Toyota's culture, a competitive advantage

Résumé du document

More than 9 million cars were sold around the world in late 2007, and Toyota surpassed General Motors and became the number one manufacturer in the car market industry. This American car company had been a leader on the market for seventy two long years. This is thus a big success for Toyota. The success of the group is often attributed to its Just in Time production methods. This is true as these methods enable the company to achieve a very high level of production. A lot of companies drew their inspiration from Toyota; even in sectors other than automotive. However, we often forget that these methods just account for a small part of the company's success which finds its roots in the Toyota culture with strong behaviors and a vision mainly inspired by the country and its founder, which give the group a deep originality compared to most other multinational companies. What then is Toyota's culture? What is it composed of? Why was it so important in the success of the company? Where this culture comes from? And, how did Toyota to make a competitive advantage from this culture? Can Toyota's culture be transplanted abroad? How has Toyota managed this transplantation when entering the US market? Are Japan and US cultures compatible?

Extraits

[...] We often emphasize the success of companies which are future oriented (often American companies) and in advance on their time. Toyota is the total opposite, a company with strong values, norms and principles mainly inspired by the past and its country. And it works. Toyota in fact managed to be a long term oriented company. It means the company emphasises long term goals such as quality and focus on the customer rather than speed an quick profits. Maybe this company model, based on tradition and long term orientation, is the key to success. [...]

[...] Low Power Distance, Low Individualism: people are at the centre of the success of the company. Everybody has equal chance to be useful for the company. - Participation of all employees All of these had been possible because of the participation of the whole workforce. They felt concerned by the transplant of the new culture. For instance, more than 10000 suggestions were made by employees, of which over 80% were implemented. They felt thus very useful in the new organization. [...]

[...] Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Principle 6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment. Principle 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden. Do not hide any problem. Principle 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes. - Add Value to the Organization by Developing your People Principle 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. [...]

[...] The company developed 14 Toyota Way principles. 14 Toyota Way Principles[8] - A Long-Term Philosophy Principle 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. - The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results Principle 2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. Principle 3. Use systems to avoid overproduction. Develop a continuous process to rise up the information. Principle 4. Level out the workload (heijunka). Work like the tortoise, not the hare. [...]

[...] What is surprising at Toyota is that they really managed to develop specific management practices based on the company's history, past and values. Toyota's strong culture is also a lot inspired by the country's culture (Japan). Both are very close. From this specific culture, Toyota managed to develop a Toyota Way and particular management methods. Today this Toyota Way and Toyota Production System has become a competitive advantage. Toyota used this strength to gain an entry on the American market. However, it is not because Toyota shared its culture that today GM took the advantage over Toyota. [...]