Essay About Culture Of Customer Centricity And Cultural Values

Toyota Culture Case Study
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Abstract
Toyotas dominance of global auto industry has often been attributed to the
culture of customer centricity supported by cultural values, systems and processes that
permeate the company (Liker, 2003). When cultural values are strong enough, the roles
of people, processes they need to manage and systems all combine to make challenging
organizational objectives attainable (Nelson, Quick, 2008). The case study illustrates
how successfully Toyota has been able to create a scalable, highly effective values-based
framework that standardizes processes, eliminating the potential for error. Toyota has
defined the intersection of people, processes and systems so they can continually be
improved over time, mitigating risk and variation in each area as well. The Toyota
Production System (TPS) is the framework that the company relies on for managing its
supply chain, coordination, planning and execution throughout its manufacturing
operations. Studies of the TPS indicate that the knowledge sharing is so pervasive
throughout this loosely coupled framework of suppliers, that it is typical to see
intelligence and knowledge transformed into competitive advantage over time (Dyer,
Nobeoka, 2000). Toyota has learned how to transform collaboration and shared task
ownership into several significant advantages, including reducing their time-to-market
and through cross-supplier collaboration (Liker, 2003). The chinks in the Toyota armor
are considered in the case to be from a lack of scalability and agility of the systems,
processes and roles that comprise the TPS. The most glaring example of this is an
analysis of competitors cars to the component level where Toyota finds they are superior
only 50% of the time, or every other component. Thats a mediocre position for the
company to be in, and one that requires strategic change to fix.
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QUESTION 1. Describe Toyotas culture from the perspective of espoused values and
ANSWER: The espoused values of the Toyota culture are captured in the fourteen
Toyota Way principles mentioned in the case (Nelson, Quick, 2008) and expanded upon
in a related book that explores each of the principles in detail (Liker, 2003). Analyzing
the fourteen principles, the five dominant themes of long-term philosophy, the right
process producing the right results, adding value to an organization by developing people,
and how continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning (Liker,
2003). These five foundations groups illustrate the espoused values of the company
and also are shown through analysis to be critical to the formation of the TPS (Liker,
2003) and the capacity of this network to create a knowledge sharing network over time
(Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000). The foundation of the fourteen principles is based on a strong
customer-centric culture throughout the company, which is what many consider to be its
greatest strength in terms of staying agile or able to transform itself over time (Hannagan,
2004). As with many organizations however, there is a dichotomy or disconnect between
espoused values and those that are enacted. The premise of the case study is based on
the dichotomy of espoused quality values and the actual results being attained by the
TPS and its suppliers (Liker, 2003). While there are many, many factors that contribute
to this disconnect, the majority of them are based on processes over time becoming less
relevant and useful to customers and the company itself (Davenport, 1992). Losing focus
on the customer and their needs can quickly lead to confusion and a myriad of competing
objectives and goals over time (Nelson, Quick, 2008). This is what happened to Toyota
on the quality and customer-focused dimensions of their business.
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QUESTION 2.Using the perspective of the functions of organizational culture, explain
ANSWER: The functions of organizational culture work together to enable greater
stability, behavioral control throughout an organization, and also provide a strong sense
of identity as well (Nelson, Quick, 2008). Often these three strategic aspects of culture
are also defined in terms of the level of cooperation, control, commitment, decision
making autonomy and quality, clarity of communication, and perceptual congruence
throughout an organization. When these factors are applied to The Toyota Way, it is
apparent that the functions of the organizational culture are very effective in galvanizing
the many manufacturing,