Leadership and Management Strategies: Toyota Operations Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Toyota's leadership and management practices, focusing on their impact on the company's operations. It begins with an introduction to Toyota's organizational structure and defines the roles of leaders and managers, differentiating between leadership and management. The report explores various management and leadership theories, applying them to different situations within Toyota, such as conflict resolution and policy-making. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of various leadership and management approaches, including situational and systems approaches, and behavioral management techniques. The report then examines the impact of managers and leaders on Toyota's operations, offering recommendations for future development. Task 2 delves into Toyota's key operations, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers, exploring key operational approaches, and analyzing the impact of the external business environment on decision-making. The report concludes with suggestions for improving operational efficiency and meeting diverse business operations through effective management and leadership strategies.

Management & Operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction to organisation and its management structure.....................................................1
2 Definition and roles of both leaders and managers and difference in leadership and
management................................................................................................................................2
3 Different roles of management and leadership in application to different situations using
different theories.........................................................................................................................4
4 Evaluate the strength and weakness of different approaches of leadership and management.4
5 How managers and leaders at Toyota have made impact on operations with proper
recommendations for future development of the firm................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
1 Introduction to key operations of Toyota.................................................................................7
2 Key operational functions, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers at Toyota. 7
3. Key operational approaches and their value for Toyota.........................................................8
4. Impact of external business environment on decision making by leaders and managers.......8
5. Improvement of the operational efficiency to meet different business operations by
applying management and leadership approach.........................................................................9
6. Conclusion and recommendation............................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Managing the operations and other activities within the organisation helps in proper
assessment of the business operations that are been taken within the firm. This is important for
the organisation to identify the scope of improvement and carry out the operations that are taken
within the firm. The managers and leaders of the organisation plays a very important and crucial
role within the management of different operations. For the present report, Japanese automobile
enterprise, Toyota is been selected.
The report will involve proper details of the firm's and its organisational structure and
roles and function of both, managers and leaders are evaluated using different theories. The
strength and weaknesses of various approaches of OM and impact made by managers and leaders
within the firm for future development. The operational efficiencies of the organisation with
suitable recommendations are been presented for the selected organisation.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
1 Introduction to organisation and its management structure
Toyota is a Japanese automobile enterprise, headquartered in Aichi, Japan. It is sixth
largest company by revenue in the world. It is also the one of the biggest firm in Japan by terms
of market capitalization. Recently, it has entered into hybrid vehicle segment in automobile
sector. It follows divisional management structure.
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This management structure helps the organization to segment the whole enterprise in
various divisions and has a very systematic structure that monitors each and every operation
within a division.
2 Definition and roles of both leaders and managers and difference in leadership and
management
The managers and leaders are the essential and very responsible employees within an
enterprise. They look after all the business-related operations that are been carried within the
organization. The management of an organization like Toyota will see through the proper
handling of different business operations and policies within the firm (Parisio, Rikos and
Glielmo, 2016).
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Illustration 1: Divisional management structure
(Source: Divisional performance, 2019)

A manager is a senior management personnel who manage or handle all the operations
and decision making within the organization or their respective department. On the other hand,
leaders are the employees that leads and guides the essential operations and policies or decision
to the work force. Both managers and leaders will work in coordination with each other as well
as the management in order to get the best of the resources and the business operations that will
help in suitable growth of the organization. This will help in effective planning of the operations
and gaining a good productivity and revenue generation.
Leaders and managers within an enterprise have certain roles and responsibilities within
the organization like Toyota that they have to fulfill in order to make the company sustain within
the market. Some major roles of leaders and managers are:
Role of leaders Role of managers
 Motivate the workforce.
 Guide staff members to carry out their
job roles.
 Communicate different policies and
decisions to employees.
 Act as an intermediate between the
management and work force.
 Role is built alliance by inspiring and
visioning work force
 Decision making regarding staffing,
polices, employee relations, etc.
 Monitoring and controlling different
operations and business activities.
 Training and development
 Allocate various resources, roles and
responsibilities within the team or
department.
Management Leadership
Management is the practice of handling business
operations and other activities within enterprise
as per planning and budgeting.
It involves the effective guidance and
motivation that is been carried out within the
firm by employees.
It includes the present setup within the firm
which is facilitates alignment in organizational
and employees’ activities
It includes motivation, coaching and trust
building among workforce..
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3. Different roles of management and leadership in application to different situations using
different theories
Various theories are been taken within the organization that will help in proper
assessment of different theories and leadership measures that are taken in considerations by the
firm and thus will lead the firm to have a good growth of selected automobile firm. Some major
situations are:
During conflicts:
Role of management: The management of selected organization will look after the
proper assessment of different operations that are been taken within organization. Management
will communicate with the motive of negotiating and taking suitable measures within the firm to
resolve any sort of indifference. For this purpose, contingency theory can be carried out which
indicates that the conflict management measures will be modified as per the conditions during a
conflict. This will help the managers and leaders to resolve their conflicts as per the conditions
prevailing while occurrence of conflict.
Role of leadership: The leaders at the firm will look after the proper assessment of the
business operations which will help in executing the operations within the firm. They will
interact and provide suitable solution of any conflict within the firm. The transactional leadership
will induce effective communication within the firm and will lead the organization to reduce
indifference.
Policy making:
Role of management: The management will carry out suitable assessment of the various
influencing factors and maintaining the operational capability of the organization by
incorporating various improvement measures (Wang, and Singh, 2018). As per scientific
management the managers are able to manage and synthesize workflow with supports
formulation policy according to dynamic of organizational activities.
Role of leadership: Leaders will interact with the managers at the automobile enterprise
and will take steps to implement and communicate the policies within the operation level. They
will also look after the analysis of decided and developed policies on the operational level.
Democratic leadership includes the suitable negotiation and communication with the employees
by involving them in decision and policy making process, that will help in proper management of
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business operations. This will make the opinion of employees to get counted while decision-
making.
4 Evaluate the strength and weakness of different approaches of leadership and management
As leadership and management will play a very crucial role within the firm, their strength
and weaknesses are required to be managed and within the organization. It will include different
approaches of leadership and management that will help in proper assessment of various
operations and activities that are been taken within the firm. Some major leadership and
management approaches that are taken within Toyota are:
Situational approach of leadership: This is an approach that states that proper adjustments are
been made within the system at the operational or management level, that will help in carrying
out of operations within the firm. This will help in improving the productivity of automobile
enterprise. This approach of leadership access different operating situation and give suitable
recommendations and measures accordingly to sustain productivity.
Strength: This increase the operational capabilities of the organization and thus will also
enhance the efficiency of the work force. Other than this, it also increases the employee's
motivation level and personal skill set to enhance productivity of firm.
Weakness: It may lead to a situation of confusion which can be time consuming as well as hard
to manage.
System approach of leadership: This approach of leadership states that a larger organisation is
been classified as a big system with many smaller sub systems. It will facilitate a good
communication and handle various business operations and activities that will assist to improve
the mutualy dependent systems and sub systems within an organisation.
Strength: The biggest advantage of this approach is that it helps the management to improve
effective communication and carry out different functions within organization.
Weakness: The lack of proper medium of interaction may lead to communication gap with
employees. It can prove out to be a time-consuming measure.
Approaches of management
Behavioral approach of management: It is related to the behavior of an individual employee
within the organization. It focuses on the human needs and requirements with measures to be
taken for their fulfillment. In the present scenario, it is very important because it will contribute
in improving motivation and treatment of employees within the firm.
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Strength: It makes the operations of the organization employee centric and thus, the benefits
that are been undertaken by the firm will improves employee's loyalty towards the business
enterprise.
Weakness: It needs effective communication and behavioral expertise to carry out the operations
and functions within the firm.
The effective handling of these measures requires effective planning as per different
business situations therefore situational approach of leadership within the firm that assists
execution of different leadership measures assist in enhancing overall operational capability as
per changing dynamics and also increase employee participation which is beneficial for an
organization. The situational leadership will facilitate Toyota to tackle different situations and
handle the business operations effectively.
5 Conclusion of impact of managers and leaders at operations of Toyota with proper
recommendations for future development
The managers and leaders at Toyota look after an effective idea about the operations and
other business activities to enhance the quality of services and to carry out of smooth business
operations. The managers at Toyota l perform a specific assessment of the operations and
carrying of different measures that lead the organization to have a good growth and meeting of
the business objectives within the firm (Manzini and et. al., 2018).
Other than this, based on the outputs received from the assessment process, they develop
suitable operational plans and policies that are been incorporated within the organization to
improve operation's management of the firm (Lathrop and et. al., 2018). The managers also look
after the proper training and skill development measures that will improve the quality of services
and finishes cars within the organization.
On the other hand, the leaders at Toyota also play a very crucial role in operations of
selected automobile manufacturing enterprise. They not only motivate the work force within the
form but also encourage them to have a proper loyalty and dedication towards the selected
enterprise. They look after the training and development needs of their team mates and guide
them to have a good growth and understanding within the firm. It also enhances the overall
performance and carrying out of operations measures at Toyota.
Certain recommendations can be incorporated within the firm that will support proper
implementation and carrying out of OM measures:
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 The regular communication can be carried out within the firm will improve the
operations that will help in reducing the conflicts and will enhance the overall
performance of the firm.
 Leaders should motivate and lead all their teammates so that performance of firm in
implementing and measuring operational management.
 While on other hand manager should organize training for employees as whole to boost
participation and maintain stable work culture.
TASK 2
1 Introduction to key operations of Toyota
Toyota is well known for its high-quality automobiles and consumer friendly services
that are well known all around the world. As the organization will be operating on the wider
scale, it has to undertake various measures which are undertaken within the firm. The
organization will perform a wide range of operations like designing the automobiles, their
production, testing, promotion and sales and maintaining of the inventory of the finished goods
manufactures by the firm.
2. Key operational functions, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers at Toyota
Different key operational function is been followed within the automobile manufacturing
enterprise (White, 2016). This will help in maintaining the quality of the production measures
that will help in enhancing the effectiveness of the production measures that are taken within the
organization. The managers and leaders at Toyota will play a very significant role in execution of
this key operational functions such as:
 Designing Goods and services: This include the designing measures undertaken within
the firm. The role of manager is to look for proper assessment and implication of the
market needs and customer demands and developing a suitable and feasible product
accordingly. Responsibility of manager will be for looking after all quality and its control
measurement so that designing of goods and services is done properly.
 Quality management: As Toyota is well known for the high-quality automobiles, the
maintaining of the quality of their automobile products and services that are taken within
the organization. The managers will play role after adopting various quality control
measures that will help in sustaining the effectiveness of the products (Tian and et. al.,
2016).
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 Supply chain management: The role of managers at Toyota is to look after the effective
planning of the supply chain which will improve the quality of services, customer
satisfaction level and sustainability in business operations.
 Inventory management: The manager of firm is responsible to focus on inventory to
control the unnecessary expenses and other additional monetary services, undertaken
within the firm (Szewczak, 2016).
3. Key operational approaches and their value for Toyota
Effective key operational approaches are been taken within the firm that will help in
proper assessment and handling of production related functionalities within the selected
automobile manufacturing enterprises. Some major operational management approaches that are
taken within the form are as follows:
Figure 1: Elements of Total Quality Management
(Source: Thomas, Deblecker and Ioakimidis, 2018)
Total Quality Management: This is the operations approach that includes the effective
selection of suitable quality control measures which will help in maintaining the effectiveness
and quality of services and automobile products that are been manufactured within the firm
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(López and et.al., 2015). This is important for a firm like Toyota to follow this approach in order
to maintain the quality of their automobile-based services. Besides this, it includes the measures
like keeping a quality checks at every level of production and developing to maintain the quality
standards. Different aspects like material quality, production style and effectiveness of finished
goods is been incorporated by the firm. It is highly valued within the firm because in helps in
maintaining quality standards as per customer satisfaction level.
Lean management: This approach ensures the effective and feasible utilization of the available
and allocated resources or raw material. It is one of the most effective approach of production
which is very cost effective. This will help in proper assessment and use of raw material for
production process and reduces the wastage caused during the production process. It is highly
valued and important for the firm as it indicates the reduction in wastage and helps in managing
cost effectiveness within firm.
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Illustration 2: Lean management
(Source: Lean management – in 3 minutes, 2019)

4. Impact of external business environment on decision making by leaders and managers
The leaders and managers at Toyota will look after the assessment of different external
environmental factors that impacts the overall decision-making of leaders and managers within
the firm. The macro environmental factors will lay a deep influence on decision making of the
firm (Thornburg, Ustun and Krogh, 2016). The external business factors such as political and
economic factors lead managers and leaders at Toyota to make suitable plans and decisions
which will help in execution of different business plans and operations, in local as well as
international market.
Economic factor- The economic factors such as employment level and following of
effective CSR operations by selected automobile enterprise will help in effective management of
operations in automobile firm. This is required to be maintained and carried out for improving
the overall operational capabilities of the organization.
Technological factor- Technological factors are required to look after by leaders and
managers as any technical issue can impact production measures and productivity of enterprise
(Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes, 2015). This will enhance the performance and quality
aspects of the firm.
Legal factors: Various legal obligations like Equality Act, 2010, Health and Safety at
Workplace Act are required to be looked after within the firm in order to maintain suitable
decision making by leaders and managers.
The policies and action plans that are been decided by the managers and leaders at the
business enterprise will support a good rise in execution and carrying out of suitable growth and
development measures.
Corporate culture: The corporate culture of Toyota is very supportive for the organisation and
hence, will help in carrying out of the operations management operations which will help in
improving the sales and thus will lead to rise in firm’s performance.
Corporate value: The values set by the management of Toyota will motivate their employee’s
to have a high level of operational capabilities and give out their best in growth of enterprise.
Corporate ethics: Workers will be working with ethics and integrity which will help in making
a positive work environment and thus, will lead the organisation to have a high level of
performance.
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