Strategic Implementation Factors

Strategies are usually formulated by the top-level management of the company. But the
people responsible for implementing the strategy are different. Implementation is the
process that links the top-level management with the other employees of the organization.
Strategy formulation and implementation of the strategy are two sides of the same coin.
Implementation is a process with the help of which the strategies and the policies of the
company are put in action by developing programs, budgets and procedures (Kachru,
2005, p. 391).
To see that the strategies have been properly implemented it is important to use the
capabilities of a few to check those implementations. The factors such as the structure,
culture, people of the organization, commutation, control and the outcome is very
important for an organization to successfully implement the strategies. To see that the
strategies formulated have been carefully implemented, the organizational structure
.and culture should be reviewed

In the mid of 2000 Toyota faced number of safety issues in their cars. The most notable
problems Toyota faced in its design, development, suppliers, production and
maintenance was due to the resignation of a number of talented professionals from
Toyota. The 2007 consumer reports did not give any ratings to the cars manufactured by
Toyota. The companies had shortage of experts, and maintain high quality became a
million-dollar question for Toyota. They had time pressure and lack of resources. The
sales went down and the strengths, hybrids and electric cars were no more helping the
.company to revive (The Guardian, 2010)

Structure
The structure affects the organization indirectly. It also affects the implementation of
strategies through the flow and control of information. The organization should always
align the design and the capabilities of the organization with the strategies. This is
because the structure helps to install accountability and helps in achieving goals and
objectives of the organization (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2010, p. 30).
In the backdrop of the quality issues faced by Toyota, there is cold war that is prevailing
between the president of the company, Akio Toyoda and a group of top level managers
of the company. Both of them are blaming each other for the quality defects that
prevailed in the automobiles of Toyota. The president has even pushed out Katsuaki
Watanabe, the vice chairman and asked him to leave the company. It has created a
situation of confusion and divided leadership within the organization. The employees
.are not divided into two groups (The Wall Street Journal, 2010)

Culture
One of the main building blocks of the organization is the culture. The culture consists of
the values, beliefs and other behavioral assumptions. It is very important to study the
culture of the organization to build an effective structure. The strategies decision-making
is always done by the top-level management or the governing body of the organization.
Strategy of the organization deals with the culture and the people who interact in that
culture (Cant, Strydom, & Jooste, 2009, p. 288).
Toyota had to recall about half a million of its SUVs due to their suspension problems.
About 11 accidents took place due to such defects in the cars. The problem prevailed with
different models of Toyota and for each consecutive year, Toyota had to recall cars for
repair in different parts. This created a situation of chaos within the company. The vice
chairman was overthrown and the president blamed the top-level managers for such
condition of the company.
The environment of the company has turned into a battle field where the employees have
divided themselves into two groups. They are into open battle with each other and
accusing each other for weakening the base of the company. The president of the
company is further accusing some people in the top-level management of focusing too
much on earning profit. The fight has now turned in between family and non-family
members of Toyota.

Control
Strategies of the company need to be built around certain premises about the future
events. The top-level management needs to have control over the strategies formulated
and the implementation of such strategies in the organizational structure. Control helps in
assessing the
Overall strategy of the firm and sees that if any modification is required or not in the
strategies formulated. Toyota is facing tough situations due to technical defects in the
SUVs and other car models. So, it is necessary for Toyota to control such situation by
implementing effective strategies for fast removal of technical defects in cars. But the
management could not sort out the issues. So, such situations have be controlled
.otherwise it may affect the company badly

LEAN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

Table 1 is used to introduce different lean implementation strategies (columns) and map them
against different themes (rows). The lean implementation strategies that are described are the
following:
1. Tips for a lean transition [13].
2. Prerequisites for a lean transition [4].
3. Transition to Lean (TTL) roadmap: Production operations level [25].
4. Transition to Lean (TTL) roadmap: Enterprise level [26].
5. Kaizen workshops [27].

The themes according to which the implementation strategies are mapped are the
following:
1. Creating a vision.
2. Preparation.
3. Value-stream mapping.
4. Employee empowerment.
5. Implementation planning.
6. Implementation.
7. CI
Conclusion
The study is conducted on one of the biggest companies in the automobile industry, called
Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota Motor Corporation is not only famous for its quality
and affordable cars but also for a perfect car production system that they follow. Toyota
had implemented various models to implement a perfect organizational structure. The
problem that Toyota faced in the early days was to build different car models on the same
assembly line. But Toyota did overcome such issues by implementing Kaizen and Just in
time processes in their company.
The recent reports relating to the company is not so enthusiastic compared to its past.
Toyota cars, especially the SUVs owners are facing several major problems and accidents
due to faults in the manufacturing of such models. These problems are prevailing over a
period of about five to ten years. The president of the company is blaming the top-level
management and vice-versa. The internal environment of the company is not fit for
experts to maintain the same reputation of the company. The president of the company
is blaming the group of top executives for focusing mainly on earning profit rather than
providing quality products to customers. This situation has not only disorganized the
.structure of the company but also disturbed the healthy culture

Controlling such situation is very important but when the top level management and
.the owner is at war, controlling such situations become difficult

Reference
Becker, R. M. (2012). Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Retrieved
from http://www.sae.org/manufacturing/lean/column/leanjun01.htm.
Cant, M. C., Strydom, J. W., & Jooste, C. J. (2009). Marketing Management. Cape
Town :Juta and Company Ltd.
ICMR. (2010). Toyota Motor Company: Losing its Quality Edge? Retrieved from
http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Operations/OPER095.htm.
Kachru, U., (2005). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Delhi: Excel
Books India.
The Guardian. (2010). Timeline: Toyota's recall woes. Retrieved from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/29/timeline-toyota-recall-accelerator-pedal.
The Wall Street Journal. (2010). Inside Toyota, Executives Trade Blame Over Debacle.
Retrieved from
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