Toyota's Long Term Philosophy example essay topic

The book about the 14 principles of the Toyota Way has been written from the viewpoint of the person, who had spent two days at the plant, with his own visions and opinions about how Toyota works. The systems of quality are numerous nowadays, and each new system, created by people, seems to be perfect. However, it should be remembered that there is nothing perfect in this world and that in reality, the systems used by enterprises at present time, set a number of difficulties and problems, which are not always clear to the management. In this work we will concentrate only on the two well-known concepts - the concept of the Toyota Way and the concept of the Six Sigma, which at first seem to be similar in their strategic goals for quality improvement, but considered closer, appear to be absolutely different in their core issues and main accents. The main idea of this work should be reflected in this introduction - there is no end for the improvement: the concept of the Six Sigma was first created as a simple statistical initiative, having changed into the theory of organizational reconstruction, which can also be said about Toyota's principles, having led to absolute changes in the corporate management, philosophy and culture. Any of the concepts may become perfect, if we don't stop at the point, where it seems we have already achieved everything possible.

There is a chance, that the Six Sigma will turn into seven or even ten, becoming a perfect tool for quality improvement, or it is also possible that the two concepts discussed in the work will merge, creating a balanced theory of quality improvement, suitable for use in all enterprises. What is to be done in the present paper is to discuss both concepts separately, with deep analysis of advantages and disadvantages in them. So, we start with the Toyota Way concept. The summary and analysis of the 14 principles of the Toyota Way Long-Term philosophy Principle 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of the short-term financial goals. This principle means a lot for the Toyota Company.

It does not tell us, that we should neglect short-term goals, they are important as well, but we should suppose them as just a means of achieving long-term strategic aims. The principle of the long-term philosophy also implies that Toyota works for the quality and money is not the main priority for it. It can't be denied, that Toyota is making money and is very strong financially, but its philosophy is far beyond that, and is the foundation of all further principles. Toyota's long-term philosophy puts customers and society in the first place, as the economy with the society and customers is its starting point, so in order to achieve this balance, it is necessary to value every company's function, understand it and, which is very important, to be responsible for every action. These are the core ideas of the Toyota's philosophy, which became the main stimulus for the constant success of the company's products on the world market. (Liker, 2003) The right process will produce the right results Principle 2.

Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. This principle is very important for increasing the effectiveness and the efficiency of the company's activity to the maximum level, as it presupposes creation of the continuous process flow, without any breaks, when either equipment or necessary information stand idle and don't work. Any work project, launched by the company, should always be on the move and should always be active. Constant flow of information, material and ideas should become one of the basic principles of people's culture at the enterprise, only in this situation problems will come to the surface to be solved in time without any serious consequences.

Only in this case the effectiveness of the company's activity justifies the expenses and brings added value. (Liker, 2003).