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Continuous Improvement the Toyota Way

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Submitted By lookl33
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The “Respect for People” principle is one of the two pillars of The Toyota Way; the other being “Continuous Improvement.” Toyota claims that respect for people is the foundation for continuous improvement. Many managers seem to think they know what this “Respect for People” principle implies, and they believe that they follow it. The reality is that most do not understand this concept outside of the Toyota management system. Toyota states, “Respect for people is the attitude that regards people’s ability to think most.”
Most managers have a poor idea of what it actually means to demonstrate “Respect for People.” Many would claim that showing respect for people would include things such as treating employees fairly, giving them clear goals, trusting them to achieve goals set, and listening to employees. Managers believe respect is easy to understand and apply these misguided ideas. This is a huge part of lean that has been missing. “Respect for People” is an aspect of excellence at Toyota that needs to be understood and implemented. It is a mindset that can be difficult to understand without experiencing day to day. This is why it was looked over for so long, with instead the focus being on the surface of the Toyota way.
Emphasis is put on the high importance of workers capabilities to begin to describe what it means to truly demonstrate “Respect for People. The workers are allowed to display their capabilities through active participation in running and improving their own workshops. They believe that a system where the capable Japanese workers can actively participate in running and improving their workshops and be able to fully demonstrate their capabilities is the foundation of human respect in the highest form. It is important that managers understand that their most valuable asset is the people, not the machinery. True respect is shown in a

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