Strategies for Operational Improvement in Toyota and Recommendations for Ford and GM

INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
AND SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Overview of case study................................................................................................................1
1. Strategies for operational improvement ..................................................................................1
2. Recommended operational strategies for Ford and GM..........................................................8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Operational management is defined as the strategical and management principles which
aims to improve the operational efficiency of the organisation. Sustaining the operational
efficiency is one of the critical aspect of the business process and it not only vital for the
customer satisfaction but also for competitive advantage. The lack of suitable operational
efficiencies can make it hard for the organisations to retain their brand value and customers
(Chugani and et.al., 2017). It is very essential that for retaining the high quality of products and
services organisations must adopt suitable operational improvement strategies.
The study will discuss the improvement strategies and tools which can be used by Toyota
for enhancing and regaining its operational efficiencies. It will also suggest recommendations
which can be used by General Motors (GM) and Ford for gaining the existing market share from
the Toyota.
TASK
Overview of case study
From the long term Toyota has been one of the strongest competitor for Ford and GM.
The three of these organisations have been leading auto makers. Toyota has remained the leading
organisation on the basis of its highly qualitative services and products. However, the
organisation has been facing tough time as the decline in the quality has affected the
performance of organisation significantly. Toyota has called off its 9 million vehicles due to
quality issues. On one hand it has provided the other two competitors a great opportunity to
increase their market share when Toyota is in crisis while on the other hand Toyota is required to
immediately focus and review its operational management and improvement strategies.
1. Strategies for operational improvement
There is high need for Toyota to introduce a company wide operational strategy so that it
can assure its consumers and stakeholders that company is dedicated towards quality services.
The organisation can use a variety of techniques and strategies which can incorporate operational
efficiency in within organisation (Habidin, Mohd Yusof and Mohd Fuzi, 2016). The strategies
for operational improvement not only focus on the quality of products but also emphasis on
minimising cost and resource wastage.
One of the characteristic attribute of theses strategies is that they are not only limited to
any particular field of business services. Instead, they tend to bring improvements in various
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areas of business such as quality, safety, asset optimisation, supply chain, logistic and inventory
as well as process improvements (Antony and et.al., 2018). In order to achieve the goals of
continuous improvements and competitive advantage Toyota must adopt following practices and
techniques.
Cost optimisation:
It is defined as the strategy which aims to minimise the operatonal cost without
compromising the required quality benchmarks and standards. It serves the benefits such as
improved operational efficiency and waste reduction. Toyota must analyse its cost structure so
that cost drivers can be identified and better operational strategies can be evolved to minimise
the cost. For the continuous improvement the cost optimisation process must be regularly
monitored and integrated within business practices (Tagge and et.al., 2017). This can be done by
several ways such as by modifying the production processes, improving logistic strategies and
personnel management.
Toyota must adopt all of these strategies so that every functional aspect can be improved.
When human resources are well trained and higly skilled then they care capable to reduce the
error possibilities and to accomplish the production process without any kind of faults. Toyota
also needs to make its quality and functional monitoring strategies more improved and effective
so that errors and quality loop holes can be identified and gaps can be filled with suitable
approaches (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018).
Human capital leverage:
This strategy refers to utilisation of human resources in a way such that functional errors
are completely eliminated and operational efficiency can be achieved. Human resources play
significant role in achieving the operational efficiencies. Thus, when they are utilised effectively
then it maximises the revenue and cost optimisation goals are also easy to achieve. The quality
issues which have emerged in its products are also the result of poor quality check and
functionality. Thus, organisation must focus on training and recruitment programs so that the
efficiency and skills of its staff members can be increased (Tregear, 2015) . When the skills of
employees are groomed it adds value to the organisation and business services are provided with
more efficiency.
Lean strategy:
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