Each company has its own Code of Ethics that gives them directions to be followed during their daily activities. The Code of Ethics should also guide the company on decision making and crisis management whether large or small. This paper exhaustively discusses Toyota’s Code of Ethics and how Toyota should have initially handled its customer complaints. The paper also explains what would be the ideal communication plan for Toyota to adopt regarding its customer relationships. Lastly, the paper gives a perspective if Toyota was true to their Code of Ethics statement.
How Toyota should have initially handled its consumer complaints
Toyota Company has recalled more than 9 million cars since 2009 due to significant technical issues. Initially, the company recalled more than 5 million in cars in 2009 with issues relating to gas pedals getting stuck on floor mats. This was followed by another recall of more than 4 million cars with issues relating to sticky pedals (Piotrowski & Guyette, 2010). All the complaints came from consumers who were not comfortable with the car’s performance since such problems could put the life of the consumers at stake. In response to consumer complains, I believe that Toyota Company should have performed a good internal risk assessment program that would identify areas of the business that required full attention of the management to prevent any further issues and complaints. In my opinion, making use of strong risk management programs by the company would play a significant role in containing further complaints from the consumers.
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The Ideal communication plan for Toyota to adopt regarding its relationship with customers
Toyota Company has had a good relationship with its customers for a long time hence increasing its customer base. However, for the company to maintain the relationship with its customers, it should employ an effective communication plan especially when addressing customer’s complaints (Toyota Recall: Five Critical Lessons, 2018). I feel that the ideal communication plan to be adopted by the company is to let the consumers be aware that the company took responsibility of the fault and came up with solutions to the problems in question. I acknowledge accountability as an important factor during communication to prospective consumers since it rebuilds the trust that would have been lost. For instance, the faulty gas pedals by the company was a fault done by the company’s gas pedal supplier but the company instead took responsibility for it (Toyota Recall: Five Critical Lessons, 2018). Moreover, the company recalled the cars and offered to fix the problems. The measures should be taken with the customer’s awareness in order to maintain the good relationship with consumers.
Toyota and its Code of Ethics
The Toyota Company code of ethics became effective on 1st of April 2011 and it included the regulations that were to be followed by the company and its entire staff. The regulations were to be in line with guidelines specified under “Guiding Principles at Toyota” and it included dedicating the business to provide safe and clean products aimed at enhancing the quality of life globally (Toyota Motor Corporation Global Website, 2001). However, according to customer complaints, I agree that the Toyota Company breached this code of ethics several times. The breach specifically involves a crisis with more than nine million cars having safety issues. The repeated act of the company to produce faulty cars in several occasions goes against the rules and regulations outlined in their code of ethics and guiding principles. This puts the life of its consumers at stake considering the outcome that the fault might cause.
Conclusion
To sum up, Toyota Company has had several recalls for its products tallying to more than 9 million cars mainly due to their faulty gas pedals that were sticky. With regard to Toyota’s code of ethics, I agree that the company violated the regulation ensuring the production of clean and safe products enhancing quality of life globally since the faulty gas pedals were not safe for use could make the consumers vulnerable to road accidents.
References
Piotrowski, C & Roger W. Guyette, J. (2010). Toyota Recall Crisis: Public Attitudes on Leadership and Ethics. Organization Development Journal , 28 (2), 89–97. Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbth%26AN%3d52705582%26site%3deds-live
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE (2001). 75 Years of TOYOTA: Current Conditions | Guiding Principles at Toyota. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/conditions/philosophy/guiding_principles.html
Toyota Recall: Five Critical Lessons (2018). Business Ethics, The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility. Retrieved from: http://business-ethics.com/2010/01/31/2123-toyota-recall-five-critical-lessons/
