Roles, Theories, and Operations at Toyota Plc: Leadership

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management practices within Toyota Plc. It begins by defining and comparing the roles and responsibilities of modern leaders and managers, highlighting the key differences between them. The report then examines the role of leaders and managers in various situational contexts, emphasizing the importance of adapting leadership styles to different scenarios. Furthermore, it analyzes how leadership theories and models, such as task-oriented and relationship-oriented approaches, influence operations management within Toyota Plc. The report also explores the impact of Management by Objectives on operations management. Finally, it assesses the factors within Toyota's business environment that can affect operational management and decision-making, providing a holistic view of leadership and management's role in the company's success. The report uses a variety of sources to support its claims.

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1. Define and compare the different roles and responsibilities of a modern leader and manager
in context of Toyota Plc...............................................................................................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
2. Examine the role of a leader and the function of a manager in different situational contexts 6
3. Analyse how leadership theories and models of approach can affect operations management
in Toyota Plc................................................................................................................................7
Task 3 Covered in PPT....................................................................................................................8
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................8
6. Assess the factors within Toyota’s business environment that can impact upon operational
management and decision making by leaders and managers......................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Operations management focuses on managing the processes to produce and distribute
products and services as it includes all the activities such as product creation, development,
production and distribution (Planken, Nickerson and Sahu, 2013). Regarding this, the present
research study has been made on Toyota Plc which is a Japanese company engaged in the design,
manufacturing and sale of different categories of cars. It competes in the automotive industry and
due to environmental concern, consumer’s preferences have changed. Therefore, the study has
been discussing how the business has adopted new practices and approaches for expanding the
small- car portfolios (Mostardeiro, 2007).
Considering the scenario, researcher has discussed the roles and responsibilities of
modern leader and manager of Toyota Plc. Along with this, discussion has also been made on
theories of leadership and management theories. The impact of diverse management and
leadership theories are being stated in the research work in context of Toyota Plc. Key
approaches to operation management are being included along with the role that leaders and
managers play in Toyota Plc while framing global business strategy. Furthermore, researcher has
also highlighted the importance and value of operations management in achieving and sustaining
Toyota’s business objectives. Lastly, researcher has discussed several factors in business
environment that impacts the operational management and decision making aspects of Toyota
Plc.
TASK 1
1. Define and compare the different roles and responsibilities of a modern leader and manager in
context of Toyota Plc
Leader is a person who is accountable to manage all the followers and the respective
team members. Leaders are entitled to lead the team as per the aims and objectives; however
they should also consider the value of each team member. Leaders conduct their job roles as per
the leadership aspects and for that they need to undertake different styles of leadership (King and
Nesbit, 2015). Leaders are the individuals who lead different teams of an organization with
collective efforts. Thus, it is clear that leadership is the activity of leading a group of people in
the organization and the person needs to have that ability (Murphy, 2008). Leaders have to
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provide information and knowledge to the people so that they can realize the vision of the
company.
Manager is the person who is responsible for planning and directing the work of a group
of individuals. They also have to monitor other’s work through undertaking corrective measures
and controlling practices. Managers of Toyota may direct the workers or they may also direct
several supervisors who direct others. It is essential for the manager to be familiar with the work
of all the groups (Hayes, 2002). Managers needs to focus on getting the work done so that
organizational aims and objectives can be achieved. Most importantly, managers have to
maintain direct communication with all the organizational members for the purpose of sharing
important information.
Managers have employees who work for the organization as per the directions
determined; however leaders have followers who follow all the commandments of the leader.
Leaders also create change in the organization through operating all the organizational tasks and
functions in effective manner (Brounstein, 2011). They expect innovation and creativity from the
followers and they get it at the time when they involve all the participants in decision making
process. However, on the other hand, managers react to change when they have good ideas to
implement. They are also accountable to direct other groups through communicating with them
in suitable manner. Apart from this, leader responsibility of getting the tasks and work
completed; however in this respect managers take credit for accomplishing the aims and
objectives.
It has been observed that at Toyota, managers exercise power over people so that the
chain of command can be followed and this leads organizational people to follow all the legal
specifications. At the same time, it could also result in maintaining disciplinary aspects into
account. On the contrary, leadership is all about developing people of the organization through
training and encouraging them towards better productivity and performance (Jogulu, 2010).
Leaders create teams through their efforts and they also direct people towards individual and
organizational objectives. However, managers seems to shift responsibility as they are engaged
in performing only managerial work processes. It has also been observed that managers of
Toyota directly rely on the performance and suggestions of leaders (Margerison, 2009).
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A modern leader emphasizes on interest of all the people and for that the leader ensures
that he is listening all the team mates while taking decisions on different matters. Modern leader
also shows great concern towards achievement of team objectives and for that he organizes
frequent building exercises. At the same time, modern manager deals with people management
in which they chiefly focus on achieving organizational objectives (Michael, 2001). Earlier,
human resources were considered merely the possession to reach towards organizational aims
and objectives; however in modern scenario, human resources are considered as important asset
of Toyota Plc. Modern leader and manager both have to share varied roles and responsibilities
and the main concern can be seen in the area of employee management.
Leader as well as manager of Toyota Plc are accountable to manage a variety of functions
such as planning, organizing, controlling and directing (Hayes, 2006). In terms of planning,
manager has to make schedule of each and every task so that so that all the practices can be
managed accordingly. In the same manner, leader has to plan things appropriately so that team
aims and objectives can be accomplished. With the help of proper planning, Toyota Plc is able to
reduce the level of uncertainties and constraints. This also assist the business entity to manage
product development process. At Toyota Plc, every work is properly organized because of the
efforts of managers and leaders. Leader organizes numerous meetings and sessions with the team
members for the purpose of enhancing team success. As a result, it increases overall success and
prosperity aspects of the business (Hamza, 2009). Moreover, through appropriate controlling
actions, the opportunities of issues and constraints are reduced up to some extent.
Proper controlling assists the manager of Toyota Plc to diminish the chances of failure
and through this performance of organizational employees can be measured on higher extent.
Controlling is an essential management function in which the manager analyses the area of
development through assessing business operations on regular basis. This can also assist Toyota
Plc to carefully assess how the business is managing service dimension procedure (Greasley,
2007). Leader of Toyota Plc also needs to have proper controlling on team activities so that team
aims and objectives can be met. Meanwhile, this can also help the leader to identify the core
competency of each team player. Directing is another important function that needs to be
managed by both leader and manager in which it is essential to give suitable directions to the
employees so that they can contribute in achieving the aims and objectives.
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With the help of appropriate directing, manager of Toyota Plc can ensure that work is
getting done through people efforts (Fender and et. al., 2008). This is also suitable in eradicating
the problems of duplication of work. Henceforth, it is clear that manager and leader of Toyota
Plc are accountable to handle a variety of tasks and operations. Leaders at Toyota Plc undertake
the responsibility to develop the competency of business and in the same, manager ensures that
the task is being completed for overall business growth and success prospects. These efforts are
imperative in terms of achieving competitive advantage.
TASK 2
2. Examine the role of a leader and the function of a manager in different situational contexts
Since, leaders play important role at Toyota Plc; so they have to ensure that optimum
style of leading is being used by them in different situations. Leaders can get success merely if
they are able to manage the team members in effective manner (Erraasti, 2013). In this respect,
the style of leadership should be changed according to the situations so that the determined
objectives can be achieved respectively. In operation management department, it is essential for
the leader to adopt Democratic leadership style wherein every team member should be
participated in decision making process so as to undertake effective team decision. According to
the situation, leader should change the style of leading so that people can get ready to follow the
directions determined by leader. In operations management department, the role of a leader is to
delegate duties and authorities properly to the followers so that they can manage the work
processes accordingly (Kasimis and Papadopoulos, 1999).
At the same time, leaders should also involve people while undertaking different team
decisions. Moreover, with this facet leader must have to integrate all the organizational practices
with duties and processes so that the defined aims can be fulfilled. In this respect, the leader
should also adopt classical management theory which is also called as scientific management
theory which emphasizes on increasing productivity of the workers (Macey, 2010). Under this
theory, employees are directed to perform appropriate business functions for which they are
responsible. Regarding this, leader has to ensure that they are managing their efficiency and
productivity as per the determined work processes. The theory is also regarded as better suited
for Toyota Plc because it develops a standard method for doing the job roles in adequate way.
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Application of the theory would assist the manager to eliminate interruptions from the work
dimensions.
Similarly, manager of Toyota Plc can also focus on contingency theory so as to prepare
the employees for uncertainties and contingencies (Mahadevan, 2009). Apparently,
contingencies may arise anytime when required; therefore the manager has to ensure that
optimum strategies and techniques are being adopted for meeting the aims and objectives. In
operations management department, manager has to allocate the resources in appropriate manner
so that the level of wastage can be minimized. Moreover, manager should also adopt numerous
approaches for maximizing the output capacity of the business.
3. Analyse how leadership theories and models of approach can affect operations management in
Toyota Plc
Impact of task or relationship oriented approaches on operations management
Task oriented approaches should be adopted at Toyota Plc so that each and every task can
be performed in best possible manner. Leader of Toyota Plc should focus on task oriented
approach for enhancing organizational effectiveness and competency level. At the same time,
this can also assist in managing competitive edge over the rivalries (Margerison, 2009). Task
oriented approach could amend the profitability aspects and this can also encourage the
employees to meet the deadlines as specified. Thus, in terms of benefits it can be said that
employees of Toyota Plc would be able to manage all their tasks in appropriate manner after
getting suitable support from the leaders and managers. On the other hand is relationship
approach in which people mainly emphasizes on developing prominent relationship with each
other. The approach is also useful in reducing the level of issues and constraints in the
organization. At Toyota Plc, there should be appropriate relationships among organizational
people so that they can share information with each other when required. This is also essential
for supportive work (Williams, 2015).
Impact of management by objectives on OPM
Management by Objectives is a process of defining specific objectives within an
organization which the management can convey to the organizational members and afterwards
they decide the ways to meet the specified objectives. Through the procedure, organizational
member of Toyota can comprehend their own achievements and success they have contributed in
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the organization regarding each and every objective (Kasimis and Papadopoulos, 1999). The
manager of Toyota Plc needs to adopt the process so that performance level of employees can be
analysed and measured in appropriate manner. Application of the theory would also assist the
manager to involve all the organizational members in decision making process; hence operations
of the business can be strengthened accordingly.
Impact of systems leadership on operations management
Systems leaders consider themselves successful when they work as per the defined
directions. Through this approach, leader can generate appropriate relationships with others and
this is also essential in identifying the ability of leader to manage the work processes according
to the external market capability. It also builds ideas and new approaches; thus in terms of
impact it can be said that such sort of leadership would assist Toyota Plc to create more
innovation in existing services (Mostardeiro, 2007). Further, systematic leadership also embraces
the novel perspective that leadership is a key resource which should be properly managed.
Through this Toyota Plc can either adopt new approaches for management and can also meet the
needs of the organization. As per the approach, leadership is being segregated into different
levels such as individual managers, managerial teams and the organization. The style of
leadership will be useful for Toyota Plc because it can leverage business’s own distinctive
contribution to improve organizational facets. Thus, it can be said that optimum leadership and
management can underpin the operations department of Toyota Ltd and this can also assist the
business to introduce new products at market place (Planken, Nickerson and Sahu, 2013).
TASK 3 COVERED IN PPT
TASK 4
6. Assess the factors within Toyota’s business environment that can impact upon operational
management and decision making by leaders and managers
 Cultural values: Organizations are giving more importance to cultural values and
dimensions; therefore in this respect, Toyota Plc is also required to consider cultural
facets into account so that new trends prevailing at the market place can be included in
business services. Several authors said that consideration on cultural values assist the
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business entities to enhance customer base and success opportunities (Fender and et. al.,
2008).
 Ethics: In contemporary scenario, chief importance is given to ethical values so that
business can safeguard the practices from legal issues. Since, Toyota Plc is a world leader
business entity; therefore it is vital for the organization to follow all the ethical values in
appropriate manner. Ethics can also create differentiation factor for the business
practices. Regarding this, leaders should ensure that the management is considering
changing business scenario for maximizing overall growth and prosperity facets (Erraasti,
2013).
 Sustainability: Currently, all the businesses are emphasizing on long term sustainability
and for that purpose, they focus on differentiation strategy. Thus, as per this, Toyota Plc
is also required to accentuate on competitive facets (Macey, 2010). The business needs to
involve new and diverse services so that long term benefits and profits can be achieved.
Apart from this, Toyota Plc can also focus on strengthening the core competencies of the
business.
 Corporate social responsibility: Corporate responsibility is regarded as the process which
directs the organization to consider the interest of stakeholders on all extent. It also
restricts the firms to involve in unethical practices as under this firms have to disclose the
books of accounts to all the legal stakeholders (Mahadevan, 2009). The most important
aspect of external business environment is corporate social responsibility which leaders
and managers of Toyota Plc are required to consider while playing their roles and
responsibilities. With the help of CSR activities, Toyota Plc has to show great concern
towards the environment. All the business entities in the same industry have been
focusing on CSR practices; therefore Toyota Plc is also required to emphasize on the
same. This will also assist the business to create competitive edge over the rivalries
(Michael, 2001).
CONCLUSION
Summing up the entire research work based on Toyota Plc, it can be confronted that all
the operations of the organization should be managed according to quality standards. In this
respect, the business should also give huge concern towards external business environment as
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that could affect market potential of Toyota Plc. All the defined strategies of Toyota Plc needs to
be implemented in the business processes as a way of continuous improvement. From the study,
it has also been analysed that Toyota gives optimistic responses to all the challenges coming in
automotive industry. This gives the business another reason to succeed. Thus, from the study it is
evident that Toyota Plc should focus on global strategies for enhancing the business potential.
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