Study Document
Toyota Organizational Behavior Exploring the Term Paper
Figure 2, Guiding Principles at Toyota, shows the conceptual model of this initiative in the context of Toyota's strategic human resources plan.
Figure 2: The Toyota Way 2001
Source: (Toyota Code of Conduct, 2007)
Training a Core Cultural Component
What has become accentuated in the Toyota culture is the intense focus on training and certifications. For production staff members to be promoted they must go through three weeks of pre-promotion training and review of key production center and lean manufacturing concepts. In order to advance in manufacturing it is critical for employees to both study intensively for these courses, and also pass the assessments, then get the recommendations of their current supervisors to gain a promotion. For managers, the training requirements are even more intensive, with this group of employees required to spend up to four months a year in complex problem-solving and personnel system training and education programs. In retrospect it is to be expected that a corporation that has established one of the most efficient supply chains in the world based on their TPS system, which has been credited as a learning ecosystem by scholars (Saruta 2006) would place such an extremely high value on training as a core, foundational value of the company. Figure 3 shows the organizational structure of Toyota's training strategies as they relate to both managerial, production, affiliate and functional department educational needs.
Figure 3: Toyota's Organizational Structure for Learning
Source: (Environmental and Social Report (2006)
Figure 4 shows the structure of how Toyota globally is organizing to turn knowledge, training and on-the-job training (OJT) into a competitive advantage. Figure 4 shows this specific organizational structure, which is from the company's 2002 Environmental Report.
Figure 4: Toyota's Organizational Structure for knowledge
Source: (Environmental and Social Report (2002)
Conclusion
Toyota's transformation from being highly hierarchical to embracing creativity, stressing localized action, and completely redefining the culture of the company has had a corresponding effect on the structure of the company. Today Toyota is completing in more global markets, with greater agility and localized focus as a result of the many modifications made to their organizational values and culture through Toyota Way 2001. The future direction of Toyota is to stress the role of Toyota Way 2010 as a strategy to provide even greater levels of process integration across the company while at the same time focusing on turning the entire organization into a learning eco-system. Toyota's senior management sees the dominance the TPS has provided, especially in hybrid auto components and products, and looks to capitalize on this with its global workforce as the company moves into other geographic and consumer markets.
References
Environmental and Social Report (2003) - From Toyota Corporation, Japan.. Comprehensive Report on all aspects of their operations. Employee Section. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_rep/03/pdf/E_c78_81.pdf
Environmental and Social Report (2005) - From Toyota Corporation, Japan.. Comprehensive Report on all aspects of their operations. Employee Section. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_rep/05/download/pdf/so_02.pdf
Environmental and Social Report (2006) - From Toyota Corporation, Japan.. Comprehensive Report on all aspects of their operations. Employee Section. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_rep/06/download/pdf/e_report06_p49_p55.pdf
Masaki, Saruta (2006) - Toyota Production Systems: The 'Toyota Way' and Labour-Management Relations Source: Asian Business & Management, Volume 5, Number 4, December 2006, pp. 487-506(20)
Toyota (2007) - Toyota's 21st Century Diversity Strategy. Toyota Motor Corporation. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.com/about/diversity/21stcenturyplan.pdf
Toyota Code of Conduct (2007) - Toyota Code of Conduct. Provides graphic of the vision forward for Toyota human resources direct. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/vision/code_of_conduct/what_is.pdf
Sample Source(s) Used
References
Environmental and Social Report (2003) - From Toyota Corporation, Japan.. Comprehensive Report on all aspects of their operations. Employee Section. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_rep/03/pdf/E_c78_81.pdf
Environmental and Social Report (2005) - From Toyota Corporation, Japan.. Comprehensive Report on all aspects of their operations. Employee Section. Accessed from the Internet on August 19, 2007 from location:
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/environmental_rep/05/download/pdf/so_02.pdf
Related Documents
Study Document
Ability of an Organization to
Customer centricity then can also have a significant impact on the perspective an organization has of its market and the opportunities inherent within it and other, tangential and territory market areas as well. This aspect of blue ocean strategies being driven by customer's perspectives, preferences, unmet needs and wants further underscores its inherent value and also its usefulness from a strategy perspective. The ability to find uncontested markets, which
Study Document
Knowledge Management in the Automotive
Use of single version of the truth and single information Balanced set of strategic metrics (Financial and non-financial). New methods of cost accounting (ABC, Target Costing). Internal vs. External Focus (Benchmarking and Self-Assessment). Process Management and Measures (value delivery). Stakeholder value measures Uniform set of measures Causal relationships between measures across all levels. Source: Lieberman; (1994; et.al.). Automotive Industry Analysis Entering 2007 it is clear that Japanese firms, lead by Toyota, will be at parity with and potentially surpass the
Study Document
Challenge of Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process...
Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process Review of the Relevant Literature Types of Mergers Identifying All Stakeholders in a Given Business Strategic Market Factors Driving Merger Activity Selection Process for Merger Candidates Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations The Challenge of Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process Mergers and acquisitions became central features of organizational life in the last part of the 20th century, particularly as organizations seek to establish and
Study Document
Consumers' Perspectives, What Criteria Influence
For instance, approximately 33 per cent of Thailand's water sources are categorized as having poor quality and the phenomenon is considered a serious environment problem. Moreover, Thailand is ranked among the last Asian countries based on amounts of fresh water available per capita (WWF, 2010). In this context, the Thai government and the Thai people have commenced to pay more attention to the effect of the environmental problems, as well
Study Document
Management in Business Operations and Performance
Integrating Total Quality Environmental Management Systems - a Critical Study of TQEM Relevance of TQM to Environmental Management Scope of Dissertation Moving from Reactive to Proactive Management Understanding TQM in Relation to TQEM History of TQM Operation of TQM Quality and Environmental Management Standards Environmental Management Systems Weaknesses of EMS Standards Total Quality Environmental Management Comparing ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Integrating the ISO 14000 Environmental Management System Demographics Impact of certification on economic and ecological performances Research Design and Nature Integrating a Sustainable EMS with
Study Document
E-Manufacturing - A New Link
Ayers (2000, p. 4) describes a supply chain as "Life cycle processes supporting physical, information, financial, and knowledge flows for moving products and services from suppliers to end-users." A supply chain can be short, as in the case of a cottage industry, or quite long and complex as in the manufacture, distribution, and sales of automobiles. In fact, the automobile supply chain has its origin in the mining of the