Toyota Plc: Examination of Leadership and Management in Operations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management roles within Toyota Plc, a leading automobile manufacturer. The report begins by defining and comparing the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, highlighting their distinct responsibilities and contributions to organizational success. It then examines the functions of managers, including planning, organizing, directing, staffing, coordinating, and controlling, and the roles of leaders in motivating and guiding employees. The report further explores the application of various leadership theories and models, such as situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency theory, within the context of Toyota Plc. It assesses how these theories are applied to address challenges like rising production costs and to improve operational efficiency. The report also investigates key approaches to operations management, the importance of operational management in achieving business objectives, and the factors within the business environment that impact operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers. The analysis includes the use of contemporary, classical, and behavioral management theories. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the critical interplay between leadership and management in driving Toyota Plc's success in the competitive automotive industry.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK 1......................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1
P1 Define and compare the role and characteristics of leader and manager..........................1
P2 Examine examples of role of leader and functions of manager in different situational
contexts in Toyota Plc............................................................................................................2
P3 Different theories and models of approach including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency....................................................................................................4
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................5
TASK 2......................................................................................................................................6
Introduction............................................................................................................................6
P4 Key approaches to operation management and the role that leaders and managers play
in Toyota Plc..........................................................................................................................6
P5 Importance and value of operation management in achieving the business objectives of
Toyota Plc..............................................................................................................................7
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers in Toyota Plc..........................8
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................11

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Difference between Manager and Leader....................................................................1

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Functions of Managers...............................................................................................3

TASK 1
INTRODUCTION
In the current scenario, the task will include the role and characteristics of the leader
and manager of the Toyota Plc. Toyota Plc. is the Japanese organisation offering products
related to automobile industry. It will examine the role and function of manager in the Toyota
Plc. in respect of the work done from the employees. Further, the application of different
theories and models that includes situational leadership, systems leadership and contingency
will be reviewed.
P1 Define and compare the role and characteristics of leader and manager
Managers are the individual who structuralise and supervise the operations of the
organisation in the way to achieve the pre-determined objectives and mission of the
organisation. For the achievement of the objectives, the activity of the manager is to frame
the strategies and approaches and to allocate the job to the employees so that they perform
operations with respect to the objectives. In every organisation managers are appointed at
every level to supervise the works of the staffs as per the departments. Managers have one
more role they perform the function of performance appraisal of the employees at consistent
durations (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). While, leaders are the individual’s who guide the
employees in completion of their work to achieve business goals of the organisation. The
main role of the leader is to motivate the employees with their effective communication and
interpersonal skills and to create the image of the vision of the organisation in the employees
mind.
Often the role of managers and leaders are interchangeable in the organisation but
exist the thin line of difference between the two. The following table helps in knowing the
major difference between:-
Table 1: Difference between Manager and Leader
Managers Leaders
Manager decide the objectives of the
organisation
Leaders convince the objectives that are
developed by managers.
Managers gives direction to the groups Leaders make available direction to the team.
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(Borgogni et.al. 2013)
Managers prepare the ideas and thoughts for
the benefit of the organisation
While leaders play the role of executing those
ideas into actuality.
Managers concentrate on things and planning Leaders concentrate on people and inspiring
them (Phillips, 2013)
They communicate the policies and
procedures to the leaders
Here, leaders communicate and influence the
employees to work as per policies and
procedures.
Toyota Plc. is the leading Japanese organisation deals in goods related to automobile
industry and its business activities includes manufacturing, assembling, structuring and sale
of the cars and export in the countries such as North America, Europe and Asia. The
organisation has developed such superior strategies that lead to the organisation productivity
in appropriate manner. The role of the manager and leaders are very well differentiated and
the every employee’s know their duties and responsibility in the business operations
(Mowday et.al. 2013). The differentiated role of the manager and leader will put the
organisation to result in the success of the business as the functions are segregated and
managed.
P2 Examine examples of role of leader and functions of manager in different situational
contexts in Toyota Plc
The role of leader and functions of managers in Toyota Plc are as follows:-
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Figure 1: Functions of Managers
Planning: The main function of the manager of the Toyota Plc is to plan and target the
objectives of the organisation to enhance the profit and sales of the cars. With respect to
planning, a manager has to do operational planning for managing day to day business
operations, human resource planning, production planning etc. In Toyota Plc, managers have
to plan for human resources and need to identify the number of additional staff for each
month. This is an important activity as shortage of manpower could affect the production
capability.
Organising: Toyota plc manager manages and use the resources in useful manner to achieve
organisational objectives and the role of leader is to allocate this resources and encourage
them to use this resources in effective manner (Rothaermel, 2015). For instance, Toyota plc is
launching a new product, the manager would need to organise events for the publicity of
product.
Directing: Manager of the Toyota plc directs the activities to the employees and leaders
develop the team and direct the work to the team for achieving the objectives. Managers have
to direct their subordinates for carrying out the organisational objective. For example, for
developing supply base, manager can direct the purchasing team to work on developing new
suppliers. The direction is as per the broader level organisational plan.
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Staffing: Toyota Plc manager recruit the staff and allocate the job as per the skills and
potentials of the employees and leader motivate the staff and distribute the work along with
solve the conflicts of the employees and monitor performances. A manager needs to perform,
recruitment and selection of the candidate to fill the vacancies in the organisation. Staffing is
an important part of a manager’s role as finding appropriate candidate for a position is
important.
Coordinating: Manager of Toyota Plc coordinates the function of the different departments
to provide the organisation with the advantage of manufacturing the car with quality and best
prices. The leader role is to coordinate the activities with the execution of best business
standards. Managers have to implement the objectives of the organisation and have to
coordinate the activities for meeting the object. For instance, the management decides the
number of cars to be released in a year. To meet this managers have to coordinate with
production, purchase, human resources etc.
Controlling: The managers monitor and control the strategies that are developed by manager
themselves and followed by leaders of Toyota Plc. A manager is responsible for controlling
the operations and in case a strategy or plan is not yielding the results then the managers need
to make amendments. For instance, production may not be able to meet the production
targets, the manager has to identify and take decision to setup more production lines or start a
new production shift.
The role of leader and function of manager allows the organisation to perform the
function in the desired direction to achieve the business goals. In the organisation there are
different functions of managers and leadership styles and theories that assist in the operations
of the organisation. In Toyota Plc, as the organisation is facing the issues related in the high
prices of fuel, machinery and materials in the development phase (Cummings and Worley,
2014). In this situation the useful execution of management functions and leader skills to
manage and implement such strategies related to cost with managing the sales and revenue of
the organisation.
There are several examples that show the function of manager and role of leaders with
respect to management theories which can be deemed to be followed by the leaders in
showing the leadership skills:
Contemporary theory of management is basically used in the Toyota Plc to manage with the
existing conditions of enhancing the cost and prices of the production. The managers can
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develop the strategies for the effective supplier who will deliver the product at low cost, the
leader in the Toyota Plc apply their skills to motivate the employees to adopt latest
technology so that cost of production can be reduced and eradicate the change resistance
among the employees by framing the atmosphere of trust and communication.
Classical management theory is also applicable in Toyota Plc where the manager will prepare
the policies to increase the productivity (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). The manager develop the
strategy which shows the initiatives and efforts of the management and staff to manage the
production operations and in this leaders is applying the participative style so that input of the
manager and employees in decision regarding reducing the cost can be seen.
Behavioural theory of management is also used in Toyota Plc. In this manager develop the
policies with taking into account the skills and abilities of the employees and with that leader
role is to adopt the transformational leadership style where leaders interact with the team and
the policies are described to the staff in useful way (Muenjohn and Armstrong, 2015).
P3 Different theories and models of approach including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency
Situational leadership means the kind of leadership which depends upon the skills and
potential of the employees to whom the leaders are needed to influence for the task
completion. This type of theory is used for facing different business situation (McCleskey,
2014). For example, in Toyota plc, managers could use this theory to resolve problem like
managing supply base, inventory and pricing issues etc.
System leadership is theory in which the leaders affect a change by interacting with
multiple systems. The changes are brought for the social goof of people. In Toyota plc system
leadership is used by managers to motivate the employees by allowing them to carry their
work to home as per the requirement of the organisation. This gives the employees some time
to spend with their family and also the work is timely completed (Aarons.et.al. 2015).
As per the contingency theory, there is no best way of making decision, leading company.
The course of action to meet a scenario is affected by the internal and external situation. This
theory is an organizational theory in which the leader uses his leadership style to meet a
situation. In this leaders play a crucial part and with that they impact the employees to carry
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out the modification in the operations to achieve the gaps existing in the market. In Toyota
Plc manager will take into account the reason for enhancing the cost of production and will
use the theory to execute the modification in the functional activities to lower down the price
rise of material and machineries that are received by the suppliers and according to that
policies are amended in manufacturing and operation section.
The management of objective theory plays a crucial role in organising the operational
issues by participate the employees in decision making process and the manager expertise so
that the tasks are accomplishes (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2013). And chaos theory concentrates on
the modification that exist the market and for this manager and leaders act accordingly and
prepare the employees to approach in that direction.
Conclusion
In the current task, the task had concluded the definition and comparison of the role
and characteristics of the managers and leaders. It had focussed on the theories of
management that includes contemporary theories for the prevailing changes in Toyota Plc
with considering the function of managers and role of leaders in that. The task has also
covered the leadership styles that the leaders need to adopt in the organisation that are
situational and system leadership.
TASK 2
Introduction
Operation management is the approach to use the resources of the organisation in the
most useful way. It involves the operations in which raw material are converted into final
products and services. In the given task, the role of manager and leaders in the operations
function of the Toyota plc along with understanding the relationship between leadership and
management in the contemporary business environment that includes the factors that impact
upon operational management.
P4 Key approaches to operation management and the role that leaders and managers play in
Toyota Plc.
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The function of the operation management is to enhance the productivity of the
Toyota Plc with application of least resources. The key approaches of operational
management along with the role of manager and leader are as follows:-
Six Sigma Approach: It is the type of approach used in the organisation that concentrates on
the team effort in the achievement of the operations so that improvement in performance is
accomplished (Pyzdek and Keller, 2014). This methodology is used in Toyota Plc to improve
and enhance the production process with efficiency. It will eradicate the important six types
of waste that are transportation, over manufacturing, waiting time, inventory, errors in
production operations and motion. The manager role is to develop the global strategy for the
operations so that resources waste can be reduced and valuable resources can be used in
effective manner whereas leader role in Toyota plc is to implement the six sigma strategy to
eradicate the waste and put the efforts to motivate the team for the superiority of the
organisation.
Total Quality Management (TQM) Approach: Total Quality Management is the approach
to carry out the productivity and usefulness in the manufacturing of cars in the organisation.
The TQM concentrates on the existing development in the quality of the goods and services
provided by the Toyota Plc taking into account the expectations and wants of the customers
(Dale, 2015). TQM in Toyota Plc is used for improving the process quality.The role of
manager in TQM is to use the strategy of KAIZEN in Toyota Plc where the management
concentrates on the modification in the manufacturing to carry out the improvements. While
the role of leader is to inspire the employees to operate in the team and eradicate the change
resistance so that quality of the product can be managed and improved. The five principle of
TQM are to be kept in the mind of the manager and leader that are customer orientation,
quality maintenance, team work, consistent improvement and to carry on the strategic move
towards the improvement.
Just in Time (JIT): Just in time is the process in which management decide to order the
material on time whenever there is need from the supplier in production (Morgan, 2013). This
approach enhances the usefulness and eradicates the disposal of stock in the Toyota plc.
Using this approach organisation is frequently replenishing inventory and keeping minimum
required stock to carry out production.
Continuous Improvement Process Approach: Continuous improvement provides the
improvement in the quality, services, system and operations for increasing the efficiency of
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the business. Using this approach, Toyota plc can reduce its manufacturing defects and
increase its product quality. The role of manager is very important in continuous
improvement process as they are ones to direct the operational and production section and
supervise and control the stock and manages the production of cars on consistent basis. Same
as organisation has framed the KAIZEN. And the leader assesses the performance of the
employees on schedule time gaps and keeps the records of the stock (Armstrong and Taylor,
2014). This approach helps to improve the manufacturing system of the automobile to reduce
the cost with efficient technology and operations.
P5 Importance and value of operation management in achieving the business objectives of
Toyota Plc
There is various importance of operation management to consider the use of resources
and reduce the waste. Some of the importances of operation management are as follows:-
 Operation management build the organisation use the resources efficiently and
effectively.
 Operation management improves the quality of the products on the consistent basis.
This is because with the use of KAIZEN, there will surely greater improvement in
quality with reducing the cost as well (Slack, 2015).
 It transfers the raw inputs into the finished goods with less cost. It is department
where major manufacturing and assembling of the cars take place. All the important
inputs, machineries and material are present to prepare the car or accessories as
whole.
 Operational management assist the organisation to remove the waste. With using six
sigma principles approach, this is the major importance of the operational
management.
The main business objectives of the Toyota Plc in order to gain the business profits by
developing the quality cars as per the customer needs are as follows:-
 In the competitive scenario, the organisation objective is to achieve the competitive
benefits.
 To produce quality automobile passenger cars
 To achieve satisfaction of customers (Talk, 2016)
 For green and pollution free car use of modern technology
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