...As we can see clearly, the plant had a problem with defective seats in its production of Toyota Camry. The run ratio was down to 85% from 95% in one month. This 10-point drop meant that too many cars had to be made up with overtime and needed off-line operations of one type or another before they could go on to shipping. Toyota Production System (TPS) has two guiding principles: 1. Just-In-Time (JIT) production 2. Principle of jidoka The plant insisted on “produce only what was needed, only how much was needed, and only when it was needed.” Another concept was "building in quality in the production process and condemned any deviation from value-addition as waste." This meant that because of the TPS, the plant didn’t have enough inventories to make up the production. The sales company was not getting cars on time as promised. Another problem was the main key: “during rear side bolster installation, a hook protruding from the back of that part was to be snapped into the ‘eye' of the body, but the hook sometimes broker off." Here were 3 questions we need to figure out: 1. Why the seat problem went on this long? It was an ongoing problem since the past fall. 2. Why the Tsutsumi factory had not reported the problem as it used the identical engineering drawings for the part? 3. Was it the fault of KFS or the plant itself? To sum up, if I were Mr. Friesen, the aforementioned there points and the delivery problem was where I would be focusing my attention...
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...TOYOTA, INC. A Case Study in Communicating Bad News Written by: Alex Mezey Scott Hamilton Kevin Kuwahara Courtney Sandlin Dr. Robyn Walker Faculty Advisor Center for Management Communication Prepared for: Case Study Initiative Center for Management Communication 2013 Page 1 of 12 INTRODUCTION In 2005, Lupe Lee bought a new Toyota Camry from a local Sunnyvale, California, Toyota dealership, donating her immaculate Camry bought in 1990 to a local charity. Going from an older Camry model to a newer one, it was obvious that Lupe not only liked Camry cars, but she liked Toyota and its business model. However, this was all about to change on September 9, 2011. On this day, Lupe and her daughter were on their way to Berkeley for a niece’s wedding. They planned to stop in Burlingame to pick up Lupe’s sister, Rose. They arrived at the sister’s apartment early, so Lupe and her daughter went inside. After visiting in the apartment for a time, the three of them went out to get into the Camry to continue on to Berkeley. Lupe would have to make a U-turn to head back towards the freeway. Instead, she decided to maneuver into a nearby driveway to turn around. This is when things began to go horribly wrong; as they started up the driveway, the car began accelerating. Rose exclaimed “Lupe! What are you doing!? Why are you going so fast!? Push on the brake!” Lupe had no control of the car; she was terrified. She tried desperately to press the brake, but nothing happened. She quickly...
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...Business Ethics across Cultures Juanita Bates Axia College University of Phoenix Business Ethics across Cultures 1 Ethics is a guideline of knowing what is right or wrong. Ethical perspectives are a moral view of things. Business ethics are a form of professional or applied ethics. These ethics examines ethical principles and ethical or moral problems that may arise in the business world. All aspects of businesses are affected including individuals and organizations. With the growth in industrial population, the rise of consumerism and popular reaction to large numbers of scandals and corruption, there has been a change in perception and attitude. The United States passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977 forbidding the United States companies from giving bribes to high level government officials of other countries. Many business people did not like the act; they felt it was unfair because foreign countries continued to use bribes while the United States companies could not. German companies were allowed to use their bribes as tax deductible expensive until 1998. They felt the foreign countries would have an advantage of the United States companies. The United States government used what pressure it could to encourage other countries to adapt the same type of law. After 20 years, many other countries agreed. By the 1980’s , many companies started using ethical structures by developing code of ethics, providing ethics training for employees, monitoring...
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...“Better cars for more people” has been the mantra as Toyota continued to focus on the customer. This focus is derived through the understanding of producing a mass amount of cars to a specific custom build and undisputable quality. In this same spirit, Toyota established their developed principles and practices in their Georgetown factory in Kentucky, USA. The 1992 case study published by Harvard Business School, Toyota Motor manufacturing USA, Inc. focuses on the addressal of the issues dealing with car seat defects and their impact on the basic principles of the company. The case study is written from the shared perspective of the author and Doug Friesen, who was the Assembly Manager at the time. Although the case study identifies the manufacturing problem with the drop in production from 95% to 85% believed to be caused by the errors with the seat kits/assemblies. However upon further examination, the seats were just a symptom of the larger problem in the production line. Upon closer review, the larger issue was more rooted in the basic culture and practices within the assembly line. There are fourteen management principles (FMP) taught as part of the Toyota Way Philosophy to help guide the growth of the plant to better address and adapt to the new culture of “Good thinking, Good Products” (pg 3). This paper will identify some of the management principles that were not adhered to or properly practiced which contributed to the basic issues within the shop. The lack...
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...coat provided by the company. He's a team leader now, qualified and sanctioned by his peers. He prefers to be called a team motivator, however. "I'm part of the team; I don't have a team. Let people maintain their own personality." —CM Today publication 41 workers. There is a pervading attitude that "if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile," because they don't really want to work. The idea, for example, that a worker in the plant would have the power to stop the line in order to eliminate a problem was heresy. Wouldn't such permission lead to widespread line-stoppage for every whim? Not, according to Toyota, if you instituted a system of worker responsibility and accountability. American companies might think they had a tight rein on employees, but with little responsibility resting directly in the workers' laps, there was also little accountability. And what were the workers being held responsible for? In the first instance, quality. In Japanese companies, quality was part of the process, not something added on in the inspection phase. American industry focused on "quality control." Generations of business-school graduates had learned that high quality equaled high cost. GM was not different from the rest of American industry in using inspectors tofinddefects after the fact. At General Motors, the way the company demonstrated to the world its concern for quality was to .add more inspectors, to check for defects. The Japanese eliminated...
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...Management of Change Integrative case Study Toyota’s Learning Case Challenge: Toyota’s Learning Key points: In 2010 Toyota recalled around 9 million cars with brake and other faults. It is considered as the best example of a learning organization. Known for its reliability, quality and long-term durability for 15 years. Follows five discipline disciplines set out Serge and his colleague. Uses Quality circles weekly, experiment and set impossible goals, team work, open communication. It was fined over $16 million. System Thinking and organizational change. Q1.Regarding the 14th Toyota Management Principle, which says that Toyota is a learning organization. Use one organizational learning theory to explain how they have achieved this? The last Toyota Management Principle concludes that Toyota became a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous improvement(Liker 2004)for organization to become organizational learning they need to create supportive environment, being open to new ideas and valuing different view point(Myers,Hulks&Wiggins 2012)according toTakeuchi,Osono and Shimizu(2008)Toyota value its workers and see them as acknowledge workers and the wisdom of experience and have an open communication and willingness to learn from others and freedom to voice contrary opinions in their organization. Q2.Peter Senge in his book “The fifth discipline “define learning organization as organization where individuals constantly increase...
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...Managers, 11th Edition by McGuigan, Moyer, & Harris PowerPoint Lecture Slides prepared by Richard D. Marcus University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee 2008 Thomson * South-Western Slide 1 Chapter 1 Introduction & Goals of the Firm » Introduction » » » » » Structure of Decision Models Profit’s Role Agency Problems & Solutions Not-for-Profit Organizations Why Corporations Have Succeeded Over Other Organizational Forms Slide 2 What is Managerial Economics? Integrates and applies microeconomic theory and methods to decision making problems faced by private, public, and not-for-profit organizations. Managerial economics deals with microeconomic reasoning on real world problems such as pricing decisions, selecting the best strategy in different competitive environments, and making efficient choices. Slide 3 To Expand Capacity or Not? • Should Toyota expand its capacity? In part, it must consider current and future demand and what other firms are likely to do. • Capacity for making cars is a long term project, so Toyota should think in terms of the present value (PV) of future profits. • Objective Function: » Max PV of profits {S1, S2} » S1 could be expand capacity and S2 not to expand yet capacity at this time. • Decision Rule: » Choose S1 if PV {Profits of S1 } > PV { Profits of S2 } » Choose S2 if PV { Profits of S1 } < PV { Profits of S2 } » If equal profits, then flip a coin Slide 4 The Decision-Making Process (Figure 1.2) 1. Establish Objectives...
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...What Went Wrong At Boeing? My article, The Boeing Debacle: Seven Lessons That Every CEO Must Learn, elicited spirited conversation. Several commentators noted that, in addition to the general lessons, Boeing made specific errors in the way it handled outsourcing and offshoring. Let’s take a closer look at those specifics. Boeing enthusiastically embraced outsourcing, both locally and internationally, as a way of lowering costs and accelerating development. The approach was intended to“reduce the 787′s development time from six to four years and development cost from $10 to $6 billion.” The end result was the opposite. The project is billions of dollars over budget and three years behind schedule. “We spent a lot more money,” Jim Albaugh, Chief of Commercial Airplanes at Boeing, explained in January 2011, “in trying to recover than we ever would have spent if we’d tried to keep the key technologies closer to home.” The right goal: add value for customers Let’s start with what Boeing did right. After losing market share to Airbus (owned by EADS) in the late 1990s, Boeing could have decided to focus on reducing the costs (and the selling prices) of its existing aircraft. That would have led inexorably to corporate death. Instead Boeing decided— commendably—to innovate with a new aircraft that would generate revenues by creating value for customers. First, Boeing aimed to improve their travel experience for the ultimate customers, the passengers. As compared...
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...TOYOTA- The Rise of a Global Corporation Submitted By: (12010121196) Ms. N AMULYA REDDY (12010121213) Ms. NIKITA SINGHANIA (12010121276) Mr. REUBEN JOSEPH (12010121032) Mr. AMIT KUMAR JENA (12010121057) Ms. ARPITA DEB (12010121316) Ms. SAYONEE DATTA Submitted To: Dr. Ravi Raj Kumar. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT At an outset we would like to express our profound gratitude to all the people who helped us directly or indirectly in completing the project. We thank Alliance University, the institution that has been working towards its noble mission of providing quality and holistic knowledge to its students. We sincerely express our gratitude to our Dean, Dr. Ravi Raj Kumar for the benevolence he has showered on us by providing us with all necessary facilities. We are thankful to him, for his expert advice and help which has always been source of inspiration for us. Above all, we owe everything to the Almighty and well-wishers for their valuable contribution and insights. However, we have taken utmost care in preparing this project report, mistakes would have crept though. (12010121196) Ms. N AMULYA REDDY (12010121213) Ms. NIKITA SINGHANIA (12010121276) Mr. REUBEN JOSEPH (12010121032) Mr. AMIT KUMAR JENA (12010121057) Ms. ARPITA DEB (12010121316) Ms. SAYONEE DATTA 1 Topic. Case Summary Q1: Toyota's revolutionary lean production Q2: Compare and contrast the arm's length relationships Q3: Development of Toyota's revolutionary "lean production system" Q4: Toyota enter into the...
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...for conducting merger: a. To create a company that would combine the Mercedes’ engineering with Chrysler’s marketing and design savvy to develop a vehicle to be sold anywhere in the world b. Increase market share (diminished by competitors increase in quality, technology, and innovation): i. Daimler – felt pressure to merge, ranked 15th largest automaker (only above Volvo & Porsche) ii. Chrysler – lack management depth, new products, and has small oversee market penetration c. Avoid consolidation due to global overcapacity d. Cope with changing marketplace and technology, such as the Internet e. Remain competitively priced by reducing cost (implementing “platform” design across DaimlerChrysler) f. Was it really “a merger of equals”? What went wrong? (see table and reference #2 – Muller, 2001) Issues faced by DaimlerChrysler after 1998 merger: a. How to leverage “soft” assets, such as Intellectual Capital in the form of Knowledge Management? b. How to resolve cultural differences between Daimler and Chrysler c. How to convince executives, managers, and staff to be open and remain loyal d. How can knowledge management be used to smooth the merger process * See reference #4 (Robb, 2003) for similarities between related KM acquisitions and mergers e. Is there enough resources or reason to adopt Knowledge Management * See Table A for comparison of companies that adopted KM Transfer of resources and capabilities: a. Economies of Integration: reduce costs and improve quality b. Economies...
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...Harvard Business School 9-693-019 Rev. September 5, 1995 Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. On the Friday before the running of the 118th Kentucky Derby, Doug Friesen, manager of assembly for Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, Plant, was approaching the final assembly lines, where shiny Camrys took shape. He heard a cheer go up. Team members on the lines were waving their hand tools towards a signboard that read “no overtime for the shift.” Smiling broadly, Friesen agreed: everyone in the plant surely deserved a relaxed Derby weekend. The plant had been hectic lately, as it was both supplying brisk sales of the all-new Camry sedan and ramping up station wagon versions for the European as well as North American markets. Overtime also had been necessary early in the week to make up lost production because the line utilization rate was below the projected target. In addition to these immediate problems, a growing number of cars were sitting off the line with defective seats or with no seats at all. The seat problem had been the subject of an urgent meeting called by Mike DaPrile, general manager of the assembly plant, that morning, May 1, 1992. At the meeting, Friesen learned of the situation firsthand from key people in both the plant and the seat supplier. He then spent the afternoon on the shop floor to learn more about the problem while the issues discussed were fresh in his mind. By the end of the day, it became clear to Friesen that the seat problem needed solving...
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...MGX 9660 - International Business Theory and Practice Case n°10: The Collapse of General Motors PHAM Trang (23283300) REBOURG Malcolm (23625678) YAO Aileen (20460996) 1 Table of Contents I - Introduction………..………...………………………………………….….….p 3 II - What are the internal and external factors that contributed to GM’s decline and eventual bankruptcy protection application?……………….....….p 4 Internal Factors...………….……..…………………………...……….……….…p 4 Extenal Factors……….…..…………………………..……….………………….p 5 III - Discuss the latest stage of the new (smaller) GM……………….………...p 6 What are the characterisics of the new GM?..………………………………...…p 6 Some encouraging signs of recovery………………………………………....….p 9 Threats regarding GM’s trials to regain its golden past………………………….p 11 Summary and Observations……………………………………………………...p 13 IV - With a majority government ownership, what operational and management challenges might GM’s management confront when trying to regain its golden past?…….………………………………….………..p 14 Operational Challenges..………………………………………………………….p 14 Management Challenges………………………………………………………….p 15 Summary and Observations………………………………………………………p 16 V - Critically Analyse Whether it was GM’s Failure or its Competitors’ enormous success in cost savings and innovation that brought about GM’s demise…………………………..…...….……………………..…….….….p 17 Cost Savings - a poorly designed cost structure……...………………………….p 17 Innovation Processes…………….…………..…………………………………..p 18...
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...Systems Introduction Toyota was started early in the 20th century by Sakichi Toyoda. He was a successful inventor and initially raised the money to start the company by selling the design of his automatic loom to a British company. He saw the potential of automobiles and the internal combustion engine and began working on researching and designing small gasoline engines. Here is a timeline of the early Toyota company that is available on their website: • 1929 Automatic-loom patent is sold to a British company. • 1930 Kiichiro Toyoda begins research on small gasoline-powered engine. • 1933 Automobile Department is established at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. • 1935 The Toyoda precepts are compiled. • 1936 The AA Sedan is completed. • 1937 Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. is established. • 1938 Honsha Plant begins production • 1950 Company faces a financial crisis; Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd. is established. • 1951 Suggestion System begins. ("History of",n.d.) What is unique about Toyota is how they designed and implemented a system of production known as, The Toyota Way, that not only creates happy empowered employees, but also generates very little waste and has become a quality management model for companies worldwide. Problem Statement Toyota has been an icon of high quality and a high performance quality management system utilizing several innovative techniques for over fifty years. The Toyota Way of seems to have been...
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...A Lesson in Communicating Bad News: The Toyota Recall Crisis: Missteps, Miscommunications, and Missed Opportunities Mari E. Friedrich MGT 460 June 24, 2015 Abstract The paper will serve to examine the corporate leadership failures of the Toyota 2009-2010 defective acceleration recalls. Focusing specifically, on a case that occurred in the state of California in 2011, resulting in a massive recall by Toyota, and nearly 30 percent of all U.S. vehicle recalls in 2010. This study will center on Toyota’s response on the case facts and its internal and external communications with Toyota North America, the Toyota owners, and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA). It will also address key stakeholder issues and risks to the Toyota brand. Finally, desirable outcomes will be outlined for resolving the ethical challenges by Toyota, as well as possible solutions that could have been implemented and recommendations for the future. A Lesson in Communicating Bad News: The Toyota Recall Crisis: Miscommunications, Missteps, and Missed Opportunities Case Introduction There has been an unprecedented period of corporate crises over the past decade. Effective crisis management has been a key element in whether a company can ride the storm and come out the other side. There is a constant presence of crises in the world of business and global business today that the public has seen firsthand. A crisis can happen to any company, large or small in every...
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...Toyota: A Transnational Case Study Toyota is one of the worlds leading car manufacturers and is the third largest in the world. Although based in Japan, Toyota produces most of its cars in its transplants in Georgetown, Kentucky, and Burnaston, Derbyshire. Toyota is a typical transnational corporation who understand that considerable gains can be made by locating manufacturing plants outside their country of origin. Toyota expanded to Europe in 1992 in order to achieve the benefits associated with establishing a manufacturing base in another country. Transnational corporations search out locations for their plants outside their original country because they can overcome costs such as transport and duties on imports and exports. Transnational corporations are the most important force causing changes in global economic activity. Companies often use transplants for routine assembly work which is known as 'backend work'. This allows the main company base to focus closely on the research and development aspect of the industry. This is the higher paid 'front end work'. A company often sets up a transplant in an area where the raw materials required for the manufacture of their products can be found. This saves transportation costs and the company can avoid import/export tariffs. One of the main reasons for companies setting up transplants is to gain a better understanding of the local market. It is beneficial for a company to manufacture the products in the...
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