Management and Operations: Leadership Roles and Theories at Toyota

This report provides an in-depth analysis of leadership and management practices within Toyota, a multinational automotive company. It explores the roles and characteristics of managers and leaders, highlighting their responsibilities in motivating the workforce, resolving conflicts, and achieving organizational objectives. The report delves into various leadership theories, including situational, system, and contingency leadership, and explains how Toyota applies these models to navigate changing environments and maintain operational efficiency. It also discusses key methods of operational management, emphasizing the importance of adapting leadership styles to specific situations to ensure effective resource utilization and customer service. The report covers the functions of managers and leaders in different scenarios such as changing external environment and conflict situations. The strengths of System, Contingency and Situational leadership theories used in Toyota are also explained.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS
1

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Explaining the function and characteristics of manager and follower...................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Explain the function of leader and manger in various situations of the organization............5
Discuss the theories and model of leadership.........................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Explain the key methods to the operational management and function of the leaders and
managers. ...............................................................................................................................8
Explaining the essential and value of the operations management to achieve the enterprise
objective...............................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
Describing the forces in business environment that impact the decision making of mangers
and leaders in relation with operation management.............................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
2

Introduction
Operations administration is the area in which management in relation with the designing
as well as controlling. It is the procedure which produces and redesigning the operations of the
business so the company can produce goods and services. This includes planning, organizing and
controlling of managerial functions(Ellitan 2017). This also includes he management of people,
information, technology and equipment. This report is covered on Toyota which is a Japanese
company and it is a multinational vehicle. The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and its
headquarter is established in Toyota city, Japan. Along with this it provide services like, leasing,
banking and financing. There are across 370,870 employees working across the globe and are
successfully meeting the emerging needs and wants of the customers. This report will cover the
role and characteristics of the leaders and managers. This report include the various methods of
operational management including application and theories or models.
TASK 1
Explaining the function and characteristics of manager and follower.
Toyota is a multinational company deals in auto mobile and providing product and
services to their many consumers from so many years. The organizational structure of a company
adopts a structure of hierarchy in which there is a proper flow of power as higher to lower level
of management. The employees and subordinates has to be controlled by some authority which
are managers and leaders as to guide and support them so they can work better for the
company(Fan
Liu and Zhang 2015). The managers and leaders are two different person of the company who
has to work together so that company can accomplish set standards in a specified time. The
mangers and leaders are an essential portion of the organization as they are liable for growth and
improvement of the workers and organization.
Role of a leader-
A leader is a individual who has the responsibility for motivating the workforce and
managing the behavior of employees so that goals and objective of the company can be achieved.
The leader of Toyota has various responsibilities to fulfil which is to make positive environment
at the workplace and motivates leaders to work effectively to accomplish the set standards of the
company in specific period of time.
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Functions of leader:
 Leader's main function is to organize and monitor business activities on regular basis.
 Firm's leader is accountable to coordinate the team members to perform better so as to
achieve set goals and objectives.
Functions of manger:
 In an organization good manger is responsible to discover basic functions properly such
as, planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.
 Manger stand liable for organizing, framing and creating a structure for daily work and
communication.
Role of Manager-
A manager is a individual who is accountable for providing task to their employees. The
manager has to ensure that the employee has understood what the work is. The manager of
Toyota ensures that they have provided relevant information to their employees to reach the
target and goals of the organization. The managers of the administration tries to raise the skills
of their workers to meet the requirement of the firm.
Difference between manager and leader-
Basis Manager Leader
Characteristics The manager of Toyota are
creative and innovative as
they create new ideas to
generate more profitability
of the company(Idris 2016.).
The leaders in Toyota is
emphasizing on the
motivation and influences
their employees to feel
better and work effectively
for the company.
Authority and power The manager has the
authority to allot the task of
management and decisions
formation and control of
organizational objectives.
The leader has authority to
increase productivity by
using the power to influence
and making them complete
their work efficiently.
Subordinates The employees of the
company are the
subordinates of managers.
The co-workers working
under the leaders are the
subordinates of the leader.
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There are many reasons through which conflicts occur in the company as there are various
kinds person in the organization. So, the managers and the leaders both have to work together to
resolve the conflicts so that effective flow of communication will be maintained. The managers
and leaders of the Toyota are using contingency management theory so that they can resolve the
personal and professional issues.
TASK 2
Explain the function of leader and manger in various situations of the organization.
The managers and leaders of the company take decisions after considering all the
situations. The managers and the leaders are require to create strategies to face all the situations
in proper manner. The explanation of some major situations are as follows-
Changing external environment- The changes occurring in neck to neck competitive
environment and the preferences of the consumers are modified and the changing needs of
customers are the main issues which are faced by the company. In this situations the manager
and leader has some responsibilities which are explained below-
Role of leader- The leader of Toyota have to conduct the meetings with employees and
communicate with them about changing needs of the business. To face the situation, the leader
can motivate their staff to work effectively so that the organization will be able to deal with this
situation(Nayak 2015).
Function of manager- The managing director of Toyota has to understand the situations of
changing external environment and changing needs of the customers. The manager has to create
strategies so that the needs and wants of the customer can be satisfied.
Conflict situation- The changes in internal environment also leads to greater conflicts
among co workers which results in negative working environment. This decreases profitability of
the Toyota as employees will not be able to perform their roles effectively. To face this situation
the managers and leaders are performing various functions which are as follows-
Role of leader- The leader of Toyota conducts meeting with the staff and the leaders tries
to understand the situation and views of every employee. It is the best method to find the reasons
behind conflicts and the solution can be made. The leader has to influence their staff to maintain
harmony in the company.
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Function of manager- The director of Toyota has to create a strategy so that they can
resolve the conflicts in an effective and efficient manner. They have to develop few policies that
are necessary to maintain harmony in the organization.
There are two types of theories which are using by Toyota and they can be implemented
Theory X and Theory Y and through this the strategies are developed to control the behavior of
employees which will result in reduced conflicts and the employees will feel valued and
connected with the company which will directly reduces the chances of conflicts.
Theory of X: This theory states employees dislike their work and are unambitious. X
theory helped manger to perform their role smoothly as it they accountable to assign the task
according to employees interest level. Staff members are assigned the work in which they are
capable it leads in completing the task easily.
Theory of Y: In this particular theory it is explained that staff members are not motivated.
It showcase the motivation role of job satisfaction and boost employees to full-fill the project
without their direction. Y theory has aid manager to perform his role effectively as they
accountable to encourage the staff members to work effectively in cut throat competitive world.
By doing so in short time duration best outcomes can be gained.
Behavioral Theory: In this theory it is explained that all behaviors are acquired by
conditions. The nature of the employees changes according to the working environment of the
company. Behavioral theory is assist the leaders to better understand the nature and behavior of
employees working day and night to meet the set standards. leader is accountable to coordinate
the team members to perform better so as to achieve set goals and objectives. The effectiveness
of this theory aid leaders to discharge his/ her role as this leadership theory focus more on
behavior of nature. By doing so manger is able to better understand the changing nature of the
workers and respectively frame tactics to retain workers for longer time period.
Discuss the theories and model of leadership.
There are different theories and concepts that is used by the leaders of the company to
maintain flow in the company regarding the daily operations. These theories help the company in
resoling any conflicts or any issue which can arise. The explanations of these issues are –
Situational leadership- This is explained as, that the reaction of a leader is based on the
situation as it vary from situations to situations and this style is based on assumptions. This is a
flexible leadership style as it involves adaptability of the style as it is require to adopt different
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leadership style according to the changing needs of the working environment. For this, the leader
has to understand first that which style company require at this situation then only this style of
leadership will be effective as the nature of business environment is flexible ad it require the
specific skills of the leader.
System leadership- This theory is related with the strategies that is adopted by the
company to develop and maintain the positive working environment which result in increased
motivation between staff and it will encourage them to work in an effective manner(Tristancho
and Gutiérrez 2012). The manager and leader of Toyota has adopted this style of leadership in
which the identify the changing requirement of their staff so that they can motivate them and can
make them feel valued. When they will feel that they are valued then the ratio of conflicts will be
reduced. There is a large benefit to adopt this type of leadership style in the company that it will
maintain the harmony and employees will be motivated which will result in accomplishment of
goals and objectives. There is a drawback too if company adopts this leadership style that this
theory can not be used by the company in any situation.
Contingency leadership- This theory of leadership is used by the company to increase the
effectiveness of leaders in contingency situation as the style of leadership should match with the
situation. This includes the understanding of the leader about the nature of the situation and then
the style of leadership is selected. This theory is used by the leaders and managers to reach the
set standards of the organization in particular period of time. The managers and leaders of the
Toyota have to adopt this leadership style to handle the conditions in which conflicts arises
frequently so that they can be reduced at an effective time period.
The strengths of Systems, contingency and situational leadership theories used in
Toyota are as follows:
Strengths Systems
leadership theories
Contingency
leadership theories
Situational
leadership
theories
1 The core strength of
system leadership
theory is to provide
full advantage to their
employees to come up
The main strength of
leadership theories is
that it allows manger
of the firm to raise
their leadership and
In case of situational
leadership theories it
motivates successful
collaboration between
co-workers. As well as
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with innovative idea to
resolve the complex
issues.
decision making skills. it is more flexible in
nature to adopt to
dynamic conditions.
The limitations of Systems, contingency and situational leadership theories used in
Toyota are as under:
Limitations Systems
leadership theories
Contingency
leadership theories
Situational
leadership
theories
1 If Toyota adopts this
leadership style then
this theory can not be
used by the company
in any situation.
Environment is
complex and dynamic
in nature due to which
several issues arrives
in various situations so
this theory is in-
effective tool to deal
with such situations in
effective manner.
The main drawback of
situational leadership
theory is that team
members of Toyota
does not posses
tactical skills in order
to full-fill necessary
job.
Toyota is adopting situational leadership theories in their working premises. As it
motivates successful collaboration between co-workers. Which helps the business concern to
attain the set goals and objectives in the set time frame.
TASK 3
Explain the key methods to the operational management and function of the leaders and
managers.
There are various a methods related to operations administration to conduct and operate the
activities successfully. These theories can be adopted by the managers and leaders so that the
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goals of the organization can be achieved effectively. There are several methods and approaches
which are discussed as under:
Six sigma- This is a statistical tool used by the company as an effective technique which
eliminates the defects occurred at the time of production. This procedure includes the
improvement and measurement of the operational activities. This is a tool which allows Toyota
to maintain the customer relations through meeting needs and wants of the customers and this
results in maintaining the sustainability of the product which is offered by the company. The
managers and leaders of the Toyota use this tool through conducting and defining six stages of
this model that is define, measure, analyse, improve and control. So, they can identify the issues
which are causing defects in the productions and the issues can be resolved through making
strategies to remove the cause(Wen-chao, Fan and Wen-wen2012).
Lean principles- This is an impelling activity which can be adopted by the company so
that they can identify the needs of their customers and how much they want the product of the
company. Through using this effective process company will develop new strategies and plan so
that the company can improve their overall performance. The mangers and leaders of the Toyota
are using this approach so that they can reduce the wastage of their production activities so that
they can achieve their goals. There are five stages in this approach such as specifying leans, male
the value stream flow establishment, apply and it involves the perfection of the work which
allows Toyota to analyses the needs of their customers and using these stages of this theory top
level management and leader of the organization can easily render quality services to their client
which will fulfill the needs and wants of the customer. This will improve the brand image of the
company.
Total quality management- This approach involves three attributes that are total, quality
and management. The total depicts the every employees of the company involved in the
operations of the company and quality depicts the quality of product and management involves
managing the quality of the products. This method allows Toyota to ensure that they are serving
best quality as this allow managers and leaders to make responsible the person as the duties in
this approach is divided. This plan of action showcase a very essential part in maintaining the
quality of the products so that the company can attract large number of customers. This benefits
the company in gaining customer satisfaction as it is derived with the managing the quality of the
products. This tool helps in identification of the needs of the customers and with this it also helps
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in company to gain feedback from the customers or take any kind of suggestion(XIANG,Chen
and Zhang2013).
Explaining the essential and value of the operations management to achieve the enterprise
objective.
Operations administration refers to the procedure used by the company to maintain the
operations of the business so that day to day operations of the company can be effectively
operated so that set standards of the organization can be accomplish. The Toyota use various
approaches of operations and management so that they can increase their efficiency and the
approaches which is used by the mangers and leaders of the Toyota are behavioral and
situational.
Necessary and value of operation management-
Operation administration has always considered an essential tool in the company as it
allows the workers of the company which can effectively execute their work in set time
duration. This also helps the company in minimizing the wastage of the product and increase
productivity. There are some main importance which are as follows-
 This helps the company in increasing their overall sales through eliminating the wastage
and any uncertainty which can occur at the time of production and it will result in
increased quality of the products(Han and et. al., 2017).
 The another importance of Toyota is that it improves the level of productivity as it allow
the company to utilize the available amount of resources effectively so that the company
will be able to warn profit from their customers. This will also improve the brand image
of the Toyota as they provide quality products to their customers.
 This allows the company to provide better customer services which raises the satisfaction
stage of their consumers and it form a good base of customers.
Ways to improve operational management by mangers point of view at Toyota:
1. Manger at Toyota is responsible to discover basic functions properly such as, planning,
organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. So they can improve operational
management efficiency by reducing material movement. By doing so best results can be
achieved with less or no wastage.
2. Toyota's manager minimize inventory which will directly uplift their efficiency of
operational management.
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Ways to improve operational management efficiency by leaders context at Toyota:
1. Leaders at Toyota assign the task according to employees skills so the operational
management efficiency can be raised by them as they maintain flexibility in the working.
It become easy to cope up with external environment.
2. Leader's main function is to organize and monitor business activities on regular basis. By
creating a open environment for staff members they can improve operational
management efficiency.
TASK 4
Describing the forces in business environment that impact the decision making of mangers and
leaders in relation with operation management.
The decision making is a process in which all the strategies and rules and regulations are
formed and this is used by the top level and middle level of the company. The top level manager
take decisions for whole company and middle level takes decision at operational level. The
decision of top manager and middle manager got affected by several aspects such as internal and
external factors. The impact of these factor on the process of decision making are described
below-
 Corporate social responsibility- This includes which have to operated by the company
according to the legal rules. This includes the activities related to serving the people of
society with a intention of getting benefits in both financially and non financially. The
performing activities of corporate social responsibility results in attracting various
customers. The Toyota is performing various CSR activities such as donating money,
providing education and health services etc. This allows the company to build their good
image in front of the society.
 Culture- This is related with the values and norms which is followed by the company to
maintain the flow of communication in their company as it includes the management of
employees. This includes proper work culture which allows employees to work
effectively for the company and it will provide efficient performance of employees.
There is a appropriate working culture in the Toyota which improve the efficiency of
their employees.
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 Ethics- This is the manner of responding with the business environment and also known
as business ethics. The business ethics involves the way to perform the task of the
company. This serves as a guide to the employees and also considered as a standard value
which is required to be follow by the employees. The motive of every company is to
generate profit but the way through company is generating is called as a business ethics.
These factors impacts the decision making of the organization and the process of operations
of Toyota which is a auto mobile company(Ma and Sun 2012). The proper analysis of internal
and external environment is necessary to operate successfully and make able to attain the set
standards of the organization.
CONCLUSION
The above discussion summarize that the manager and leader play an crucial role in
handling the operation activities of the company and operations management is necessary for the
company to accomplish the set standards of the organization. There are various approaches and
theories are there which are used by them to maintain the day to day operations of the company
such as situational or behavioral etc.the various approaches has different value and importance
for the company and there are various techniques which are used by the company to increase the
efficiency of the production. The decision making activity of the company is affected by the
internal and external factors.
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