Toyota: Management, Leadership, and Operations: A Comprehensive Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of Toyota's management and operations, examining its organizational structure, the roles of leaders and managers, and the differences between leadership and management. It explores leadership theories like contingency and situational leadership, and how they apply to different organizational situations. The report also delves into Toyota's key operational functions, including operational management approaches such as TQM and Six Sigma. Furthermore, it considers the impact of external business environment factors on decision-making within the company. The report also includes recommendations for improving operational efficiencies to meet business objectives. This report provides a comprehensive overview of Toyota's management and operational strategies.

Management & Operations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report is based on management and operations which is concerned with designing
and controlling of the different process of production and is also concerned with redesigning of
business operation in the production of products and services in an accurate manner. In order to
carry out this report management structure of Toyota and role of leader and manager in different
situation of organisation is explained briefly. Additionally, Leadership Theories and operational
management key approaches along with the impact of external business environment factor and
their influence in decision making is explained in this assignment. Whereas the outcome of this
report is based on key operation of Toyota and implication of operation management approaches
to meet business objectives. The approaches which were considered by an organisation are TQM
and Six sigma. In addition to this the major outcome which has come across was that there are
several external factors which greatly influence in decision making of an organisation like
political, social, technological etc.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1) Introduction to organisation and its Management structure...............................................4
2) Role of leader and manager and the differences between management and leadership....5
3) Role of leader and manager in different situation of organisation supported by theories of
leadership................................................................................................................................8
4) Strength and weakness of different approaches to leadership and management...............9
5) Recommendation and conclusion....................................................................................10
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................11
1) Introduction to Key operations of Toyota........................................................................11
2) Roles and responsibilities of leader and manager in key operational functions..............12
3) Operational management key operational approaches and their value............................13
4) Factors within the Business environment........................................................................16
5) Evaluation of how operational efficiencies can be improved to successfully meet business
objectives using appropriate management and leadership approaches................................19
6) Recommendation and conclusion....................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22

INTRODUCTION
Operational management is all about the techniques of improving, planning, organising
and supervising of different functional activities of the firm. The organisation which is being
taken in order to carry out this assignment is Toyota Motors which was established in 1933 and
is specialised in rendering services in auto-mobile industry (Alderton and Saieva, 2013). This
report will explain about the functions, roles and responsibilities of leader and manager along
with differences by applying concepts and theories. Moreover, it will also discuss about the
strength and weaknesses of approaches which are applied in the working environment of
operational management. Lastly, this assignment focuses on the external factors which influence
on the operational activities of an organisation.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
1) Introduction to organisation and its Management structure.
Toyota is one of the multinational automotive manufacturers organisations which is
situated in Japan and is term to be the world's second largest automotive manufacturer. The
product in which it is specialised is in auto-mobiles, luxury vehicle, commercials vehicles,
engines etc. and the types of services it renders is of banking, leasing and financing .
Additionally, number of employees working in this organisation is about 369,124 and the market
share of Toyota has rose to 4.87 in January 2018 and its was term to be highest value during the
described period of time. Furthermore its turnover seems to be near about 260.8 billion U.S
(Ashford, Coutu and Beasley, 2013). dollars in the fiscal year of 2018 and its main competitors
are like ford, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, BMW, Honda etc.
Therefore, the organisation structure of Toyota Motor corporation is mainly based on
numerous business operations which are carried out by an organisation all across the world.
Being term to be one of the leading auto mobile manufacturers in world an organisation employs
hierarchical structure which support its business in accomplishing its aims and objectives in time
period. Moreover, the success and effectiveness of an organisation in achieving its strategic goals
and in maintaining different functional activities is what makes it a company renowned all
around the world. In addition to this divisional structure is also term to be strongly centralized

worldwide hierarchical in nature. Thus, a proper organisational structure of Toyota is mentioned
below (Brown and Bessant, 2013):
Global Hierarchy:
Toyota maintain its global hierarchical structure with its headquarters in Japan and the
headquarter hold the responsibilities to take all the final decision in every matter as well as it is
responsible for passing on decisions and judgement on major issues.
Geographic division:
In order to corporate in a better way and to improve the business function and product
and services of an organisation in a flexible way the Toyota organisation has its sector in 8
geographic division which are in Japan, Asia, Oceania, China, Latin America, Caribbean, East
Asia, Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, etc. and each of these regional centres render
their report to the headquarters. Additionally, each division possess head who have the authority
to take last decision for that specific branch, but the final and ultimate decision is being taken by
headquarter in Japan itself.
Product-based division:
In this type of hierarchical management of Toyota its division is segregated into 4 parts
that are Lexus international, Japan and Europe, Toyota no. 2 operations in all other regions,
Toyota no, 1 operation in North America so that the brand management and product line can be
maintained appropriately.
2) Role of leader and manager and the differences between management and leadership
Manager and leader both are contributing their maximum efforts in driving Toyota in
achieving its desired goals and objectives. Toyota is an established car manufacturing company
which is operated at multiple number of nations. Thus, to maintain their stable market position it
is important for managers and leaders to perform their roles in an effective and efficient manner.
Manager:
It is an individual who has power and an authority to control the staff and organisation
through framing plans and policies according to the predetermined goals and objectives (Chiarini
and Vagnoni, 2015).
Role of manager:
 To ensure whether the formulated plans and policies are properly followed by employees
while achieving organisational goals and objectives.

 It assists in planning, organising and monitoring the different business functions so as to
bring company ahead in the competitive market.
Leader:
It refers to an individual who has an ability and skills to encourage group of individuals
working within an organisation to give their best efforts in achievement of desired target allotted
by the management of company (Childe, 2011).
Role of Leader:
 To resolve conflicts among team members and maintain healthy relationship so as to
bring unity among them which indirectly increases their contribution towards
organisational goals.
 To enhance the skills and efficiency level of employees through addressing their needs
and requirements at workplace.
Differences between management and leadership:
Basis Management Leadership
Definition Management consists of
several functions to perform
such as organising, directing
and controlling the
performance level of
employees and bringing
integrity towards achievement
of organisational goals and
objectives (De Roover, 2017).
Leadership consists of several
abilities and skills which is
useful to bring motivation
among employees to work
hard and give their best efforts
towards allotted target
(Donate, M.J. and de Pablo,
J.D.S., 2015).
Personality styles Managers are problem solver
and tends to be more rational.
They are focuses towards
desired target, structures,
personnel and availability of
resources. Managers’
personalities lean toward
Leader of Toyota is mercurial
and risk taker which assist an
organisation to achieve
competitive advantage among
their rivals.

persistence, strong will,
analysis, and intelligence.
Focuses Focuses on managing and
controlling work so as to
ensure that organisational
goals can be achieved within
pre-determined time period.
Focuses on developing teams
so as to bring unity among
employees which results in
increasing their contribution
towards organisation goals and
objectives.
Role To formulate plans and
policies which must be
followed by every member of
an organisation while
performing their allotted work.
Non-compliance of plans may
affect the employability of
members.
To motivate the employees to
follow plans and policies
framed by managers while
performing their allotted work.
Along with this, engaging
members in a team so as to
provide maximum efforts
towards organisational goals
and objectives.
Characteristics Manager of Toyota is an
optimistic person and
confident to deal with risk
through preparing plans.
Manager of Toyota is an
optimistic person which directs
and guides the employees to
engage in achievement of
organisational goals and
objectives.
They are confident and
capable to deal with risk
through preparing plans after
Leader of Toyota is a
motivator and holds positive
attitude towards the work so as
to gain maximum outcome in
future time period. Leader of
Toyota is a motivator who
encourages the team members
to bring out their maximum
efforts and retain their position
in company for longer
duration.
Leader holds positive attitude
and focused approach towards

forecasting the market
situations in advance.
the work so as to achieve
desired goals within
predetermined time period.
Functions Manager plays several
functions such as planning,
coordinating, controlling and
monitoring the activities so as
to ensure that organisational
objectives can be achieved
within pre-determined time
period.
Leaders also plays many
important functions such as
setting goals, organising,
initiating action, direction and
motivation etc. in order to
enhance the efficiency level of
employees so as to increase
their contribution towards
organisational goals.
3) Role of leader and manager in different situation of organisation supported by theories of
leadership
Leader is the one who guide and lead its team members effectively so that they can
perform their respective task easily whereas a manager is the one who is responsible for
administering and controlling the overall organisation as a whole so as to result better outcome
for the organisation. In an organisation different situation take place and for each situation leader
and manager plays certain roles which are mentioned below (Drake and Spinler, 2013):
 Contingency theory: This theory states that the way management manage should change
and all depends upon the circumstances. In an organisation several activities are being
performed on regular basis so as to carry out production process smoothly. But in some
case, there may take rise certain circumstance in the form of rise in demand, lack of
resources etc. For example, Toyota faced several issues due to transportation strike like
insufficient of raw material, so in that case manager perform his role as per contingency
approach which supports systematic handling according to situations by taking a decision
to make purchase of raw material from local suppliers so that smooth flow of work
continues to operate. Similarly, a leader too plays his role as a guide and motivator by

incorporating situational leadership approach to keep employees boosted so as to
complete the urgent work on time as per the target set by an organisation.
 Situation theory: As per this theory a leadership style needs to be changed as per the
changing situation at workplace. For example, if a situation arises for the Toyota
company that in 20 days, they have to manufacturer near around 200 cars so that they can
meet the urgent requirements on time. Thus, in this case manager plays his role by taking
a decision as per the situation demand that each employee need to render extra timing of
their work for an organisation so as to achieve the target on time. Whereas a leader plays
his role in this situation by motivating each employee by meeting their needs and
requirement in the form of benefits like salary increments, appreciation for performance
etc. Providing additional benefits to employees is idea of situation leadership behaviour
which helps leading persons of Toyota to achieve the target objective on time without any
delay.
4) Strength and weakness of different approaches to leadership and management
Leadership is term to be the action of leading a group of individuals, single person or an
organisation so as to perform each task effectively and efficiently. In addition to this there are
different leadership theories among which best can be used by the leader of Toyota organisation
so as to achieve increase in productivity and profitability of organisation. Thus, some of the
leadership theory is mentioned below with some strength and weakness (Galindo and Batta,
2013):
Situational leadership theory:
Strength Weakness
The major strength of this style of leadership is
that it put emphasis on the flexibility of leader
as a leader of Toyota need to be flexible so as
to make sure that leadership style matches the
requirement of subordinates.
The weakness of this style of leadership for
Toyota is that it fails to address how to deal
with certain demographic characteristics as
well as this theory is based on only current
situations.
System leadership theory:
Strength Weakness
This theory of leadership helps the leader of Whereas the weakness of this theory is that it is

Toyota in dealing with complexity and in
taking a holistic view. Additionally, with the
help of this theory a leader can effectively
manage change through interaction with the
environment.
not applicable in any every situation and all the
team members of Toyota cannot perform their
roles and duties according to structure, which
indirectly effect the decision-making process of
management.
Contingency approach:
Strength Weakness
The major strength of this type of leadership is
that it specifically focuses on the relationship
between demands of various situation and on
the leader's style. Additionally, as per this
approach it doesn't require that individuals of
Toyota to be effective in all situations.
Whereas the weakness of this approach is that
it doesn't give the clear-cut explanation about
what to do, when there takes place mismatch
between situation and style of Toyota.
Analysis:
If the leader of Toyota organisation will consider system leadership approach then a
leader has to render systematic structure to its team members so that each employee gets aware
of their respective roles and responsibilities. In addition to this it also specifies that the theory
uses principles of human behaviour so that decision making and good leadership skill can be
increased (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018). Moreover, it also helps in improving the
presentation skill so that team members of an organisation can develop in order to perform their
respective task efficiently and effectively. On the other side if the management of Toyota
organisation will consider contingency approach then management effectiveness must be
contingent or it can be said dependent upon the interplay among the specific situation and
application of organisation behaviours.
Evaluation:
Thus, it can be concluded that a leader of Toyota company can take into consideration
situational leadership style, as this theory is best in practice and is used as an when the situation
demand. In addition to this as per this theory of leadership a leader is term to be effective when
he/she is capable of adopting a leadership style as per the situations by taking into consideration
the pros and cons of leadership, nature of group, and other essential factors as well which might

render greater contribution in getting the job done in a flexible manner. Thus, it helps in
overcoming every situation of changing business environment of an organisation and result in
achieving strategic aims on time without any delay.
5) Recommendation and conclusion
From the above task it can be concluded that leader and manager terms to be the essential
and crucial aspect for every organisation, as without them company cannot exist for long period
of time in marketplace (Harrison and Lock, 2017). Additionally, it can be said that leadership
theories plays a crucial role for leader in an organisation as effective use of leadership theory will
help a successful leader to understand the strength and weakness of workers. Thus, it can be
recommended that both the leader and manager must create better communication structure in
the workplace of an organisation so as to create effective relationship between employees-
employees, employers- employees, etc. which will help in increasing the standardization of
product as well as will help in achieving organisational objectives.
TASK 2
1) Introduction to Key operations of Toyota
operations management: this type of management is considered as a very important part
of any organisation and it helps in controlling and supervising the production process of the
country. It also aid in reducing the price of the product to attract the customers in effective
manner towards the organisation.
As Toyota is one of the multinational car manufacturing company all around the world so
it has to perform several operational activities and each activity must be performed in a manner
that it results in rendering better quality products and services to its customers so as to result in
increase in customer satisfaction level. Therefore, important key operation of Toyota
organisation is specified below (Hillier and Price, 2013):
 Conversion of raw materials into finished goods: This is the very first aspect which the
management of Toyota company take into consideration as it is the process of making
effective plan in order to convert the raw material into finished goods and services by
using several process and techniques like machines, energy, etc. so as to achieve target
objectives on time

 Supply chain management: It is the second essential key operation aspect of Toyota
company as it involves the process through which different raw material passes through
in order to convert those raw material into finished goods and services. Additionally, it
involves active streamlining of organisation supply side activities so as to maximize
customers values as well as to address the target aims of the corporation on time.
 Designing of auto mobiles: It is another essential key operation of Toyota in which
management render proper guidance and direction to its employees so that each one can
perform their respective task in an accurate and specified manner so as to design better
quality and good physical appearance of auto mobiles as per the preferences of
customers.
2) Roles and responsibilities of leader and manager in key operational functions
There is different key operational functional activity which are performed by the Toyota
management and for each functional activity’s manager plays effective roles and responsibilities
which are mentioned below (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014):
Conversion of raw materials into finished goods:
It is one of the essential key operational function of Toyota organisation under which
manager perform its role by identifying the needs of how much units of cars need to be
produced, what quality of raw material will be required, what amount of funds will be required
in order to meet the demand of customers on time, so it’s the responsibility of manger to make
sure that raw material is converted into finished goods as per the demand and preferences of
clients. Whereas a leader role is that to make sure that resources are being utilises by beach
employees up to an optimum level so that it can achieve its aims by taking into consideration that
cost is to be minimized
Supply chain management:
It is another essential key operational function without which company cannot create
awareness about the product in market place neither can render supply of goods on time to final
customers. So, the role of manger of Toyota company is to manage company overall logistic
strategy and supply chain activities so as to maximize the productivity and efficiency level.
Whereas the role of leader is to ensure that good relation is being maintained among employees-
employees and employees and employers so that different activities of supply chain can be
carried out effectively and smoothly.