Quality control organizational structure and divisional management at Toyota

Toyota

Quality Control at Toyota

There are several key issues that need to be addressed in order to turn around Toyota's quality control department, from restoring morale and commitment to making pragmatic changes to processes and communication structures in order to directly facilitate more effective operations. In order to successfully carry out the position of Vice President and contribute to the development and progress of the Toyota company as a whole, careful consideration of these issues, projections of necessary and potential changes, and methods for achieving these changes must be undertaken. The following paragraphs detail six area of specific concern or required attention that relate to the task at hand, containing suggestions for the steps that should be taken in order to turn this department around and the organizational/interpersonal approaches that will best ease and facilitate the implementation of these steps.

Goals

Short-term goals for the quality control division must include an improvement in morale within six months, as measured through both qualitative (interviews, meetings, surveys, etc.) and quantitative (retention rates, complaint/issue frequency, etc.) means. New communications processes should also be in place within a year. Long-term goals include a greater degree of integration with other departments within three years, as measured by survey responses and communication gaps/lapses/lag times, as well as the design and implementation of a new promotion/raise system that more accurately and meaningfully reflects performance.

Reorganization

Specific plans for reorganization will necessitate detailed and extensive study of the current roles and power structure sin place in the company and in the quality control department specifically, but some basic recommendations regarding reorganization can be made even with the information at hand. Quality control for most companies and certainly for Toyota is a global concern, and must incorporate processes, personnel, beliefs, and values that at times vary widely from region to region (Kohler, 2000). In order to formulate an effective reorganization strategy, the cultural differences and needs of all members of the quality control team across the company will need to be taken into account, and regional concerns should be addressed with appropriate personnel (Kohler, 2000). Basically, the reorganization will take into account but internal company needs and values as well as external cultural and interpersonal pressures, in order to further increase morale, satisfaction, and performance.

Assistance from Other Departments

Quality control, perhaps more than any other department within Toyota (or any other company), is entirely dependent on other departments for the development of its knowledge and the carrying out of its tasks. The relationship between manufacturing and quality control is especially important, and there will be a great reliance on the manufacturing departments for current information, feedback, and receptivity to instructions and other communications. Relationships with other departments will also be highly important.

Training Initiative

Low morale and an outgoing vice president that was removed for cause suggests that there are some significant changes required in how the quality control department at Toyota goes about doing its business, and how the individuals within the department feel about their occupations and their role within the company as a whole. Training initiatives that focus on team building, problem solving, and hierarchical communication will most likely be especially effective in the current situation observed in the company, providing a solid foundation for alleviating other problems when they arise and even forestalling the emergence of such problems through proactive communication and collaboration. Many of these training exercises and classes should be carried out on a company-wide basis to ensure effective ongoing and continuous communication between the various departments at Toyota.

Challenges

As with any new venture, which this certainly counts as, there will be certain significant challenges faced in the carrying out of the duties and tasks necessary to achieve overall organizational success. Specific challenges that are expected to become issues immediately upon taking the position include mistrust on the part of employees and other vice presidents/department heads due to residual impacts of the previous VP's performance as well as challenges involved in learning others' specific expectations of the role being taken in the company. Keeping an open mind and an understanding attitude will help to overcome these challenges.

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