Operations Management Assignment : Toyota

Management &
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Define and compare different roles and characteristics of leader and manager.....................1
P2 How role of leader and manager apply in different situations...............................................2
P3 Different leadership theories..................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P4 Key approaches to operations management and role of leaders and managers in it..............5
P5 Explain the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives...........6
P6 Factors that impact upon operational management and decision making by leaders and
managers......................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
In every business there are different types of operations and functions which are
performed to attain specific goals. The management is responsible for managing overall
operations. They both are interrelated and dependent on each other. In this leaders and managers
plays a significant role. This is because they possess various roles and responsibilities which
enable in taking effective decisions. This assignment will highlight different roles of leader and
manager. Also, it will describe about types of leadership theories and its strengths and weakness.
In another section it will show key operations of company and roles of manager in each one.
Moreover, how external factors impact on decision making by manager is discussed as well.
TASK 1
Introduction to organization – Toyota is a Japanese MNC which belongs to auto mobile sector
and operates worldwide. The headquarter of company is located in Toyota city, Aichi, Japan.
The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937. There are total 364,445 employees
working within organization. It produces different types of products like luxury and commercial
vehicles, engines, etc. The company is having divisional management structure. In this they have
divided it into three categories that are global, product based and geographical wise.
P1 Define and compare different roles and characteristics of leader and manager
Leader – A person who guides and give direction to employees on how to attain goals (Alanqar
et.al., 2017).
Roles –
To motivate employees- This is foremost role of leader in which they have to encourage
employees.
To build relation- in this leader have to build relation with employees so that organizational
culture is maintained.
Characteristics
 Creative mind- Leader always find out nee ways of doing task. He or she guides
employees to think outside the box and work in creative way.
 Positive attitude – A leader build relationship with employees by showing positive
attitude. It helps in developing a positive organizational culture.
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Manager – A person who controls and regulate operations by developing strategies and plans
within an organization. He or she assign roles and responsibilities to employees on basis of their
ability (Ejaz et.al., 2017).
Roles
Developing plans- A manager formulate plans and strategies that how goals will be attained.
Assigning roles- Manager also assign roles and responsibilities to employees according to their
skills and abilities.
Characteristics
 Communication – A manager must possess proper communication skills as he acts a
intermediate between top and low level management.
 Organizing – A manager should know how to manage and organize activities within an
organization.
 Time management- It is a characteristic in which manager must manage tasks in time.
Management Leadership
In this goals and objectives are set and defined. The framework is set on how defined goals
will be achieved.
In this policies and procedures are formulated. Principles are formed which is base for
working.
The goals are set for short term. Goals are set for long term.
It focuses on managing activities and people. It emphasis of motivating people to enhance
their performance.
There is a proper communication structure
followed which flow either from top to bottom.
There is no fixed communication structure
followed.
Here, management is responsible for
organizing activities.
Leader is not responsible for organizing. His
aim is to attain goals in specified time.
P2 How role of leader and manager apply in different situations
A manager and leader are pillars of an organisation. This is because they handle critical
situations by taking effective decisions. Besides this, in each situation their roles differ. There are
several organisational situations taken which explain role of leader and manager.
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Implementing change – In this organisational situation in which change has to be implemented
within process, methods, etc. it is done to enhance efficiency of operations and productivity.
Also, change can be related to removing errors or defects in procedure so that cost can be
reduced. It is also related to development of new product or service. Here, manager plans that
how change will be implemented. The roles and task are delegated to others (Ferruzzi et.al.,
2015). Different teams are formed on basis of various operations and roles are assigned to each
one. Also, resources are allocated by manager. Whereas leader further delegate task to others by
evaluating their skills and abilities. The leader is responsible to execute plan and motivate
employees to adopt change. He also shows path to staff that how change will be implemented.
Increasing productivity – This is most common organisational situation that occurs within an
organisation. Here, processes are added or redesigned at various operational levels. This helps in
increasing productivity to meet market demand or to generate more revenues through sales. In
this manager prepare plan that how productivity will be increased. Also, what changes will be
done and in which areas. Manager assigns goals to each department or team. Whereas a leader
encourages employees to increase their productivity by working in creative way. They provide
them direction on how task can be completed within less time and with optimum utilization of
resources. Furthermore, leader evaluate whether productivity is improved or not by comparing it
with goals.
Improve quality of product – This organisational situation allows improving product quality by
changing its features. This is done either to retain customer or by producing new product. Here,
manager role is to delegate task to others. The plans and strategies are been prepared (Jeong
et.al., 2016). The leader is responsible for communicating with employees and working closely
with them. They motivate them to work in efficient way.
P3 Different leadership theories
In a business there come many organisational situations which impacts operations. So, in
this a leader plays a crucial role. They apply different theories to handle that situation so that its
impact can be reduced. A leader capability reflects on how well theory is inherited and applied
according to situation (6 leadership theories. 2014). Furthermore, leader trait gives an insight
that which style will be best suited. The theories are applied to mitigate impact of change in
business situation. There are various leadership theories which is define below :-
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Situational – As name depicts, this theory is applied as per change in business situation. The
flexibility of this style allows leaders to change their way of leading. This also enables leader to
bring changes in organisational culture. Thus, in this way employees are able to work in efficient
way. For example- a situation occurs where change has to be implemented in organisation then
leader follows situational theory. It helps in effective implementation of change.
Strength
It brings out creativity within employees in Toyota. They work with new process and methods.
Weakness
Employees resists change as they want to work with similar processes in Toyota.
Contingency theory – this type of theory focuses on leader personality and situation in which a
leader works. It helps leader to organise task by building an effective relationship. This type of
theory is applied in situation when motivational level has to be improved in particular division.
It is further sub divided into two types which is as follows :-
Path goal – In this goal are pre defined by leader for each employees. Leader allow them to
work in freely and complete their tasks. Leader does not even help in removing obstacles.
Expectancy theory – this theory define relationship between leader and employee. It states that
motivation level of employee depends on leader influence (Li and Wang, 2015). When
performance increases, employee automatically gets influenced to take on more challenging
goals. Thus, leader motivate them on basis of their performance.
System leadership theory – In this style leader formulate and apply certain process and
principles. The employees have to work accordingly to principles set. It enables in analysing
nature and performance of employees. So, with help of it, leader develops relationship with
them. It helps in guiding them by identifying issues. This type of style is applied in case when
there are lot of conflicts occur between management and employees. In this case certain
principles are set that enable employee to work accordingly.
Strength
It helps in improving performance of employees in Toyota in effective way.
Weakness
Frequent change in style negatively impacts on employee performance and behaviour in Toyota.
There is no stability in their productivity.
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Transformation leadership: This leadership is mainly adopted by leader as they are highly
engaged, friendly with employees and performs tasks collectively with workforce to attain
overall organization goals. This theory helps in building strong relation with employees. With
this goals are easily attained. Also, it is useful in working together by eliminating problems. For
instance, leaders of Toyota develop an environment of transparency for employees to increase
their productivity and create a friendly atmosphere to resolve their issues.
Strengths
It is highly flexible by nature and adaptive. This can be adopted in Toyota to improve
performance of employees.
It supports and motivates the employees in Toyota.
Weakness
Leaders needs to be connected with team continuously. As Toyota operations are spread all over
the world which makes it difficult for leader to connect with team.
Transaction leadership: This style is adopted by leaders as they are restricted by their own
boundaries and tend to have low engagement with team members. They delegate the
responsibilities irrespective of employees' capabilities and needs. It becomes difficult for them to
work with such leaders.
Strengths
It clearly defines and relate its functions with organization's policies. In Toyota leader can easily
define functions with policies.
Weakness
It does not focus individual's growth and development. so, in Toyota it can not be implemented.
TASK 2
P4 Key approaches to operations management and role of leaders and managers in it
For an organisation it is very important to enhance and maintain their operational
efficiency. For this there are various approaches available which can be applied. Moreover, by
maintaining efficiency it becomes easy to attain targets. Besides this, it helps in forming high
goals and improving products quality. The approaches are described below :-
TQM – This approach can be applied to bring overall changes in organisation. It helps in
enhancing quality of services, fastening process, methods, etc. Moreover, TQM focuses on
brining continuous improvement in procedure, product, etc. so that efficiency is enhanced.
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Another feature of TQM is it improves product quality as well (Total Quality Management
Principles. 2018). In this manager role is to formulate short term goals, also to compare results to
identify where improvement is required. The leader is responsible for executing plans developed
by manager.
Six sigma – Here, statistical data and information is obtained and interpreted. This is done to
determine changes required in process. It is done by using tools and techniques. The approach is
similar to TQM but it uses data to make changes. In this manager identify and decide areas
where change is required. Then, new process is developed. On other hand leader implement
process by motivating employees.
Lean management – In this main focus is on eliminating waste by redesigning process. This
approach is applied by manufacturing companies to cut costs and earn more return on investment
(Wild, 2017). Toyota have implemented this and are able to cut production cost. Furthermore,
manager role is to allocate resources to people. Whereas leader guide employees that how they
will have to work with new process.
Just in time (JIT): It is an approach of delivering the products and services produced by Toyota
in a stipulated time frame that will help in meeting the needs and demands of their customer,
increasing their satisfaction level. It also improves the overall productivity and revenue
generation of the firm that will help in catering the needs of the customers in an effective way
(Yun and Kang, 2018). The basic reason behind implementing this approach is to meet the
market needs on time. The manager will develop policies and set objectives. While leader will
communicate goals to employees.
Therefore, with this leader and manager are able to implement different operational
approaches. They both play separate roles and are able to improve Toyota efficiency.
Additionally, it is useful in adopting change and working with new processes or methods to
eliminate errors. Thus, with change in plans it becomes easy for manager as well leader to
enhance employee and overall business performance. With this, change can be easily
implemented. The employees will put more hard efforts in attaining goals. In this way goals will
be accomplished in Toyota in specified time and efficient utilisation of resources.
P5 Explain the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives
The above mentioned operational approached helps in enhancing efficiency of business.
Moreover, it supports in generating values of products and services by improving their quality.
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This is useful in gaining competitive advantage within industry. By implementing various
approaches Toyota is able to attain goals and objectives. The importance of operational
management is discussed below :-
First of all, it helps in smooth flow of business functions from input to output. Also, it is
useful in reducing cost per unit and maintaining quality of goods. Through this, operations are
performed in a structured and defined way (Fujimoto, Yamaguchi and Shimoda, 2017). It helps
in accomplishing organisation goals and objectives. Operational management helps in
maintaining balance between supply and demand. It also helps in fulfilling market demand by
producing goods in large number within less time. It enables Toyota to attain their goals by
utilising resources such as raw materials, machine, etc. in effective way. It helps in generating
revenue by improving product quality and offering services to customers. Alongside this, it helps
in increasing consumer satisfaction. Operational management generates value by reducing waste.
This helps in saving money and increasing productivity within company. From this, advance
planning can be done about how new product will be produced. Moreover, the production
capacity is maximised by improving operational efficiency.
In operations activities are performed in defined manner. Also, it helps in attaining goals
and objectives in specified time. Moreover, by making changes in process, value is generated
that helps in bringing creativity. Through this, complex task are been done and resources are
utilised in effective way.
P6 Factors that impact upon operational management and decision making by leaders and
managers
Toyota is bounded by two boundaries that is micro and macro. Any change in business
situation occurs due to certain factors. The factors force manager to change their decisions (Ejaz
et.al., 2017). Therefore, any change in factors directly impacts on decision. It may be at large or
small level depending on nature and size of organization.
Political – Toyota operates worldwide so they have to follow laws and regulations of different
countries. Thus, there are several factors that impact on company operations such as change in
rules and regulations, any political change, trade laws, tariff policies, etc. will highly impact on
decision taken by manager. The overall working of company operations will be impacted.
Economical- It is related to fluctuation in economic condition of country in which Toyota is
operating. So, if there occurs downfall in economy of nation, it impacts on decision taken. Thus,
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company has to change their operational process so that cost of products can be reduced and
resources are utilized in effective way. There are some factors such as change in pricing and
marketing strategy, production cost, tax rate, etc. In context to it, manager has to analyze
economic and market condition of a country before taking decision.
Social – It refers to change in taste and preference of people. Also, it includes changes related to
CSR activities, ethics, etc. therefore, Toyota has to modify their social reforms. This highly
impacts on decisions taken related to product features, its quality, services offered, etc. Manager
needs to analyze situation and then develop plans. Leader should communicate with stakeholders
to examine market situation and change in needs of people.
Technological- In present time technological advancement has highly impacted on auto mobile
companies. There are frequent innovations in technology. So, factors like technical change,
update in software, applications, etc. impact company operations. Therefore, in order to update
their IT infra and implement new methods within company manager has to change their
decisions. Also, it impacts on process through which services are delivered to customers.
Legal – As name depicts it refers to laws and legislation which has to be followed by Toyota in
different countries (Ferruzzi et.al., 2015). The laws are related to employment, safety, etc. So,
any change in legal factor directly impact on operations. They have to modify process and
procedure of working and change decisions regarding policies and laws. Besides this, it enforces
manager to reform overall working regulations and environment.
Environmental- It means change in environment or atmosphere of a nation. Here, government
regulates laws related to it. As Toyota produces vehicles, they strictly follow environmental
laws. There are some factors such as change in laws and regulations, CSR, etc. So, affect
operational working. Moreover, decisions are taken according to CSR activities, etc. Hence, any
change in laws impacts on decision taking of managers.
Ethics – Toyota has to follow various ethics which enables them to grow and develop in society.
Moreover, any arise in ethical issues forces manager and leaders to make change in policies.
They have to work accordingly.
Values – it refers to standards or principles which are followed by Toyota in providing services
and developing cars. Managers in Toyota have to ensure that principles are been followed by
employees or not. He or she also formulates principle’s whereas leader helps employee to
maintain their principles.
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Corporate Culture – It refers to organizational culture which is followed in Toyota. It includes
values, ethics, etc. any influence on corporate culture forces manager to develop strategy. While
leader has to their leadership style.
Toyota can implement JIT approach in order to bring efficiency in their operations. Also,
they can apply system leadership to implement this approach. It will enforce employees to work
with defined principles. Thus, they will be bound to follow it and produce only when there is
demand of goods from the market. Consequently, it will reduce response time from suppliers to
customers. Along with this, in situational leadership style leader will be able to work in flexible
way. The employee will remain motivated and they will be ready to initiate more challenging
task. Also, the change can be implemented easily. Hence, with operational management
leadership style can be integrated.
Recommendations
There are some recommendations that can be followed by manager and leader of Toyota
for making improvements. They are as follows :-
 Manager should emphasis on developing short term goals. Through this, changes can be
implemented at continuous rate.
 There must be proper technique or method of measuring goals. Also, it should be done in
particular time so that areas that require improvements are identified.
 Leader should change their leadership style after specific time. This will be useful in
maintaining culture within organization.
 Moreover, technology must be used in controlling and evaluation of activities. It will help
in giving precise results.
CONCLUSION
Hereby, it can be summarized that manager and leader are core component in managing
operations. Their roles and characteristics differ to a great extent. Manager develops plan where
leader guides employees. Besides this, there are different leadership style such as contingency,
transformational, etc. which is applied in according to situation. Also, there are various
approaches related to operational management like TQM, lean, etc. they are applied to improve
efficiency and attaining goals in effective manner. Moreover, change in factors like legal,
political, technological, etc. directs impacts on decision making of managers.
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