Answers Intermediate Exam

Analytics exercise: Quality Management - Toyota
Discussion Questions:
Develop diagram that summarizes what Toyota has done in response to it recent quality recall problems. Focus on the changes by functional area (i.e. Management, Product Design, Quality, and Manufacturing).
Functional Area Actions
Management Name a managing director to oversee all safety-related issues.
Quality Launch a global database to track vehicle repairs and cut reporting times about customer complaints from months to days.
The foundation of Toyota Advanced Quality Information Center.
Extend deployment of rapidresponse teams to determine the causes of accidents beyond the US and Japan to other major markets, including China and Europe.
Swift Market Analysis Response Team that they rolled out globally
Manufacturing Assign 1000 engineers to spot-check quality and add at least four weeks to its new-car development scedules.
Evaluate the statement in the case made by Toru Sakuragi. Is this a realistic strategy? Do you have suggestions for how the strategy might be improved?
The strategy to balance between pursuing the need to cut costs to overcome the strong yen and the need to improve quality to prevent recalls is a realistic but difficult strategy if you look at the long-term. Cutting costs and improving quality are both decisive factors for Toyotas survival. Toyota first built its reputation on quality, but seen the damage it suffered years ago, this strategy is determining if Toyota can make a remarkable recovery or not.
Firstly, it needs to insure that quality is settled across all makes and models. They can continue to look for cost savings, but do so without sacrificing that baseline set of customer expectations. Secondly it should look for features that are no longer relevant, that customers no longer care about, and use this as a basis for cost cutting features. And finally it should look for points of innovation across its portfolio and it continue its role as a auto technology innovator, to stay competitive.
Suggest improvements that you feel could be made to Toyota's quality program. Also, what might Toyota do to improve its image to the consumer relative to quality.
The reason why executives were lax in instituting companywide programs to repairs at dealerships and why checklists often weren’t taken seriously, is a result of the bureaucratic system Toyota had, no one felt truly responsible. One of their new initiatives was naming a managing director to oversee all safety-related issues, nevertheless in our opinion this is not enough. Therefore we suggest naming various managing director in different countries and specialized on different safety related issues, who collaborate and deliberate in Toyota’s name. In this way the quality lacks will be addressed much more specific and faster. Hiring these extra managers is making some costs for Toyota on the short term, but seen the better quality and trust of the customers they earn, they will have more profit on the long term.
Another suggestion to improve its image to the customer relative to quality is to ask for the customers feedback and use this to design better products. Implementing this in their strategy, they will involve their costumers more in the process, which will gain their trust. Costumers will feel more in control and will able to make and see the improvements of the products. Another reason why this improves the consumers image because is because Toyota shows in this way that they are actively willing to solve structural defects, instead of denying this like they did a few years ago.