Ford and Taylorism and Toyota's Corporate Culture

This research paper discusses the development of technology and automation, workers in America, Europe, and Australia may not accept Taylorism. It also describes Toyota's corporate culture and its dimensions that have contributed to its competitiveness.

Higher Education Faculty
Assignment Cover Sheet
Subject Title Management and Organisations in a Global Environment
Subject Code HI6005
Lecturer Lecturer Name
Assignment Title Research Paper 1
Due Date Friday Week 5
Contact Details Student ID Your Student ID
Student Name YourName
Student e-mail address [e-mail]
I acknowledge that:
1. This assignment is my work. I acknowledged and disclosed fully any assistance received in
its preparation and cited any sources from which I used data, ideas, words, either quoted
directly or paraphrased.
2. This assignment was prepared by us specifically and only for this subject.
3. This assignment is identical to the work submitted via Self-Check on Blackboard.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................3
E-learning Activities..................................................................................................................3
Week 1 – Activity 1 – Ford and Taylorism.............................................................................3
Week 3 – Activity 4 – Toyota’s corporate culture and the problem of spreading its
culture....................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................6

Executive Summary
In this blog, Ford and Taylorism approaches have been discussed by examining the
development of technology and automation, workers in America, Europe, and Australia may
not accept Taylorism. Call centers are divided into different sectors specializing in a niche
just like Taylorism. Also, there are some judicious sectors that still apply Taylorism.
Furthermore, the blog has discussed the Toyota Company’s corporate culture. It has
described the company as people oriented, stability-oriented, attentive to detail, aggressive,
innovative and risk-taking and teamwork oriented. These dimensions have contributed to
Toyotas competitiveness. The last part of this blog presents an in-depth conclusion
.

E-learning Activities
Week 1 – Activity 1 – Ford and Taylorism
In 1908 Alexander Malcomson and Henry Ford established a partnership entity with the aim
of manufacturing and selling cars. The partnership was called Ford Motor Company and was
formed ideally to deal in cars in a simple and cheap way. Having this aspiration in mind, Ford
sought the services of Fredrick Taylor (Ryngoksu, 2008).
In summary, the manufacturing process was characterised by elimination of unnecessary
movement of workers to increase productivity, introduction of the assembly line whereby the
workers would stand still in the car assembly lines as the parts of the car were passed through
specific workstations after which the employees could pull the cars by ropes from one
workstation to another (Ryngoksu, 2008). The use of the assembly lines was time-saving as
the production time decreased by one and a half hours. The operations were also
characterized by attractive packages to the workers and lack of trade union recognition
Would workers in Australia, America or Europe accept the Taylorism in this form
today?
Honestly, employees from the US, Australia, and Europe may not reject Taylorism strategy in
its original form in the current era (Witzel & Warner, 2015, p. 55). This is because time has
lapsed with improvement in automation and information technology, making the strategy to
lack any wisdom in application. There would, therefore, be some amendments needed to
ensure that that the strategy is successfully applied in these countries as at the present
moment.
Consider the design of scripts for use in Call Centres, can you see Taylorism in that?
Explain.
The Taylorism model has still being used to some extent in the call centers. This is because
the activities and operations conducted in the call centers are severed into various sectors

specializing in a niche (Uddin & Hossain, 2015, p. 578). There can, therefore, be a division of
work in these centers based on the employee's area of specialization and then the different
tasks can be attached to each worker adequately.
This ‘clip’ is showing history from 100 years ago. Some would say that ‘the world has
moved on’ and these ideas are out of date. However, could there be parts of the world
today for which these ideas might be just what they need? Explain.
The clip in the E-learning activity shows history from about 100 years ago. However, some
sectors of the market which may still treasure the practical usage and application of
Taylorism. This is because the foundation of the scientific theory of management presents
some principles that have along lasting effect on organizations (Stoller, 2015, p. 318). Some
of these principles include division of work, the establishment of simple approaches to
production and rewarding employees based on hard work. These principles may still act as
golden rules for start-up companies. If these principles are adequately applied and utilized by
a company, then they can guarantee success.
Week 3 – Activity 4 – Toyota’s corporate culture and the problem of spreading its
culture
Toyota Corporation has grown to become the world’s leading motor company. This is
primarily because of its production approaches. Unlike other motor companies, Toyota does
not believe in conventional approaches (Bloomberg, 2012). The company aims for
superiority, and this is the ultimate culture inculcated in the firm. In this company, the
workers are encouraged to handle challenges and create new ideas for any identified problem.
Specifically, Toyota’s competitiveness is based on Innovation, Humility, strict discipline and
mentoring and seizing of opportunities.
How would you describe Toyota's culture using the seven dimensions of organizational
culture and the Cultural Web?

Ideally, a firm’s culture may be described as a collection of shared norms, beliefs and values
in an organization (Hogan & Coote, 2014, p. 1609). Research has identified seven
dimensions of culture as explained below:
Risk taking and Innovation: Theis honestly creative and innovative. The company
encourages creativity and innovation I every level of the production process. As a
competitive company, it believes in risk-taking (Buschgens et al., 2013, p. 763). This can be
demonstrated when it recalled eight million cars globally for acceleration.
Attention to detail: Toyota aims at offering quality products in the market. Also, it does not
delay to repurchase any of its vehicles from the customers and distributors if it does not
satisfy the desired quality specifications.
People-oriented: At Toyota, the workers are highly regarded. It observes efficiency and
proper employee relationships in its operations. The company depicted this by offering credit
policies to all its workers
Team Work: The Toyota's management and employees embrace teamwork by recognizing
each other across all levels in the organization.
Aggressive: The Company adopts an aggressive operational approach. It believes in itself
and offers high-quality products (Azanza et al., 2013, p 45). To be aggressive does not mean
that a company must the rat race does all the market rivals, but rather aim higher than the
rivals. This is exactly what Toyota does.
Stability: By recalling 8 million vehicles worldwide, it would be expected that Toyota would
put its financial investments at risk. Surprisingly, the firm is composed of competent and
high-level employees and managers who act as its decision makers’ decision makers and
work to ascertain that the lost profitability is brought back.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, workforces in America Australia and Europe may not accept Taylorism because
of the improvement in technology. However, there are some judicious sectors whereby
Taylorism is still being applied. Furthermore, call centers are divided into various sector
specializing in a niche like Taylorism. Organizational culture encompasses a collection of
shared beliefs, values, and norms within the organization. Using the six dimensions of
organizational culture, Toyota can be described as people oriented, stability-oriented,
attentive to detail, aggressive, innovative and risk-taking and teamwork oriented. These
dimensions have contributed to Toyotas competitiveness.

References
Azanza, G., Moriano, J.A. & Molero, F., 2013. Authentic Leadership and Organizational
Culture as Drivers of Employees’ Job Satisfaction. Revista De Psicología Del Trabajo Y De
Las Organizaciones, 29(2), Pp.45-50.
Bloomberg. 2012. MIT's Spear Discusses Toyota's Corporate Culture. [Video File] Retrieved
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcakfpjfg7s
Büschgens, T., Bausch, A. & Balkin, D.B., 2013. Organizational Culture and Innovation: A
Meta‐Analytic Review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(4), Pp.763-781.
Hogan, S.J. & Coote, L.V., 2014. Organizational Culture, Innovation, and Performance: A
Test of Schein's Model. Journal of Business Research, 67(8), Pp.1609-1621.
Ryngoksu. 2008. Ford and Taylorism. [Video File] Retrieved From
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pdmnbqtddi
Stoller, A., 2015. Taylorism and the Logic of Learning Outcomes. Journal of Curriculum
Studies, 47(3), Pp.317-333.
Uddin, N. & Hossain, F., 2015. Evolution of Modern Management through Taylorism: An
Adjustment of Scientific Management Comprising Behavioral Science. Procedia Computer
Science, 62, Pp.578-584.
Witzel, M. & Warner, M., 2015. Taylorism Revisited: Culture, Management Theory, and
Paradigm-Shift. Journal of General Management, 40(3), Pp.55-70.