MGMT20144 Management: Knowledge Management of Toyota Motors

Innovation is the procedure of generating and executing a fresh idea. It is the progression of making useful ideas and exchanging them with the useful products, operational methods and services. The ideas are consequence of creativity in combining ideas in unique manner in making useful connection among the ideas. Creativity has the ability in producing fresh ideas for the development of quality in organizations.

This paper would deal with the present role of KM and innovation in Toyota that would be evaluated along with specific recommendations. This would be enhancing the ability of the organization in managing all the resources, focusing on innovation and enhancing knowledge organization and sharing.

Existing Knowledge Management Plan of Toyota Motors:

Toyota has been attaining enormous growth from its initiation time with this the company having tackled various troubles that can be related to management and expansion. In the initial stage, the company has been developing and manufacturing cars only in Japan and exporting the same in some other countries coming with amplified demand and globalization when it commenced its operations in the foreign markets. The increase in its operation base resulted in the company confronting various troubles related to the management of the resources. For resolution this issue, the company would be making use of the management of knowledge as it is attentive with its importance and the requirement.

As per Moore, B., Calvo-Amodio & Junker, (2016), the operations of the organization started expanding significantly and the concern it has made use of the various complex methods like the total quality management and lean production. All these methods helped the organization in achieving important position in the emerging markets. Moreover, in implementing these approaches the organization understood the importance of knowledge and its usage by the company and the management of the employees. Toyota understood that knowledge management among its organization is indispensable for which it assumed various knowledge management methods like improving of sharing of knowledge sharing networks and the usage of tactic knowledge.

For thriving implementation and the operations, it is crucial that Toyota Motors importantly develops the issues in the knowledge management. Without any of these, the company would not be probable for the organization in managing its principal position in the long run as knowledge implied becomes an important factor for running business in a successful manner (Tseng, 2014). The company had efficient knowledge management plan but lacks certain aspects that if enhanced can distribute it with the extensive advantage of knowledge management.

Knowledge Management Interventions:

Japan’s largest company, Toyota is better known as the dominant knowledge company, where it has won around three times, the Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise along with the MAKE Japan Survey. This award is mainly provided for the exclusive practices in the Knowledge management field. Awards were mainly offered on the basis of procedures like sharing of knowledge, cooperation and organizational learning. (Wang & Zhang, (2013).

These facets were handled efficiently; however, the company needs to take extra endeavor as it has been deficient in some segments of the knowledge management. The most significant aspect needing improvement is the sharing of the knowledge that can only be achievable if knowledge management can be used as management tool. The most extensive KM involvement that can be implemented in Toyota Motor Corporation is the usage of KM as the management tool. Through the use of the Knowledge Management as the management tool, the organization can efficiently develop all the existing blemishes of KM in regard to the operations in business.

Moreover, the intellectual capital of the company also augments the practices of Knowledge Management. The management of the organization needs to appreciate that KM is a significant part of the broader concept intellectual capital as KM is about the administration of the intellectual capital. Intellectual capital can be better understood through the two terms strategies and measurement. Strategy pertains to the configuration and exploitation of knowledge along with the connection between value creation and knowledge.

Some of the other aspects of the intellectual capital that is dimension concentrating on the improvement of the fresh information systems that are capable in measuring the non-financial data along with the conventional financial data. The management of the company should be trying to make effort in exploring the conception and knowledge use in ways through which it can be leveraged into proper value.

Knowledge Management Tool:

KM is portrayed as the tool of management made up of two features assisting KM as a tool of informational handling or the operational apparatus and second is the strategically focused tool of management. Through the management of KM as the operational tool, Toyota can augment the sharing of knowledge along with the organizational learning among the processes of business (Baskerville & Dulipovici, 2015). The organization and the management manages both the Km aspects, importantly attaining all the indispensable benefits of KM for its business and its guaranteed growth.

Recommendations:

For implementation of the projected interventions, the Toyota Motor Corporation needing to deem the following strategies and elements:

In most of the efforts of the company in implementing the strategy related to KM, an important problem that has taken place is about the ineffective communication. For the successful accomplishment, effective communication is important and very similar is Toyota’s case. For the successful execution of the strategy of KM, the organization should augment an efficient plan of communication that would be flexible in adopting the changes in the pattern of the communication during times of critical decisions in business. A communication plan that is well developed assists the company in enlarging the sharing of knowledge and becoming an organization of learning.

Toyota should be focusing on improving in the existing KM strategies by including creativity as it is importantly linked with the strategy. In forming a link between the creativity and strategy, the organization would be able to sustain its situation in the long run. Through the association of the creativity factor along with KM, the management of the company can achieve business creativity as it is important in considering creativity while developing the KM strategy (Tseng, 2014).  

One of the most decisive elements of KM is the production of the learning networks so that the employees can discover and maximizing their knowledge. According to Chen, Ellis & Holsapple, (2015), through creation of the learning networks, Toyota can determine the accessible troubles of the sharing of knowledge and becoming a learning organization. In present employees of Toyota, the company is not so alert but through the evidencing of the benefits of KM, they can be expectant for the improvement of the learning networks.

E-Commerce:

The techniques of e-commerce like the auctions through online and the transactions that lack any paperwork has led to decline in costs and increased affectivity. The technology has established to be effectual with the processes of manufacturing and forming relationships with the suppliers and the buyers. Apart from the B2B communication, Toyota Motor Corporation also deals with the B2C activities. Focusing on the e-commerce models like the cloud computing can be used for exchange of information on the global scale (Dennis, 2016). There should be enough investment made for the purpose of global communication. Based on stronger relations, the goals that are collaborative in nature along with shared vision should be focused on in achieving greater profits for all the participants. In ensuring that Toyota remains one of the biggest  manufacturers of automobiles, the company should invest into the onward thinking culture that needs to be maintained.

Toyota Production System:

The Toyota Production System (TPS) or otherwise known as the lean production was formed on the philosophy that people should be used and treated as people and not like machines. This concept was mainly based on the manufacturing system of Ford. The Toyota Production System mainly comprises of the just in time production and jidoka. The Just in Time production is mainly focused on the making of things that are needed in proper amount and at the right time (Huang & Benyoucef, 2013). Reducing the products amount in the inventory lessens the maintenance required for the same along with the capital costs and facilitating for the ease in advancements in technology. In case of jidoka it is focusing on the part of automation with a human touch. It ensures that the defects that remains does not edge past the process of production, eradicating the manufacturing of defective products.

Toyota e-commerce Effectiveness and Improvements:

The Toyota Production System (TPS), which is otherwise known as the lean manufacturing, has become a scheme that is being looked up by the overall automotive industry and the same has also been implemented on other industries at the global stage (Collins,  Muthusamy & Carr, 2015). Through the use of TPS, Toyota has continued to manufacture superior quality vehicles at a rapid rate and for much lesser amount than that of its competitors. Toyota is a company that manages the launching of more new cars than its rivals. Through this, it generates a smooth flow of superior quality new products in meeting the demand of the customers.  

The TPS needs principles that efficiently incorporate the many facets of the company taking into account the factors of people, technology and process. Toyota has always been able to establish this through the creation of a culture that is learning in nature across the organization for inclusion of ample, frequent and synchronized effort in changing and learning across the total organization. The proper use of initiatives in e-commerce has thrown in the success factor of the TPS. Toyota Motors has exemplified in the segment of e-commerce. The organization has employed the concepts of e-commerce that is being targeted towards sustaining stronger relationships with the customers, buyers and suppliers.

Apart from the company’s involvement in Covisint, Toyota has been generating their own electronic marketplaces that is being targeted towards public, private and consortia sources (Yang & Yang, 2013). Its participation in the B2B e-commerce takes in the transactions for the direct materials. Purchase of common direct materials and supplying of the same by Toyota takes in the automotive parts as they are being only dealt in the automotive industry. Way back in 2002, Toyota created its e-Toyota division with the intent of strengthening the B2C relationship of the company. E-Toyota includes Toyota Internet Drive and GAZOO.com.

Customer Relationship Building (e-crb):

Toyota Motor Corporation in the year 2004, announced an e-CRB (customer relationship building), serving as the version of e-commerce for CRM (customer relationship management). This initiative was mainly based on the technology of G-BOOK where its main objective lies in developing the service quality between customers and dealers, with the location being possible anywhere in the world.

G-Book:

Toyota developed G-Book in Japan that was being based on GAZOO, enabling subscribers to associate with news, navigation, entertainment and much more. The design of G-Book offered information through the help of wireless mortal connected internally to the Toyota vehicle (Collins, Muthusamy & Carr, 2015). This technology was later incorporated in both Lexus vehicles and Toyota. The e-commerce constituent takes in the storefront for buying merchandise from the internet mall of GAZOO.

Conclusion:

Toyota has been performing well in both the aspects of knowledge management and e-commerce. This report tried evaluating both the perspectives in details focusing on the ways Toyota has been able to implement them for the best possible results. Toyota’s use of the Toyota Production System has been beneficial for the company in staying ahead of the competition. It has enabled the company in using cost effective methods and facilitating the transactions in business in both B2C and B2B activities. In case of knowledge management too, the company is performing well, though there is enough room for improvement. Km’s ability in handling relevant information and other issues would ensure Toyota stays on the right track in the market place. Certain recommendations have been suggested which if implemented would serve the purpose for Toyota.

Reference:

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