Rayan Wehbi
29/11/2020
MUBS-BAL
Management Workshop
The Toyota Way
Toyota is a very well-known successful organization because it has a “secret weapon” in
developing business. This weapon is the lean production that was determined in the 1950’s. This
successful way is becoming a role model for developing businesses. It boosts business efficiency
and speed, reduces costs and wastes, and improves quality. It is characterized by balancing
between people’s role and technical systems. The culture in the organization encourages people
to continuously improve and the technicalities are insured to constantly produce a better flow.
Many factors gave Toyota “distinguish” in the market. Toyota cars have been less likely to
need repair than the American cars; they are produced more frequently and more reliably and in
fair costs. These characteristics lead Toyota to be the leading company in the cars industry and
get the great quality reputation.
Toyota production system is the base of the lean production system. This is achieved by
defining the customer’s value, defining the value stream, making it flow, pulling from the
customer back, and striving for excellence. A lean manufacturer has to make the product flow
through processes of adding values continuously and listen to customer demands by a fast and
efficient production and highly responsive culture for constant improvement and progress.
Getting rid of wastes was taken as an action in Toyota. So they saw that overproduction, by
producing cars with no orders, is not a good start, because it results in overstaffing and more
storage and transportation costs. And the waiting time between tasks is not an efficient way. Also
the unnecessary transport through the manufacturing process is time and money consuming.
Wrong designs or sophistication and over processing were considered unacceptable. Excess or
deficiency in raw materials and unbalance inventory are two negative factors for the production
process. The unnecessary movements of the employees and the defects in the items produced let
the organization loses time and effort. And also, not listening to the employees’ ideas and
creative thoughts leads to losing improvements and opportunities.
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Rayan Wehbi
29/11/2020
MUBS-BAL
Management Workshop
Toyota proved that in a capitalist world, companies can grow and get profits if they do the
things in a right way, while getting fast profits is not the first choice. The purpose of the staff in
both Japan and the US, in purchasing and producing sectors, was not only paychecks; they were
looking forward to something greater, the mission. They were able to differentiate what is good
and what is bad for the mission to be implemented. They know that they should do the right
things to the company itself and to the employees and customers and also to the whole
community and society. This is the massage that the Toyota way delivers. And this the
commitments to the mission and this message is what other companies miss and strive to imitate
Toyotas in.
Basing Managerial Decisions on the long-term basics however this may decrease the shortterm profits. So when Toyota sells good quality products, it does not only aim to gain profits but
to fulfill the mission set previously. It has bigger goals, for example in the mission for North
America. The missing was, in addition to administering the growth of Toyota company itself; it
was aimed to enhance the stability and well-being of the team members and staff and
furthermore, to increase the growth of the countries’ economies.
When creating a great process, Great results are the mandatory result; this what Toyota
mangers do believe. Toyota processing system is the tactical and operational aspect of the
Toyota way. There are six tools from this system, if done in the right way with good
management; are essential for the manufacturing processes and for the development of the goods
and services.
A first tool is to create a continuous process flow to bring the problems to the surface.
Linking the operation together enhances more teamwork, rapid feedback on earlier quality
problems, control over the process, and direct pressure for people to solve problems and think
and grow. Flow is at the heart of the lean message that shortening the elapsed time from raw
materials to finished goods or services will lead to the best quality, lowest cost, and shortest
delivery time; it aims to force the implementation of many of the other lean tools and
philosophies, such as preventive maintenance and built-in quality.
The second tool is to use “pull” system to avoid overproduction. Eliminating inventory is core
thing in the Toyota way; Toyota has been pulling the inventory based on the immediate customer
demand. They give the customer what they want, and when they want and in the amount they
want.
Leveling out the load of work is the third tool in this list. Leveling the production schedule
may require some early of shipments or postponing of shipments, also some customers can wait
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Rayan Wehbi
29/11/2020
MUBS-BAL
Management Workshop
for a short period of time. When the level of production is more or less, or it is constant for a
month, they will be able to apply pull systems and balance the assembly line. But if production
levels differ from day to day, there is no sense in trying to apply those other systems. The goal is
to establish standardized work.
The fourth tool is getting the right quality from the first time. They not only want to fix the
problem, they want to not creating one that needs fixing. The quality should be built-in so they
detect the defects before continuing the production. The employees should do this and also the
equipment with detecting sensors to stop by itself when detecting a problem in quality of
production. This way, there will be fewer defects in the products, and no need for repairing and
fixing costa and efforts.
Tool number five is to standardize tasks for continuous improvement and employee
empowerment. Employees should have standards as a baseline to work. This standardizing have
must have the characteristics of rigidity and freedom at the same time, and find balance between
them. Rigidity is to ensure not to be a tool for management to be imposed coercively on the work
force, but for empowering workers and innovation in workplace and building collaborative teams
between employees and management. And freedom to innovate and be creative to meet
challenging targets consistently for cost, quality and delivery. Standards have to be specific
enough to be useful guides, yet general enough to allow for some flexibility.
The sixth tool is to use visual control so there is no hidden problem. Monitoring how the work
is done and if it is following the standards helps the employees to know immediately if they are
doing they are doing the work in the right way. Visual control refers to the design of just-in-time
information of all types to ensure fast and proper execution of operations and processes. It goes
beyond capturing deviations from goal and posting them publicly, it is integrated into the process
of the value-added work. It means that to be able to look at the process or a piece of equipment o
the inventory or information or at a worker how is performing a job; and immediately see if there
is a deviation from the standard in the way of processing.
The last tool is to only use reliable and tested technology that serves the process. No new
technology is introduced at Toyota, before being sure and being proved that it is thoroughly
tested and experimented and has the characteristics to be an added value to the organization. If
the new technology is accepted, then it will be used. Ideally, the new technology will be used right
where the work is being done so it does not require a person in an office to input the data. The important
principle is to find ways to support the work process while not distracting people from the value-added
work.
Now let us see how developing people of the organization and also the partners are an added
value. At Toyota, the new president or CEO does not need to come in and take charge to move
the company in a radically new direction to put his or her imprint on the company. The
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Rayan Wehbi
29/11/2020
MUBS-BAL
Management Workshop
leadership role focuses on growing leaders who understand the work, live the philosophy, and
teach it to others. Toyota works on a concept of eliminating unevenness at work at the executive
levels, so any person from any part of the company can be in charge with suddenly changing the
direction of the company. And also Toyota uses “constancy of purpose” throughout the
organization, which lays the groundwork for consistent and positive leadership as well as a
learning environment.
Developing exceptional people and teams who follow the company’s philosophy is also an
added value. Building members who know and support the culture of the company is a need to
be the backbone of the management approach to integrate social systems with the technical ones.
The needs of social system and a culture of continuous improvement are vital to support positive
continuous members’ improvement and problem-solving behaviors.
Respecting partners and suppliers is by challenging them and helping them to improve.
Toyota has been the best the toughest customer for the auto industry suppliers. Tough means that
the company has very high standards of excellence, and it expects all its partners to rise to those
standards and it is ready to help them rise to those standards. Toyota needs its suppliers to be as
capable as its own plants at building and delivering high quality goods and services. But the
importance is that learning happens through real projects on the shop floor.
How do continuously solving root problems derive learning? You cannot be sure you really
understand any part of any business problem unless you go and see for yourself firsthand.
Therefore it is a must to go and see for yourself to understand the situation. So the process of
solving a problem or developing a new product or evaluating performance starts from going to
the place to see the actual situation for understanding. This is one of the behaviors that really
distinguish someone trained in the Toyota Way; they take nothing for granted and know what
they are talking about, because it comes from firsthand knowledge. What the Toyota Way
requires is that employees and managers must “deeply” understand the processes of flow,
standardized work, as well as have the ability to critically evaluate and analyze what is going on.
Moreover, making decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options;
implement decisions rapidly. For Toyota, how you arrive at the decision is just as important as
the quality of the decision. It is more than necessary to take the time and effort to do it right. In
fact, management will take into consideration a decision that does not work out as expected, only
if the process used was the right one. Whereas, a decision that by chance works out well, but was
based on a shortcut process, is more likely to lead to a reprimand from the boss.
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Rayan Wehbi
29/11/2020
MUBS-BAL
Management Workshop
In addition, is to become a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous
improvement. Toyota is considered as a learning organization because it sees standardization and
innovation are united and related in order to create great continuity. It has used stability and
standardization to transfer individual and team innovation into learning through the entire
organization. It is one thing for individual employees to come up with innovative ways to do
things. But to be transferred to organization learning, the new way must be standardized and
practiced across the organization until a better way is discovered. This is the Toyota Way of
learning standardization punctuated by innovation, which gets translated into new standards.
Many service companies that initially look at Toyota are attracted most by the technical TPS
principles of flow and how they can apply them to a highly variable and often chaotic process,
and it is recommended to start by applying the TPS to the core value stream and then branch out
to the support functions. The Toyota Way model was fist built from the ground up, starting with
a philosophy which is started by the chief executives of the organization. Their goal should be to
build an enterprise for the long term that delivers exceptional value to customers and society.
This requires long-term thinking and continuity of leadership. It might take decades to lay the
foundation for radically transforming the organization’s culture.
A prerequisite to change is for top management to have an understanding and commitment to
consolidating the Toyota Way to become a “lean learning organization.” This understanding and
commitment extends to building the lean systems and culture and, the most difficult for Western
companies, sustaining and constantly improving the system.
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