Management Improvement Plan for Toyota

Profile 

Current Management Planning 

Before 2009, Toyota was regarded as a symbol of Japanese industrial pioneer, innovation, and manufacturing prowess (Feng, 2010). Their vehicles were famous for their fuel efficiency, economy, and reliability. Toyota's lean manufacturing culture and techniques were the envy of most businesses in the manufacturing industry. However, the current status of Toyota’s management is a shadow of its previous success in the manufacturing industry. The quality of their automobiles has significantly gone down regardless of its attempts to rebuild its brand image (Kellogg School of Management Faculty Members, 2010). 

According Henri Fayol’s principles of management, authority and responsibility is vital in the success of a company. Authority is derived from a leader’s personal leadership or official position in a company and should reflect moral worth, intelligence, experience and other leadership traits. Toyota’s failure is attributed to poor leadership and inability to address mechanical challenges facing their products. Due to poor quality products, most clients are shifting to more affordable and high quality models such as Suzuki and Honda (Kellogg School of Management Faculty Members, 2010). Furthermore, there were additional mechanical issues such as sticky accelerator pedals and other glitches. Also, their corporate social responsibility was substandard. Toyota’s administration is responsible for the current managerial failure as opposed to suppliers (Kellogg School of Management Faculty Members, 2010). 

Employees’ Perception and Culture 

According to the principles of management, a company should have a unity of direction. Due to Toyota’s managerial challenges, it affected employees’ productivity (Kaufman, 2010). As a market leader in the global automobile industry, Toyota used its company culture to achieve unity of direction among all stakeholders (Kaufman, 2010). Administration challenges that were mentioned earlier adversely affected the company and its employees. Previously, its lean manufacturing technique and culture was used to maximize employee productivity across its factories and plants globally (Kaufman, 2010). 

Due to lack of order and proper planning, they compromised product quality and caused employee dissatisfaction. Also, due to dissatisfaction, there was a high turnover of talented employees. Toyota’s culture used to focus on solving issues before they became severe or serious (Kaufman, 2010). However, the management did not take responsibility for their actions and focused on blaming employees, suppliers, and customers for the product issues and various customer complaints globally. Furthermore, they did not take initiative to solve the mechanical challenges before they became affected the entire company. 

Communication 

Esprit de corps is a principle of management that states that unity is strength and is related to unity of command. It emphasizes the significance of teamwork and the role of communication in the entire managerial process. Communication in very organization is crucial to all managerial operation (Team, 2017). Since 2002, the drop in Toyota’s car models was a concern from many clients in the US and other markets. About 3.8 million Toyota automobiles were recalled in 2009 (Team, 2017). The primary concern was the incorrectly placed doormats that caused uncontrolled acceleration. 

Notably, in one incident, a Lexus sedan’s accelerator got suck and killed the driver after the crash (Team, 2017). Additionally, the company did not make attempts to communicate with the customer’s family due to fear of American customers’ backlash. Toyota’s lack of communication showed the poor organization culture developed by the company and it affected their relationship with its clients globally (Team, 2017). Managerial challenges also played a critical role in the poor communication. The quality issues affecting Toyota began in 2002 when Toyota Camry’s suppliers were warned about product quality (Feng, 2010). Approximately 55000 Toyota Camry's were recalled in 2007, and about nine million cars were recalled in 2009 (Feng, 2010). In both cases, Toyota attempted to change the story and cover up their failures. 

Management Plan Recommendations 

Management Process 

The principles of management include spirit de corps, division of work, unity of command, authority and responsibility, centralization, subordination of personal interest to the general interests, unity of direction, scalar chain, and remuneration of personnel (Chand, 2018). Understanding and implementing the principles of management is beneficial because it will assist Toyota’s administration to understand their managerial duties. Additionally, by implementing the managerial principles, Toyota can remedy their current managerial issues and improve their communication. 

Authority, initiative, unity of command, and division of work are some of the essential principles and they are functions of top level management. Since the principles act as guidelines, they guide administrative policies and foster systematic working so that Toyota can avoid the mistakes that caused its downfall. Unity of direction, scalar chain, and unity of command will foster smooth and systematic functioning in the organization while avoiding confusion (Chand, 2018). For instance, Toyota should not have blamed other stakeholders instead they should have focused on their managerial challenges. Furthermore, unity of direction will ensure smooth flow of communication and information in the company. 

Implemented and Communicated 

The best technique of implementing and communicating the changes is through Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model. One, the company should identify what needs to be improved such as communication strategies and quality while identifying individuals and resources that will facilitate the process (Kotter, 2015). Two, the company should present a solid argument for all stakeholders including employees and shareholders about the proposed changes. Three, the company should plan for change by creating a roadmap and all factors affecting change management. Four, the company should utilize data for evaluation and resources. Also, the company should identify the tools necessary for retraining, re-educating, and rethinking practices and priorities (Kotter, 2015). 

Five, the success of the entire process is dependent on good communication. There should be open and clear lines of communication in the company among all stakeholders including employees, administration, customers, and shareholders. Furthermore, Toyota should monitor and manage change resistance. Seven, the company should celebrate success by recognizing milestone achievement in their change management process (Kotter, 2015). Finally, the company should continuously seek methods of improving their change management process. 

Increased Employee Performance 

The principle of authority and responsibility will ensure there is no misuse of authority and will assist Toyota to beat deadlines without delay. Proper discipline will ensure the organization will improve its manufacturing efficiency while enhancing systematic working in the organization (Chand, 2018). Furthermore, unity of command will ensure every employee is aware of their roles, objectives, and responsibilities in the company. Also, unity of direction will ensure that all employees and suppliers are dedicated to achieving Toyota’s strategic objectives. Additionally, they will align their individual goals with Toyota’s overall strategic objectives. Scalar chain will ensure that there is a systematic flow of communication without gaps in the organization. Notably, initiative will ensure the company is eager to sort out problems before they become worse. Ultimately, implementing the principles of management will improve employee performance. 

Sustained and Monitored 

The rational decision-making model is essential in sustaining and monitoring the proposed ethical and basic principles of management. The first step involves identifying the problem. The second step involves collecting adequate information about the challenges facing the company and the tools that will assist the company to make the correct choices ( Rational Decision Making Model, 2018) . Furthermore, Toyota should analyze the situation and alternative courses of action. Such options may include terminating contracts with suppliers who offer substandard product or training and development. The fourth step involves developing positive and creative possible solutions. 

After developing solutions to the challenges facing the company, they should evaluate the alternatives. They should evaluate the desirability, feasibility, and acceptability of each alternative ( Rational Decision Making Model, 2018) . Also, they should develop criteria that will be used when evaluating the alternatives. The sixth step involves selecting the preferred alternative. Toyota should critically evaluate each alternative and asses its short and long-term impact on the company's sustainability. They should also evaluate whether the alternative may create problems in the future. The organization must evaluate all risks associated with a particular choice. Finally, Toyota should act on the decision. They should set up a strategic plan that will implement the decision. Also, the company should ensure change management is fully supported by all stakeholders including suppliers, employees, and shareholders ( Rational Decision Making Model, 2018) . Furthermore, they should allocate resources to implement the strategic plan while ensuring all stakeholders are committed to implementing the decision. As mentioned earlier in Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model, the company should continuously evaluate their progress and whether they have achieved significant milestones. They should celebrate small successes while identifying sources of resistance and applying principles of change management. 

Conclusion 

The research paper has provided a management improvement plan for Toyota. Also, it has evaluated the problems facing Toyota and how the basic principles of management will enhance the company’s performance. Principles of management are an essential part of management theories because they act as a base for management education and training. Actions and decisions of the top level management have a direct impact on organizational culture, communication, and employee performance as mentioned in the research paper. Effective managerial policies through the principles of management are highly likely to improve organizational performance. 

References 

Bhasin, H. (2018). SWOT analysis of Toyota - Toyota SWOT analysis. Retrieved from https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-toyota/ 

Chand, S. (2018). The Importance of Management Principles for an Organization. Retrieved from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/the-importance-of-management-principles-for-an-organisation/8622 

Feng, Y. (2010). Toyota Crisis: Management Ignorance? A Swedish Case of Consumers Perceptions. 

Kaufman, W. (2010, February 9). Can Toyota recover its reputation for quality? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123519027 

Kellogg School of Management Faculty Members. (2010, February 9). The Toyota recall: Understanding the real problem. Bloomberg . Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-02-09/the-toyota-recall-understanding-the-real-problem 

Kotter, J. (2015). 8 Steps to accelerate change in 2015. Kotter International. Web , 1 . 

Rational Decision-Making Model. (2018). Retrieved from https://the-happy-manager.com/articles/rational-decision-making-model/ 

Team, T. (2017, March 27). Toyota's struggles in the U.S. car market are concerning. Forbes . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/03/27/toyotas-struggles-in-the-u-s-car-market-are-concerning/#5faf75f42fe5