Search results

The purpose of this article is to better understand Japanese manufacturing in mainland China and clarify how traditional Japanese subcontracting has changed and is changing to fit the economic environment there.

This article looks at the subcontracting practices of the Toyota Group along with the evolution of Shanghai Koito's operations in mainland China. The research for this study was conducted from 1995‐2003 and is based on visits to Toyota's China headquarters in Beijing and its technical center in Tianjin, Shanghai Koito Company, Sichuan Toyota, and Tianjin Toyota.

When Japanese style subcontracting in mainland China is compared with that of traditional Japanese subcontracting, a stark contrast is revealed. First of all, it is clear that Japanese‐affiliated enterprises in China are moving away from an insular, vertical subcontracting structure dominated by a single assembler. In the new subcontracting system, characteristic features – such as a broad customer base and localization – contrast with earlier features that included a substantial delegation of authority, regulated interfirm competition, and long‐term relations.

This paper is based on two case studies and so, while its findings may be accurate for the companies in question, helpful for understanding Japan's auto industry in mainland China, and may be more widely applicable, the findings are unlikely to be universally applicable.

With short‐term guidance corresponding to the needs of localization and the effective use of cheap labor coming to the fore, the examples of Toyota and Shanghai Koito may provide helpful illustrations of the kind of adaptation needed to succeed in mainland China. In particular, by moving away from a reliance on its traditional Japanese customers for sales, Shanghai Koito seems to have positioned itself well to avoid the hardship of dwindling sales that other more traditionally oriented Japanese suppliers have begun to face. Moreover, its growing independence may be an important indicator of what the future may look like for Japanese manufacturing.

Looking at the history of industrial development in East Asia, the adaptation of Japanese business practices to different economies in the region has been an important theme. This study provides an up‐to‐date review of a number of current issues facing Japanese automakers as they develop their operations in mainland China.

Journal articles and books on Toyota's competitive advantage abound. More recent analyses tended to focus on Toyota alone (Coriat, 2000; Liker, 2004) while earlier literature examined the competitive advantage of the Japanese automobile industry as a whole (Asanuma, 1989; Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1990; Fruin, 1992; Dyer, 1994, 1996a, 1996b). Intensive analysis on the Toyota Production System (TPS) notwithstanding, what exactly constitutes the system's inimitability remains elusive. This paper contributes to existing literature by examining how a post-war industrial policy might have given rise to Toyota and Nissan adopting two different strategic logics (or governance structures) as each had a unique set of resources and competences. Different governance structures however, did not appear to contribute to inter-firm performance variance between the two competitors for at least 15 years. What then could be the source of Toyota's competitive advantage and its inimitability? This paper unravels how causal ambiguity might have confounded Nissan, Toyota's only significant domestic rival for the second half of the last century.

This chapter aims to identify the main determinants that define the architectural properties of network emergence and significantly influence the dynamics underlying network evolution in time. The identification and analysis of these determinants, as well as the dynamic processes tied to them, allows to appreciate the competitive bases and consequences of network morphology. To this purpose, using a complex systems perspective as an integrative conceptual approach, we represent networks as complex dynamic systems of knowledge and capabilities. We perform a comparative in-depth analysis of the processes underlying the emergence and evolution of STMicroelectronic's global network and of Toyota's supplier network in the US so as to allow an elucidatory empirical assessment of the theoretical representation elaborated in the article.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Toyota Kata can be effectively applied in the engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing within the construction industry. The objective is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for the Toyota Kata implementation in this environment and to develop a continuous improvement (CI) method – based on Toyota Kata and adapted to the ETO manufacturing within the construction industry.

An action research (AR) approach was applied, which includes a participatory form of inquiry and learning from both intended and unintended outcomes, while simultaneously building up scientific knowledge about successful implementation of Toyota Kata.

All the CSFs in the AR project are addressed by the earlier literature, thus confirming the existing body of knowledge. Moreover, the existing knowledge was arguably extended through the modified Toyota Kata as an approach for CI. New elements regarding how to run the small experiments by extending the core team with personnel who work with the problem on a daily basis.

This research addresses a gap identified in the literature regarding how Toyota Kata can be adapted to the ETO manufacturing within the construction industry. It also presents an overview of CSFs for the Toyota Kata implementation in this environment.

The purpose of this study is to introduce an enterprise's productivity management named “Production efficiency improvement - PEFF”. This study shows the way of developing the management system to keep their shop floor “flexible to change” and “continuously controlling and improving” from the different levels and in various factories.

This study refers to Toyota's PEFF management system in the context of productivity enhancement through detailed management processes including yearly management, monthly management, daily management and its application in a case study from another sector as a model case of PEFF expansion. The methodology of this study is to introduce a method for production efficiency analysis, measure and select standard time through PEFF calculation.

Toyota's PEFF management can be extremely effective at developing management's ability to conduct day-to-day shop-floor management, know-how sharing and how Toyota applies PEFF to develop the world-standard on manpower efficiency for their factories. Besides, this study shows the applicable of PEFF improvement has successfully conducted in other manufacturers in a flexible way to achieve the improvement targets.

The results of this study will aid the managers in production lines to find the method of calculating and evaluating production efficiency through Toyota's management techniques such as PEFF, YIP, WVACT and standard time. However, the approach for this paper was from a synchronized system as Toyota is limited to generalized to small and medium-sized enterprises.

This paper is introducing the original Toyota's management technique to sustainable enhance their manpower performance and efficiency and answer the question of why TPS still exists in the age of digital management. PEFF management serves as an example of a value management process to help manufacturers to set guidelines to improve their productivity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of crisis management within the Toyota Corporation's series of worldwide recalls for multiple malfunctions on a number of different Toyota brands of vehicles. The analysis relates to the difficulty now faced by Toyota, previously recognized as the world's leading manufacturer of automotive vehicles. The crisis became so great that Toyota corporate leaders even traveled from Japan to testify before a US Congressional Committee hearing.

A crisis, typically considered to be a negative issue, can be a positive event in the life of a business firm, such as Toyota, if the management involved seizes the opportunity to make appropriate changes in its operations to facilitate continuing positive growth and development. However, this opportunity was not initially addressed by Toyota in a meaningful way, and the crisis continued to evolve through subsequent stages, bringing a vast array of negative international criticism. The crisis management paradigm that is the focus for this case identifies four stages of a crisis – the preliminary (pre‐) crisis, acute crisis, chronic crisis, and crisis resolution. The present crisis deals with several different malfunctions that were identified, apparently by customers, in various Toyota brands, but publically ignored by Toyota's management. Therefore, the pre‐crisis stage was not appropriately dealt with by Toyota, and the firm was thrust into an acute crisis that has now evolved into a chronic crisis. A brief overview of the historical development of Toyota is presented, and an analysis of the present crisis situation in which the firm found itself is presented in some detail.

It was concluded that Toyota is now in a very difficult position in the chronic crisis stage due to the failure of its management to facilitate a timely response to the malfunctions of its vehicles.

The paper presents an excellent example of crisis mismanagement by a previously recognized world leader.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Toyota was a late entrant into the Chinese automotive industry, however by a policy of proactive marketing and adaptive manufacturing processes, Toyota hopes to capture a significant market share from the leaders, VW and GM. One of the most interesting things about Toyota's Chinese strategy is the willingness to adapt its well known manufacturing system to local needs and conditions. This indicates a major shift from Toyota's previous overseas production strategy.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

This is the second part of a study which looks at car after‐sales service in Germany. The study is based on a benchmarking project which included four key players, Fiat AG, Nissan Deutschland, Toyota GmbH and Ford Werke AG. Examines the effectiveness of policies of after‐sales service as adopted by Toyota GmbH and Ford Werke AG. The criteria used covered product policies, distribution, promotion service, price and environmental issues. The effectiveness of each applied set of policies was measured by examining financial results and by asking the participants themselves to establish their ranking using all the above criteria. Concludes with proposed improvements to car after‐sales service, based on best practice.

Investigates the attitude transfer that can occur when a product receives rave reviews. As expected, incorporating rave reviews into an advertisement positively influences the evaluation of the advertised product and the parent company. In addition, our findings indicate that the positive evaluation from the rave reviews transfers to other products. Further, the results show that attitude transfer occurred not only to related products within the brand, but also had a small effect on related products outside the brand family. These findings are discussed in terms of a model of memory as an associational network. The results suggest several advertising strategies that will allow a firm to accrue benefits from a product that has received some form of rave reviews.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze Toyota's production levelling process in an attempt to understand the various social and technical factors required to produce to a changing market. Unfortunately, most outsiders who explore production levelling do not realize that it involves various departments outside of manufacturing. Consequently, due to the dynamic nature of production levelling many unintended social and management factors between departments makes cooperation difficult.

This paper conducts a case study at one of Toyota's automobile plants to examine the level of departmental and social integration that is applied when implementing production levelling. Based on observations, the problems of production levelling are analyzed and, accordingly, possible solutions are explored.

The findings of this work show that Toyota achieves production levelling because it is viewed as a company‐wide activity that cuts across many departments in promoting manufacturing consistency. Production levelling criteria include both the design and manufacturing aspects which brings evidence that manufacturing is limited in its ability to eliminate and reduce market fluctuation. The work also illustrates that Toyota reinforces departmental cooperation through its human resources policies, and many other unique management mechanisms.

The paper provides new insight on how Toyota achieves production levelling by considering a more holistic and social‐technical approach. In particular, interdepartmental activities are emphasized in achieving company‐wide goals that impact how departments agree to operate.