The document discusses implementing an operations improvement plan through data collection. It describes using questionnaires and surveys to systematically collect data from a sample population. Questionnaires are deemed the most appropriate method as they are efficient and allow predetermined questions. The data collected will analyze the decline in sales of a company's products and identify possible solutions based on consumer feedback.

1. Running head: OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN
IMPLEMENTATION 1
OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
4Operations Improvement Plan Implementation James
Smith MBA 6022 Unit 5 Assignment 12/14/16
Operation improvement plan implementation Data collection is
one of the important processes that organizations undertake
when they want to get information regarding a particular aspect
or aspects of their operations and business. There are various
tools and techniques that can be used for data collection, and
the type or technique of to be used will vary depending on the
specific organization undertaking the process as well as the type
of business they are undertaking. It is from this data that the
organization can then be able to make some major decisions that
are aimed at improving customer experience, customer
satisfaction among others.One of the most appropriate tools for
collecting data is the use questionnaires. This method gives the
researcher an opportunity to preplan and thus ensure that all the
important aspect of the issues at hand are captured in the
questions to be responded to by the respondents. There are
several advantages associated with this technique that make it
stand out among other methods. One the advantages is that is
economical as a single individual can obtain a response from
many respondents at the same time using minimum resources,
(Phillips, 2015). The questions will also be uniform and
standardized, and there will be a variety of answers from
different respondents for the same questions. The other
appropriate tool is the use of surveys, and here data will be
collected in a systematic manner. In this method, a sample of

2. individuals from the general population will be considered and
then it is from this sample the required data will be collected
other than doing so in a large and cumbersome population. In
addition to the two methods, there are also other tools that can
be used for this purpose and these include observation and
interviews. Looking at the above tools, the use of questioners
will be the most appropriate for this specific purpose. The use
of questionnaires is the most appropriate because of the
convenience as well as the efficiency of the method. For this
method, it will take the shortest time possible to get the answers
to the required questions. This is so because I will be able to
predetermine the questions that I would like to get answers to
and then give them out to the targeted respondents. The
respondents will then fill the questionnaire which might be a
yes or no, multiple choices or short answer questions. The
convenience of getting short and precise answers means that
there will be more room or time to get to the answers to all the
predetermined questions before the respondent either gets bored
or loses interest in the activity. The result will be that the
process will be able to come up with a comprehensive data that
covers all the area that are needed for this specific study,
(Phillips, 2015). There are several types of questionnaires, and
the one that will be used for this specific task will be structured
questionnaires. This is a type of questionnaire that does not
give the respondents the flexibility of giving their own opinion
or point of view regarding the questions in the questionnaire.
They will be required to give responses in a way that will be
able to reflect the specific aspect of the data collection process.
For instance, if one was to give an opinion why he or is no
longer using a Toyota even though they owned one back them,
then will only give an answer based on the choices given on the
questionnaire instead of giving their own account of what
happened. This will greatly save a lot of time that could have
otherwise been used by the respondents to give their account of
the situation they are going through. The data collection is a
simulated process, and the respondents are therefore arbitrary.

3. The very first thing that needs to be done before the
commencement of the data collection is to identify the specific
population or group of individuals who will participate in the
process. After identifying the individuals who will participate
in the data collection, the next thing is to identify how to reach
out to these individuals. The assumption of this paper is that the
population of individual who will be required to give responses
to the questionnaire are individuals from a particular
neighbourhood or gated community. To avoid being an
inconvenience to the respondent and their business, the
questionnaire will have to be convenient enough so as to get the
desired results. This, therefore, brings for the need for an online
and the hard copy questionnaire. The two forms of
questionnaires will go a long way to ensuring that all the as
many respondents as possible are included in the process. This
is because, in a community, one is bound to find that there are
different individuals who have different schedules or jobs. As a
result, there are those who will be coming home while other are
living for work. There are also those have very demanding jobs,
and therefore, they cannot afford to sit down for the
questionnaire. The two forms of the questionnaires will see it
through that all these types of individuals are included in the
process and thus obtain a mixed and unbiased result. Those who
have then time can sit down and answer the questions while at
whole whereas those who might not have the time can do so
through the online platform while they are working in the
office, (Brijs, 2013). The result from both online and hard copy
questionnaires will then be collected and analysed
systematically so as to obtain the specific information needed
about the OIP and this will give the important information
needed about the decline in sales of the company products. It is
also from this data that possible solution to the problem can be
developed based on consumer feedback regarding their
preferences. From the data obtained, the problem statement will
be addressed because the response from the potential, former or
current users of Toyota vehicles will give a clue of what needs

4. to be done. The data will also give a clear picture of the issues
that these individuals are facing as well as where they stand.
Based on the simulated data, the information provided by the
respondents supports the fact that the company has been in
business long enough and, as a result, they may have
compromised some of the important production qualities such as
quality assurance, (Watkins, West-Meiers & Visser, 2012). The
data also coincides with the flow chart in that the majority of
the responded felt that it was the time the company changed its
leadership structure as well as their functional role. This is the
only way to the company will be able to not only address the
challenges it is facing internally but also make it through the
tight competition being experienced from the other
manufacturers such Ford and Chevrolet, (Watkins, West-Meiers
& Visser, 2012).The measurement strategy is based on the
individuals who are still loyal to the Toyota brand in spite of
the challenges that the company is facing. From the data, it can
be identified why these individuals feel that they still need to
use a Toyota even though the company is facing quality issues.
These group of individual will form a control process which can
be used to determine the progress of the company in the near
future based on whether they increase or continue to decline,
(Brijs, 2013). The anticipated recommendation will, therefore,
be one that is focused on changing the company. New
leadership styles should be incorporated to ensure that there is
an efficient channel for the flow of information and directives
in the company. This will see it though that the company take
care or manages some of the major challenges that it is facing.
ReferencesBrijs, B. (2013). Business analysis for business
intelligence. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Phillips, P.
(2015). Real world training evaluation. [S.l.]: Amer Soc For
Training &.Watkins, R., West-Meiers, M., & Visser, Y.
(2012). A guide to assessing needs. Washington, D.C.: World
Bank.

5. Running head: MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 1
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 8
Management Strategy
James Smith
MBA6022 Unit 4 Assignment 1
2/7/16
ABSTRACT
We know the fact that quality and safety can be called as an
important factor for every organization. This happen to Toyota
when they were faced with an accelerator crisis after faulty
accelerator pedals in some of their vehicles caused the pedals to
depress get stuck or cause them to accelerate. This lead to a
massive recall and lead to penalties and fines from the US
government and consumer confidence diminished. In this
presented assignment I will create a cause-and-effect diagram,
create a graphic flowchart, create a before-and-after flowchart, I
will describe the scope of my process improvement objective,
and a revision of my problem statement based on what I learned
about my objective by using the diagram and flowchart tools.

6. Cause-and-Effect Diagram
(
Resistance to
change
) (
Over-production
) (
Inventory
) (
Competitio
n
) (
Waiting /Delay
) (
Errors
) (
Faulty Accelerator
Car
, Death, and a Massive
Recall (Quality
issue
and safety issue
)
) (
Skills
) (
Motion
) (
Machine
) (
Process
) (
Manpower
) (

7. Environment
)
Information from the fishbone diagram does not seem to
point to a certain cause or particular step in the flowchart but it
does offer up more ideas to pinpoint the root cause of the
problem by looking at the cause and effect relationships and lets
you see where any bottlenecks in the process occur. It saves you
from solving the problem and not finding out until later that it
was only part of the problem. This saves time and resources by
getting to the root cause of the problem because you can come
up with solutions that enables you to look through the
complexities of the problem. The fishbone diagram is literally
like the bones of a fish. The head is where the larger issues are
and as you go through the fish ending at the tail is the issue that
do not have as much of an impact reside.
The fishbone diagram does not conflict with the initial
flowchart but it does offer up more solutions then the original
flowchart. While coming up with a problem statement, it was
about focusing on one area that may have been causing the
problem. According to Russell and Taylor (2014), the fishbone
diagram allows us to look strategically at a wide range of areas
that may be causing the problem.
While analyzing the cause and effect diagram we can able to
understand that the quality and the safety of product is not up to
the mark. And the process is affected by the different factors
such as, unskilled labors and delay in providing quality
services. The automobile market changing time to time and the

8. interest of customers is also changing, so in order for gaining
the profit the companies has to give more importance to the
concept of quality (Imai 2012). In this case we can able to
understand that, the company overestimated the demand for the
product and it leads to the over –production and affected the
quality and the safety of the products.
(
Identify an o
pportunity
)Flowchart Representing the New Process and Methods (
Communication
) (
Standardize the solution
)
(
Analyze the p
rocess
)
(
Develop an optimal solution
)
(
Quality check
)
(
Implement the solution
)
(
Study the results
)

9. (
Future plans
)
The company can effectively manage the issue by introducing
Kaizen principles and practices. The new process of the
company mainly focused on the replacement of conventional
production methods followed by the company, in which they can
integrate the Kaizen principles and practices with TPS that is
Toyota production system (Villafuerte 2014). The Kaizen
practices will help the company for achieving the competitive
advantage, because it enhance the participation of employees
and provide an opportunity for understanding various issues
associated with the operations. The company can able to
introduce effective changes for improving the process with the
support of Kaizen (Sui, 2013). It also provide the opportunity to
the company for using the cross functional teams for identifying
and managing the quality issues and problems. The company has
to use effective communication strategies for implementing the
new changes in a productive way. Unnecessary activities can be
also reduced with the help of Kaizen, and the company can
achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
Before-and-After Flowchart Analysis
(
Collecting Raw Materials from suppliers
) The process that was used
before the proposed improvements
(
Toyota production systems (Conversion of input to output)
)
(
Outbound Logistics activities
)

10. (
Recall of Cars
)
(
Customer identify the problem (Quality issue)
)
The process that was used before the proposed improvements
(
Collecting Raw Materia
ls from S
uppliers
)
(
Market share and Profits
Profit
) (
Satisfied customer
) (
Outbound Logistics
activities
)
(
Toyota production systems (Conversion of input to output)
)KAIZEN
KAIZEN
KAIZEN
While analyzing the both diagrams we can able to understand

11. that, the company failed in ensuring the quality and safety of
different operations. If the company is introducing Kaizen
principles and practices they can able to achieve the
organizational objectives in an effective way.
Scope of Process Improvement Objective
While analyzing the aspects we can able to understand that,
main cause for the quality and safety issues in the company is
related with lack effective of quality and safety techniques and
practices. With the support of Kaizen the company able to retain
the corporate reputation and gain more profit (Franz 2011). It
also provides the option for the company for introducing variety
products and services.
Problem Statement
The company failed to introduce the quality techniques and
practices, in which it affected the entire operations of the
company. The reputation and market share of company declined
due to ineffective measures for ensuring the quality for the
products (Amasaka 2006, p.127). The company has to focus on
a productive practice which helps to attain the sustainable
competitive advantage.
References
Imai, M. (2012). Gemba Kaizen: a commonsense approach to a
continuous improvement strategy. McGraw Hill Professional.
Liker, J., & Franz, J. K. (2011). The Toyota way to continuous
improvement: linking strategy and operational excellence to

12. achieve superior performance. McGraw Hill Professional.
Miller, J., Wroblewski, M., & Villafuerte, J. (2014). Creating a
Kaizen Culture: Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough
Results, and Sustain the Gains.
Russell, R. S., & Taylor, B. W. (2014). Operations and supply
chain management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ
Sakai, H., & Amasaka, K. (2006). TPS-LAS model using
process layout CAE system at Toyota: advanced TPS, key to
global production strategy new JIT. Journal of Advanced
Manufacturing Systems, 5(02), 127-140.
Shang, G., & Sui Pheng, L. (2013). Understanding the
application of Kaizen methods in construction firms in China.
Journal of Technology Management in China, 8(1), 18-33.
Running Head: REFINING PROBLEM STATEMENT
1
REFINING PROBLEM STATEMENT
8
REFINING PROBLEM STATEMENT
James Smith
MBA 6022 Unit 3 Assignment 1
1/31/16

13. REFINING PROBLEM STATEMENT
Create a cause-and-effect diagram to identify, analyze, and
graphically depict all potential causes related to the problem, to
uncover its root causes.
Create a graphic flowchart that briefly details all of the steps
you will need to implement in your new process, over time.
Previously unidentified yet important steps.
Some of the steps that had not mentioned in the previous report
include the following. Encouraging the employer and employees
to share input and dialogue. When information is shared, the
high executives will be able to make informed decisions. If the
executives and employees of Toyota were open to each other
and the information on the falling accelerator, the recall would
have been avoided and a lot of money saved. The executives
should also have been open to the ideas of the employees as
well as their reports and taken them seriously and fast.
The next step that was not mentioned previously was the need to
teach the executives, employee and employers on how to use the
knowledge management system. They should all be shown how
to use it when creating information, sharing information,
transferring information and how to retrieve the information.
The system will also need to be reviewed after some time to
identify whether the system is serving the purpose it was
intended and modification made if need be.

14. Create a before-and-after flowchart, which illustrates the
process that was used to your proposed improvements and what
it might look like after your recommendations are incorporated.
BEFORE
The transfer of information in Toyota before the new process is
incorporated made communication really difficult. This is due
to the fact that information would have to go through a long
chain of command before it reached the intended person. This
made decision-making slow as one must wait till orders from
the general manager can reach the sectional manager for them to
know which cause of action to take. Some information would
however not reach the managers from the team member if one of
the managers in the hierarchy deems it not fit.
AFTER
The new process will not require the long chain of command as
anyone can receive information from the system. The
organization memory which stores all the information will be
accessible to all and one can easily share ideas with their
intended person through the system. The executives will be at a
better position of making decisions fast as any information they
need can easily be retrieved from the system.
Based on the preliminary problem statement you developed in
Unit 2, briefly describe the scope of your process improvement
objective. For this assignment, focus on only one of the
contributing causes of the problem.
Centralization is one of the reasons for the poor internal
communication. The fact that only a few people can make
decisions regarding all matters inhibits communication. Some
bureaucratic individuals have all the say and ignore the ideas

15. and concern of the rest of the people. Decision making is rigid,
and some managers are reduced to mere marketing employees.
Decision making is also slow since long chains of command
have to be followed.
The managers are also reactive rather than proactive. They
don't heed to the warnings by the employees and wait till
something bad has occurred for them to take precautions have
once the danger has been identified. This lowers the morale of
the employees to report any danger identified since they know
nothing much will be done.
The process will enable information to be available more easily
such that the executives and other employees can access it more
easily. The employees can also share the information they have
more easily. Since the information will be available to all, it
will be hard for the executives to ignore concerns that will be
identified and will be accessible for all employees to see.
Write a refined version of your problem statement based on
what you have learned about your objective by using the
diagram and flowchart tools.
Although Toyota has been at its peak in the past in motor
vehicle industry, this might change due to its poor internal
communication. The poor internal communication that is caused
by poor employee and employer relationship which leads to
mistrust must be addressed to ensure that Toyota's reputation
does not worsen as it is (Liker, 2011).
References
David, H., (2011). Refining Your Process: Implementing Design
Process. Retrieved from
http://www.graphics.com/article-old/refining-your-process-
implementing-design-process on January 31, 2016.
Hirotaka, T., Emi, O., & Norihiko, S., (2011). The
Contradictions That Drive Toyota’s Success. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2008/06/the-contradictions-that-drive-toyotas-
success on January 31, 2016.

16. Liker, J. K., & Convis, G. L. (2011). The Toyota way to Lean
Leadership: Achieving and sustaining excellence through
leadership development. New York: McGraw-Hill
General Manager
Assistant General Manager
Senior Manager
Section Manager
Group Leader
Team Leader
Team Member
Creation of InformationAcquisition of InformationRefinement
MemoryTransfer SharingUtilizationOrganizational Performance
Creation of Information
Acquisition of Information
Refinement
Memory
Transfer
Sharing
Utilization
Organizational Performance
CentralizationPoor LeadershipEmployee and Employer
Relationship
Lack of Local
customization
Bureaucracy
Reactive
Management
Market
Dynamics
Rigid Decision
Making
Lack of
motivation

17. Impossible
goals
Lack of
Diversity
Employee
Empowerment
Complex Social
Networks
Poor Time
Management
Internal
Communication
Problem
Statement
Poor Pay
Poor
Collaboration
No Teamwork
Mistrust
Market
Dynamics
Misrust of thr
Employees
Rigid Decion
Making
Encourage sharing, input and dialogueDevelopment of a
Knowledge Management SystemIntroduction of the Knowledge
Management SystemTeach All on How to use the Knowledge
Management SystemReview of the Knowledge System
Encourage sharing, input and dialogue
Development of a Knowledge Management System
Introduction of the Knowledge Management System
Teach All on How to use the Knowledge Management System
Review of the Knowledge System
General ManagerAssistant General ManagerSenior

18. ManagerSection ManagerGroup LeaderTeam LeaderTeam
Member
7
Process Improvement
James Smith
MBA6022 Unit 2 Assignment 1
1/23/16
Problem statement
Although Toyota is at the peak of its operations, it has not been
able to address some of its segment market concerns. Internal
communications issues stands out among a wide array of other
challenges like customer service, public relations and
manufacturing (Liker, 2011). Internal communication is
definitely the core challenge for addressing it will have a
trickling effect on sales, production, profitability and relations
all which will improve.
Background of the study
Toyota started its operations in the United States in the 1980
and hasn’t changed its foreign strategy when dealing with
employees. The overall sales of Toyota have been declining in

19. the US in the recent years, which can be attributed to a rigid
central administration that which just hears improvement
suggestions and doesn’t act upon them. Employees in its foreign
markets have been reduced to simply sales and marketing
professionals. Advice to top management has been heard but not
taken into serious consideration for the most part. Such advice
contains contagious issues about how to competitively operate
in the US among rival companies and also to meet high
customer expectations.
For the past thirty years, Toyota has been operational in the US
they have operated using the Toyota way. The Toyota way is a
philosophy that all important decisions are made centrally in
Japan. The operations are centrally controlled, and strategic
decision emanated from Japan and passed over to all foreign
operational regions it either has production or assembling plant.
Such decisions seem to work in some area while in some they
do not.
Toyota operations have been a big success in Africa but not so
much in America. Though its sales worldwide are increasing, it
made a decrease in revenue collected in the year 2009. A 19%
decrease was recorded in the year in comparison to figures
posted from 2008. Toyota revenue was 211 billion dollars in
2009 (Greto, 2010). It had an effect on the vast profits Toyota
had previously been making since it first ventured into this
market. Such devastating impact can ultimately be attributed to
its leadership programs and the strategic decision made.
To put it simple, the “Toyota way” is not working right in the
US given its rigidity in the decision-making. The dynamics of a
market will differ due to location and customer expectations.
This dynamic is rampant in the US, given that there are many
players, and those who will meet their expectation wins it big in
the automobile industry. The employees are aware of the fact
and have tried their best to offer a solution for continuous
improvement, ideas, and ways to eliminate existing challenges.
Almost all of these solutions that have been offered haven’t

20. been taken seriously. Employees have not been empowered, and
this has far-reaching effects. Foreign employees’ contribution
has been minimal, and the management seems to limit it to
being reactive. According to the management view their work is
only to implement policies that have been deemed best in Japan.
There is a perceptive challenge by the top management that
foreign managers, who are nonfamily members, are not
committed to safety and quality in their suggestions. This
perception has created laxity among foreign employees for they
know that their proposal will be suggested to a lot of scrutiny
based on the given suspicion. Generated solutions and ideas,
whether from Japan or other countries, are first reviewed and
then pushed up to the top management. Programs like
engineering, financing and manufacturing that need proactive
measures have been subject to delay eroding off the benefits
they would have brought if the action were swift (Ciravegna,
2012).
Implications
Toyota is essentially sitting on a time bomb if these existing
communication gaps are not solved to ultimately empower
employees to share out solutions and suggestions. Ignored
solutions and recommendations will only create more problems
and missed profitable opportunities respectively. Employees
will also feel alienated in their place of work if they do not feel
free to present their views and talk about their concerns.
Alienation also comes in where there existed a proposed
solution and was not acted upon immediately with devastating
results emanating from area pointed. Cumulatively, management
will be making ineffective decisions to situations and operations
and hurt profits and the company’s image furthermore.
Toyota stands to lose globally when it doesn’t consider
segmenting and empowering heads of market segments like the
US. Ignoring this possible solution to their problems will
continue eroding values of quality and safety it once had firmly
established. Toyota has been a victim of its action that saw the
firm make compensation to aggrieved customers who filled

21. court case due to its defective vehicle oil system (Ciravegna,
2012). Not only did this eat into their millions of dollars profit
but also affected its quality vehicles’ tag image.
After that, it had to recall thousands of vehicle units to mend a
defective accelerator system. It was penalized by the US
government 16.4 million dollars for selling defective products
under the banner all was quality (Greto, 2010). The recall cost
over 2 billion dollars in logistics and repair process. All these
recalls and losses might not have happened had they just had a
good working employee-management relationship. Those
defects would have most likely been noted early in advance and
acted upon before it became catastrophic to the firm’s revenues
and profits.
Desired outcomes
Toyota has to realize it might have been easy to reach the top
but staying there is the ultimate challenge. There is a need for
proactive measures to be formulated that will make
communication and the overall internal process to be more
responsive and accommodative. Employees should absolutely be
empowered by the management and motivate them through
encouragement to provide solutions and suggestions. A sharing
culture will be born, and employee expertise and experience
will contribute significantly to help formulate best strategic
decisions for the management. These strategic decisions will
position the firm competitively in this multi-billion industry and
benefit all stakeholders including the management and their
employees.
Such cooperation between management and employees will be
achieved by investing in a knowledge management system
(KMS) (Martin, 2002). KMS has far-reaching benefits that are
spread from the minimization of e-filling to reduced file
management costs. The systems is such efficient in that
profitability will be improved based on the knowledge that will
be transferred and results realized in leveraging quality work,
the supply chain, and improved relationships (Russell, 2014).

22. Resources will be adequately allocated to each delegated work
leading to better job performance. The benefits of implementing
the program outweigh the high initial cost of a using KMS.
There is the need to revert to the founding values of the Toyota
way before a lot of damages has been done. Top management
should embrace dynamism presented by operating in different
regions with different customer expectations. Their employees
being their representative know what is best in a certain market.
All these can be captured by having a flexible internal
mechanism that empowers employees.
References
Ciravegna, D. L. (2012). Sustaining Industrial Competitiveness
after the Crisis: Lessons from the Automotive Industry.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Greto, M., Schotter, A., & Teagarden, M. (2010). Toyota: The
accelerator crisis. Thunderbird School of Global Management
Liker, J. K., & Convis, G. L. (2011). The Toyota way to lean
leadership: Achieving and sustaining excellence through
leadership development. New York: McGraw-Hill
Martin, K. (2002). Features – “Show Me the Money” –
Measuring the Return on Knowledge Management. LLRX.

23. Retrieved from http://www.llrx.com/features/kmroi.htm
Russell, R.S., & Taylor, B.W. (2014). Operations and supply
chain management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Running head: PROCESS IDENTIFICATION
1
PROCESS IDENTIFICATION
7Process Identification
James SmithMBA 6022 Unit 1 Assignment 1
1/16/16Introduction
For a long time, Toyota Motor Corporation has been regarded as
the pinnacle of Japanese innovation, manufacturing quality and
industrial vehicles, well known for their economy, reliability,
and fuel efficiency. However, since October 2009, Toyota has
suffered a severe crisis due to unintended quality problems in
its vehicles which triggered Toyota’s first of a series of highly
publicized official recalls of Toyota cars all over the world.
Pinpointing a potential problem in which poorly placed mats
under the driver's seat lead to uncontrolled acceleration in a
range of Toyota car models. The recall happened due to a report
of an accident in California, where Lexus Sedan accelerator got
stuck, leading to the death of the driver. This crisis threatened
Toyota’s previous reputation of good quality cars and also the
company’s brand image built over time (Liker & Ogden, 2011).
Centralized Power Structure in the Decision Making Process
At the time of the accelerator crisis, Toyota Motor Corporation
had a centralized power structure that concentrated most of its
power and critical decision-making responsibilities to a few key
leaders (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010).
Importance

24. The centralized power structure in Toyota Motor Corporation
had been extremely efficient in regards to business decisions.
The few key leaders in the corporation developed the company's
mission and visions, and set objectives for managers and
employees to follow when achieving these goals. The result of
this approach to power structure is reduced conflict during
decision making which consequently leads to faster execution of
strategies and actions. Additionally, control and accountability
is achieved as leaders are in charge of all major decisions hence
hold great control over the operation of the company and the
development of its culture.
Scope
The scope of a centralized power structure does not stretch far
regarding major decision-making processes as this is reserved
for the key leaders in the company. However, the effects and
consequences of these decisions will affect the entire company
despite majority of the parties not being involved in the making
of the decisions.
Parties involved
Given the narrow scope of the centralized power structure in the
decision-making process, the parties involved in the process are
few. Only key leaders in a company are involved in making the
major decisions in the company. All other parties mainly follow
the decisions made or support the implementation of the
decisions.
Priority
Issues and conflicts in and within a centralized power system in
the decision-making process in a company have the ability to
paralyze the productivity of the company. The urgency and
timeliness of resolving these issues cannot be underestimated.
When these conflicts are dealt with constructively, effectively,
and in good time, more opportunities for learning and
improvement can be presented.
Benefits

25. If Toyota Motor Corporation were to improve their centralized
organization structure, they would have a precise control over
budgets and products and, they can ensure that no risks are
undertaken without the knowledge of the key leaders.
Additionally, there would be easy coordination as it would be
easy to ensure that everyone acts together, there being no
alternate voices to create distractions.
Costs
The costs associated with Toyota Motor Corporation not
improving this process would be heightened bureaucracy within
the company, red tape, and inefficiency.
Crisis Management Process
At the time of the accelerator crisis, Toyota Motor Corporation
had a crisis management process that dealt with the crisis that
threatened to harm the company and Toyota cars' consumers.
Importance
The importance of a crisis management process for Toyota
Motor Corporation is that the process creates a contingency plan
when circumstances that could harm the company arise and
identifies alternative courses of action to deal with them. Crisis
management also details the procedure of maintaining essential
services and operations within Toyota Motor Corporation in the
event of a crisis, limiting the damage that may be caused.
Scope
Given the importance of good crisis management, the scope of
an effective crisis management process is quite broad. Crisis
management process involves preparedness, response, and
reaction. Preparedness includes protection of physical and
intellectual assets, response involves communications and
restoration while reaction incorporates the emotional toll of the
crisis.
Parties involved
A good crisis management process constitutes a crisis

26. management team that has a clear understanding of to handle a
crisis beginning with before they occur. The common members
of a crisis management team would be public relation, legal,
operations, finance, and human resource.
Priority
Toyota Motor Corporation should append high priority in
solving issues in its crisis management process. The company’s
reputation and consumers’ trust in the company would be in
jeopardy if these issues are not resolved promptly.
Benefits
Strengthening the crisis management process in Toyota Motor
Corporation would lead to identifying obscure vulnerabilities
within the company which would help in effecting wise and
courageous actions rapidly. Also, it would build an environment
of trust which would reform consumers’ mindset on the
company.
Costs
A bad crisis management process for Toyota Motor Corporation
would be a bad reputation amongst cars consumers which would
cause reduced sales as a result of diminished trust in Toyota’s
vehicles.
Operations Improvement Plan
A centralized power structure in decision-making process faces
a lot of setbacks especially for companies the size of Toyota
Motor Corporation. Requests must follow through the chain of
command, decided upon and communicated back down which
mainly results to bureaucracy and inefficiency. Key leaders who
are tasked with making the major decisions in this power
structure are also overburdened denying them time to make
higher-level strategic decisions. A more decentralized structure
which utilizes individuals with a variety of expertise and
knowledge to run business operations would be present
numerous advantages for Toyota Motor Corporation.
References

27. Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2010). Management
Principles. Jupiterimages Corporation.
Liker, J. K., & Ogden, T. N. (2011). Toyota Under Fire:
Lessons for Turning Crisis into Opportunity. The McGraw-Hill
Companies.