Corporate Social Responsibility and Apples Business...

Apple and CSR Apple Inc. was established in 1976 with the launch of Apple I in April 1976. The creators, Steve Job and Steve Wozniak, transformed the entire consumer interactive experience between the user and the computer by being the pioneers in this field. For two decades, Apple Inc ruled the computer manufacturing frontier for two decades. However, it did face low sales and market share in the 1990s. Steve Jobs had left the firm in the 1980s and returned in 1996 as the Chief Executive Officer. He brought about a revolution in the electronics music industry with the invention of the Ipod in 2001. He aimed for innovative products with simple, unique designs that offered a user friendly interface. In 2007, Apple again created a novel segment in the American market with the initiation of the iPhone. The first tablet gadget was released in 2010 and made headway in the international market as well. With Apple being in the limelight, questions were cast towards the degree of responsibility it was und ertaking to contribute to the welfare of society. In order to understand the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility, it may help in knowing where the concept originated from. Adam Smith, a late 18th century philosopher and economist with Scottish origin, penned sundry articles on this discipline. His most famous work is the renowned The Wealth of Nations where he champions the economic models of free trade and the free market. He advocated the allocation of resources throughShow MoreRelatedBenefits Of Moving Production Overseas1507 Words   |  7 Pagesnot place a high value on the safety and wellbeing of their employees as companies due in developed countries, such as the United States. Responsibility of Supply Chain It is imperative for today’s multi-national corporations to not only monitor supply channels for human rights violations but to act on those violations and if necessary discontinue those business relationships. In the current global age, poor working conditions in a factory can become global news almost instantaneously. For exampleRead MoreWalmart s More Recent Activity1083 Words   |  5 PagesSecond, Walmart’s more recent activity also points to effective CSR practices. These efforts have included a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions along its entire supply chain, ceasing business with factories that violated labor laws, as well as â€Å"financial contributions in kind, such as investments in education, health, commitments to fight hunger, support for local farmers and access to healthier and affordable food† (Torres, Garcia-French, Hordijk, Nguyen 2012, p. 25). Furthermore, Walmart hasRead MoreBenefits Of Diversity And Inclusion1657 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Diversity and inclusion are hot topics in today’s business world. While treating individuals fairly and equally is a social imperative, it is also extremely important to the success of a business. With the changing demographics of society and its affect on the American workforce, organizations must truly embrace diversity and inclusion. â€Å"For companies to succeed in the global marketplace, they must make the most of the full range of their people. Companies must attract and retain theRead MoreCorporate Ethical And Social Responsibility996 Words   |  4 PagesCorporate Ethical and Social Responsibility – Apple Company Apple Company is one of the largest manufacturers of computers and electronics. â€Å"Apple Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who brought forth a new company vision of changing the way people, viewed computers† (Library of Congress, 2008). The ethical and social responsibility of Apple Company should have started with its inception; however, it did not. It was not until years later with theRead MoreEthics And Social Responsibilities Violations941 Words   |  4 Pages CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY 6 Apple assured the families there would be a regularly follow-up to ensure the suppliers were honoring the company’s commitment to keep the children in their school of choice and uphold their financial obligations (Supplier Responsibility at Apple, 2013). The Impact of the Publication of Ethics and Social Responsibilities Violations on Apple’s R eputation Apple’s reputatio n has been tainted due to the publication of ethics and social responsibilities violations.Read MoreApple, Inc. : An American International Corporation Essay718 Words   |  3 PagesStates dollar seem mediocre. Making it difficult to manage. (Long, 2016) Apple’s Inc. achievement is partially due to their capability to reassure stakeholders and corporate social responsibilities (CSR) the status of the company. Occasionally, stakeholder groups enforce mandates that interpret as corporate social responsibilities, in which it can influence performance. In Apple’s situation, stakeholders knowingly affect the business in terms of customer view and sales revenues. Since Apple, Inc. is continuallyRead MoreEthical Sourcing And The Supply Chain1611 Words   |  7 Pagesvarious components of their operations outside of the country. As firms are thrusted into the global marketplace and transformed into multinational corporations (MNCs), new challenges arise related to the differences/disparity in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices between countries (Chandler Werther Jr., 2014; Cruz, 2013). Globalization has increased companies need to consider the importance and strategic value of CSR (Chandler Werther Jr., 2014; Cruz, 2013). At the forefront of internationalRead MoreApples Ethical Practices3897 Words   |  16 Pagesï » ¿Apples Ethical, Social, and Environmental Standards and Practices Business ethics, social, and environmental guidelines frame the expectations of an organizations stakeholders including customers, employees, and regulatory bodies. An organizations ethical guidelines encompass how the organization and its employees embody ethical principles in their dealings, with each other, and other stakeholders. Therefore, Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Farrell (2008) have defined Business ethics as The principlesRead MoreThe Ethical Claims Of Apple1093 Words   |  5 Pagesevaluate the ethical claims of Apple. Business Ethics can be defined as the investigation of appropriate business policies and works on with respect to conceivable questionable issues, for example, corporate administration, inside exchange, bribery, corporate social obligation and guardian obligations (Investopedia.com, 2015). Apple is well known by its ethical claims that are environmental responsibility and labour rights. However, there are condemnations of Apple’s not living up its claims . NeverthelessRead MoreEthical Implications Of Ethical Consumerism1552 Words   |  7 Pages‘knowing’ leads to abuse and exploitation.† It can be seen as a drastic measure to end corporate abuse, environmental violation and pollution, human slavery, etc. Some people see it as another way for businesses to manipulate a market of concerned consumers who are willing to spend more money purchasing ethically sourced goods. There are different contextual frameworks of what ethical consumerism could mean to a business hence, it is imperative to simplify the concept. Simply put, the entire point of

Bodies and Minds - 2165 Words

How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood? Joshua Lansberry Ashford University PSY 304 Lifespan Development Prof. Pamela Vincent May 18, 2015 How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood? As we age does our mind simply begin to deteriorate in the same fashion as our body does in regards to it physical capabilities? Have you wondered what affect does peri and post-menopause have in relation to memory decline in women? Is dementia directly related to cognitive aging? All of these conditions have one thing in common, they all occur as the human body starts to age into late adulthood. Aging from early to late adulthood has an†¦show more content†¦As the body ages into middle adulthood which is forties to sixties other physical changes take place. Physical change become noticeable, disease becomes more prevalent, reaction time slows, eyesight diminishes, height begins to slowly decline, and menopause occurs in women and the male reproductive system starts to slowly change. In late adulthood which is sixties and beyond, height continues to decline, the senses continue their gradual decline and become more noticeable, bone diseases, cancer, cardiovascula r diseases become prevalent and dementia eventually affects a large proportion of adults. Under normal conditions a person cannot be prevented from experiencing predetermined physical changes (Mossler, 2013). Another aspect that changes with aging is cognitive development. Cognitive development is a broad domain that refers to the development of the mind. Cognitive processes are connected to the growth and decline of memory. Cognition includes the basics of how we learn, make decisions and use language. Mental cognitive development is effected by age as well. One of the reasons many think all older people are in rapid decline is due to the availability heuristic. The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that causes people to make quick, incorrect judgments based on limited information. Older people in decline get more attention than those who are independent, so the available informationShow MoreRelatedMind/Body Practices: Ancient Traditions with Contemporary Benefits3290 Words   |  14 Pagesyears later, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) became an official branch of the National Institutes of Health. Although alternative medicine has only recently gained official recognition in the United States, the mind/body practices that pervade NCCAM’s research have ancient roots. For example, the some forms of meditation, a technique originating in Eastern religions, can be traced back thousands of years. The American Yoga Association reports that yoga dates backRead MoreThe Mind Body And Body1341 Words   |  6 Pages The Mind-Body problem arises to Philosophy when we wonder what is the relationship between the mental states, like beliefs and thoughts, and the physical states, like water, human bodies and tables. For the purpose of this paper I will consider physical states as human bodies because we are thinking beings, while the other material things have no mental processes. The question whether mind and body are the same thing, somehow related, or two distinct things not related, has been asked throughoutRead MoreThe Mind And The Body1718 Words   |  7 PagesThe mind and the body are two different but unique essentials of an individual. Both the mind and the body play an important role in an individual’s life. From making decisions by using the brain, to being able to sense all five senses from the body, both parts illustrate its importance of existence. In today’s society, the mind and the body have shown a connection between how an individual regulates his or her own daily l ifestyle. Although, it hasn’t always been clear about how the mind and theRead MoreMind and Body866 Words   |  3 PagesMind and Body The concept of mind and body interactions has been debated among many modern philosophers. Some believe that our minds and bodies are different things, thus existing separately, while others believe that they exist as a whole. In this paper, I will be introducing two rationalist philosophical views regarding this topic, one which is by Rene Descartes and the other by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Rationalists, in philosophical terms, are the ones who obtain their knowledge throughRead MoreIs the mind independent to the body?791 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Is the mind independent to the body? The mind body problem is a philosophical problem that is concerned with the relationship between the mind and the body, whether the mind exists independently of the body or whether the mind and body are one substance. There is a vital difference between the mind and the body some would say, meaning that the mind is held responsible for mental elements such as pain, euphoria, desire, purpose, belief and kindness whereas the body is responsible for the physicalRead MoreThe Between Mind And Body1056 Words   |  5 PagesThere is no real answer for the question about if mind and body are the same or different, a person is made of mind and body and the both have different characteristics. Rene Descartes asked the question what am I. he gives and answer to the question by saying he is a thinking thig, if the body and mind are different from one other, mind can also continue with no body because it is not import for what he is. Moreover body is breakable and extender and mind is not breaka ble and non-extended, that is aRead MoreThe Mind And Body Dualism Essay1363 Words   |  6 PagesAs Descartes says, the mind and the body are one cohesive â€Å"object† that produce the behaviors and actions of a human being, Mind Body Dualism. However, is this concept truly intended to prove that, metaphorically speaking, the mind and body are one and that it is, physiologically speaking, connected through the pineal gland? Or, does it show that Descartes is connecting a material and immaterial substance, that both contain two different ideas in the proper function of a human being? The intentionRead MoreAnalysis Of Body And Mind Essay835 Words   |  4 PagesPaper #3 â€Å"Body and Mind† Recall: In â€Å"Body and Mind†, Rachels describes several popular attempts to resolve the â€Å"Mind-Body Problem†, which is an effort to understand what human mental states are and how they relate to our physical bodies: 1) Mind-Body Dualism asserts that the mind is nonphysical with private states while the body is physical with public states; 2) Behaviorism tries to resolve the problem by observing human behavior and relating that to mental thoughts and states; 3) Mind-Brain IdentityRead MoreThe Mind And Body Problem1046 Words   |  5 PagesPatel December 13, 2014 PHILO 1100-091 The Mind and Body Problem The issue of the origins of consciousness has been a problem that has philosophers and scientists alike, puzzled for years. Is it a matter of science? Can it be explained through neurobiological processes or is it just something that simply cannot be reduced to words? Rene Descartes had struggled to explain this problem through his idea of substance dualism. This idea states that the mind and body are of two separate worlds, the physicalRead MoreAnalysis Of The Body And Mind 855 Words   |  4 PagesProtocol Paper 3 – Body and Mind RECALL: In the Body and Mind chapter by Rachels it goes over many points. 1) Mind-Body dualism in a way to solve the mind-body problem, explains the relationship between mind and body facts. 2) It also points out the problems with mind-body dualism it is hard to see how a nonphysical mind could interact with a physical body. 3) Rachels points out that the mind-body dualism has largely disappeared from science and philosophy because it did not fit the emerging scientific

Midnights children salman rushdei Essay Example For Students

Midnights children salman rushdei Essay 1. Comment on the author’s style and characterization. Are the characters believable or paper cutouts? Comic or tragic or both? Are their dilemmas universal to human nature or particular to their situation? Rushdies narrator, Saleem Sinai, is the Hindu child raised by wealthy Muslims. Near the beginning of the novel, he informs us that he is falling apartliterally: I mean quite simply that I have begun to crack all over like an old jugthat my poor body, singular, unlovely, buffeted by too much history, subjected to drainage above and drainage below, mutilated by doors, brained by spittoons, has started coming apart at the seams. In short, I am literally disintegrating, slowly for the moment, although there are signs of an acceleration. In light of this unfortunate physical degeneration, Saleem has decided to write his life story, and, incidentally, that of Indias, before he crumbles into (approximately) six hundred and thirty million particles of anonymous, and necessarily oblivious, dust. It seems that within one hour of midnight on Indias independence day, 1,001 children were born. All of those children were endowed with special powers: some can travel through time, for example; one can change gender. Saleems gift is telepathy, and it is via this power that he discovers the truth of his birth: that he is, in fact, the product of the illicit coupling of an Indian mother and an English father, and has usurped anothers place. His gift also reveals the identities of all the other children and the fact that it is in his power to gather them for a midnight parliament to save the nation. To do so, however, would lay him open to that other child, christened Shiva, who has grown up to be a brutish killer. Saleems dilemma plays out against the backdrop of the first years of independence: the partition of India and Pakistan, the ascendancy of The Widow Indira Gandhi, war, and, eventually, the imposition of martial law. 2. What is the most important theme of the work? Spittoons appear through out Midnights Children. The motif of the spittoon allows the narrative to circle back on itself without losing its forward momentum; by reintroducing it in different contexts, Rushdie builds meaning into the image and provides the reader with a reference point and familiar angle of insight into the meaning of his tale. One particular spittoon, and extraordinary silver spittoon inlaid with lapis lazuli, appears at the beginning of the story at the house of the Rani of Cooch Naheen, and follows the course of the narrative almost until the end, where it is eventually buried under the rubble of civic reconstruction by a bulldozer. Rushdies character Saleem comments on the significance of the spittoon at several junctures in the novel, though spittoons and betel-nut chewing (the Indian version of BeechNut chewing) take on wider and vaguer significance in other sections. The silver spittoon becomes a link to reality for Saleem. The following quotation occurs when Parvati-the-Witch has dematerialized Saleem:What I held on to in that ghostly time-and-space: a silver spittoon. Which, transformed like myself by Parvati-whispered words, was nevertheless a reminder of the outside . . . clutching finely-wrought silver, which glittered even in that nameless dark, I survived. Despite head-to-toe numbness, I was saved, perhaps, by the glints of my precious souvenir. (p. 456)The following quotation occurs near the end of the book, at the event of the spittoons loss:I lost something else that day, besides my freedom: bulldozers swallowed a silver spittoon. Deprived of the last object connecting me to my more tangible, historically verifiable past, I was taken to Benares to face the consequences of my inner, midnight-given life. (p. 515)These two quotations illustrate that the spittoon represents the same thing for Saleem that it does for the reader. It is a point of return, a lovely but mundane (after all , it is for spitting in!) reminder of reality in a world that threatens to overwhelm with the sheer volume and variety of its voices and experiences. Saleem is subjected to the voices of the thousand and one Midnights Children, that threaten to drown out his sense of himself as an individual human, as well as to the

Management of a World Class Company Toyota free essay sample

Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in Japan[1] and it is also the largest worldwide as of the first half of 2012[2] by volume of sold cars ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen AG. The company was created in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff to Toyota Industries to create automobiles. As of 2012, Toyota own several different brands as Lexus luxury cars, Scion – brand only for North America, aimed towards the Generation Y and 51% in Daihatsu – the oldest car manufacturer in Japan. Akio Toyoda is the current CEO of Toyota, he is grandson of the creator Kiichiro Toyoda[3]. Toyota have produced more than 200 million cars all over the world with their biggest market in North America – 32%, followed by their home country Japan – 25%, Europe – 14% and Asia – 11%[4]. Toyota is publicly traded company of three of the major Stock Exchanges: New York Stock Exchange(NYSE), London Stock Exchange(LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). In the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, Toyota recalled 9 million cars on various technical faults[5]. We will write a custom essay sample on Management of a World Class Company Toyota or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 5. 3 million of them was over a faulty â€Å"all-weather† floor mat, additional 2. 3 mil. For a faulty accelerator pedal and 1. 7 for both problems. On 14th of November 2012, Toyota announced that it will recall additional 2. 7 mil. cars over problems with the steering wheel and water pump system. This comes four weeks( 10th October) after another 7 mil. cars recalled over faulty electric windows mechanisms[6]. The 2010 recalls hit the company hard with huge financial loses, because of the recalls and stop of production for some time of the affected vehicles. Severe damage to the brand in the eyes of the public. An estimate of 1. 93 billion dollars were lost, because of missed sales, output and another recall related costs[7]. A 15% drop in shares was experienced by the company. Toyota is one of the leading manufacturers in pushing the hybrid electric vehicles. Their hybrid technologies make them the first company to mass produce such an automobile with the Toyota Prius in 1997. As of October 2012 the Prius around 3 mil. units[8] . 19 other Toyota branded vehicles are also available with the hybrid technology. So are models from the Lexus sub-brand. II. Management of Toyota Motor Company 1. Coprporate Governance of Toyota Motor Company Toyota Motor Company(TMC) is a public listed company, which means everybody can buy shares in it. This mean that the is a specific corporate structure and management operations. Toyota is with top-down centralized way of management. The company is headed by Fujio Cho, he is the chairman which in the Japanese system, that puts him in charge of the countrys and worlds largest automaker. He is only the second person to head Toyota and to not be from the Toyoda family after they stepped out in 1995. He joined Toyota in 1960 and previous titles include: Managing Director, Senior Managing Director, Vice President, President and Vice Chairman of the Board. He stepped in as a chairman in September 2006[9]. 960–1966, apprentice and training employee; 1966–1974, Production Control Division; 1974–1984, manager in Production Control Division; 1984–1986, manager in Logistics Administration and project manager in Production Control Division; 1986–1987, manager in Administration; 1987–1988, manager of Toyota North America Project and executive vice pres ident of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1988–1994, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1994–1996, managing director; 1996–1998, senior managing director; 1998–1999, executive vice president; 1999–, CEO and president[10]. The Vice Chairman of the Board is Takeshi Uchiyamada since April 2012 and also serve as Vice President of the Company. Mr. Uchiyamada served as Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. since June 2005, as the Chief Production Control Logistics Officer of Toyota Motor Corp. since 2004, as Senior Managing Director of Toyota Motor Corp. from 2003 to June 2005. He served as the Chief Vehicle Engineering Officer of Toyota since 2003 and joined Toyota in 1969[11]. Akio Toyoda is the President and Chief executive officer of the company. He is also President of Toyota Finance Australia Ltd. , Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Credit Corporation since June 2009. Mr. Toyoda serves as Senior Adviser of Toyota Media Service Corporation. He has been the President of Hitachi Ltd and Honda Motor Co. since March 2009. He served as an Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. from January 21, 2005 to June 2009, Senior Managing Director and Chief of Asia China Operations Officer since 2003 and also served as its Division General Manager of Taiwan China Offices. He joined Toyota in 1984[12]. The company also have 7 Executive Vice Presidents,63 Directors, 7 Corporate Auditors, 18 Senior Managing Officers and 35 Managing Officers[13]. The company’s top management priority is to steadily increase corporate value over the long term. In order to achieve that, Toyota builds favorable relationships with all of its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, business partners, local communities and employees. In house committees and councils are used for monitoring and discussing management of the company from the viewpoint of the stakeholders. In 2003 was introduced the current system of management in which Chief Officers, who are directors, serve as the highest authorities of their specific operational functions across the entire company, while non-board Managing Officers implement the actual operations[14]. Toyotas philosophy of emphasizing developments on the site, the Chief Officers serve as the link between management and on-site operations, instead of focusing exclusively on management. The company have different divisions all over the world, United States of America, The United Kingdom. In the UK the division is headed by a General Manager – John Burton. He is responsible for two branches of the company, the office and shop floor. In the office part there is Assistant General Manager, Senior Manager, Section Manager, Specialist Engeneer – Senior, Specialist Engeneer, Lead Administrator and Administrator. For the Shopfloor we have the same structure till Section Manager with the adition of Group Leader- Senior, Grouo Leader, Team Leader and Team Member. As a publicly traded company Toyota have issued 3,447,997,492 shares and have 668,186 shareholders. 2. The Toyota Way The most important created in the managerial sphere by Toyota is the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underline the Toyota Motor Corporations managerial approach and production system. Toyota first explained and summed up those philosophy, values and manufacturing ideals in 2001, calling it â€Å"The Toyota Way 2001. † It consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people[15]. The principles for a continuous improvement include establishing a long-term vision, working on challenges, continual innovation, and going to the source of the issues or problems. The rules relating to respect for people include ways of building it and teamwork. Toyotas management philosophy has evolved from the companys origins and has been used in the terms Lean Manufacturing and Just In Time Production, which it was very important in developing[16] Toyotas managerial values and business methods which are known collectively as the Toyota Way. Toyota uses five principles for their operations: †¢ Challenge †¢ Kaizen (improvement) †¢ Genchi Genbutsu (go and see) †¢ Respect †¢ Teamwork[17] Another part of the Toyota Way is the Toyota Production System. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that Cover its management philosophy and practices. The TPS organizes manufacturing and logistics for the company, how it interacts with suppliers and customers. The system is a major predecessor of the lean manufacturing. Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda developed the system between 1948 and 1975. [18] Originally called just-in-time production, it develops on the approach created by the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiichiro Toyoda, and the engineer Taiichi Ohno. The principles of TPS are embodied in The Toyota Way. The main objectives of the TPS are to design out overburden (muri) and inconsistency (mura), and to eliminate waste (muda). The most significant effects on process value delivery are achieved by designing a process capable of delivering the required results smoothly; by designing out mura (inconsistency). It is also crucial to ensure that the process is as flexible as necessary without stress or muri (overburden) since this generates muda (waste). Finally the tactical improvements of waste reduction or the elimination of muda are very valuable. There are seven kinds of muda that are addressed in the TPS[19]: 1. Waste of over production (largest waste) 2. Waste of time on hand (waiting) 3. Waste of transportation 4. Waste of processing itself 5. Waste of stock at hand 6. Waste of movement 7. Waste of making defective products The system, is one of the biggest aspect of the company, it is responsible for having made Toyota the company it is today. For long time Toyota has been recognized as a leader in the automotive manufacturing. [20] It is a myth that Toyota received their inspiration for the system, not from the American automotive industry (at that time the worlds largest by far), but from visiting a supermarket. The idea of Just-in-time production was originated by Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota. [21] The question was how to implement TPS. When reading descriptions of American supermarkets, Ohno saw how the supermarket operated with the model he was trying to accomplish in the factory. A customer in a supermarket takes the desired amount of products off the shelf and buys them. The store restocks the given products with enough new ones to fill up the empty shelf spaces. Similarly, a work-center that needed parts would go to a store shelf (the inventory storage point) for the particular part and buy (withdraw) the quantity it needed, and the shelf would be restocked by the work-center that manufactured the part, making only enough to replace the inventory that had been withdrawn. 22] While low inventory levels are a key outcome of the Toyota Production System, an important element of the philosophy behind its system is to work intelligently and eliminate waste so that only minimal inventory is needed. Many American businesses, having observed Toyotas factories, set out to attack high inventory levels directly without understanding what made these reductions possible. The act of imitating without understanding the underlying concept or motivation may have led to the failure of those projects. In 2004 a professor from University of Michigan, Dr. Jeffrey Liker published a book â€Å"The Toyota Way† in which he called Toyota way â€Å"a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work†. [23] â€Å"Since Toyota’s founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are the managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota Way. —Fujio Cho, President Toyota (from the Toyota Way document, 2001)[24] According to Liker in the Toyota Way the people are what bring the system to life, working, communicating, resolving issues, and growing together. The Toyota Way encourages, supports, and in fact demands employee involvement. It is a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work. Toyota Way means more dependence on people, not less. It is a culture, even more than a set of efficiency and improvement techniques. You depend upon the workers to reduce inventory, identify hidden problems, and fix them. The workers have a sense of urgency, purpose, and teamwork because if they don’t fix it there will be an inventory outage. On a daily basis, engineers, skilled workers, quality specialist, vendors, team leaders, and—most importantly—operators are all involved in continuous problem solving and improvement, which over time trains everyone to become better problem solvers. In it Liker summarized it in 14 principles. The principles are organized in four broad categories: 1) Long-Term Philosophy, 2) The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results (this utilizes many of the TPS tools), 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People, and 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning. [25] 1)Long-Term Philosophy 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. It is needed to replace the short term decision making with philosophical thinking of purpose. Understanding that the organization is bigger than money and that long term value for the customers and be responsible. )The Right Process Will Produce The Right Results 2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. Time management is very important, it must not be wasted. Creating good flow of the work with materials and people. 3. Use â€Å"pull† systems to avoid overproduction. Providing customers with everything they want when they wanted it. There is no need for costly overst ocking. There need to be flexibility with the day-by-day shifts in customer demand not convoluted forecasts. [26] 4. Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare. ) People and machines must not be overused. There must be leveled out workload. 5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Quality for the customer drives the value proposition. Building equipment capable of detecting problems and stopping itself. Developing a visual system to alert team or project leaders that a machine or process needs assistance. Jidoka (machines with human intelligence) is the foundation for â€Å"building in† quality. Problems must be solved quickly. 6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous mprovement and employee empowerment. Capturing the accumulated learning about a process up to a point in time by standardizing today’s best practices. Allowing creative and individual expression to improve upon the standard; then using it into the new standard so that when a person moves on, to easily hand off the learning to the next person. 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden. Use simple visual indicators to help people determine immediately whether there are problems. [27] 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes. Technology must be used for supporting the people not replacing them and it can lead to slow implementation. Tests can determine if it is viable to use new technologies. 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. Creating leaders inside the company and not sourcing them outside of the company. Such leaders must be role-models. 10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy. Creating a strong, stable culture in which company values and beliefs are widely shared and used over a period of many years. Corporate culture and teamwork must be adhered by the employees for exceptional results. [28] 11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve. 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning 12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu). Personal observation and data gathering for the problems that are encountered. Verification of information first hand. 13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi). Straightforwardness must not be accepted, alternative solutions must be taken into account. Also using other people for gathering information and helping with the decision is needed. 14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (kaizen). Using improvement tools to determine the cause of inefficiencies and apply effective countermeasures. Once waste is exposed, having employees use a continuous improvement process (kaizen) to eliminate it. Using hansei (reflection) at key milestones and after you finish a project to openly identify all the shortcomings of the project. Develop countermeasures to avoid the same mistakes again. [29] By using TPS Toyota reduced time consumption and money, while it improved quality. This helped the company become the biggest company by 2007 and be very profitable. But in recent years it looks that the TPS is not working so well or it is abandoned altogether. The recent technical problems of Toyota showed to some that maybe the TPS is not so good, but if it wasn’t good or it can’t be used anymore, Toyota would have not be able to go back to the top in such short time. The problems maybe are not part of the TPS, but rather other factors. Too big growth of the company in the 21st century. The central lead management don’t allow flexibility in tackling problems. Another issue it that problems become much more obvious with the increase of quantity and this will result in much more negative situation which can’t be handled or will be exploited by competitors. The complexity of cars is attributing factor to have more problems and this can’t be solved by the managers. Of course TPS can be blamed in some way. It support standardization in task and processes and when there is problem with one thing, that problem translate everywhere where standardization is used. And finally a problem experienced by almost all big companies all over the world – slow response to problems, because of the amount of bureaucracy that comes with complex management in big organizations. 3. Toyota managerial problems The management of Toyota today are not very successful, after the big vehicle recalls there was a serious lack of admittance by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda that something is wrong at that was most prominently seen in his press conference about that matter where he stated: â€Å"Believe me, Toyota’s car is safety. But we will try to make our product better. † Another big problem for the management is the dysfunctional organization structure and a secretive culture. After a problem experienced in Europe and this problem could have affected North America there was absolute no communication between the different branches of the company. [30] Instead of admitting that there is a problem Toyota denied that there are any problems with their cars. III. Conclusion As of mid 2012 Toyota is once again the leader in the automotive world. Although the problems that plagued the company for 2 years reduced their output, profits decreased substantially and the company image was severely damaged which led to the company losing a big sum of money and trust with their consumers, they managed to get out of the problem with relative ease. The company also realized some important things from all this: 1. They could not want to be a global leader and keep all the power in the hands of the headquarters in Japan. Even though they claimed that they are delegating management to other parts of the company around the world the crisis showed something different. When a lot of the production is happening outside Japan they couldn’t afford to still maintain all the power in Japan. 2. They must create friends in order to advance even if they have millions of customers. The crisis left them with no real allies and protection. 3. Toyota learned that it must maintain its reputation every minute. Claiming that they are the best don’t help. Consumers want to see and experience that in the real world not just through ads and statistics. [1] Wikipedia, Toyota [2] Tim Higgins Jul 26, 2012, Bloomberg, http://www. bloomberg. om/news/2012-07-25/toyota-extends-global-sales-lead-over-general-motors-vw. html [3] Wikipedia, Akio Toyoda [4] Wikipedia, Toyota [5] Christian Science Monitor, http://www. csmonitor. com/USA/2010/0129/Toyota-recall-update-dealers-face-full-lots-anxious-customers [6] BBC, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-20321594 [7] BBC, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/business/8493414. stm [8] Mike Milikin 8 Nov. 2012, Green Car Congress, http://www. greencarcongress. com/2012/11/tmchybrids-20121108. html [9] Wikipedia, Fujio Cho [10] Reference for business, http://www. referenceforbusiness. om/biography/A-E/Cho-Fujio-1937. html [11] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=646436ticker=TM [12] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=1828739ticker=TM [13] Toyota Global [14] Toyota Global [15] Environmental Social Report 2003. Toyota Motor. p. 80. [16] Strategos-International. Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [17] Toyota internal document, The Toyota Way 2001, April 2001 [18] Strategos-International. Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [19] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1998), Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Productivity Press [20] Brian Bremner, B. and C. Dawson (November 17, 2003). Can Anything Stop Toyota? : An inside look at how its reinventing the auto industry [21] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1988), Just-In-Time For Today and Tommorrow, Productivity Press, [22] Magee, David (November 2007), How Toyota Became #1 Leadership Lessons from the Worlds Greatest Car Company, Portfolio Hardcover, [23] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 36 [24] Liker, Jeffrey(2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 35 [25] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 36 [26] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principle s of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 7 [27] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 38 [28] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 39 [29] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS. University of Michigan. p. 40 [30] Wall Street Journal, http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238. html