StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

SWOT Analysis of Toyota Corporation - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The company that is the subject of this paper "SWOT Analysis of Toyota Corporation" is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in existence today and from the humble origins of the first Toyota vehicle, the Model AA of 1936, the company has grown into a giant global carmaker brand. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
SWOT Analysis of Toyota Corporation
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "SWOT Analysis of Toyota Corporation"

? Toyota SWOT Analysis Toyota SWOT Analysis I. Company History Toyota is arguably one of the largest automobile manufacturers in existence today and from the humble origins of the first Toyota vehicle, the Model AA of 1936, the company has grown into a giant global carmaker brand. A series of adept mergers and prudent business decisions such as setting up factories in countries such as the US to beat high import tariffs in the 1960s and the decision to delve into the luxury car brands in the 1990s saw Toyota grow into the phenomenon that it is. Toyota’s mission statement, “To sustain profitable growth by providing the best possible customer experience and dealer support” embodies the reasons behind the company’s success: sustainability, quality and customer satisfaction (Hino, 2006). II. Organizational Strengths and Weaknesses A. The “Toyota Way” Strategy Toyota has successfully implemented their widely recognized “Toyota Way” strategy in all its global business operations. This strategy is based on operational excellence through a 4-P model; philosophy, process, people and problem solving. Philosophy is anchored on long-term thinking; process on waste elimination; people on respect, growth and challenge; and problem solving through the concept of continuous improvement. The resultant effect of this strategy is organizational performance and excellence due to sustenance of high quality that not only attracts customers but also makes them loyal (Liker, 2004). The “Toyota way” is a clear strength since it is tailor-made for the company as evidenced by the fact that most of the other operational excellence strategies pursued by organizations around the world were developed from it including the popular “lean manufacturing”, “just in time” and “six sigma” philosophies. As a result, Toyota is way ahead of competitors since its strategy has evolved with the company and is integral in Toyota’s organizational culture hence few challenges can hamper its growth. B. Toyota’s Motivated Workforce Toyota boasts of an exceptionally talented workforce that under close observation takes the credit for the growth of the company from a small company in Japan to the renowned automaker. The top leadership at Toyota appreciates this fact and believes that their sole competitive advantage lies in their talent development and priority on workforce. The “Toyota way” only works due to the successful uptake by the employees and the Toyota culture of hard work and continuous improvement is possible through the quality of employees present (Liker and Hoseus, 2008). Toyota’s excellent workforce is a major strength especially considering the fact that the company operates on principles based on continuous improvement, high quality and organizational performance appraisal which would prove strenuous and overwhelming to weak employees. It is not unknown for companies to adopt noble strategies and policies only for them to fail due to difficulties in adoption by the workforce. C. Product Quality Concerns Toyota’s large size as a company means that any errors in manufacturing result in numerous faulty vehicles availed to the market which leads to customer dissatisfaction and aloofness to future car models. This is particularly damaging to reputation as evidenced by the recent recalls of vehicles due to failed breaking systems; concerns on safety are enough to cause virtually irreparable harm to a company such as Toyota. To maximize on quality, a Total Quality Management system should be carefully implemented besides much emphasis on batch testing since this is perhaps the only way Toyota can mass produce with quality assurance. D. Lack of Customer Involvement Toyota focuses a great deal on the internal aspects of its operations in terms of management and workforce performance optimization and fails to take into consideration the views and interests of the customers. This has resulted in some of its car models being ranked among the ugliest automobiles on roads; unenviable publicity by all means. To involve customers and ultimately ensure that products will be accepted as desired, Toyota should adopt a beta testing approach before mass-producing new models. This involves trying limited models on selected markets to gauge customer’s reception and then conducting market surveys. III. Toyota’s Opportunities and Threats A. Targeting the low end of the market The current economic state of the world means that many people are in a dire financial state. Besides this, the middle and low income individuals make up the largest portion of society, with disposable incomes reducing by the day and spending power spiraling down. Through production of considerably cheap vehicle models that also do not compromise on quality, Toyota has a big global market not only in developing countries but also emerging markets in the developed world. B. Rising Global Fuel Prices The ever increasing global fuel prices mean that it is becoming a lot more difficult to fuel big engine capacity vehicles. Skyrocketing prices are forcing car customers to either abstain from purchasing vehicles or if they do then select low capacity vehicles. Toyota has a range of models from several large engine capacity cars to small ones hence it is capable of adapting to changes in fuel prices. Currently, the trend is towards high prices and Toyota will be unrivalled in such a situation. C. Deteriorating Global Economic Growth The economies of many countries around the world are still trying to recover from the recent economic meltdown and their citizens are experiencing some of the most difficult financial conditions. Priorities are shifting towards basic survival and a car is becoming more of a luxury (Wad, 2010). The impact of such a situation for a mass producer and big employer such as Toyota is massive and only the adept management can keep the company from failing. This is especially so considering that the low and middle income markets -Toyota’s main preoccupation- is worst hit by the global meltdown. D. Rival Companies producing low priced cars New market entrants and existing companies are increasingly learning the value of targeting the low-end market especially in these financially challenging times. The traditional luxury car manufacturers are now making models that are also attractive to the market due to association with luxury. The threat to Toyota’s niche market is perhaps one of the most difficult challenges it has had to face in recent times since it eats into Toyota’s primary market share and for such a mass producer the effects could be quite serious as time passes. IV. Conclusion Toyota is well-placed to continue being a market leader due to its strengths in managerial strategy and culture (The Toyota Way), and a superb workforce that complements its strategy. Toyota needs to urgently address the issues of faulty vehicles and lack of customer involvement if at all it is to retain or improve its position in the market. The ever skyrocketing fuel prices and the global financial hardships present an opportunity for Toyota to pull away from its rivals in terms of market share. However, some of the two biggest threats that Toyota has to contend with arise from the global economic decline and competition for its primary low-end markets by new and old rivals, both of which have serious implications to Toyota as a mass car producer. References Hino, S. (2006). Inside the mind of Toyota: management principles for enduring growth. Productivity Press. Retrieved September 16, 2011 from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=rAlcjg0QhGkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=toyota&hl=en&ei=BXVzTvSbE8_44QSLk8yiDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false Liker, J. K., and Hoseus, M. (2008). Toyota culture: The heart and soul of the Toyota way. McGraw-Hill Publishers. Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer. McGraw-Hill Publishers. Wad, P. (2010). Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis over the automotive industry in developing countries. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Retrieved September 16, 2011 from http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Publications/RSF_DPR/WP162009_Ebook.pdf Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Toyota SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/management/1431781-toyota-swot-analysis
(Toyota SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/management/1431781-toyota-swot-analysis.
“Toyota SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1431781-toyota-swot-analysis.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF SWOT Analysis of Toyota Corporation

Strategic Analysis on Toyota

Through analysis of toyota's vision, mission, objectives and company principles it is possible to gain important insight on Toyota's current position in the global market and the strategic direction the company is taking.... Company Purpose Through analysis of toyota's vision, mission, objectives and company principles it is possible to gain important insight on Toyota's current position in the global market and the strategic direction the company is taking.... hellip; The research uses SWOT analysis, Porter's Five Forces analysis and PESTEL analysis for the internal and industry analyses of toyota....
17 Pages (4250 words) Assignment

TOYOTA Motor Corporation. SWOT Analysis

swot analysis means Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and Threats.... This essay will focus on the definition of swot analysis and its purpose and then witting a SWOT matrix for TOYOTA Motor Corporation.... … The purpose for conducting a swot analysis in any business organization or firm is to find out the goals and objectives of the same.... Every business must have a certain aim that it wishes to achieve by the end of every annual year, and thus conducting a swot analysis helps the business to grow and develop with respect to overcoming any kind of hurdles that come in between....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Strategic Management at Toyota Motor Corporation

Despite all these, the toyota corporation is faced with strengths, weaknesses, threats, and tries to create opportunities to better their company, like any other in the world.... The following paper "Strategic Management at Toyota Motor corporation" will focus on Toyota Motor corporation in general.... It will also be looking at the internal analysis and SWOT of the Toyota Motor corporation and how they use these findings to improve their business....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Internal Analysis and SWOT Analysis of Toyota Company

The object of analysis for the purpose of this paper "Internal Analysis and swot analysis of toyota Company" is Toyota, a Japanese parent company of the Toyota group, and it is among the largest manufacturers of automobile manufacturers in the world.... nbsp;… Most of toyota's companies produce automobiles, automobile parts, and commercial and industrial vehicles.... he competitive advantage of toyota Motor Corporation ... Toyota Motor corporation is a subsidiary of Toyoda, and it was established in 1937....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

TOYOTA IN THE BUSINESS WORLD

his paper is based on the research conducted to find out the global market of toyota.... Market of ToyotaTo a considerable degree, the international market development of toyota was achievable due to the development of globalization.... The production chain of toyota has spread all over the world thus proving that Toyota is in fact a global company (http://www.... One of the most well known and the largest car manufacturers in the world is toyota....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Toyota Corporation Organizational Analysis

he production system of toyota is based on lean philosophy which implies that production considers the way The philosophy of lean aimed at preserving value with less work done.... he success of toyota Company in the market has been attributed to lean production system.... Toyota Motor corporation is headquartered in Toyota Japan.... For many decades, toyota has been successful in transacting its business locally and… It is the largest automobile maker by production and sales. ...
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Toyota as One of the Biggest Car Manufacturers

It was after the first production of the Automobiles that toyota corporation moved to establish an independent company that would allow total control of the production activities of its automobiles.... Since then, toyota corporation has established more than one hundred subsidiaries.... iker (21) suggests that toyota corporation focuses its efforts more on addressing the importance as well as the positive experiences of owning private quality vehicles....
14 Pages (3500 words) Research Paper

Marketing Company of Toyota Camry 2007

nbsp; The Toyota Motor Corporation was founded by Koichiro Toyoda in 1937, the first-ever car that was produced by the toyota corporation was its passenger car the Toyota AA, ever since its inception Toyota has never looked back, it is the largest automaker and has the highest sales in the US.... In 2007 the net annual sales of the toyota corporation equaled to $15, 911,886 whereas the total net assets of the company were $15, 336,578 and the net income for the Corporation in the year 2007 was approximately 60 Billion Japanese Yen....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us