Toyota's Leadership and Management Styles: A Comprehensive Analysis

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MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

INTRODUCTION
Management is the most essential element for the growth and development of an organization.
Managing the work and daily operations of the business is the main responsibility of a manager
(Antonakis and Day, 2017). There are different functions of a manager which will be discussed
in the assignment. The leader and manager play a vital role in the success of the organization.
Management is the most valuable asset of the organization by which the company can attain
their desired targets easily. There are different types of theories and approaches used by the
manager to manage the daily operations and performance of the organization. To analyze the
importance of management and leadership the company which is taken into consideration is
Toyota.
It is a public sector organization which is the first automobile manufacturer in the world. The
company produces more than 15 million vehicles per year (Balcet et al., 2013). Toyota was
founded in 1937 and the head office of the company is established in Japan. As per the data of
2018, there are approximately 356,910 employees are working in the company. It has been
observed that the company is using different and effective leadership and management
theories which are really helpful in the growth and development of the business. This report
will be discussing the different leadership and management theories which are helpful in
attaining the desired goals easily. Apart from this, operations management plays an essential
role in enhancing the productivity and profit of the organization (Brown and Bessant, 2013).

COMPANY PROFILE
Toyota was founded in 1937 and the head office of the company is established in Japan. As per
the data of 2018, there are approximately 356,910 employees are working in the company. The
company produces more than 15 million vehicles per year (Cherry, 2012). Mainly the company
deals in commercial vehicles, automobiles, luxury vehicles, and engines. The net income and
total assets of the company are ¥2,496,107 million and ¥50,402,199 million respectively. The
company is really famous for their quality services and products and provides services in all
over the world.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Organizational structure is made with the organizational climate and behavior of the
employees. There are different types of organizational structures followed by the organizations
according to their size, scope, and situation. Toyota manages their organizational structure for
improving the performance and growth of their company. Toyota follows the flat organizational
structure which is helpful in maintaining communication between all the important
departments of the company (Brown and Bessant, 2013).

LO1
P1
The leaders and managers play an essential role in the growth and progress of the company
(Antonakis and Day, 2017). There are different roles and responsibilities of a leader which
needs to be completed in order to attain the desired goals and objectives.
A leader is a person who guides and directs the employees for attaining their goals and
objectives. There are two types of leader in the organization like formal and informal. They
both fulfill their responsibilities for the growth of the organization. The leader should be honest
and trustworthy for his followers.
ROLES OF LEADER
 The leaders put their efforts to manage the performances of the employees.
 They motivate and encourage employees to attain their goals.
 They support their followers in a difficult situation and solve their problems immediately
(Colbert et al., 2012).
 They maintain coordination and communication between the employees.
 Leaders organize training and development programs for the employees in order to
improve their skills and abilities.
The leaders must have some characteristics like communication skills, positive attitude, self-
confidence, vision, long term goals, honestly, attractive personality, intelligence. The leaders
of Toyota have all the qualities which are helpful for managing the organization successfully.
ROLES OF A MANAGER
The manager is the most responsible person of an organization without whom the organization
cannot achieve success. The manager has the quality to manage the business operations
accurately (Eberly and Fong, 2013). There are different policies and standards made by the
manager in order to maintain discipline in the business environment. All the employees need to
follow the rules and regulations which are made by the manager. A top-level manager knows

how to manage the organization and how to deal with the different types of situations. The
manager must be reliable and honest with the organization (Eberly and Fong, 2013). The
manager needs to communicate with the employees to know the difficulties and problems they
are facing while working. Regular interaction will be helpful in improving the healthy
relationship between the employees. The roles of a manager are basically divided into three
groups such as:
Figure 1: Mintzberg’s Management Roles
(Source: Renko et al., 2015)
INFORMATIONAL ROLES
 Monitoring
Monitoring is the process to analyze the work and performance of the employees on regular
basis.
 Disseminator
Collect information from the internal and external sources for knowing the actual condition of
the organization (Ellyson et al., 2012).
 Spokesperson

The manager needs to be a spoke person so that he can communicate and interact with the
employees easily. With this quality, the manager can give a presentation in front of the
employees in an impressive manner.
INTERPERSONAL ROLES
 Liaising
This process is helpful in managing the work process of the organization with the help of using
internal and external sources.
 Figurehead
The person who is confident and smart to take decisions for the whole organization is called as
a figurehead.
 Leader
A manager should be a good leader who can direct the employees as per the situation (Epstein,
2018). He must have clear vision and intelligence to deal with different conditions in the
organization.
DECISION ROLES
 Negotiator
Negotiating means to manage an effective relationship with the employee’s and convince them
to attain their goals and targets.
 Disturbance Handler
A manager must be capable to handle the disturbance in the organization. It will be helpful in
maintaining a healthy working environment in the organization (Galloway et al., 2012).
 Entrepreneur

A manager is also an entrepreneur who manages his team like a small business firm. He put
all his efforts to manage the work and capacity of the employees to achieve success.
 Resource allocator
It is really important to use the available resources accurately. The manager must be able to put
the accurate resources in a perfect manner to use it properly for the success of the
organization.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MANAGER AND LEADER
MANAGER LEADER
 The manager is the most responsible
person of an organization without
whom the organization cannot achieve
the success (Giltinane, C.L., 2013).
 A leader is a person who guides and
directs the employees for attaining
their goals and objectives.
 There are different policies and
standards made by the manager in
order to maintain discipline in the
business environment.
 The manager has different functions
like staffing, directing, planning,
organizing, and others.
 Leaders organize training and
development programs for the
employees in order to improve their
skills and abilities.
 The leaders put their efforts to manage
the performances of the employees.
They motivate and encourage
employees to attain their goals (Griffin,
2013).

LO2
P2
There are different types of leadership style which can be used by a leader in the organization
such as:
Figure: Leadership Styles
Source: Antonakis and Day, 2017
PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC
The participative leaders allow their follower to participate in the important decisions o the
organization (Grant et al., 2017). They make them feel valued for the organization and respect
their views and perceptions.
AUTOCRATIC
Autocratic leadership style is one of the most popular forms of leadership which is helpful in
controlling the undesirable actions of the business. This style is cooperative in preserving
discipline in the business environment by which the organization can attain success easily.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE
This leadership style includes less involvement of the leader in the decisions and important
process of the organization (Lolli, 2013). In this leadership style, the leader put all his work and
responsibilities to their subordinates. It needs trained and trustworthy staff on which the leader
can trust easily.
Toyota adopts the participative and autocratic leadership style in the organization which is
really helpful in attaining the organizational goals. The participative leadership style is helpful in
enhancing the connections and relations between the employees and the manager (Northouse,
2018). Apart from this, the autocratic leadership style is helpful in maintaining discipline in the
organization so that the leader can guide their subordinates accurately.
FUNCTIONS OF A LEADER IN TOYOTA
These are the main functions of the leader in Toyota such as:
FOCUS
The leader needs to focus on the daily operations and essential activities of the organization. A
focused leader is really helpful in attaining the organizational objectives easily. The leader of
Toyota is really focused on their work which is helpful in achieving their goals.
FLEXIBLE
Flexibility is one of the most essential qualities of a leader which is really helpful in managing
the different types of situations of the organization (Northouse, 2018). The team members of
Toyota had given the tasks according to their capabilities and the situation of the work.
ADAPTER
The leader must be an adapter so that he can handle different types of situation easily. It is
helpful in gaining more productivity and profit in the organization.

TEAM DYNAMICS
The leader of Toyota knows the behavior of his team members and gives the tasks and targets
according to their abilities.
RESULT ORIENTED
The leader of Toyota is result oriented and they need an accurate result to the given tasks
(Saghafian et al., 2015). The leaders motivate their subordinates to complete the task properly
and give them accurate results as per the needs of the organization.
Functions of a Manager
The manager of Toyota has different functions which are described as under:
FIGURE: FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS
(Source- Taiwan, 2014)
PLANNING
Planning plays an important role in completing any kind of task successfully. Manager does the
planning for achieving the desired goals (Renko et al., 2015).

ORGANIZING
Organizing is a really important function of a manager which is helpful in organizing all the
essential activities properly. The company can get better results with the help of organized
structure.
STAFFING
The manager has the responsibility to select the best candidates for the organization. Hiring
and recruitment process is completed by the manager in which he selects the capable staff
(Sethuraman and Suresh, 2014). He is responsible for selecting the suitable candidate for the
suitable job profile.
DIRECTING
A manager directs their employees and subordinates in attaining their targets easily. Accurate
directions from the manager are helpful in improving the behavior and performance of the
employees.
CONTROLLING
Controlling is an essential function of the manager which is really important to manage
discipline in the organization (Stewart, 2012). The manager controls all the unwanted actions of
the team members which are creating problems in achieving the goals.