POST MGT201 U8 Final Case Study: Toyota Company Recall

Questions

1. Based on “the three big strategic questions” of strategic HR (What is our present situation? Where do we want to go? How do we plan to get there?), and based on the information provided in this case, how well, in your opinion, did Toyota plan for global expansion back in 2000, in terms of executive reporting structure and corporate communication procedures? Was the structure too centralized and vertical, or not centralized and vertical enough? Should the North American affiliates have had more decision-making autonomy and/or horizontal communication paths? Should there have been more or fewer horizontal communication paths between different divisions and/or countries (e.g., England and the U.S.)? Explain your position. Reference Chapter Two – bring into academic data to correlate with the question.

2. What is “organizational culture”? Was Toyota’s response to customer complaints about safety consistent with the organizational culture that TMC executives desired to promote through the Toyota Way principles? Address in your response Principles 1, 5, 9 and 13 as described in this case.Chapter 2, Strategy Driven Human Resource.

3. Based on what you read in this case regarding executive managers’ slow response to consumer complaints about sticking accelerator pedals, how well did managers’ training from the Toyota Institute transfer to solving Toyota’s “real-world” safety problem? How might the training they received be improved to better shape behavior to achieve Principle 5: “Build a culture of stopping to fix problems…”? Consider types of reinforcement, and the challenges of resistance to change and strategic congruence. Reference Chapter 7

4. What challenges might Toyota’s global diversity create when trying to create and/or change the corporate culture through Toyota Way training programs and reinforcement strategies? Consider how to design training programs that encourage employees from different countries to conform to the Toyota Way culture. What role might the need for conformity to the Toyota Way play in recruiting and hiring new Toyota employees? Reference Chapters 1, 2 and 7

5. What is your opinion of the Toyota Way principle (#9) of growing (i.e., “developing”) leaders from within? How does this principle fit in with the reasoning behind succession planning? If you were Toyota’s director of human resources, would you support this practice or recommend recruiting leaders from outside the company, or a combination of both? Explain your reasoning. Reference Chapter 5 and 7. Using academic data such as advantages and disadvantages of internal recruiting…..

6. Some organizational analysts suggest that Toyota managers may have been rewarded for containing costs over ensuring product quality and resolving customer complaints. If you were TMC’s human resources director, and you wanted managers to support the Toyota Way principles of promoting safety (product quality) and customer satisfaction over cost containment, would you recommend using a trait appraisal, behavioral appraisal and/or results/outcome appraisal? Explain why. Reference chapter 8.

7. Based on your response to Question #7, if you were Toyota’s director of human resources and money and time were not a concern, would you choose the critical incidents, MBO, narrative, graphic rating scale or BARS, or a combination of these methods of performance appraisal, to let managers know how well they are following and promoting the Toyota Way principles? Explain why. Reference Chapter 8