TOYOTA’S KNOWLEDGE MANAGMENT SYSTEMS

UDHAI

MANJOT

ANKUR

SAURABH

SAMPREET

CONTENTS

History

Knowledge management methodology

TACIT KNOWLEDGE APPROACH

EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE APPROACH

TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM-TPS

The Toyata supplier network

Social identity theory

 "Ideas for Good" 

ASSIGNMENTS

SAURABH- INTRODUCTION

UDHAI- KNOWLEDGE EXTRACTION

MANJOT- THEORIES

ANKUR- TOPOLOGIES AND SUPPLY CHAIN

SAMPREET- CASE STUDIES

ABSTRACT

Toyota's management philosophy has evolved from the company's origins and has been reflected in the terms "Lean Manufacturing" and Just In Time Production, which it was instrumental in developing.

 Toyota's managerial values and business methods are known collectively as the Toyota Way.

Toyota has long been recognized as an industry leader in manufacturing and production.

TMC, is a Japanesemultinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.

In 2010, Toyota employed 300,734 people worldwide,[2] and was the third largest automobile manufacturer in 2011 by production behind General Motors and Volkswagen AG.

Toyota sold 4.97 million cars in the first half-year 2012, more than GM or Volkswagen.[3] Toyota is the eleventh largest company in the world by revenue.

In July 2012 the company reported that it had manufactured its 200 millionth vehicle.

Knowledge Management at Toyota

According to analysts, Toyota's success in both the local and global markets was based on its gaining a competitive advantage through implementation of innovative and path-breaking ideas on its production floors.

TPS worked on the basic idea of maintaining a continuous flow of products in factories in order to adapt flexibly to changes in demand.

TPS linked all production activities to real dealer demand through implementation of Kanban, JIT and other quality measures...

TOYOTA WANTS TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE OF ITS PRODUCTION SYSTEM TO NEW EMPLOYEES

Such as the factory recently opened in Valenciennes, France, Toyota typically selects a core group of two to three hundred new employees and sends them for several months training and work on the assembly line in one of Toyota’s existing factories.

After several months of studying the production system and working alongside experienced Toyota assembly line workers, the new workers are sent back to the new factory site.

TOYOTA WANTS TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE OF ITS PRODUCTION SYSTEM TO NEW EMPLOYEES

These repatriated workers are accompanied by one or two hundred long-term, highly experienced Toyota workers, who will then work alongside all the new employees in the new factory to assure that knowledge of Toyota’s finely tuned production process is fully implanted in the new factory.

TACIT KNOWLEDGE APPROACH-QUALITY CIRCLES

At the end of each work week, groups of Toyota production workers spend one to two hours analyzing the performance and problems in quality or productivity.

Each group proposes “countermeasures” to correct identified problems, and discusses the results

Through personal interactions in such Quality Circle group settings, Toyota employees share their ideas for improvement, devise steps to test new ideas for improvement, and assess the results of their tests.

EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE APPROACH

Documenting the tasks that each team of workers and each individual worker is asked to perform on its assembly lines.

These documents provide a detailed description of how each task is to be performed, how long each task should take, the sequence of steps to be followed in performing each task, and the steps to be taken by each worker in checking his or her own work

TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM-TPS

A production system which is steeped in the philosophy of "the complete elimination of all waste" imbuing all aspects of production in pursuit of the most efficient methods.

The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two concepts:

1. The first is called "jidoka" (which can be loosely translated as "automation with a human touch") which means that when a problem occurs, the equipment stops immediately, preventing defective products from being produced;

2. The second is the concept of "Just-in-Time," in which each process produces only what is needed by the next process in a continuous flow.

TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM-TPS

The Toyata supplier network Japanese

automobile makers are more and more productive, US is lagging

WHY? Dyer and

Nobeoka:

"Creating and managing a hihg performance knowledge-sharing network: the Toyota case"

Knowledge sharing routines

What is knowledge? Explicit knowledge or information

Tacit knowledge or know-how

Dilemmas associated with knowledge sharing how can self-interested network members openly share

valuable knowledge?

how to prevent free-rider problems?

how to maximize the efficiency of knowledge transfers?

Overcoming knowledge sharing dilemmas

Creating a network 'identity' through network-level knowledge-sharing routines

Network `rules' for knowledge protection and value appopriation

Creating multiple knowledge-sharing processes and sub-networks in the larger network

Why create an 'identity'?

Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1986) Categorization: We put others (and ourselves) into

categories.

Identification: We associate with certain group (our ingroups), which serves to bolster our self-esteem.

Comparison: We compare our groups with other groups, seeing a favorable bias toward the group to which we belong.

Social identity theory

Experiment: Rabbie and Horwitz (1969) “The arousal of ingroup-

outgroup bias by a chance win or loss.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13: 269-277.

Randomly assign individuals to a blue and a green group

Individuals were unknown to each other and were told that they would not meet again

Based on the toss of a coin a price was given to one group

Group members evaluated each other more positively and were more willing to cooperate with each other than non group members

How did Toyata create a network 'identity'?

Toyota's network is known (labeled) as the `Toyota group'.

Toyota creates a shared network identity by developing multiple groups The supplier association

Toyota's operations management consulting division

Voluntary small group learning teams (jishuken)

(Interfirm employee transfers)

Supplier association

Kyohokai: Toyota's supplier association was established in 1943

Suppliers must be close to each other

Tokai (150 members)

Kanto (65 members)

Kansai (29 members)

Supplier association

Suppliers association has general (high level) meetings every other month Quality committees.

Excellent plant tours allow network members to visit `best practice' plants

Quality management conference held once a year

lectures from directors, senior managers + six success ful supplier cases of quality improvement

Consulting teams

Toyota's Operations Management Consulting Division (OMCD) 6 senior executives, 50 consultants

Direct free `on-site' assistance for suppliers periods ranging from one day to many months

on average suppliers are visited about 4 times a year with an average visit lasting 3 days

emergent problem solving: cross divisional problems solving teams helping a supplier

What kind of social capital is this according to Coleman?

Voluntary learning teams

Jishuken: 60 of the key suppliers `voluntary study groups'

Each group consists of roughly 5-8 suppliers geographic proximity no direct competitors in the same group level of experience with Toyota

Groups are reorganized every 3 years (Why?)

After determining theme, the group visits each member to develop suggestions

Member of OMCD monitors (to assist and to learn)

Voluntary learning teams (II)

Jishuken are reported to be very valuable (especially in transmitting tacit knowledge)

Network rules for knowledge protection Creating an identity isn't enough to solve sharing and

free riding problems

Toyota sets a norm/rule by sharing its own knowledge eliminating the notion that there is `propriety knowledge'

Suppliers must be willing to open their plants to other network members to other network members reciprocal obligations: We will help you, but in return, you must

agree to help the network.

reciprocity norm is enforced by implicit threat of withdrawal of business

Network rules for knowledge protection

Tacit rule about value appropriation

The recipient of knowledge may appropriate 100 percent of the savings in the short run, but over time will be expected to share a proportion of those savings with the network

Compare Toyota practice with the GM consultancy teams (PICOS)

Creating multiple knowledge sharing processes

How to maximize efficiency?

Toyota established variety of bilateral and multilateral processes, each designed to facilitate different types of knowledge

The creation and evolution of Toyota's US knowledge sharing network

1988: Toyota begins producing cars in Georgetown, Kentucky

Suppliers had virtually now contact with each other, how did Toyota implement its knowledge management ? Phase 1: Developing weak ties among suppliers

Phase 2: Developing strong ties with Toyota

Phase 3: Developing strong ties among suppliers

1. Developing weak ties

1989 Toyota initiates supplier association (BAMA)

2: strong ties with Toyota

Free of charge well trained consultants made available

to BAMA members

3: strong ties among suppliers

Toyota divided suppliers in small learning teams-no competitors-rotation-equal capabilities

One large network with core firm as hub

Bilateral relationships Weak ties/arm's lenght relations Structural holes Explicit knowledge Members motivated to

demonstrate commitment Power game

self-interest independence closed formal contracts

Large network plus multiple nested networks

Multi-lateral relationships Strong/embedded ties in nested

networks with core firm Dense network Both explicit and tacit

knowledge reciprocity; benefits of

participation outweigh isolation Trust game

fairness interdepence open informal contracts

Two types of network benefits

Resource sharing

Access to knowledge spillovers

Direct ties

knowledge sharing

complementary skills

scale economies

Indirect ties

knowledge spillovers

Ahuja: Collaboration networks, structural holes, and innovation.

Effects of direct ties The more direct

ties, the higher the innovation output Knowledge sharing

Complementarity

Economies of scale

High maintenance costs

Effects of indirect ties The more

indirect ties, the higher the innovation output Information

gathering devices

Screening device

low maintenance costs

Toyota Introduces its Optimized Global Manufacturing and Supply System

(Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle) project

In the summer of 2004 Toyota crossed the threshold to a new age of global production with the launch in Thailand of the Hilux Vigo pickup truck, available in standard cab, extra cab and double cab models.

Toyota initiated the IMV project to create an optimized global manufacturing and supply system for pickup trucks and multipurpose vehicles to satisfy market demand in more than 140 countries worldwide

Toyota IMV Launch Video - YouTube.FLV

CROWD SOURCING-A NEW INITIATIVE

Essence of crowdsourcing

The riddle of knowledge creation

Radical Innovation via illiteracy

End of and era –”engineering of the consent”

Setting up new dimension for mediocrity

 "Ideas for Good" 

Corporate crowdsourcing experiment comes to us from Toyota.

1. Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) 

2. Hybrid Synergy Drive® (HSD)

3. Solar Powered Ventilation System

4. Touch Tracer Display 

5. Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS)

References http://www.toyota.com.au/toyota/company/operations/

toyota-production-system

http://www.toyota-global.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/

https://www.google.co.in/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=1&gs_ri=hp&tok=qUo-i120hCn5uycMCxflPw&cp=9&gs_id=17&xhr=t&q=toyota+production+system&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=toyota+pr&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1357700187,d.bmk&fp=accaa2572706106f&biw=1280&bih=675

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota

http://www2.toyota.co.jp/en/news/12/04/0406_3.html

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