief history and description of the situation.
  • A description of the key challenge or problem you have chosen to address in Toyota's organizational processes and an analysis of its organizational impact, based on theories and models of global operations management.
  • An executive summary of the collected and processed data (actual data, if possible, or assumed data, if necessary).
  • A cost-benefit analysis based on your data.
  • A description of your innovative and sustainable solution that reflects strategic global operations management concepts and practices.
  • Your recommendations for supporting the improvement of the selected process, based on practices of global operations management.
  • An explanation of the data or findings that validate your recommendations.
  • The visual tools that you developed to support and integrate your analysis into general business management planning and decision-making processes.
  • A conclusion.
  • A comprehensive references list.

Note: Please review and update cause-and-effect diagram and process flowchart in each assessment.

Combine these elements to create a complete, integrated operations improvement plan, with each piece working together to support your plan.

Additional Requirements

  • Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
  • APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA style and formatting.
  • Length of paper: 8–10 typed, double-spaced pages plus appendices and reference list.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Toyota Specific Resources

Show Less

Additional Resources for Further Exploration

You may use the following optional resources to further explore the Questions to Consider and assessment topics.

Operations Management

The following resources offer a foundational broad view of operations management.

You may want to search this blog for the following terms: automotive recalls, operations improvement, and strategic planning.

Case Studies

The following case study is recommended for further examination of the topics addressed in this assessment. You may wish to purchase it from Harvard Business School Publishing.

  • Gray, A. E., & Leonard, J. (2009). Process fundamentals [Case No. 969-023]. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.


Unformatted Attachment Preview

Running head: TOYOTA, INC. CRISIS 1 Defining the Process Improvement Scope Background Toyota crisis dated in 2009 and 2010 when the company that had initially served its consumers with quality cars for decades began to experience accretion problem. The first case got reported against Toyota Inc. in 2009 and another case in 2010. The recall started with a single car crash that took the lives of the occupants instantly. Following two additional recalls the company recalled millions of cars based on the same case. Toyota Inc. forcefully suspended the sale of their best cars. The move cost the automaker at least $ 54 million USD lost in a day from revenue sales. According to Liker, and Ogden, (2014), the problem emanated from the foot pedal covered in the floor mat that made the cars accelerate themselves. The sticking of the foot pedal caused numerous accidents because of the self-acceleration of the car. As of 2010, there was $ 54 million USD recall lost and twenty-one deaths of motorists. The paper dwells on the fall of the auto dealer and creates a fishbone diagram of what transpired and a similar flow chart diagram of the process that occurred. The paper then produces a separate flow chart that recommends the process that would have addressed the crisis promptly reducing the extent of the occurrence Toyota, Inc. Crisis 2 reaching the place that it mad the company loses billions of their investments and worst of all ruin their reputes. Cause and effect diagram Cause and Effects Analysis Daft, Kendrick, and Vershinina, (2016) argued that the cause and effect analysis depicts possible causes and the extent of related effects that made the firm undergo the unprecedented loss and recall of most of their cars. The firm dealt with a supplier who provided faulty pedals, Toyota, Inc. Crisis 3 and the company exacerbated the entire mess with a slow response. The company as well did not have an independent public relations department coupled with failure to recall the cars on time leading the loss of the lives yet they had received complaints regarding the case. According to Liker, and Ogden, (2014), the cause of the problem remains at the supplier who gave the company the defective pedals that misaligned with their floor mats resulting into self-acceleration. The other reason was Toyota, Inc.’s poor communication channels and public relations that made the company fail to recall the cars early or address the matter as effectively. Existing process Start Client Buy Car Safety Concern? No Client uses car and Toyota Inc. sells other cars YE S Minimize the problem Toyota, Inc. Crisis 4 Improved process Start Customer Buys car Proper Communication Channel (PR) Quality and Control Test Car has a safety Concern Recall cars Collection of additional feedback Launch immediate investigations Deal with customer Concerns proactively Release Car with Fixed Problem Toyota, Inc. Crisis 5 Products in need of quality checks In Daft et al.’s, (2016), cars are dangerous items when not driven carefully or when not manufactured to safety standard to protect their users. Toyota, Inc. may focus on performing quality checks on essential areas of the car whose impact might cause much harm to the users. Such areas include braking system, an acceleration system, airbags and safety belt. Failure to share critical information Per Liker, and Ogden, (2014), the company failed to share enough information when the reporting of the first incidence occurred. The company did not share the facts and took the matter lightly that no immediate investigations followed. The company may have relayed the events to the public relations department which would react by keeping a promise that the issue would get attended. The engineers would descend on the case to determine whether the problem was with Toyota, Inc. or the cause was poor driving. In the process, a point may get arrived where clues come out instead of leaving the matter as it without attending. Cause-and-effect diagram conflict between the cause-and-effect diagram and flow chart Toyota, Inc. Crisis 6 There is a substantial agreement between the flow chart and the cause-and-effect diagram because the flow chart backs the cause-and-effect on the weaknesses that would have to get addressed for the matter to settle. The diagrams both indicate that ineffective public relations team to efficiently address the mess when things already fell apart. Process not previously documented in cause-and-effect diagram Daft et al., (2016) argued that many processes did not get captured which the cause-andeffect diagram brought to the limelight. One of the processes is the quality assurance team checking the consignments obtained from other companies. The other process was the ineffective communication process that the Toyota, Inc. public relations department failed to indicate. Additional research Per Lussier, and Achua, (2015), further research should target better means of performing the quality and control tests of cars before they hand them to consumers. The reason for additional research is that a car does not have to cause accidents after that an investigation gets performed. A car ought to undergo a full computerized test that monitors all areas of concern such as braking, safety belt, and airbags. Shareholder feedback Personnel from the communications department ought to offer appropriate feedback because they directly engaged the consumers when it came to seeking feedback and comments on the administered corrective measures. Improvement scope The article made suggestions into the points of focus that might enhance the safety of consumers and improve the reaction and routes that company may follow when caught in a Toyota, Inc. Crisis 7 similar scenario. The company may engage in early and preemptive identification of problems if any even before its customers raise concerns or perform a thorough investigation at the slightest complaint from a buyer. The company ought to make safety the greatest consumer concern because a single accident might ruin the entire name of the enterprise. Another composition of the improvement scope may require that the company responds proactively when those circumstances occur, thus making its users aware before endangering their lives. The timely information is responsible for protecting the lives of other users who have not faced the given circumstance. The identification of a mess with a given model that necessitates a recall, therefore, means that the model gets to be put on hold till the model’s issue gets resolved. Even though the sales with the given model would free for the entire period, but the loss is nothing to compare to one’s life lost in an accident. The company then may focus on developing trust between the consumers and Toyota, Inc. for it would impact on the perception that the users have when similar cases occur to the people. Toyota, Inc. Crisis 8 References: Daft, R. L., Kendrick, M., & Vershinina, N. (2016). Management. Andover: SouthWestern/Cengage Learning. Liker, J. K., & Ogden, T. N. (2014). Toyota under fire: Lessons for turning crisis into opportunity. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2015). Leadership. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Running Head: PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 1 Process Improvement Introduction In essence, process improvement in organizations calls for problem identification and after that establishing solution to the crisis. By identifying a problem, an organization can determine the important effects and causes of a particular issue that require addressing. As such, Toyota should focus on the identification of the primary factors that contributed to the 2010 accelerator crisis. This paper describes the process in need of an improvement at the time of the accelerator crisis for Toyota. Also, the recommendation process for Toyota is included to ensure that customers of the organization are not at risk of a similar crisis. Problem Statement Initially, Toyota failed to recognize the problem with the accelerators in the vehicles it sold to the customers. It did not address the issue at an early stage and prevent the loss of the many individuals who used their cars. Moreover, Toyota did not identify the origin of the problem with the vehicles so as to establish countermeasures for the same (Liker and Ogden, 2011). As the company continued to neglect the issue, it placed the lives of many individuals at risk from the safety issues. Furthermore, as security problems continued to increase, Toyota PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 2 found it difficult to engage in external communications. Toyota lacked a clear response to the customers as to what the immediate problem was. Toyota did not fully understand the cause of the increasing problem in its vehicles. Also, it failed to provide customers with safety and quality services. Moreover, its lack of effective communication and response to the customers would damage its reputation in the market (Heller and Darling, 2012). Therefore, the absence of effective communication, the high response rate to clients and solving problems with the vehicle brands would continue to affect its brand name and reputation if the problem was not addressed. Regarding the cause and effect analysis, it comes out that Toyota failed with its system, skills in engineering and suppliers. The providers failed in their responsibility by providing a defective pedal to be placed in the vehicles at Toyota firm. Secondly, the engineers in the organization failed to detect the defect in the brakes and thus also not recognizing a problem with the accelerator. Lastly, the entire system failed by not establishing prompt corrective actions to the problem. As such, this resulted in a failure in Toyota relationship with the public. Background of the Issue The Toyota crisis started with a car crash in South California. On August 28 in 2009 an off-duty officer was traveling with three of his family members on Highway 125 in Santee, California. The car he was driving had speeded out of control and hit another vehicle. After the collision, the same car tumbled down the highway and ended up catching fire. The car a 2009 Lexus ES350 was a product of the Toyota organization. The four occupants of the car were said to have died in the car crash. However, reports also state that one of the occupants had called 911 saying the car had no brakes. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 3 In contrast, reports from Toyota Company claimed that the problem was not the lack of brakes but rather the presence of wrong mats installed in the vehicle (Greto, Schotter and Teagarden, 2010). Toyota suggested that the mats placed in the car had interfered with the gas pedal making it difficult for the drive to find the brake. News reports stated that the problem of unintended acceleration continued for about two years. Customers had started complaining to the federal government. Fatalities associated with Toyota products continued to increase whereas over a hundred complaints were expressed of the same. Toyota was forced to suspend the sale of some of the best vehicles. This decision had cost the company and its dealers a sum of $54million in a day. This crisis also affected the reputation of the enterprise. Impact of Problem Toyota is recognized as the world’s most successful manufacturer of automobiles. It is also the largest organization that deals with the auto manufacturer. In that case, if the problem of acceleration crisis is not addressed it could mean a continued threat to its reputation (Fan, Geddes and Flory, 2013). Customers will lose their trust in products from Toyota. Moreover, the company will have poor public relations with its clients. In future, this could mean that the lives of the customers will be at risk and exposed to safety problems. As such, Toyota’s reputation and brand image will be damaged. Nevertheless, if the problem was to be addressed, Toyota will remain the largest and profitable manufacture of automobiles and continue to hold a significant market share. Also, the lives of customers will be safe from safety problems. The customer relations will also not be a problem if Toyota addresses the issue of pedal crisis. In addition, the products provided to clients will be of high quality and safe. Moreover, in the event of any recall connected to their goods the company will be able to respond fast. Therefore, by addressing the PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 4 problem, the company will be saving its reputation and the lives of many customers using its products. Desired Outcome Toyota should put in place measures that address the quality problem, the pedal issue and also responsive rate to customer complaints. The new improvement plan will have some changes that will prevent the damage to Toyotas reputation and brand image. The first step will be to appoint a new supervisor in every Toyota branch. The primary duty of the supervisor will be to increase response to customer’s complaints. The new supervisor will ensure that the company is alert and open to customer concerns. Moreover, the company will strengthen its system of reporting feedback from customers. Lastly, it will expand its network of collecting data from the public. This will allow Toyota to remain informed about any problems about its products based on customer feedback. The steps mentioned for improvement will assist the company to improve its quality of services and data collection. It will cost the company a high amount to implement these development strategies, but in the long run, the benefits will be fruitful. Nevertheless, the company should not be satisfied by the improvements since it only takes a single safety problem for a similar crisis to arise. Thus, Toyota should be prepared for any problem to occur and be ready to respond faster and provide corrective measures to prevent another crisis. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 5 References Fan, D., Geddes, D., & Flory, F. (2013). The Toyota recall crisis: Media impact on Toyota's corporate brand reputation. Corporate Reputation Review, 16(2), 99-117. Greto, M., Schotter, A., & Teagarden, M. B. (2010). Toyota: The accelerator crisis. Thunderbird School of Global Management. Heller, V. L., & Darling, J. R. (2012). Anatomy of crisis management: lessons from the infamous Toyota Case. European Business Review, 24(2), 151-168. Liker, J. K., & Ogden, T. (2011). Toyota under fire. McGraw-Hill Professional. Running head: MEASUREMENT STRATEGY 1 Measurement Strategy Toyota remained a distinguished and definably prosperous company within the motor industry all up until 2010 when the firm recalled at minimum 8 million of their vehicles due to the continuous issues with the pedal. Toyota began suspending the production and delivery of selected vehicle models they felt encountered the same issues with the pedal. Toyota took a $5 billion loss and its sales dropped. After an internal brand risk assessment was performed, Toyota implemented a strategy that proved to be successful in recuperating their losses. The automobile giant began to apply a series of process improvement activities that faired very well when it came to reinventing themselves after such a crisis. Toyota made sure to include begin with the development and implementation departments first. Toyota had its hands full with this crisis and made sure to also focus on consumers and how their percpection of the company. (Gillespie, and Perron, 2015) Time and data showed that this crisis made quite and effect on the company and its reputation. Toyota comprehended that fact that it if consumers’ minds were not improved as to how they perceived and felt about the automobile maker, then would be at a total loss. Therefore, Toyota’s strategy centered around re-creating its image and to reengage consumers in order to win back their trust once more. MEASUREMENT STRATEGY 2 Measurement strategy Toyota’s measurement strategy reviewed and measured productivity alongside the cost effectiveness of the production of a vehicle in a certain amount of time. Measuring involved an appraisal of outputs versus the inputs. The study reveals that the inputs included vehicles that were made alongside it’s sales. Therefore, it compared and measured those vehicles that were made against those sold. (Gillespie, & Perron, 2015) At the peak of the Toyota pedal crisis, Toyota was presented with numerous grievances and lawsuits that lead to an all-out vehicular recall. Toyota’s improvement strategy studied those vehicles that did not display nor were recalled due to pedal issues. Toyota then went on to measure enhancements according to the decrease in grievances and lawsuits. Neely, (2014) maintained that the implementation of an efficiency strategy was intended to collect data concerning the production of Toyota vehicles and those vehicles that were vended during a certain period. Outcomes measures strategy Chapman, (2015) contended that Toyota production goals were directed at producing vehicles to meet consumer demands of current customers while attempting to lure new customers. This meant cutting corners and sacrificing quality and safety. This outcomes measurement strategy focused on Toyota’s capability to oblige their customer’s while still being able to meet the projected objectives and timelines. This particular strategy will emphasis safety while attempting to meet targeted goals and delivery dates. Improvement Because Toyota has learned from its past mistakes and the harsh consequences of cutting corner, consumer safety will certainly come before any deadline or dollar amount. Toyota will MEASUREMENT STRATEGY 3 gain back it’s loyal customers when consumers see that improvements have been made and that they can purchase a vehicle that will not cause them issues or endanger the drivers or passengers. (Chapman, 2015) Data collected Collecting essential information is dependent on consumer responses, reactions and comments. A dedicated customer line and email address is meant to assist with consumer complaints and responses. Customers are given the flexibility to provide their feedback, whether good or bad. Conclusion Toyota would not have been able to make corrections without first understanding why it happened then coming together as a whole and learn from it. After the Toyota pedal crisis, Toyota learned from their mistakes and implemented numerous procedures intended to correct such disastrous errors. MEASUREMENT STRATEGY 4 References Chapman, C. S. (2015). Controlling strategy: Management, accounting, and performance measurement. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gillespie, D. F., & Perron, B. E. (2015). Key concepts in measurement. Neely, A. (2014). Business performance measurement: Theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Running head: DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION TOOLS 1 Data Collection and Evaluation Tools To achieve the efficiency and outcome measurement strategies, the Toyota Corporation should have records that will act as a basis of its improvement strategy. To this end, Toyota will use production monitoring data collection software, which will enable the compare and follow the different aspects of the production process. The software keys in step by step data of the production process to ensure easy reference of the production line. Using data collected in this method, Toyota will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of every part of the vehicles compared to the input materials (Warranty Data Collection and Analysis, 2011). This will also improve the productivity as every process is documented hence the timely flow of information in case there is a change or improvement. This will help the company achieve the outcome measurement strategy where it targets to meet the needs of its customers and have more vehicles to bring in new customers. The company could use direct interaction with individuals through their sales representatives to collect qualitative data on the impact of the improvement after the 2010 pedal crisis. Through these interactions, the company will be able to evaluate the total number of customers who were affected by the crisis and try to remedy the situation by offering alternative vehicles which had DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION TOOLS 2 the improvements. (Mislick, Nussbaum, 2015) Through this, the company will meet its outcomes strategy that fundamentally targets the customer base improvement. Additionally, the company’s could their sales books of records to evaluate the total number of vehicles that got sold and also identify the brands that sold more hence increase their production. This data would help the company meet its efficiency and outcomes measurement strategies in the operation improvement plan. (Linoff, Berry, 2011) One of the most important tools for data collection that will help in measuring the operations improvement plan, which will help the company achieve its efficiency and outcomes strategy, is the use of the production monitoring data collection software. The software is an essential tool as captures all angles of the production process as the parts and pieces are made. It further, updates the information immediately and gives a report of the number finished products, the total amount of materials used, the time it has taken to produce an individual part and the quality level of the product. The production monitoring data collection software gives a realistic data sample that the company can use to evaluate their total input about materials and time and the output total of the finished product. (Davim, 2012) Using this method, the company will be able to meet its efficiency strategy as it will be able to account for all the inputs and evaluate the total output. Additionally, as the company is coming from a crisis period, accuracy is a fundamental factor in terms of the quality of the products. To this end, the software allows the company to follow step by step aspects of the production process. (Schensul, LeCompte, 2013) Moreover, the company will be able to assess the production capacity and make an informed decision in meeting the outcomes strategy where the company wants to produce vehicles that will meet its current customer needs and have extra stock to service new customers. DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION TOOLS 3 Toyota Corporation largely depended on customer feedback and sales representatives to collect data on the quality and sale of its products. The data collected majorly met only one aspect of its total output strategy. The company was not able to evaluate its production process by determining the input and the output. Due to the large market that the company had, it was not so critical to the company that a small malfunction in one of its products could ruin the company’s market status which led to a large drop in sales. The 2010 crisis pedal came as a wake-up call for the company where it invested in various operation improvement plans. (Liker, Franz, 2011) The IOPs saw the company come up with effective and outcomes strategies, where it targeted the input cost in relation to the total product produced and customer satisfaction in terms of quality and volume. By using the production data collection software, the company could evaluate its production process about the input, quality, production time and the output capacity. This was improvement plan led to the achievement of its measurement strategies. Additionally, the use of qualitative data analysis allowed the company to get firsthand information on the market and the needs of the customers. This further helped in the enhancement of the company’s improvement strategy. (Pastinen, 2010) Moreover, by using the sales records to enumerate the total number of sales, the company could achieve the outcomes strategy since it was possible to get the total number of sales compared to the total number of vehicles produced. Through these data collection methods, the company will be able to get information of the whole production process which it will use to implement the outcomes and effectiveness measurement strategy. Additionally, the company will be able to evaluate its customer’s needs and the total market requirement, which will help in setting up ways to ensure that the market needs are fulfilled. The information gathered from the data collected will form a basis of further DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION TOOLS 4 improving the measurement strategies since the information is more elaborate and specific to the set operation improvement plans. The information will also help the company evaluate the measurement strategies and identify which areas need more improvement to achieve better outcomes. (Hesselbach, Herrmann, 2011) References Davim, J. P. (2012). Computational methods for optimizing manufacturing technology: Models and techniques. Hershey PA: Engineering Science Reference. Hesselbach, J., & Herrmann, C. (2011). Glocalized Solutions for Sustainability in Manufacturing: Proceedings of the 18th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany, May 2nd 4th, 2011. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. In Schensul, J. J., & In LeCompte, M. D. (2013). Specialized ethnographic methods: A mixed methods approach. Lanham: AltaMira Press. Liker, J. K., & Franz, J. K. (2011). The Toyota way to continuous improvement: Linking strategy with operational excellence to achieve superior performance. New York: McGraw-Hill. Linoff, G., & Berry, M. J. A. (2011). Data mining techniques: For marketing, sales, and customer relationship management. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Pub. Mislick, G. K., & Nussbaum, D. A. (2015). Cost estimation: Methods and tools. Pastinen, M. (2010). High-performance process improvement. Heidelberg [Germany: Springer. DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION TOOLS Warranty Data Collection and Analysis. (2011). London: Springer-Verlag London Limited. 5 PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 1 Process Identification 1. Organizational processes PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 2 Response to customer concerns For any business to prosper it is imperative that it ‘keeps an ear on the ground this is by following up on their customers to know how they feel about the products being supplied by the particular business. To this end, Toyota has used this technique over the years to raise the quality of its products by following the feedback from its customers. From the customer’s feedback Toyota was able to know which parts wear out fast and over time Toyota was able to maintain its customers by improving on their development by raising quality. After the redesigning of these parts, Toyota would then dispatch a special analysis team into the market to evaluate how the customers feel about the improvement. This would help Toyota to instantly know if the parts are functioning as per the customer’s needs and what more improvements would the customer’s need. This process of working with the customer’s needs in mind makes the improvement cost effective since Toyota will only make what is required hence total sales of the product (Liker, Ogden, 2011). Having a large pool of customers has made Toyota have so many consumer feedbacks to an extent where they can hardly make a concrete decision. This can over time affect the company’s output as they have to make their products following what customers feel yet some customers could be malicious. Law of large numbers Over the years Toyota prides itself as the best shop for any vehicle. The company has used this technique to maximize on its customer base in a way that it is a one stop shop for different categories of people. This has helped Toyota maximize its sales all over the world since they have vehicles for small to large customers and from light to heavy duty vehicles. Toyota has analyzed PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 3 the consumer needs by doing field analysis to know what consumers wish to have. In return, Toyota then models a car that will meet those consumer demands. By producing in high volumes Toyota has been able to utilize economies of scale in that the same manpower, production locations, and materials are used maximally. This has greatly reduced the total input cost and maximized on the output (Cunningham, Harney, 2012). The law of large numbers could also work negatively towards Toyota since if a defect occurs it will affect so many vehicles before it is identified. Additionally, rectifying such a defect will be so costly to the company since the vehicles affected will be in their millions. Centralized Management Since the inception of Toyota, most decisions are made in Japan. This has allowed Toyota to ensure that whatever it rolls out worldwide is uniform. Additionally, this will strategy makes Toyota identify what decision to take in a faster and reliable way since the decision-making team is centralized in one location. Further, Toyota is able to evaluate which parts of the world are having more requirements that need to be looked into, in a more efficient way since all feedback is brought back to one location (Wilkinson, Kannan, 2013). Centralized managed also is cost effective as the organization will not have to invest in several senior management offices all over the world a process that cuts costs in terms of infrastructure, daily running costs and salaries. On the other hand, if Toyota does not decentralize its management office, this would slow its delivery of some of their services since some decisions may not be done in a timely manner. This would be costly to Toyota since the customers will lose trust in the company as their needs are not being attended to as soon as they occur. PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 2. 4 Law of large numbers as an operations improvement plan Every year, Toyota produces millions of vehicles which range from saloons, SUVs to vans. Toyota can, therefore, use the law of large numbers to act as an operations improvement plan to maximize its profits and reduce its costs (Parnell, 2013). Toyota can set up standardization of components where it ensures that all the components are uniform for an individual type of vehicle. This will ensure that in the event there is a defect it will not affect all their models but that specific model. This will greatly reduce the cost of recalls as the defect will have only affected an individual brand. Moreover, standardization of components will make it easy to identify and rectify a defect since the components are uniform in every individual brand (Ciravegna, 2012). In addition, Toyota can use the law of large numbers as an operations improvement plan by acquiring advanced car engineering software to regulate all the vehicle parts. This will, in turn, ensure that Toyota produces high-end vehicles that meet their customer need. Moreover, Toyota will gain more capital since it will produce large volumes of high-end vehicles using single software, hence large sales (Ciravegna, 2012). To further improve this process Toyota can incorporate decentralization of its management office from Japan. By creating these satellite offices, customer needs are easily responded to and in a timelier manner, hence high sales. Additionally, by having several management offices, there is a creation of innovativeness among the employees since there are able to consult within their region and come up with solutions that are specific to their region of operation (Jones, 2014). This will be cost effective to Toyota since it will still increase its output as these management offices are able to make resolutions to develop vehicles that are in tandem with the terrain of their locality. PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 5 To this end, Toyota will remain the major vehicle production company since it will have a variety of vehicles to suit the different customer needs the world over (Chernov, Sornette, 2016). References PROCESS IDENTIFICATION 6 Chernov, D., & Sornette, D. (2016). Man-made catastrophes and risk information concealment: Case studies of major disasters and human fallibility. Cunningham, J., & Harney, B. (2012). Strategy & strategists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ciravegna, L. (2012). Sustaining industrial competitiveness after the crisis: Lessons from the automotive industry. Wilkinson, T. J., & In Kannan, V. R. (2013). Strategic management in the 21st century. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. Jones, D. (2014). Decision-making for dummies. Liker, J. K., & Ogden, T. N. (2011). Toyota under fire: Lessons for turning crisis into opportunity. New York: McGraw-Hill. Parnell, J. A. (2013). Strategic management: Theory and practice. Toyota Code of Conduct. (2006, MarcRetrieved Jan 23, 2017, from Toyota Global: http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/common/pdf/code_of_conduct.pdf Toyota Motor Corporation. (2012). Retrieved Jan 23, 2017, from www.ToytoaGlobal.com: http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/conditions/philosophy/toyotaway20 01.html
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Toyota Operations Improvement Plan
I.

A problem statement, including an overview of the Toyota recall crisis, with a
brief history and description of the situation.

II.

A description of the key challenge or problem you have chosen to address in
Toyota's organizational processes and an analysis of its organizational impact,
based on theories and models of global operations management.

III.

An executive summary of the collected and processed data (actual data, if
possible, or assumed data, if necessary).

IV.

A cost-benefit analysis based on your data.

V.

A description of your innovative and sustainable solution that reflects strategic
global operations management concepts and practices.

VI.

Your recommendations for supporting the improvement of the selected process,
based on practices of global operations management.

VII.

An explanation of the data or findings that validate your recommendations.

VIII.

The visual tools that you developed to support and integrate your analysis into
general business management planning and decision-making processes.

IX.

A conclusion.


Running Head: TOYOTA OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Toyota Operations Improvement Plan
Institution Affiliation
Date:

1

TOYOTA OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

2

Introduction
Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. It makes a total sale
of 7.4 million vehicles every year. The company is committed to meeting customer’s desires and
satisfying their needs. It has constantly been trying to improve its services to clients and utilizing
innovative measures to improve its brand. This has made it a unique brand in Japan and all over
the world. However, although Toyota has the advantage of being the best brand sold to in many
countries one crisis connected to it happened to have affected its reputation in the past. In the
years 2009 and 2010 Toyota faced a crisis in which it was involved in being responsible for
many people dying in car accidents. The majority of the individuals in the accidents happened to
be driving a Toyota vehicle with a pedal problem which was blamed on the installation of wrong
mats. However, this is a problem that can be solved by implementing effective measures.
Problem Statement
Toyota failed to consider the initial crash associated with its vehicle seriously. Also, the
company must have failed to identify the real issue behind increased accidents related to their
cars (Liker and Ogden, 2011). Moreover, the company was not able to identify measures that
could prevent the loss of lives of many clients. In turn, customers continued to be at risk of using
the vehicles on the market that were not tested to determine whether they had a problem. In
addition, as a result of the company’s link to the accidents, it lacked a definite answer regarding
the crisis to the public. Communications between the enterprise and customers were not active
since the firm failed to provide honest feedback. This, in turn, affected its reputation as more
customers lacked faith in the products and services offered by the company.

TOYOTA OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

3

Also, to the impact on the brand of Toyota its market share also decreased globally. The
company failed to provide safe and quality services to its clients by not solving the pedal issue.
Another problem that might have led to the dama...


Anonymous
Really great stuff, couldn't ask for more.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Similar Content

Related Tags