TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION: A CASE STUDY

The reputation of the Toyota Motor Corporation had temporarily damaged as the news
emerged that some Toyota vehicles used by people that reported to be the victims of accidents,
happened to sustain injuries and others lost their lives. The TMC or the Toyota Motor
Corporation asserted that the cause of the vehicles to speed up control were the entrapment of
floor mats and sticky gas pedals, but the company also said that it is possible that the drivers
accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes, and the company also denied the
existence of a glitch in its electronic throttle system. They are certain that there was no problem
on production and keep saying that the problem was the driver itself and not the vehicle.
According to Bob Daley, the Senior VP of Toyota Motor Sales in U.S.A., there are no existing
defects on their vehicles and the floor mats are perfectly fitted but the federal officials are against
of what Daley and Toyota stated. The denial of the TMC could possibly cause by one of the
basic production rules of Toyota Production System which is to never send defects to the next
process while producing the vehicles. The TMC should be concerned with the complaints of
their customers because they do not know that on those issues, the opposing companies may be
planning to take steps on how to get the customers of Toyota.

The Toyota Company applied the Just-In-Time strategy or the JIT on manufacturing
automobiles. The JIT strategy is ideal in automobile manufacturing company because it aims on
limiting the inventories to reduce the waste and production costs. The principle of the JIT is to
meet the expectations of the customers regarding the quality if it’s worth the investment. They
produce vehicles depending on the quantity of economic demands and they make sure that their
products are not defective because they follow the correct vehicle manufacturing process. The
TMC was one of the first company to implement the Quality Control in the 1940s and 1950s;
they set in mind that the TQM is based on the notion of “customer first”, kaizen which means
continuous improvement and the “total participation” meaning that not only the top managers
have the right to give suggestions but also the employees. The TMC also applied the statistical
decision making for long term improvements instead of short term. With the continuous use of
the JIT, TQM, Kaizen, and Lean Management, the TMC will also keep on innovating and
improving knowing that there are only few competitors aligned with their business and the
threats of new entrants are very low since starting an automobile manufacturing company needs
a huge amount of money for investing. Despite the incidents going around and complaints from
the customers, the Toyota Company is still unperturbed because they are known to be one of the
largest companies in the world.

The Toyota Motor Corporation should not be complacent with the idea that they are one
of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world and that no one can overthrow them no
matter what issues may spread about them. Even if Toyota projects the largest sales, there will
come a time that their net income will fall on to undesirable amount and the possible cause may
be the complaints of the customers. The TMC should change their strategic plan on how to
improve the overall operations from the smallest part to the biggest such as looking for other
suppliers that offers better quality product than before and delivers on earliest time you needed
the equipment; hiring trustworthy, responsible, and reliable employees and operators; hiring the
most efficient managers; thinking of the most effective marketing strategies that will hook up
more potential customers; improving the appearance of vehicle as well as the interior car parts;
and offering much affordable price than the competitors but still generating income.

With the occurrence of the accidents by the people who are users of Toyota vehicle, the
TMC claimed that the possible cause of the accidents was the entrapment of the floor mat, sticky
gas pedals, and driver error. The Lawyer of one of the victims said that the cause could also be
the glitch in its electronic throttle system. However, the TMC was still unbothered by the issue
because they know for sure that there was no problem with the electronic throttle system and the
denial was possibly caused by one of the basic principles of Toyota Production system and that is
to never send defects while manufacturing a vehicle meaning to say, if there was a defect item on
the process of production, they will no longer use it automatically. There are only few
competitors of Toyota, but they shouldn’t be complacent of that because for sure the rivals also
have competitiveness and wants to be the number one automobile manufacturer around the
world. Having many issues, complaints, and lawsuits will cause the customers to shift to other
automakers. With the Toyota’s implementation of the JIT or the just-in-time philosophy which
focuses on limiting the inventories and reducing the waste and production costs; TQM or the
Total Quality Management that focuses on overall quality production; Kaizen which is to
improve continuously and the Lean Management or the Lean Manufacturing that seeks to
support the overall and continuous improvement of the vehicle, I have come to the conclusion
that the Toyota Motor Corporation was untroubled by the issues about their vehicles because
their principle is to be able to improve their products continuously and to provide the best quality
that their customers want. They are aware of what will happen to their company if they neglect
the issues so they keep on implementing the appropriate manufacturing process to give the
demands of the customers. To be globally competitive, Toyota should utilize a strong strategic
plan that may help them bring back the trust and loyalty of the customers around the world.
Training the employees and workers to have sufficient skills and knowledge, incorporating the
management systems, monitoring the inventories, and making use of the proper vehicle
manufacturing process may come up with the best and quality output.