Knowledge Management System: Toyota's Business Model and SWOT Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of knowledge management and information systems (KMIS) implementation at Toyota. It begins with an introduction to KMIS and its benefits, followed by an overview of Toyota's corporate objectives, business model, and organizational structure. The...Read More

Knowledge
Management and
Information Systems

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Corporate Objectives..............................................................................................................3
Business Overview.................................................................................................................4
Corporate Structure................................................................................................................4
Business Model......................................................................................................................5
Pestle Analysis........................................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis......................................................................................................................7
Recommendation and Justification.........................................................................................8
Performance objectives of business:....................................................................................11
Challenges while implementation........................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge management information system is an information technology system which
helps in storing and retrieving the knowledgeable information, improving collaboration as well
as locating knowledge sources for little knowledge in order to capture knowledge and enhance
knowledge in an organisation. There are a number of benefits for an organisation which uses
knowledge management information systems such as ease and comfort in adoption of new
techniques, customisation in access to various information regarding employs as well as
collaborative functioning of employees in the organisation (Mont and Sprunt, 2019). In the
following report implementation of knowledge management and information system on Toyota
is described. The organisation is looking for an up gradation in its information technology
infrastructure and considering various knowledge management information system to integrate
with various other system in the organisation. The following report discusses about various
internal factors of the company along with the external environmental factors affecting the
organisation. The information system which will be implemented on the company in order to
support its business function is described with various performance management in the
organisation. At the end of the report recommendations and justification while implementing
these management systems along with various challenges which company might face are also
discussed.
Corporate Objectives
The major corporate objectives of Toyota are to achieve various long-term stable growth as
well as harmony with the environment in which it is working. They want to favour global
economy along with serving local communities and its stakeholder. Toyota also looks for
creating more automated manufacturing in order to make the society prosperous. The major
objective of companies also includes bringing in new technologies along with operational
management for the employees in the organisation. They are committed to development of both
society as well as industry along with bringing harmony in energy and environment. The
company also supports protection of various species including the plants in the nature. The
nature conservation and natural parks which are put in economic use are prohibited by Toyota.
They also aim at providing secure, quality power as well as reliable services in order to enhance
the economy of the country and quality life of the people in the nation.

Business Overview
Toyota motor Corp is situated in Toyota city which is located in Japan. The company was
founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937. In 1957 Toyota started exporting their passenger cars. In
present the company deals in 53 overseas manufacturing companies which are situated in 28
different countries and regions throughout the world. The company also manufacturing and
selling spare parts of vehicles throughout the world (de Azevedo and et. al., 2020). The company
has manufacturing in 28 countries whereas the products are sold in more than 170 countries.
Toyota was also ranked as 11th on world’s largest companies list by Forbes. The following
ranking of the company was basically due to its profits, revenues, market value as well as assets.
There are a number of Japanese stock exchanges such as Tokyo Stock exchange which is the
most notable exchange on which Toyota is marked.
Corporate Structure
Toyota is maintaining a global hierarchy structure in which the decision making power for
its regional heads has been significantly increased. There are basically eight regions in which
Toyota has divided its organisation. These regions include Japan, North America, East Asia,
Europe and China, Asia and Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean. All these eight
regions form the structure of Toyota. The division of structure of Toyota is also done on the basis
of its products. On the basis of product, the structure of company is divided into four parts which
include Lexus international, Toyota number one, Toyota number two, unit Centre which is
responsible for transmission, engine as well as other related operations with them. This product
structure of Toyota helps in development of various product line as well as brand. With the help
of this organisational structure which is followed by Toyota the flexibility of the organisation is
centralized hierarchical in organisational structure. With the help of the following structure
which is followed by Toyota the company is able to respond to different conditions in the
regional market effectively. The flexibility which is gained by Toyota with the help of this
organisational structure is helping to respond to various issues regarding quality of product
speedily and fulfil the required needs of customers. The decision making power which is vested
in the hands of various regional heads has also reduced the control of headquarter globally.With
the help of this organisational structure the organisation is sufficiently bringing in resilience as
well as continuous growth throughout the world for its stakeholders.

Business Model
Business model can be stated as a rational plan of how an organisation is planning on
creating as well as delivering and capturing market value for its customers. This consist of a plan
with a number of successful operations for business identifying different sources of revenues for
the company and also bringing in various products and services for the customers. The business
model which is used by Toyota majorly focuses on providing superior quality of products to their
customers at a lower cost from that of its competitors. The major focus of business model of
Toyota is on the operational management (Beynon-Davies, 2020). Company have also come up
with a number of different operational model in order to bring in premium quality and
management of resources in the organisation effectively. Toyota make shoes that they are
bringing in low-cost operations in order to make sure that they are also generating high profits in
the competitive market by selling their auto mobiles. There are a number of performance
objectives which are achieved by the managers in the company in order to derive their business
models. Company also uses lean principle, just in time, fishbone as well as a number of other
operational management models in order to achieve all its objectives. Providing premium quality
at lower prices than that of its customer is the major objective of Toyota. Toyota have
continuously over performed from that of its competitors when comparing on the basis of
reliability, productivity, sales, quality, cost reduction as well as growth of market share in market
capitalisation.
Pestle Analysis
Pestle Analysis refers to an analysis of external factors around an organisation which is
affecting the operations and functioning of an organisation directly or indirectly. It is necessary
for every organisation to make sure that they are analysing various factors which might affect the
profits of the company. Political factors, economic, social, technological and various other
factors are included in this analysis. Below mentioned his external analysis conducted on Toyota
motors:
Political factors: There are a number of countries in which Toyota is supplying its products in
order to fulfil the demand of vehicles for the consumers. Europe in market have become one of
the bigger markets which offers great revenues to the company (Reed and Angolia, 2020). Due
to political stability in the economy of Europe the company has opportunities to expand its
business and take the advantage of political situation. It is also necessary for Toyota to make sure

that they are not facing any political turmoil or stand-off due to relationship with different
countries which will stand on its way to expand. It is necessary for company to focus on various
political factors which might affect the functioning and smart decisions to effectively expand its
business.
Economic factors: economic factors basically refers to various factors which include taxation,
foreign exchange, interest rate, inflation as well as deflation and other factors in the economy of
a country. There are a number of brands with which Toyota is competing in the market. It is
necessary for company to take advantage of economic factors in order to expand its business.
Recession can have negative effect on company due to which Toyota requires to study the
market of various countries. Also changing fuel prices in the market is shifting the demand of
customers and Toyota can take economical advantage from these factors.
Social factors: It is required by Toyota to make sure that they are considering all the social
factors which includes believes, changing perceptions, demands and requirements of the
customer. There is great advantage of changing customer preferences towards electronic vehicles
due to environmental factors (Jeyaraj and Zadeh, 2020). This is a great opportunity for company
to develop such vehicles and fulfil the needs and demands of consumers. The PR team of
company needs to handle various media fall outs in order to make sure that the reputation of the
company is not affected. With the help of market research company can effectively understand
various needs of customers and changing trends and preferences in automobile sector. This is a
great advantage for company which will help it in expanding its business and earning more
revenues and profits.
Technological factors: in automobile sector it is necessary for companies to bring in new
technological advancement regularly in order to attract customers. It is a great way to develop its
market for these companies. Toyota is the first company which have launched a hydrogen car in
the market. The research and development of company looks for a number of alternatives for fuel
options in order to make sure that they are bringing in new technological advancement and
innovation for the customer. The development of electric car is also leading to non-fuel vehicles
for the customers in the market. Innovation is a critical part for automobile sector which is
required to be considered by Toyota in order to make sure that they are effectively working for
bringing in profits for company.

Legal factors: Legal factors refers to various laws and regulations which are to be followed by
each company in order to avoid the legal restrictions over lawsuits against them. It is necessary
for Toyota to make sure that they are following all the laws and regulations which are applicable
in different countries in which the company is running its business. These lawsuits can be against
the employment laws, consumer laws, advertisement laws and other environmental factors which
are applicable on the company. It is necessary for Toyota to follow all these rules so that they are
not gaining negative media attention. Following all these legal factors also help the company to
build its reputation and goodwill in the market.
Environmental factors: Environmental factors refers to the environmental concerns which are
required to be managed by a company while working in the surrounding. It is necessary that
company is not extracting resources from the environment which are scarce. Being an auto
mobile company, it is required by Toyota to make sure that they are critically examining the
pollutants they are releasing in the environment (Steininger, 2019). Development of various
electronic vehicles and on fuel cars is a great way for Toyota to make sure that they are gaining
the advantages from environmental factors. The pollutants which are released by production
sectors of company along with the vehicles of company which are running on roads are to be
checked regularly in order to make sure that environmental factors do not negatively have any
effect on the company.
SWOT Analysis
Swot analysis of an organisation consist of various internal weaknesses, strengths,
opportunities and threats for an organisation. Tata motors is a Japanese multinational automotive
manufacturer which has considerably become one of the world’s largest auto maker company.
There are a number of capabilities in a company which include producing largest number of
vehicles with leadership in technology, research and development as well as manufacturing of
innovative vehicles. Below mentioned is swot analyses conducted on Toyota motors:
Strengths:
 The major strength of the company is the brand value which it has created throughout the
time of its existence.
 Research and development which is done by company in various models of product
which it is bringing day to day is also major strength of company.

 The financial health of company is very good. Over a period of time Toyota motors have
developed good financial resources which helps them in bringing in new innovations
through investment in research and development.
 The development of various operational models to improve the operational management
in the organisation is another major strength for Toyota motors.
Weaknesses:
 The hierarchical organisational structure of the company is proving to be a weakness for
the company because the operations of companies spread throughout the world and it
becomes difficult to manage and take decision on time.
 There are certain markets including European Union which are the markets on which
Toyota certainly focuses. Due to major focus on these markets company is losing its
market share in other markets such as Asia.
 It is required by Toyota to efficiently work on its flexibility. Due to large size of the
organisation decision making powers are vested in hand of some people and delay is
faced while making decisions in the organisation. This is one of the major weakness of
the company (Minas and Dennis, 2019).
Threats:
 The world is continuously seeing rising fuel prices due to which Toyota might face
problems. It is also major concern for environment as due to this fuel vehicles
degradation of environment and ozone layer is also seen.
 There are a number of competitors in auto mobile sector which are increasing day by day.
These competitors of Toyota are proving to be a threat for the company on which the
company needs to work effectively.
Opportunities:
 The company have opportunities to grow in various developing countries effectively by
spreading its awareness and communication to customers effectively.
 Fuel-efficient auto mobiles are preferred by consumers due to environmental concerns.
Company have opportunity to develop such vehicles and effectively capture market.
 Taking advantage of weak Japanese yen versus US dollar is a great opportunity for
company to earn from exports of vehicles to US market.

 Major opportunity for Toyota lies in generating electronic vehicles which have growing
interest due to environmental concerns in global market.
Recommendation and Justification
An information system refers to information as well as communication technology which
is used by an organisation to make sure that the people in the organisation or effectively
interacting with each other which is also supporting business processes. Toyota has already
developed various areas of innovations with the help of management information system. Toyota
employs visual controls which helps the management information system in the company. The
production area of company has also implied various management information system which is
helping the workers to organise the operation station of the company.
In order to smoothly direct all the marketing activities of an organisation implementation of
marketing information system for Toyota is recommended. The marketing activities of
companies are directed towards planning, promoting as well as selling of goods and services in
order to make sure that the company satisfying its customers and meeting all the objectives
which are mentioned in this strategy (Lafferty, 2019). The marketing information system is
supporting to decision making of marketing mix which includes product, price, place and
promotion of the company. There are five sub-systems which are recommended to be used in
marketing information system for Toyota which are mentioned below:
Product subsystem: The product subsystem will help Toyota to introduce its new product in the
market. It is necessary for company to make sure that they are regularly bringing in new
innovation for the customers to capture the market. In automobile sector it becomes essential to
bringing innovations in order to face the competition. There are a number of ways in which new
products can be facilitated with the help of products subsystem. Products of system will help to
provide professional support for designers who are working on new products of Toyota. This
will also evaluate the proposed new products and its desirability in the market. Various expertise
can be brought in to help in order to disperse the space as well as time problem which will be
faced by company in future.
Place subsystem: The place of system will help the decision makers in the organisation to
provide the products to customers at different places at right time. It is necessary for company to
make sure that they are helping the distribution channels to track the movement of products.

Various examples in the subsystem include point of sale scanning, electronic data interchange,
support just-in-time product delivery, and barcoded universal product code.
Promotion subsystem: Promotion subsystem for Toyota will include media selection of various
packages using a mixed promotional tool which will help the company to efficiently promote
their products. Teli marketing, sales force automation, database marketing are various examples
which will be used in promotion subsystem by Toyota. This will effectively help the company to
associate an access various corporate expertise while connecting to its consumers.
Price subsystem: Price of system will provide the company with access to various database of
industry prices in the related product. This will help the company to take decision of various
pricing objectives. Profit maximization is also possible with the help of pricing decisions.
Information system will provide great opportunities for the company to analyse various
consumer groups as well as their income levels.
Sales forecasting: sales forecasting includes various qualitative techniques which will help the
company to forecast the quantity of products which will be demanded in the market. This will
help in analysing group decision making, various scenarios for future environment as well as
exploration of various trends in cycles in the market on the basis of time series analysis.
There are a number of factors which will also be accommodated with the help of information
system in Toyota. Some of the benefits of information system to Toyota are mentioned below:
Knowledge capturing and sharing: Knowledge capturing and sharing can be accommodated
with the help of management system in Toyota. When the management system is effectively
generated the market research will provide the company with the requirements of the consumers.
These requirements can be also shared with all the employees of the organisation to come up
with new innovative ideas to develop new products. It is a great way to capture and share
knowledge.
Customer relationship management: Customer relationship management with the help of
information system in an organisation effectively helps to manage and interact with customers.
Toyota is using management system to interact with its potential customer and also improve the
course of business. It helps in streamlining processes, connecting with customer as well as
improving the profitability for an organisation (Borodow and et. al., 2019). There are a number
of ways in management system such as websites, physical stores, marketing and advertising

effect as well as emails which are used by management system in Toyota to effectively manage
customer relationship.
Supply chain management: It becomes easy for organisation to collaborate and share
information with their supply chain managers in order to fulfil the required needs of their
consumers with the help of management system. The technologies in the organisation are more
effective and efficient in order to trade with suppliers and various applications which provide
suppliers the right information about movement of the products.
Performance objectives of business:
There are a number of objectives for Toyota which will be accommodated with the help of
management system. The major objective revolves around recognising and solving
organisational management problems. It is necessary to understand and resolve the problem in
order to design and maintain new products in the organisation. The marketing information
system which will be used by Toyota is helping the objective of promoting and launching new
products in the market. Along with it will also fulfil the objective of pricing for continuous
profits of the organisation.
Challenges while implementation
The challenges which will be faced by Toyota while implementing information system are
mentioned below
 Toyota might face challenge in recruiting employees who will develop the information
system for the company. In order to face this challenge, it is required by company to
prepare its human resource department with all the job requirements of the employs who
will be working in information system development. They need to acquire specialist to
ensure that all the business objectives are met.
 Integrating new technologies in the already existing technologies of business is another
challenge which will be faced by Toyota while implementing marketing information
system. It is necessary for company to make sure that they are effectively using
administration to ensure all the tools of organisation are onboard with the system which
are bringing positive results for the company (MacDonald and Faber, 2019).
 Lack of strategy is also one of the challenge which will be faced by Toyota in order to
track the development of new information system which will be introduced in company.
It is necessary for company to make sure that they are bringing one new change at a time

in development of various technology and providing its support in order to make sure that
all the systems are running together based on a common strategy.
CONCLUSION
With the help of the following report it can be concluded that development of a new
management system for Toyota will help it in introducing new products in the market and
increasing its revenues as well as profits. It is required by company to make sure that the new
management system and bringing all the business objectives of the organisation together.
Various challenges while implementing new information system in the company can be faced by
Toyota with the help of proper strategy in order to achieve all its business objectives and increase
revenues and profits.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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de Azevedo and et. al., 2020. Financial management information systems and accounting
policies retention in Brazil. International Journal of Public Sector Management.
Beynon-Davies, P., 2020. Business information systems. Red Globe Press.
Reed, A.H. and Angolia, M.G., 2020. Risk management usage and impact on information
systems project success. In Start-Ups and SMEs: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools,
and Applications (pp. 1065-1084). IGI Global.
Jeyaraj, A. and Zadeh, A.H., 2020. Evolution of information systems research: Insights from
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Steininger, D.M., 2019. Linking information systems and entrepreneurship: A review and agenda
for IT‐associated and digital entrepreneurship research. Information Systems
Journal, 29(2), pp.363-407.
Minas, R.K. and Dennis, A.R., 2019. Visual background music: Creativity support systems with
priming. Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(1), pp.230-258.
Lafferty, C., 2019. Sustainable Industry 4.0: Product decision-making information systems, data-
driven innovation, and smart industrial value creation. Journal of Self-Governance
and Management Economics, 7(2), pp.19-24.
MacDonald, M.L. and Faber, B.G., 2019. Exploring the potential of multi-criteria spatial
decision support systems: A system for sustainable land-use planning and design.
In Spatial Multicriteria Decision Making and Analysis (pp. 353-377). Routledge.
Borodow, E. and et. al., 2019. Methods for processing information associated with sales force
management, customer relationship management and professional services
management systems. U.S. Patent 10,181,106.