What makes Toyota a successful company?

By Team 1(Nuts and Bolts)

Team 1 (Nuts and Bolts)

Ahmad Fatayer

Deepti Aleti

Leela Krishna Manush Balusa

Diego Asbun

Emilio Sanchez

Savannah DiMuro

Mayank Arora

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Contents

Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................3

1. Toyota Management History:..................................................................................................................4

2. Toyota Kanban System:...........................................................................................................................6

Functions of Kanban:...............................................................................................................................7

Rules for Using Kanban:...........................................................................................................................7

3. Toyota “4P” Model and its fourteen principles:......................................................................................8

Philosophy (Long-Term Thinking)............................................................................................................8

Process (Eliminate Waste).......................................................................................................................8

People and Partners (Respect, Challenge, and Grow Them)...................................................................9

Problem Solving (Continuous Improvement and Learning)...................................................................10

4. Toyota Lean Six Sigma and the Toyota Production System (TPS):.........................................................10

Six Sigma................................................................................................................................................11

Lean manufacturing...............................................................................................................................11

The original seven defects (wastes/muda) are:.....................................................................................12

5. Toyota Strategy to Grow in Operations:................................................................................................13

6. Toyota Sales, Marketing and Advertising:.............................................................................................16

Contribution of Sales to the Success of Toyota:....................................................................................16

Marketing and Advertising:...................................................................................................................17

7. Toyota Environment Impact:.................................................................................................................18

Conclusion:................................................................................................................................................21

References:................................................................................................................................................22

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WHAT MAKES TOYOTA A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY?

Introduction:

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japan-based auto-maker company. Toyota was invented in

August of 1973 by Kiichiro Toyoda. Toyota is the seventh largest company in the world and the

second largest supplier of cars, with production facilities in 28 countries around the world

(Toyota, 2010). Toyota has become the best and most reliable car manufacturing company in

the world. The reason is, it managed to keep its way and strategies through the years to

improve car quality with lowest price possible. Toyota not only survived after post war Japan in

1945, but by 1957 had started selling its cars in the US market. Toyota went through setback in

2010 due to cars recalls and its reputation was damaged to the point that its leaders had to

testify in the US congress about car recalls that caused people lives. But again Toyota does not

know failure and was committed to bring changes to improve its image again and indeed it was

successful. So why Toyota is so successful? Anyone affiliated with Toyota will tell you simple

three-word: “The Toyota Way”. The Toyota Way is a combination of quality manufacturing

genius combined with great management philosophy. It also utilized its Toyota Production

System (TPS) methodology to bring in continuous quality improvement and empower

employee’s relationships. The Toyota way is simply explained by former Toyota president Cho

as “Toyota contributes to society through the manufacturing of high-quality products and

services. Our practices based on this core principle have become a source of competitive

advantage. These managerial values and methods are the Toyota Way [1].”

This paper will discuss seven components that made Toyota a successful company. They are

as follows:

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1. Toyota Management History

2. Toyota Kanban System

3. Toyota “4P” Model and its fourteen principles

4. Toyota Lean Six Sigma and the Toyota Production System (TPS)

5. Toyota Strategy to Grow in Operations

6. Toyota Sales, Marketing and Advertising

7. Toyota Environment Impact

1. Toyota Management History:

In 1937, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. was established and up until the late 1980s, their organizational

structure was very pyramidal including various divisions, sections, and sub-sections. During the

late 80s they encountered some typical problems found in large businesses, excessive

organization and a lack of flexibility. In August of 1989, sub-sections were removed and the

existing sections were made more general, which created a simple, two-level organization.

Through this, the section level was able to decrease the number of organizations from 758 to

633 and the number of manager positions decreased from 1,800 to 900. “In conjunction with

these changes, the ‘San Tsuke Campaign’ and the ‘Hanko Mitsu Campaign’ were conducted,

resulting in a more open organization, fast decision-making, and the delegation of authority”

(Toyota-Global).

In the late 80s to early 90s there was a swift increase in vehicle series, about 10 model

redesigns per year. Efficiency of product development and development time became an issue

for Toyota so in September 1992, organizational reforms were implemented by transitioning to a

product-centered development system. By 1997 it was decided that major organizational

reforms

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needed to be made in the Domestic Sales Operations Group. “A shift was made from sales

activities that focus on new cars to a comprehensive sales style with new cars, used cars, and

service at the core and also including installment sales, insurance, and telecommunications”

(Toyota-Global).

In January 1998, the Environmental Affairs Division was created and placed under the

direct authority of the presidency. It was created with the purpose to oversee environmental

issues companywide. Soon after, in January 2000, the BR Global Strategic IT Department was

established in the IT and Telecom Business Division in order for TMC to be able to keep up with

the rapidly expanding Internet and other multimedia networks.

In order to flatten organizations, clarify roles, and increase speed, organizational

changes were brought to the group level in July 2003. “The number of directors was reduced by

appointing only those at the senior managing officer level and higher, and the position of a

managing officer responsible for operations of each division was created” (Toyota-Global). For

decision-making, division operations were decided at the senior managing officer level or lower.

Senior managing officers were now responsible for making decisions involving operations

closely related to the work site while being the chief executive officers of their divisions. This

increased the speed of decision-making.

In April 2011, Toyota made changes to the management system as well as to their

directors, and had organizational reforms that are still in place today. Their aim was to “1)

convey customer opinions and on-site information to management in a timely manner, 2) make

prompt management decisions based on on-site information and 3) make constant checks as to

whether management decisions are acceptable to society” (Toyota-Global). Various things

were implemented such as a) flattening the board of directors, b) downsizing the executive

decision-making system, c) structure modifications to recognize local decision making by

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overseas affiliates, d) structure changes to make sure outside opinions are heard and reflected

in management practices.

2. Toyota Kanban System:

Toyota has achieved global recognition in industrial engineering through the Toyota

Production System and its supplementary tools. The origins of TPS date back to the late 19th

century when Kiichiro Toyoda sought more efficient production methods, specifically by

eliminating waste. His belief was, "the ideal conditions for making things are created when

machines, facilities, and people work together to add value without generating any waste."

(Just-in-Time, Toyota). Following in his philosophy, Taiichi Ohno an industrial engineer for

Toyota developed the ground work for what would become the Just-In-Time method. As Ohno

worked toward developing tools in support of JIT he discovered that supermarkets using a

system of only refilling items on shelves as they were taken by a customer eliminated the waste

of excess inventory. His discovery led to the development of the “Kanban System” a new

process standard that came to be the foundation for Toyota’s success.

Kanban translates to signboard. The first version of this concept used a visual based system

consisting of a large sign board and task specific story cards. This technique allowed for a rapid

look at the progression of every component that added value to a process. The process is

broken down into separate components that are divided into columns and then subdivided into

tasks. In Kanban’s simplest form, as the workflow progresses, so does its story card through the

different work stations with either a complete or incomplete. At present Toyota employs two

kinds of specific Kanban, product instruction and parts retrieval. In product instruction, a Kanban

is removed when a work station uses parts. Then only those parts that have been taken are

produced. The Kanban is then placed on the part for the parts retrieval component. Here, the

Kanban is taken when the part is used. Not only must requests be made with a Kanban, but it is

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imperative they are filled out in detail with amount, destination, time, and the location part was

pulled from. With more complex processes, the detail of the Kanban can also be fitted for the

process. The goal of Kanban is to limit work in progress and accomplish more by undertaking

less.

Limiting excess production is the objective of Kanban. By working backwards, it ensures that

only what is needed is made, and only the parts required, are pulled. For Toyota’s system to

achieve success, it must adhere to its six guidelines to accomplish its six principal functions.

Functions of Kanban:

1. Provides pick-up or transport information.

2. Provides production information.

3. Prevents overproduction and excessive transport.

4. Serves as a work order attached to goods.

5. Prevents defective products by identifying the process making the defectives.

6. Reveals existing problems and maintains inventory control (Tovota Production System,

1978).

Rules for Using Kanban:

1. Later process picks up the number of items indicated by the Kanban at the earlier process.

2. Earlier process produces items in the quantity and sequence indicated by the Kanban.

3. No items are made or transported without a Kanban.

4. Always attach a Kanban to the goods.

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5. Defective products are not sent on to the subsequent process. The result is 100% defect-free

goods.

6. Reducing the number of Kanban increases the sensitivity (Taiichi Ohno, 1978).

Over the years, the Kanban method has evolved to incorporate technological advances.

e-Kanban, in contrast to customary Kanban, tracks all schedules of the Kanban cards which are

documented by barcode readers. This evolved system now provides all information in real time;

Kanban signals are sent automatically and the Kanban system can be improved constantly.

With continual advances, Kanban can strive to stick to their six principal functions and maintain

their goal of limiting additional production.

3. Toyota “4P” Model and its fourteen principles:

The Toyota “4Ps” model is: Philosophy (long-Term Thinking), Process (Eliminate Waste),

People & Partners (Respect, Challenge, and Grow them), and Problem Solving (Continuous

improvement and learning). The 4Ps model consists of fourteen principles maintaining strict

compliance with the company as one of the world’s leading companies (Liker, 2007):

Philosophy (Long-Term Thinking)

Principal 1: Make management decisions, taking into account the long term, even if it is

detrimental to short-term financial goals. Meaning it is important to set goals using

strategic and systematic approaches. The main task is to create value not only for the

single consumer, but also for the society and the economy as a whole. It can be done

only if the person is responsible.

Process (Eliminate Waste)

Principal 2: Create continues process flow to identify problems. This flow should

become a part of corporate culture, a key to constant improvement of the employees.

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Principal 3: Use the “pull” scheme to avoid overproduction. Organization of production

requires that the customers get what he/she needs, at the right time and in the right

quantity. There should be minimum stocks.

Principal 4: Level out the workload. In order to create the right lean manufacturing and

achieve better quality of service, it is necessary to align the production schedule, not

always strictly following the order of receipt of orders.

Principal 5: Build a culture to stop fixing problems to get quality right the first time. In

order to ensure the customer, the high quality products, it is necessary to apply all

possible methods. There should be special support system and equipment, which is able

to identify problems.

Principal 6: Create standards for common tasks. This is the foundation of continuous

improvement and employee’s success and advancement.

Principal 7: Use visual control so that no problem goes unnoticed. However, visual aids

should not distract the attention and should be simple.

Principal 8: Use only reliable, proven technology. It is shown that technology

complements, but does not replace, human skills. New technologies need time for their

standardization. In case technologies are tested, they can be promptly introduced to

perfect the flow.

People and Partners (Respect, Challenge, and Grow Them)

Principal 9: Grow leaders, who thoroughly know their work, live the philosophy, and

teach it to others. Having found an effective way of educating managers, the company

will provide itself with talented leaders and reduce the time and resources spent on

attracting professionals from outside. In addition, the company will be able to

productively retain their most highly qualified, intelligent and enterprising employees.

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Principal 10: Develop exceptional people and teams, who practice the corporate

philosophy. It is necessary to create a strong, stable production culture with a long-

lasting value orientations and beliefs that are shared and accepted by all. Everyone

should understand the work in the company.

Principal 11: Respect your partners and suppliers. Challenge them and help them

improve.

Problem Solving (Continuous Improvement and Learning)

Principal 12: Go and see for yourself. In order to understand the situation, make sure to

look at everything through a first person point of view. The meaning of this principle is

that decisions should be based on knowledge derived from first-hand experience.

Principal 13: Make decisions slowly and thoroughly, considering all options, implement

decisions quickly.

Principal 14: Make your company a learning organization due to relentless analysis and

continuous improvement. Continuous improvement process is not only the study of new

methods and tools, but also some form of cooperation with more self-organization on the

ground with the help of capable employees, more personal responsibility of all

participants and more development of innovative potential of the company.

Toyota principles model plays an important role in the Toyota success story and what made it

one of the best car maker in the world. Due to this success with the 4P model, any company

can utilize the model to improve its employees, products, and achieve success

4. Toyota Lean Six Sigma and the Toyota Production System

(TPS):

Toyota Motor Corporation; The Company that changed the world?

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Toyota Motor Corporation, commonly referred to as Toyota, is a major Japanese automotive

Manufacturer company headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Toyota is the world's first

automobile manufacturer company to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year (in 2012

and in 2013 as per company’s data). As of Feb, 2016 it is the 13th-largest company in the world

by revenue.

So, how does Toyota achieve this? One of the driving forces is Lean Six Sigma and its

implementation in Toyota’s Production System. This section will explain Lean Manufacturing,

Six Sigma tools and how Toyota uses them in the TPS.

Six Sigma can be defined as “a set of techniques and tools for process improvement.” It was

introduced by Bill Smith, while working at Motorola in 1986. Jack Welch made it central to his

business strategy in GE in 1995. Today, it is used in many industrial sectors.

Six sigma, now, is widely implemented in many companies. Besides Toyota, IBM is one of the

major companies which implements Six Sigma.

Lean manufacturing or lean production, often simply "lean",” is a systematic method for the

elimination of waste or defects within a manufacturing system”. Mainly, lean is focused on

“making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else”. Lean manufacturing is a

management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS) (hence the

term Toyotism).

Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda developed TPS between 1948 and 1975.

Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer and a business man. He is

considered to be the father of TPS. He devised the seven wastes which became the Lean

Manufacturing in the US.

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Eiji Toyoda (1913-2013) was also a Japanese Industrialist who was largely responsible for

bringing TMC to profitability and worldwide prominence during his tenure.

TPS is known for its focus on reduction of the original Toyota seven wastes to improve overall

customer value, but there are varying perspectives on how this is achieved.

The steady growth of Toyota, from a small company to the world's largest automobile

manufacturing company, has focused attention on how it has achieved this success.

The original seven defects (wastes/muda) are:

1) Transport (moving products that are not required to perform the processing)

2) Inventory (all components, work in process, and finished products not being processed)

3) Motion (people or equipment walking or moving more than is required to perform the

processing)

4) Waiting (waiting for the next production step)

5) Over-production (producing more than required)

6) Over-Processing (processing more than is required, resulting from poor product design)

7) Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects)

Taking the first letter of each waste, the acronym "TIMWOOD" is formed. This is a common way

to remember the 7 wastes.

Later, an eighth waste was defined by Womack and Jones (2003); which was described as

manufacturing goods or services that do not meet customer demands or specifications. Many

others have added the "waste of unused talent" to the original seven wastes. For example, six

sigma includes the waste of Skills, referred to as "under-utilizing capabilities and delegating

tasks with inadequate training".

Other additional wastes added were, for example, "space". These wastes were not originally a

part of the seven wastes defined by Taiichi Ohno in TPS, but were found to be useful.

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Lean is about more than just cutting costs in the factory. One crucial insight is that most costs

are assigned when the product is designed.

An example program of Lean Implementation:

With a flow based approach (as used in the TPS with suppliers).

Sort out as many of the visible quality problems as you can, and get the internal

scrap acknowledged and its management started.

Make the flow of parts through the system or process as continuous as possible.

Introduce standard work and stabilize the work place through the system.

Start pulling work through the system, look at the production scheduling and

move towards daily orders.

Even out the production flow by reducing batch size.

Improve exposed quality issues using the tools.

Remove some people (or increase quotas) and go through this work again.

All the above seem idealistic; but, this is what drove the success of Toyota. And, I hope it

continues to do so in the coming years. It can be considered as a role model in the automobile

industry which is known for its quality, cost efficiency and reliability.

5. Toyota Strategy to Grow in Operations:

How does Toyota treat their customers and what special treatment do they provide?

Toyota recently is one of the biggest companies that has a big amount of negative feedback in

different website from unsatisfied customers. But how does Toyota treat their customers and

what special treatment do they provide? From my personal experience a company should

prioritize any topic related to customers because they are your main source of income. That

being said, I was curious on how Toyota deals and treats with customers. Every day you hear

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people talking and criticizing companies with either good or bad feedback. Its either yesterday

Samsung was horrible, or today apple can’t compete with android. Apple for example has a lot

of “apple customers” people who would purchase apple products blindly without looking at other

products that are probably similar and cheaper in the market. So how do they have such a

faithful group of customers? The answer is simple, the way they provide service and reach out

to their customers is fantastic. They change your product for a new one if necessary rather than

repair it and they help you with any installation for free.

Currently my father works in a car dealer of Toyota in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I spent

the whole summer with him and often visited him at work. From my experience what I saw was

a respect towards customers, but with a bit of “trying to take advantage”. Here are how most

Toyota dealers work; first the employees are forced to work in a very competitive environment.

This said, payment is based on commission, the more you sell the more money you make. This

generate a competitive environment leading to almost no friendships or creates small teams that

supports each other and margins others. Also everything is based on how much you sell the car

for at the price at which you sell it. For example, if a client walks in with an internet price then

you only make 100$ out of the sale, but if you over sell it by at least 2000$ from original price,

then you can make 500$. I mention this because I saw many customers complain that they felt

they were being treated as idiots, with lame offers or with high prices. Also most of the time the

customers come in with a maximum prize they are willing to pay monthly, and even though the

employee knows that, they still address the customer with offers beyond what he expects.

If you look up, the slogan of Toyota is with the concept ‘respect for the customer’ as

reported by Jim Womack in an online review he did for Toyota1. He mentions that Toyota uses

this slogan as one of the main pillars of their daily work, but I would strongly disagree with this

and would suggest anyone to visit a Toyota car dealer and see how a client is treated. Of

1 http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/9818/toyota Jim Womack is the publisher of this small article reviewing the treatment of Toyota to their customers.

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course I do not blame the employees, they are just trying to make the most profit possible for

their own benefit, but this system not only is exhaustingly competitive for the employee, it also

generates unsatisfied customers, that eventually will switch brand. Not to mention that in the

future this could have a huge impact on Toyota and their income.

Now, up until now we mentioned what Toyota’s point of view is with customer service

and my personal experience, but what are the comments that we see from customers in the

internet? The most recent comment I found in customerservicescoreboard.com (webpage

where people can freely share their experience with the company) a recent post from Leebo, a

person who purchased a 2016 Tacoma in the past two months. In his comment he explains his

how he purchased extended service for the Tacoma but then decided to return it. When he first

called for the return they said they were going to process it but later never answered his calls or

emails back, and is still waiting on $4000 to be given back to his account2.

As mentioned previously, most of the times it seems Toyota treats their customers as

pawns and play with them. The only goal seems to be to make the most profit out of the

customer ignoring completely his needs and his economic background. In the same webpage

provided, scoreboard, Toyota has 45/722 positive comments, which is a 6.23% positive. For

such a company that is way too low. Of course, it is almost impossible to make everyone happy,

but this is not an excuse for such a score.

As a suggestion to Toyota, I would highly recommend reviewing their TQM (total quality

management, process used to view overall objectives and quality, regarding to customers3) and

look for continuous improvement. A slogan should not be left just a slogan, but an actual rule to

follow for everyone involved with the company.

2 http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Toyota3 TQM term used with the definition from the book, Management, 11e, Schermerhorn

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6. Toyota Sales, Marketing and Advertising:

Toyota is one of the most valued companies in the world. According to Forbes, Toyota stands

8th in the World’s Most Valuable Brands and ranked 11th in Global 2000. While Toyota stands 8th

in sales with $252.19 billion, 15th in profits with $19.2 billion, 16th in market value with $239

Billion and 77th in Assets with $389.7 Billion. (All the data above mentioned is reflected to the

year 2015). Toyota was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in 2012 (in terms of

production). Toyota is 78 years old and is established all over the world with 344,109 employees

in 2015. These numbers are more than enough to illustrate how humongous and successful

Toyota is. But how Toyota did become this huge and successful. Sales and marketing

techniques are key factors of the success of Toyota. Most of the further data onto sales,

marketing, and advertising are limited to the United States of America in recent years.

Contribution of Sales to the Success of Toyota:

Under the direction of the founder’s son, Kiichiro Toyoda, Toyota was started as a division of

Toyoda Automatic loom works in 1933 which was devoted to the automobile production. The A1

passenger and the G1 were the first vehicles of Toyota that came out in 1935. Then, with the

success of the two vehicles Toyota motor co. was established as an independent company in

1937. From September 1947, Toyota started selling the small sized vehicles and became

hugely successful. After that Kiichiro Toyoda visited America and was astonished, seeing the

demand for vehicles and how advanced they are which let him start thinking about introducing

the Toyota vehicles for the American market. In 1957, they introduced the Crown into the

American market. Unfortunately, it was an enormous failure for the company. The vehicle had

certain defects like low mileage and speed compared to the other manufacturers’ vehicles.

People came to a conclusion that the Crown was not suitable for the American roads and it was

only for Japan roads. After that, Toyota started making the vehicles that best suited to American

roads which attracted many buyers in this region too. From that instance, Toyota learned to

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make the vehicles according to the region and started producing the vehicles according to the

region’s needs which made Toyota very successful all over the world. Likewise, the Toyota’s

hybrid vehicle ‘PRIUS’ which was introduced in 1997 ruled the automotive industry which stood

top in sales and customer friendly. Later on, the design of Prius had aged and a refresh was not

due for another two years. So, the company was charged with developing a new strategy to

maintain strong market share. They started advertising Prius in a way which looks very pleasing

to the customers. After that, Toyota gained their entire share value in just six months, largely

due to Prius sales.

Marketing and Advertising:

Irrespective of how big a company is, it cannot acquire the profits and reputation without

marketing and advertising about the company and the model they need to introduce onto the

market. A logo and a slogan give the company recognition and value. Toyota selected a logo

from 27000 public entries in 1936 and changed its name to Toyota from Toyoda. The company

felt Toyota meaning wealth and good fortune in the Japanese language sounds better and has

an apt meaning to describe the company, Toyota introduced a worldwide logo in October 1989

which has 3 ovals joined to form the letter “T” which stands for Toyota. Toyota has different

slogans in different regions through different years. The present slogan in the USA is “Let’s Go

Places” (2012-present). Toyota published the mission statement on its official site in 2007 as

“To sustain sustainable growth by providing the best customer experience and dealer support”

which states clearly that its focus is “Customer Satisfaction”. Toyota believes in a philosophy,

“Right car in the Right Place and for Right person”, which makes Toyota to manufacture their

products depending on the region and imaginations of people. They developed various types of

vehicles depending on the people’s class and needs. For example, people that love luxury cars

would go for Lexus. Toyota changes its marketing strategies time to time not only to increase

their future business but also to give more flexibility to the employees.

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Advertising is the most effective way to convince people of how the company is the best to

satisfy their needs. It also plays a vital role in company’s values. An advertisement for the

company and a vehicle attracts people by letting them know about the vehicle. Advertising is

done through different sources like Mobile billiards, Television Commercials, Media etc., Toyota

follows different types of marketing and advertising managements to target different people and

different sectors like Media relationship management, Customer Oriented Promotions, Effective

Advertising Media etc., to increase the efficiency.

7. Toyota Environment Impact:

Toyota Motors Corporation is the leading Japanese automobile manufacturing company selling

more than 8.5 million models annually on all five different continents. The company vision is “to

achieve long term, stable growth in harmony with the environment, the global economy, the

local communities it serves and its shareholders.” 

My father has a manufacturing business in India and we’re an OEM for Toyota, there was a

particular component that required plating, Toyota insisted on trivalent plating as hexavalent

plating is bad for the environment. From my personal experience with working with my dad, I

believe, they always stressed environmental issues while getting any component manufactured

by our company. And regularly held training seminars to educate their suppliers on using the

best practices on environmental evaluations, I believe training also forms an important

component of the overall environment strategy and management.  One of the aspects of Toyota

efforts that have been assessed in a positive light is the fact that the company has a

comprehensive environment management system. The company has developed an

environmental committee chaired by the president of the company that oversees environmental

issues. 

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Toyota has also made advances in terms of promoting the cause of environmental friendliness.

They initiated a new eco label in the UK. This move is intended to grade cars on their fuel

efficiency and is aimed at guiding customers in their purchases. The scheme is a result of a

partnership with other organizations, including academia, governments, NGOs. The general aim

is to create positive changes in carbon emissions and increase the public awareness of the

problems of pollution and the way it adversely affects the environment.

Global warming being a big challenge lead Toyota to develop new environmental technology

and vehicles and due to this, they were the first motor company to introduce a hybrid car. They

are also credited for the innovation of Toyota D-CAT concept which reduces the diesel

emissions. To go beyond zero environmental impact and achieve a net positive impact Toyota

has set itself six challenges:

1) New vehicle with zero co2 emission challenge.

a) Development new technologies to achieve the best fuel efficiency performance and as of

2020, their aim is to reduce the average CO2 emission from vehicles globally by over 22%

b) Promote technology development for short distance purpose in combination with low

carbon

traffic systems

c) Promote artificial photosynthesis technology using energy from co2, water and solar

power

2) Life cycle zero co2 emissions challenge

a) Promote co2 reduction activities by further improving transport efficiency

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b) Promote eco driving on a global scale

3) Plant zero co2 emissions challenge

a) Promote activities to reduce co2 emission through development and introduction of low

co2

production technologies and daily Kaizen activities.

b) Utilize clean energy adapted to the particular conditions of each country and region

4) Challenge to minimizing and optimizing water usage

a) Promote reuse of rare resources and use of recycled materials

b) Develop ecological plastic technology to meet quality and performance requirement

5) Challenge of recycling

a) Reduce the volume of materials discarded by taking action at source such as 

improving yields and promoting effective use of resources 

b) Promote reduction of scrap metal volume and effective use at all Toyota group companies

6) Challenge of establishing a future society in harmony with nature

a) Expand educational activities for local residents and schoolchildren by planting tress etc.

b) Promote wide ranging environmental initiatives through partnerships including resource

recycling, CO2 emission etc.,

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Conclusion:

Toyota has shown solid commitment to changes to keep its company successful and compete

with other cars manufacturing companies. The management structure changes throughout the

years helped them bringing closer to customers and build new quality cars. The Toyota

engineer whose discovery led to the development of the “Kanban System” a new process

standard that came to be the foundation for Toyota’s success to be more efficient with on time

production. Throughout the use of their classical “4Ps” model and Toyota Production System to

make sure continuous improvement with employees and car making decisions stands out not

only in the car industry but other can deploy such systems to make their companies a

successful one like the Toyota’s. Toyota has continued to improve customer relationships to get

better with their operational units. Their slogan “respect for the customer” is clearly a positive

one to gain the trust and respect from the customer themselves. Due to this quality cars and

new model designs, Toyota has kept strong position in industry and a lot of competition, they

have deployed multiple marketing and advertising companies to increase its sales force and it

continues to do so. Toyota is well known for being obsessed with waste and now they are taking

a lead stand to improve their cars to be less harmful to the environment. Thus, Toyota was the

first car company to create the hybrid car.

While Ford and Chevrolet dominated the market, Toyota has opened its American car

dealership in California in 1957. More than 50 years later, Toyota now is the world’s biggest car-

maker and well known for its quality and innovation. What made Toyota a successful company

and #1? There are many reasons for that. But to mention a few, long-term planning, open mind

to change, obsession with waste, and humility.

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References:

1-http://www.leadingedgegroup.com/assets/uploads/The-Toyota-Way-by-John-Shook.pdf

2-http://www.sellingpower.com/content/article/?a=6119/the-toyota-success-formula

3.http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/company_information/

management_and_finances/management/organizational/index.html

4- El-Kadri, Nour. Kanban & Kaizen: Analysis of Manufacturing Operations. PPT.

5-"Hash Management Services LLP." Hash Management Services LLP. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

6-Ohno, Taiichi. "Tovota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production." Tovota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. University of California Berkeley. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

7-"Just-in-Time - Philosophy of Complete Elimination of Waste." Toyota Global Site. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

8-Liker, J. (2007). The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer (35-41). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

9-Nkomo, Th. (2014). Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation. Retrieved from http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/tnkomo/files/analysis_of_toyota.pdf [Accessed: 20 February 2016]

10-http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/strategy-of-toyota-motor-corporation-marketing essay.php

11.http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/sales/activity/north_america/index.html

12-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota

13.https://www.academia.edu/12300670/Promotional_and_Advertising_Strategies_Toyota_Motors_and_General_Motors

14- http://www.handlpartners.com/assets/casestudies/pdfs/GET_HAPPY_case_study.pdf

15- http://www.toyota.com/usa/environment/vehicles

16- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota

17- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota

18- https://en.wikipedia.org/wik/toyotaproductionsystem

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