Total Quality Management Toyota

Total quality management is “a management approach of an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all of its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society”. This is the definition of total quality management as given by the International Standards Organization, and while the definition provides a vague notion of what total quality management is, it fails to provide any real knowledge of total quality management.

Instead, as with many things in life, in order to fully understand what total quality management is, what its various facets are, and how it gets implemented, it is necessary to explore first hand how real corporations define and use total quality management. In this paper, I will analyze the way in which the Toyota Motor Corporation uses total quality management, with a specific focus on the Toyota Production System and the three main tools by which Toyota Motor Corporation manages total quality management.

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However, before going further, it must be noted that total quality management can be applied to a company that produces material goods or a company that provides intangible services, and that the principles of total quality management, as well as the execution of TQM, is different in both cases. As Toyota Motor Corporation is primarily a manufacturing firm this paper will only focus on total quality management as it applies to manufacturing. Total quality management in manufacturing starts with taking a random sample of products and performing statistical tests to maintain quality assurance. The sample is then tested to identify and isolate, the causes of any failures.

Under the TPS, Toyota utilizes a just-in-time production system, the ability to stop the production process at any time, and a dedication to continuous improvement. Through the interaction of these three elements, Toyota Motor Corporation is able to cut costs, isolate and identify production defects before they spread, develop a team of highly skilled and motivated employees, and most importantly, provide the consumer with a low cost and high-quality product.

Organizational Problem

Toyota needed to redesign the company’s United Kingdom website in order to meet new corporate guidelines. The website had to manage content for internal corporate users, as well as for consumers. Toyota wanted to make the best use of Internet technology to enhance the consumer experience and build a closer relationship with consumers by personalizing the website functions and keeping the website fresh and inviting. The efficient and effective delivery of content to consumers was the major goal of the website.

They also needed the site to be easy for the Toyota business users to manage. Since the website already existed, they needed to do a major upgrade without causing the site to be down for very long. They wanted consumers to continue using the website while the upgrades were being installed and tested, so they had to be able to do system diagnosis without disruption of the service. Relevant Approaches to the Problem IS Solutions approached the problem with an eye to the future, developing and building in the means to make changes after the foundations of the website were established.

They illustrated the possibilities for what the website could do for consumers. They used consultant services in the areas of business analysis, technical analysis and information architecture. Information architecture is important because it blends business requirements with the design and navigation of the website that makes it efficient and effective for delivering information to the user (IS Solutions, 2003). The approach of taking down the website and replacing it with an entirely new website was rejected.

Instead, they developed major upgrades and additions to the existing website to improve the functionality and user-friendliness for both consumers and Toyota business users. Site Management The site was designed with publishing categories that match the site navigation, so the business managers can easily publish content to be displayed on the page where they want consumers to see it. When they generate content in the Oracle database, they can view the page where it will be displayed, to see how it looks.

The site is divided into zones, so managers can see which zones are more popular, as well as track the visitors on the site as they move from zone to zone. Zones provide a hierarchical structure, so high priority messages reach the website visitor. In addition, the buttons on the side of the page allow visitors to find each zone easily. Thus, the dealers can see which zones the consumers visit most often, and they can place their high-priority content in those zones. This helps them to target advertisements to consumers and ensure that the consumers see those advertisements.

The website was easy to manage, and it was easy for both consumers and Toyota business users to find the content that they needed. Site Content The content was designed to help change website visitors into Toyota buyers. A “persistent guest” technology enabled them to personalize the content based on the online behavior of the guests and the business rules of the website. Thus, they could show visitors the content that interests them, and encourage them to become prospects for the sales of Toyota cars. The site also offered data on used cars for consumers.

In addition, the site contained content for Toyota business users, including databases that they could access and use for their marketing activities. The Oracle databases can be retrieved easily, and the site has a management tool for debugging, so they can view the page and fix any problems before it becomes available for viewing by consumers who visit the website (IS Solutions, 2003). User Registration The site offered several advantages to registered users, to encourage registration. The visitors can see the site without registration, but having a personalized profile helps Toyota to target their market better.

Registered users could receive up-to-date information about new car launches, roadshow events and other promotions and news from local Toyota dealers. The vicinity mapping on the site could show them where local dealers were located (IS Solutions, 2003). Thus, the consumers and Toyota benefited if the users were registered. Mobility Services Up-to-the-minute travel information is just one of the added value features of the website.

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