The Influence And Leadership Management Essay

The Influence And Leadership Management Essay Just possessing an impressive title or position does not equate to someone being a leader. Leadership is influencing others to follow your vision. The quality of ones leadership is measured by their followers perception of the leaders effectiveness. This perception is driven by the different characteristics and skills that a given leader has as well as the style they use. Which traits they possess and their chosen approach will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of their leadership. This paper will explore the different aspects of a leaders personality and their position in an organization and how those factors impact the levels of influence gained. It is important to make an early distinction, Leaders and managers are not the same. Management focuses on systems and processes, organising and staffing. John Kotter in discussing what leaders really do describes the focus of leadership as motivating and inspiring keeping people moving in the right direction, despite obstacles to change, by appealing to basic but often untapped human needs, values, and emotions (Kotter, 1999, p. 54). There is overlap however, in that both managers and leaders must communicate the direction, but its a leader who will gain the commitment from followers to do what is needed to achieve the vision. Leadership can be referred to as the process of moving a group of people in a certain direction, and if it is to be sustainable it must be done through non-coercive means, thus by gaining influence from the group. Leaders need to create commitment from their followers through motivation and inspiring them to achieve collective goals. Different circumstances may require leaders to use different styles. They may even behave in a different manner depending on who they are interacting with. That being interaction between a leader and a follower may be different than that between a colleague or supervisor. This is referred to as situational leadership, where there isnt always a single approach that will satisfy all tasks, or influence all followers. According to Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, situational leaders should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and more or less emphasis on the relationships with the people theyre leading, depending on whats needed to get the job done successfully (Blanchard Hersey, 2012). In a given situation a leader may be more commanding and tell the employee exactly what to do, and how to do it. This is often referred to as an authoritative style of leadership. In another situation the leader may try to sell their message to gain greater commitment while still giving direction and providing information. Sometimes a participative style is the best fit, where the leader focuses on the relationships in the group and is prepared to share the role of decision making. And finally, a situation may call for a leader to delegate responsibilities to their follower, and take the role of a manager and monitor progress. What style to use will depend on what Hersey and Blanchard refer to as the maturity of the individual or group. This would be the levels of knowledge, skills, and confidence that the followers have (Blanchard Hersey, 2012). If the wrong style is used a leader may be faced with failure as too much responsibility was given to an employee with too low maturity, or being too authoritative to a follower with high maturity can damage the relationship through a lack of trust. Matching the leadership style with the appropriate maturity level (situation) is key to success and can strengthen leader follower relationships that will sustain future success. A strengthened relationship between leaders and followers has proven to be indispensable for an organisations success, as Bass argued the importance of this by highlighting survey results where employees favourable attitudes toward their supervisors contributed to the employees satisfaction. In turn, employees favourable attitudes toward thei r supervisors were usually found to be related to the productivity of the work group (Bass, 1990). Stogdill (1974) argued that Leaders are born, that they posses inherent traits that make them suitable as a leader. This is referred to as trait theory. In Handbook of leadership: A survey of the literature, he observed successful leaders and identified skills and traits that these leaders had. It was thought that if people were selected for leadership positions who also had a combination of these traits, than they too could be great leaders if given the chance. The table below contains Stogdills findings: Traits Skills Adaptable to situations Alert to social environment Ambitious and achievement-orientated Assertive Cooperative Decisive Dependable Dominant (desire to influence others) Energetic (high activity level) Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility Clever (intelligent) Conceptually skilled Creative Diplomatic and tactful Fluent in speaking Knowledgeable about group task Organised (administrative ability) Persuasive Socially skilled   Source: Handbook of leadership: A survey of the literature (Stogdill, 1947) McCall and Lombardo (1983) looked to focus on why some leaders succeed and others fail. They compiled their own list of traits for successful leaders. They argued that a leader needed to be emotionally stable and show composure in difficult situations. The leader should be calm, confident and predictable when under stress. They also saw that successful leaders were able to admit their own errors. That being prepared to own up to mistakes made, rather than focusing energy into covering up their errors. Another key skill they observed was good interpersonal skills. Being able to communicate clearly and persuade others without resorting to negative or coercive tactics is key to successful leadership. And finally McCall and Lombardo see a great importance in a leader possessing intellectual breadth. They describe this as being able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than having a narrow area of expertise. (McCall Lombardo, 1983) This idea that leaders are born has been challenged. Skills and traits can develop over time through life experiences such as a dramatic event, family upbringing, positive role models, work experience, education and training. These experiences can shape and alter an individuals personality. Fiedler and Garcia argue that when there is high uncertainty, or little time to think, we generally fall back on what has worked in the past. Leaders with a large repertoire of previously successful behaviours are more likely to perform better than those who lack this fund of experience (Fiedler Garcia, 2005). This highlights both the importance of experience and decisiveness in being a leader. Most of the skills and traits observed by Stogdill can be developed and shaped through life experiences. However, some skills and traits are more likely to be seen in leaders who are born with a particular personality, such as an extraverted personality. Leadership is a relationship between a group of people and an individual. This relationship is based on both influence and power, but like any relationship, the personalities of its members will dominate its long term success. A leaders personality must fit both the group and the situation. However, as previously referenced there are personality traits that have been consistently observed in successful leaders. Having an extraverted personality is not necessarily a requirement of a leader, just as possessing an introverted personality is not a disqualification. However, extroverts are often associated with some of Stogdills traits. Extroverts are commonly perceived as those with high levels of energy, expressive, and seek close relationships, where as introverts are more low key and prefer solitude (Riggio, 2011). A certain personality may not guarantee one being a better leader, but what it can determine is what type of leader one may be. When we think of great leaders many of the examples would fall into the category of extroverts; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and Bill Clinton. But they also come in the form of introverts; Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, and Mahatma Gandhi. All these men were/are great leaders, the difference is in how they approached their position as leader, and thus the relationship in the group. In a recent study by Psychology Today, it was found that social skills may be a better indicator of potential leadership. In the report, Ronald E. Riggio discusses misinterpreting the potential social effectiveness of an extroverts social energy. Riggio argues that if the person lacks the social skills to direct that energy, then the person will not be socially effective. Conversely, socially skilled introverts should do well in social interaction, but in a more low-key manner (Riggio, 2011). Most leadership theories in business environments are based on a transactional relationship between the manager and employee, with the manager being the leader to the employees position as follower. The transaction occurs by the leader offering a reward for the employees performance, this being a wage or bonus. To increase motivation they may pay higher incentives or increase perks. Path goal theory is based on the idea that an employees perception of what is expected regarding their effort and performance is greatly affected by a leaders behaviour. A leader helps his followers (employees) attain rewards by clearly outlining paths to goals and removing obstacles that could negatively affect the followers performance. Leaders do this by providing support, information, and other resources which are required by employees to complete the task and reach their goal. Robert House developed path goal theory and identifies two major dimensions of leadership, those being initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure is the degree that a leader assigns tasks, specifies procedures, clarifies expectations, and schedules work to be done by their employees (House, 1971). As for consideration, House described this as the degree a leader provides a supportive environment through warmth, friendliness, helpfulness. Leaders do this by being approachable, considerate to the followers personal welfare, and when change is on the horizon, giving advanced notice (House, 1971). House argued that Leaders who initiate structure for subordinates are generally rated highly by superiors and have higher producing work groups than leaders who are low on initiating structure; and that leaders who are considerate of subordinates have more satisfied employees (House, 1971). In this theory leaders are seen more as coaches who want to help their employees succeed. In the text Management: ideas and actions, in contrast to transactional, Duncan offers a definition of transformational leadership as a process whereby individuals create a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality of both the leader and the follower with the primary goal to assist followers in attaining their maximum potential (Duncan, 1999). At the heart of transformational leadership is charisma. Sociologist Max Weber (1968) introduced the term charisma in the nineteenth century and described charismatic leadership as a non-rational form of authority. According to Weber, charisma is defined by a specifically supernatural trait that emerges in natural leaders during times of distress (Weber, 1968). But charisma is almost more in the hands of the followers in that they must buy in to the leaders personality, or vision. It is the followers perception that ultimately decides whether the leader is charismatic. Rukmani argues that transformational leadership is composed of idealized influence and inspirational motivation, which serving as a charismatic role model and articulating a vision of the future that can be shared (Rukmani, et al., 2010). Each style has its place in organisations and at times a leader must be able to be both transformational and transactional at different times. During times of change in organisations, transformational leaders are required to inspire the masses to share their vision. Kotter argues that motivation will be more sustainable when people are energized not by pushing them in the right direction as control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, a feeling of control over ones life, and the ability to live up to ones ideals (Kotter, 1999). For that reason, once systems are in place a transactional style is more appropriate to manage the work that now must be completed by those who have the knowledge and skills to do it. Leadership is the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks. Graen and Ulh-Bien (1995) propose three approaches to leadership, which a leader can adopt for effectively leading his or her employees. These include leader-based, relationship-based, and follower-based approaches. The approaches can be used in combinations at the same time with different followers. Effective leadership requires flexibility to employ these approaches in an honest and open manner. The leader-based approach is concerned with establishing and communicating a vision for the company, inspiring the employees commitment and enhancing group cohesion. By doing so, the leader and the followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation. Entrepreneurs who are gifted leaders are extraordinarily good at turning their visions into concrete results. A drawback of this approach is that when people are highly dependent on the leader, they may follow an inappropriate vision without question. The leader-based approach works best when there is a need for fundamental change requiring uniform direction by a charismatic leader and limited diversity among followers. The relationship-based approach is based on developing mutual trust, respect, and obligation between leader and follower, which generates influence between the parties. It emphasises building strong relationships with followers and on mutual learning and accommodation. It works best when there are different types of people with different kinds of needs who have to be managed. Relationship-based leadership can be seen as a sort of partnership between leader and follower. But, it is often time-consuming and relies on long-term relationships between particular leaders and followers. With the follower-based approach, leadership involves empowerment, coaching, facilitating, and giving up control. Accordingly, it requires the ability and motivation of the leaders followers to manage their own performance. Often, this approach makes the most of the followers capabilities, enabling leaders to focus on other responsibilities. The follower-based approach is most effective for performing unstructured tasks, in cases of weak position power of the leader, or non-acceptance of the leader. In a business environment, the leader of the organisation may also be the founder of the company. In this case they are an entrepreneur and a leader. This situation demands that the leader takes on different roles in a new organisation. It often happens that the founder entrepreneur is unable to adapt to the needs of the growing organisation. If the entrepreneur is unable to learn a new set of skills or to relinquish authority, the ventures performance can suffer. Many entrepreneurs cannot or will not break old habits in order to learn the roles they have to play in order to develop the venture, causing the company to lose control and turn profits into losses. The main problem seems to be that all too frequently the founder is reluctant to lose control of the business, wanting to do everything him or herself rather than manage others, so the growth potential of the business is strictly limited by his or her personal energy and capacity. Chandler and Jansen (1992) suggest that there a re three distinct leadership roles that an entrepreneur has to develop adequately. Or, which members of the entrepreneurs management team have to develop. The entrepreneurial role requires the ability to recognise and envision taking advantage of opportunity. This ability has been referred as the core of entrepreneurship and may be contingent on the entrepreneurs familiarity with the market. It can also be described as the drive to see firm creation through to fruition, which requires the willingness and capacity to offer intense and sustained effort. A second role the entrepreneur must fill is the managerial role. This requires the ability to develop programs, budgets, procedures, evaluate performance, and perform other tasks essential to implementing strategy. Individuals with strong managerial skills enjoy high levels of responsibility and authority; they seek positions involving delegation and motivation. The effective manager must be competent in three areas: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Conceptual competence: The mental ability to co-ordinate all of the organisations interests and activities, for instance, effective management of the ventures cash flow. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Human competence: The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups. The manager must be able to clearly communicate the goals to be achieved and motivate others to behave in a synergistic manner. For instance, this requires the ability to delegate, manage customer and employee relationships, and exercise interpersonal skills. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Political competence: The ability to enhance ones position, builds a power base, and establishes the right connections. This may be particularly important in start-up firms, because the founder must enlist the support of network members. Establishing connections with people who control important resources and possess important skills and abilities is important to the performance of the new venture. Finally there is the technical-function role. To function effectively in the technical-functional role, the entrepreneur/leader must have the ability to use the tools, procedures and techniques of a specialised field. The specific skills required are determined by the industry within which the venture operates. Consider for instance a restaurant spinoff with a strong technical entrepreneur who only has bartending experience. If such an entrepreneur is unable to develop his or her entrepreneurial and managerial role, and if there is no one else in his or her team to fulfil this, the restaurant spinoff is likely to fail. Generally, the entrepreneurial and the technical roles are of the greatest importance at the start of the business. However, in order to grow, the managerial role is of eminent importance as well. If these roles are lacking yet the venture is determined to grow, a strong manager is needed who has the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfil these roles. But this is easier said than done. Most founders hate to step aside even though they are temperamentally unsuited to be managers. Clarysse and Moray (2004) suggest that investors have to be careful when they want to remove the founder-entrepreneur. This is because the initial team often only accepts a newcomer as a CEO once they have been convinced of the shortcomings of their friend as a boss. Business Leaders today face multiple challenges of recruiting and retaining competent employees. In order to succeed both in reaching a common goal and creating commitment amongst their followers, a leader ability to inspire and motivate is crucial. Whether it comes naturally or developed over time, there are skills and traits that an effective leader must have in order to inspire their followers. They will need to be flexible, both for different task requirements and for the differing personalities and skills of their employees. If a leader cant influence their employees then they will have no followers; so then if the leader has no followers than they really arent a leader at all. Without influence there is no leadership.

Management of a World Class Company Toyota

Content I. Introduction of Toyota Motor Company II. Management of Toyota Motor Company 1. Coprporate Governance of Toyota Motor Company 2. The Toyota Way 3. Toyota managerial problems III. Conclusion Management of World Class Company – Toyota Motor Company I. Introduction of Toyota Motor Company Toyota Motor Company or TMC is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and it is stationed in the city of Toyota in the Aichi prefecture. The relationship between the city and the company gave the name of the city which was previously known as Koromo.Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in Japan[1] and it is also the largest worldwide as of the first half of 2012[2] by volume of sold cars ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen AG. The company was created in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff to Toyota Industries to create automobiles. As of 2012, Toyota own several different brands as Lexus – luxury cars, Scion – brand only for North America, aimed towards the Gener ation Y and 51% in Daihatsu – the oldest car manufacturer in Japan. Akio Toyoda is the current CEO of Toyota, he is grandson of the creator Kiichiro Toyoda[3].Toyota have produced more than 200 million cars all over the world with their biggest market in North America – 32%, followed by their home country Japan – 25%, Europe – 14% and Asia – 11%[4]. Toyota is publicly traded company of three of the major Stock Exchanges: New York Stock Exchange(NYSE), London Stock Exchange(LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). In the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, Toyota recalled 9 million cars on various technical faults[5]. 5. 3 million of them was over a faulty â€Å"all-weather† floor mat, additional 2. 3 mil. For a faulty accelerator pedal and 1. 7 for both problems.On 14th of November 2012, Toyota announced that it will recall additional 2. 7 mil. cars over problems with the steering wheel and water pump system. This comes four weeks( 10th Octob er) after another 7 mil. cars recalled over faulty electric windows mechanisms[6]. The 2010 recalls hit the company hard with huge financial loses, because of the recalls and stop of production for some time of the affected vehicles. Severe damage to the brand in the eyes of the public. An estimate of 1. 93 billion dollars were lost, because of missed sales, output and another recall related costs[7].A 15% drop in shares was experienced by the company. Toyota is one of the leading manufacturers in pushing the hybrid electric vehicles. Their hybrid technologies make them the first company to mass produce such an automobile with the Toyota Prius in 1997. As of October 2012 the Prius around 3 mil. units[8] . 19 other Toyota branded vehicles are also available with the hybrid technology. So are models from the Lexus sub-brand. II. Management of Toyota Motor Company 1. Coprporate Governance of Toyota Motor Company Toyota Motor Company(TMC) is a public listed company, which means everybod y can buy shares in it.This mean that the is a specific corporate structure and management operations. Toyota is with top-down centralized way of management. The company is headed by Fujio Cho, he is the chairman which in the Japanese system, that puts him in charge of the country's and world's largest automaker. He is only the second person to head Toyota and to not be from the Toyoda family after they stepped out in 1995. He joined Toyota in 1960 and previous titles include: Managing Director, Senior Managing Director, Vice President, President and Vice Chairman of the Board. He stepped in as a chairman in September 2006[9]. 960–1966, apprentice and training employee; 1966–1974, Production Control Division; 1974–1984, manager in Production Control Division; 1984–1986, manager in Logistics Administration and project manager in Production Control Division; 1986–1987, manager in Administration; 1987–1988, manager of Toyota North America Proje ct and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1988–1994, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA; 1994–1996, managing director; 1996–1998, senior managing director; 1998–1999, executive vice president; 1999–, CEO and president[10].The Vice Chairman of the Board is Takeshi Uchiyamada since April 2012 and also serve as Vice President of the Company. Mr. Uchiyamada served as Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. since June 2005, as the Chief Production Control & Logistics Officer of Toyota Motor Corp. since 2004, as Senior Managing Director of Toyota Motor Corp. from 2003 to June 2005. He served as the Chief Vehicle Engineering Officer of Toyota since 2003 and joined Toyota in 1969[11]. Akio Toyoda is the President and Chief executive officer of the company.He is also President of Toyota Finance Australia Ltd. , Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Credit Corporation since June 2009. Mr. Toyoda serves as Senior Adviser of Toyota Media Service Corporation. He has been the President of Hitachi Ltd and Honda Motor Co. since March 2009. He served as an Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp. from January 21, 2005 to June 2009, Senior Managing Director and Chief of Asia & China Operations Officer since 2003 and also served as its Division General Manager of Taiwan & China Offices. He joined Toyota in 1984[12].The company also have 7 Executive Vice Presidents,63 Directors, 7 Corporate Auditors, 18 Senior Managing Officers and 35 Managing Officers[13]. The company’s top management priority is to steadily increase corporate value over the long term. In order to achieve that, Toyota builds favorable relationships with all of its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, business partners, local communities and employees. In house committees and councils are used for monitoring and discussing management of the company from the viewpoint of the stakeholders.In 2003 was int roduced the current system of management in which Chief Officers, who are directors, serve as the highest authorities of their specific operational functions across the entire company, while non-board Managing Officers implement the actual operations[14]. Toyota's philosophy of emphasizing developments on the site, the Chief Officers serve as the link between management and on-site operations, instead of focusing exclusively on management. The company have different divisions all over the world, United States of America, The United Kingdom.In the UK the division is headed by a General Manager – John Burton. He is responsible for two branches of the company, the office and shop floor. In the office part there is Assistant General Manager, Senior Manager, Section Manager, Specialist Engeneer – Senior, Specialist Engeneer, Lead Administrator and Administrator. For the Shopfloor we have the same structure till Section Manager with the adition of Group Leader- Senior, Grouo Leader, Team Leader and Team Member. As a publicly traded company Toyota have issued 3,447,997,492 shares and have 668,186 shareholders. 2. The Toyota WayThe most important created in the managerial sphere by Toyota is the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underline the Toyota Motor Corporation's managerial approach and production system. Toyota first explained and summed up those philosophy, values and manufacturing ideals in 2001, calling it â€Å"The Toyota Way 2001. † It consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people[15]. The principles for a continuous improvement include establishing a long-term vision, working on challenges, continual innovation, and going to the source of the issues or problems.The rules relating to respect for people include ways of building it and teamwork. Toyota's management philosophy has evolved from the company's origins and has been used in the terms â€Å"Lean Manuf acturing† and Just In Time Production, which it was very important in developing[16] Toyota's managerial values and business methods which are known collectively as the Toyota Way. Toyota uses five principles for their operations: †¢ Challenge †¢ Kaizen (improvement) †¢ Genchi Genbutsu (go and see) †¢ Respect †¢ Teamwork[17] Another part of the Toyota Way is the Toyota Production System.The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that Cover its management philosophy and practices. The TPS organizes manufacturing and logistics for the company, how it interacts with suppliers and customers. The system is a major predecessor of the â€Å"lean manufacturing. † Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda developed the system between 1948 and 1975. [18] Originally called â€Å"just-in-time production,† it develops on the approach created by the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiich iro Toyoda, and the engineer Taiichi Ohno.The principles of TPS are embodied in The Toyota Way. The main objectives of the TPS are to design out overburden (muri) and inconsistency (mura), and to eliminate waste (muda). The most significant effects on process value delivery are achieved by designing a process capable of delivering the required results smoothly; by designing out â€Å"mura† (inconsistency). It is also crucial to ensure that the process is as flexible as necessary without stress or â€Å"muri† (overburden) since this generates â€Å"muda† (waste).Finally the tactical improvements of waste reduction or the elimination of muda are very valuable. There are seven kinds of muda that are addressed in the TPS[19]: 1. Waste of over production (largest waste) 2. Waste of time on hand (waiting) 3. Waste of transportation 4. Waste of processing itself 5. Waste of stock at hand 6. Waste of movement 7. Waste of making defective products The system, is one of t he biggest aspect of the company, it is responsible for having made Toyota the company it is today.For long time Toyota has been recognized as a leader in the automotive manufacturing. [20] It is a myth that â€Å"Toyota received their inspiration for the system, not from the American automotive industry (at that time the world's largest by far), but from visiting a supermarket. † The idea of Just-in-time production was originated by Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of Toyota. [21] The question was how to implement TPS. When reading descriptions of American supermarkets, Ohno saw how the supermarket operated with the model he was trying to accomplish in the factory.A customer in a supermarket takes the desired amount of products off the shelf and buys them. The store restocks the given products with enough new ones to fill up the empty shelf spaces. Similarly, a work-center that needed parts would go to a ‘store shelf' (the inventory storage point) for the particular part and à ¢â‚¬Ëœbuy' (withdraw) the quantity it needed, and the ‘shelf' would be ‘restocked' by the work-center that manufactured the part, making only enough to replace the inventory that had been withdrawn. 22] While low inventory levels are a key outcome of the Toyota Production System, an important element of the philosophy behind its system is to work intelligently and eliminate waste so that only minimal inventory is needed. Many American businesses, having observed Toyota's factories, set out to attack high inventory levels directly without understanding what made these reductions possible. The act of imitating without understanding the underlying concept or motivation may have led to the failure of those projects. In 2004 a professor from University of Michigan, Dr.Jeffrey Liker published a book â€Å"The Toyota Way† in which he called Toyota way â€Å"a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work†. [23] â€Å"Since Toyo ta’s founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are the managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota Way. —Fujio Cho, President Toyota (from the Toyota Way document, 2001)[24] According to Liker in the Toyota Way the people are what bring the system to life, working, communicating, resolving issues, and growing together. The Toyota Way encourages, supports, and in fact demands employee involvement. It is a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work. Toyota Way means more dependence on people, not less. It is a culture, even more than a set of efficiency and improvement techniques.You depend upon the workers to reduce inventory, identify hidden problems, and fix them. The workers have a sense of urgency, purpose, and teamwork because if they don’t fix it there will be an inventory outage. On a daily basis, engineers, skilled workers, quality specialist, vendors, team leaders, and—most importantly—operators are all involved in continuous problem solving and improvement, which over time trains everyone to become better problem solvers. In it Liker summarized it in 14 principles. The principles are organized in four broad categories: 1)Long-Term Philosophy, 2) The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results (this utilizes many of the TPS tools), 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People, and 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning. [25] 1)Long-Term Philosophy 1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. It is needed to replace the short term decision making wi th philosophical thinking of purpose. Understanding that the organization is bigger than money and that long term value for the customers and be responsible. )The Right Process Will Produce The Right Results 2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. Time management is very important, it must not be wasted. Creating good flow of the work with materials and people. 3. Use â€Å"pull† systems to avoid overproduction. Providing customers with everything they want when they wanted it. There is no need for costly overstocking. There need to be flexibility with the day-by-day shifts in customer demand not convoluted forecasts. [26] 4. Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare. )People and machines must not be overused. There must be leveled out workload. 5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Quality for the customer drives the value proposition. Building equipment capable of det ecting problems and stopping itself. Developing a visual system to alert team or project leaders that a machine or process needs assistance. Jidoka (machines with human intelligence) is the foundation for â€Å"building in† quality. Problems must be solved quickly. 6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous mprovement and employee empowerment. Capturing the accumulated learning about a process up to a point in time by standardizing today’s best practices. Allowing creative and individual expression to improve upon the standard; then using it into the new standard so that when a person moves on, to easily hand off the learning to the next person. 7. Use visual control so no problems are hidden. Use simple visual indicators to help people determine immediately whether there are problems. [27] 8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.Technology must be used for supporting the people not replacing t hem and it can lead to slow implementation. Tests can determine if it is viable to use new technologies. 3) Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People 9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. Creating leaders inside the company and not sourcing them outside of the company. Such leaders must be role-models. 10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy. Creating a strong, stable culture in which company values and beliefs are widely shared and used over a period of many years.Corporate culture and teamwork must be adhered by the employees for exceptional results. [28] 11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve. 4) Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning 12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu). Personal observation and data gathering for the proble ms that are encountered. Verification of information first hand. 13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi).Straightforwardness must not be accepted, alternative solutions must be taken into account. Also using other people for gathering information and helping with the decision is needed. 14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (kaizen). Using improvement tools to determine the cause of inefficiencies and apply effective countermeasures. Once waste is exposed, having employees use a continuous improvement process (kaizen) to eliminate it. Using hansei (reflection) at key milestones and after you finish a project to openly identify all the shortcomings of the project.Develop countermeasures to avoid the same mistakes again. [29] By using TPS Toyota reduced time consumption and money, while it improved quality. This helped the company become the bigges t company by 2007 and be very profitable. But in recent years it looks that the TPS is not working so well or it is abandoned altogether. The recent technical problems of Toyota showed to some that maybe the TPS is not so good, but if it wasn’t good or it can’t be used anymore, Toyota would have not be able to go back to the top in such short time. The problems maybe are not part of the TPS, but rather other factors.Too big growth of the company in the 21st century. The central lead management don’t allow flexibility in tackling problems. Another issue it that problems become much more obvious with the increase of quantity and this will result in much more negative situation which can’t be handled or will be exploited by competitors. The complexity of cars is attributing factor to have more problems and this can’t be solved by the managers. Of course TPS can be blamed in some way. It support standardization in task and processes and when there is p roblem with one thing, that problem translate everywhere where standardization is used.And finally a problem experienced by almost all big companies all over the world – slow response to problems, because of the amount of bureaucracy that comes with complex management in big organizations. 3. Toyota managerial problems The management of Toyota today are not very successful, after the big vehicle recalls there was a serious lack of admittance by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda that something is wrong at that was most prominently seen in his press conference about that matter where he stated: â€Å"Believe me, Toyota’s car is safety.But we will try to make our product better. † Another big problem for the management is the dysfunctional organization structure and a secretive culture. After a problem experienced in Europe and this problem could have affected North America there was absolute no communication between the different branches of the company. [30] Instead of admi tting that there is a problem Toyota denied that there are any problems with their cars. III. Conclusion As of mid 2012 Toyota is once again the leader in the automotive world.Although the problems that plagued the company for 2 years reduced their output, profits decreased substantially and the company image was severely damaged which led to the company losing a big sum of money and trust with their consumers, they managed to get out of the problem with relative ease. The company also realized some important things from all this: 1. They could not want to be a global leader and keep all the power in the hands of the headquarters in Japan. Even though they claimed that they are delegating management to other parts of the company around the world the crisis showed something different.When a lot of the production is happening outside Japan they couldn’t afford to still maintain all the power in Japan. 2. They must create friends in order to advance even if they have millions of customers. The crisis left them with no real allies and protection. 3. Toyota learned that it must maintain its reputation every minute. Claiming that they are the best don’t help. Consumers want to see and experience that in the real world not just through ads and statistics. ———————– [1] Wikipedia, Toyota [2] Tim Higgins – Jul 26, 2012, Bloomberg, http://www. bloomberg. om/news/2012-07-25/toyota-extends-global-sales-lead-over-general-motors-vw. html [3] Wikipedia, Akio Toyoda [4] Wikipedia, Toyota [5] Christian Science Monitor, http://www. csmonitor. com/USA/2010/0129/Toyota-recall-update-dealers-face-full-lots-anxious-customers [6] BBC, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-20321594 [7] BBC, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/business/8493414. stm [8] Mike Milikin 8 Nov. 2012, Green Car Congress, http://www. greencarcongress. com/2012/11/tmchybrids-20121108. html [9] Wikipedia, Fujio Cho [10] Reference for business , http://www. referenceforbusiness. om/biography/A-E/Cho-Fujio-1937. html [11] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=646436&ticker=TM [12] Bloomberg Business Week, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/people/person. asp? personId=1828739&ticker=TM [13] Toyota Global [14] Toyota Global [15] â€Å"Environmental & Social Report 2003†. Toyota Motor. p. 80. [16] Strategos-International. Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [17] Toyota internal document, â€Å"The Toyota Way 2001,† April 2001 [18] Strategos-International.Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. [19] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1998), Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Productivity Press [20] Brian Bremner, B. and C. Dawson (November 17, 2003). â€Å"Can Anything Stop Toyota? : An inside look at how it's reinventing the auto industry† [21] Ohno, Taiichi (March 1988), Just-In-Time For To day and Tommorrow, Productivity Press, [22] Magee, David (November 2007), How Toyota Became #1 – Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car Company, Portfolio Hardcover, [23] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 36 [24] Liker, Jeffrey(2004). The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 35 [25] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 36 [26] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 7 [27] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 38 [28] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Pri nciples of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 39 [29] Liker, Jeffrey (2004). â€Å"The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way: An Executive Summary of the Culture Behind TPS†. University of Michigan. p. 40 [30] Wall Street Journal, http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055733096312238. html

Newell Company: The Rubbermaid Opportunity Essay

In October 1998, Newell Company was considering a merger with Rubbermaid Incorporated to form a new company, Newell Rubbermaid Incorporated. The agreement would be through a tax-free exchange of shares valued at $5.8 billion. Newell had revenues of $3.7 billion in 1998 across three major product groupings: Hardware and Home Furnishings, Office Products, and Housewares. Rubbermaid is a renowned manufacturer of a wide range of plastic products ranging from children’s toys through housewares. Once the transaction is completed, Newell will begin he process of assimilating Rubbermaid’s operations through a process called â€Å"Newellization.† The companies expect that the merger will create synergy through the leveraging of Newell Rubbermaid brands. By 2000, these efforts are expected to produce increases over anticipated 1998 results of $300 to $350 million in operating income for the combined company. Reading the case analysis, there are many issues that I feel are concerning this merger and I feel that Newell should not process with this merger. First of all, this is a tough and alarming challenge to Newell’s capacity to integrate and strengthen acquisitions. How would Newell bring Rubbermaid into the newellization process since they have completely different products? Another question that comes to mind is how does Newell coordinate all its divisions and what changes will it have to make to create synergy with Rubbermaid? Does the newellization process fit for Rubbermaid? Lastly, are the risks acceptable for Newell to merge with Rubbermaid? Newell needs a very well thought out business plan and has to answer these questions before they proceed. There are advantages and disadvantages in this merger. I will start with the advantages. If this merger goes through, it will be a quantum step in Newell’s growth. The merger will be uniting two companies that are leaders in their industries. Through the merger, Newell will gain the international presence that Rubbermaid has. Both companies can create synergy within their divisions and Newell can expand their product line internationally. There  are certain products in Rubbermaid’s product line that Newell does not have. Another advantage the merger will create is increased operating income. Some disadvantages of the deal are that Newell would be exposed to a tough challenge to the company’s capacity to combine its acquisitions. One big disadvantage is the risk that is involved in the deal for Newell. Newell is a very respectable company, and a company whose customers are very satisfied. They are very successful with their acquisitions due to their exemplary newellization process. Rubbermaid currently has many problems with their company such as bad customer relations, their operations are not lean, increases competition has taken away market share, and their financial targets seem unrealistic. Newell needs to understand these problems and realize what they will have to deal with if they join with Rubbermaid. Doing my research I have come up with many more disadvantages than advantages toward this merger and that is why I feel that these companies should not merge. In today’s business world, companies change hands all the time through mergers and acquisitions. Most of the time, the security propositions of new ventures are disregarded. Company A may have the most secure network, but when they couple this network with Company B, you’re exposing your company to a whole new set of risks. The first step is that Newell needs to assess the business risk. Reputation loss is an issue, which Newell will be affected by. Rubbermaid has bad customer relations because it has angered its most important retail buyers with the heavy-handed way it has passed its rising costs. They have given their competitors a lot of shelf space. A big question mark comes to my mind is when I think about how Newell will bring Rubbermaid into the Newellization process. Newellization is described as a â€Å"well established profit improvement and productivity enhancement process that is applied to integrate newly acquired product lines.† The newellization process includes the centralization of key administrative functions including data processing, accounting, and EDI, and inauguration of Newell’s rigorous, multi-measure, divisional operating control system. Reading the case analysis, Rubbermaid is extremely incompetent in these areas. Their operations are one of their biggest problems. According to the  case, â€Å"although it excels in creativity, product quality, and merchandising, Rubbermaid is showing itself to be a laggard in more mundane areas such as modernizing machinery, eliminating unnecessary jobs, and making deliveries on time.† Looking at Rubbermaid and analyzing their problems, they have to tally the opposite qualities of companies that Newell has acquired in the past. Newell’s acquired companies were mature businesses with unrealized profit potential. Rubbermaid has had a mature business for quite a long time and I do not see any room for unrealized profit potential. They have a very big international presence and Newell will end up hurting themselves once they have to deal with Rubbermaid and their incompetence. I do not feel that the newellization process fits Rubbermaid because these are two companies that have been around for a while, and it is not like Rubbermaid is a start-up or a fairly recent company that can be changed around quickly and all of the sudden have lean operations, which newellization has proved it can do with previous acquisitions. Newell should stick to their business principle and do what they have done in the past, which is to acquire small to medium sized companies and integrate them into the newellization process and create an enormous amount of synergy. I always believe that one should do something that they know best or have experience in and not pursue a totally different market in which that have no experience in. In this case, Newell does not have any experience with acquiring a company that is worth billions. A merger example that recently occurred which has turned into a blunder is the AOL Time Warner merger. These were two totally different companies in different industries that thought they could merge and be a giant in the Internet and Media/Entertainment industry. The outcome of this merger is that the CEO’s of both companies are being laughed at in the business world. AOL Time Warner stock price is in the dump and the company is in real trouble. Newell can avoid all this by again looking at their previous acquisitions and seeing what type of companies they acquired, which were companies with unrealized profit potential and who had the ability to create synergy in a short amount of time with Newell’s existing divisions. In conclusion, the deal is attractive for Newell but is not worth the risk that is involved. The key to merger and acquisitions is to not jump on your first instinct and just merge or acquire a company that’s price looks cheap.  You have to determine what the company will look like in the future. Lack of foresight will cause a huge problem. Rising raw material costs along with Rubbermaid’s operational problems will impair the whole newellization process. Rubbermaid has very sour relationships with their clients and Newell will have an extremely difficult time fixing those relationships. If the two companies merge, only investors or individuals who follow business news will know that these two companies are one. The average customer will still know of Rubbermaid as Rubbermaid. I feel that Rubbermaid brings a lot of heavy baggage to the table and will hurt the smooth and exemplary business that Newell has attained.

The Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay - 1552 Words

Trust, Honor and Faith is what is questioned in Arthur Miller â€Å"The Crucible†. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials. Several young girls claim to be afflicted by witchcraft. The afflicted girls accuse people in the town of witchcraft, often choosing victims who they or their families dislike. The main antagonist Abigail Williams with the other girl’s accusations resulted in the arrests and death of many people in the community of Salem. Arthur Miller wrote this play during the time of the Red Scare. A â€Å"Red Scare is the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism or radical leftism. As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s, hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. Therefore, Arthur Miller wrote â€Å"The Crucible† as reference to this time. Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is an allegory of the Red Scare that impacted society mentally, physically, and spiritually. Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York on October 17, 1915 to an immigrant family of Polish and Jewish descent. Miller divorced his first wife, Mary Slattery, his former college sweetheart with whom he had two children with. A month later he marries actress Marilyn Monroe. They were married for four years and a year after their divorce Marilyn dies. Miller s controversial 1964 drama After the Fall was believed to have been partially inspired by their relationship, heShow MoreRelatedThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1269 Words   |  6 PagesAt first glance, the playwright Arthur Miller in The Crucible highlights the historical significance of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, but in fact it is an allegorical expression of his perception of McCarthyism. If the reader has some background information on Arthur Miller’s victimization as a communist, it is evident that the play is a didactic vessel illustrating the flaws of the court system in the 1950’s. The communist allegations were launched at government employees, entertainers and writersRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1681 Words   |  7 Pagesof their way to the last dying breath to make sure they leave with a good or bad reputation. In one of the recent literature study in class â€Å"The Crucible† by Arthur Miller, Miller uses characterization to illustrate reputation throughout the play. â€Å"The Crucible† takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. It is based upon the Salem witch trails. In â€Å"The Crucible†, we journey through the life of three characters who reputations plays a major role in the play. The three characters are John Proctor, AbigailRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1333 Words   |  6 PagesAs the various characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller interact, the dominant theme of the consequences of women’s nonconformity begins to slide out from behind the curtains of the play. Such a theme reveals the gripping fear that inundated t he Puritans during the seventeenth century. This fear led to the famous witch-hunts that primarily terrorized women who deviated from the Puritan vision of absolute obedience and orthodoxy. Arthur Miller presents his interpretation of the suffering by subtlyRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller998 Words   |  4 Pagesmotivated by jealousy and spite. The Crucible is a four-act dramatic play production that was first performed on January 22, 1953. Arthur Miller used dialogue within the characters to cover the multiple themes; conflicts and resolutions, plus the few directions for the different actions of the play. The Salem Witch Trials were intended to be performed as the play however, when read, it can be more carefully examined and broken down to analyze the techniques. Miller, the playwright, uses literaryRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1145 Words   |  5 PagesUnbalance Through The Centuries In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the author reflects the persecution of communists in America in the 1950’s through a recount of the Salem witch trials. It is often presumed that Miller based his drama directly off of events that were particularly prevalent in the years surrounding the publication of The Crucible- which was released in the year 1953, towards the conclusion of the Korean War. Although there was not a literal witch hunt occurring during this timeRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1063 Words   |  5 PagesIn the English dictionary, there are three definitions of the word crucible. One is a metal container in which metals are mixed and melted. Another is a severe test. But the third definition, and the one that I think fits the best for this book, is a place or situation in which different elements interact to create something new. In my mind, this fits because all of the characters had their little grudges and dirty secrets. But when all th ose seemingly little things interact, they formed somethingRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1285 Words   |  6 Pages Rationale, Morality, Stereotypes, Pressure, Self-Censorship, Unanimity, and Mindguards. Groupthink has also taken place in our history a a country. The play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is about a the real-life Salem Witch Trials that happened in 1692 - 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts. Some symptoms of Groupthink found in the Crucible are Rationale, Pressure, and Self-Censorship. The Groupthink symptom, Rationale, is described as when victims of Groupthink ignore warnings: they also collectivelyRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller811 Words   |  4 Pages While The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is only a four act play, it still resembles the format of a five act play. The five-act structure evolved from a three-act structure, which was made famous by Roman Aelius Donatus. Donatus came up with three types of plays: Protasis, Epitasis, and Catastrophe. The five-act structure helped to expand the three act structure, mainly made famous by Shakespeare through his many tragedies. Even though The Crucible contains only four acts, it still has the commonRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1052 Words   |  5 PagesBuddy Al-Aydi Ms.Healy English 9 CP 14th October 2014 The Crucible Essay The Crucible was a novel written by Arthur Miller in the 1950’s. It was written in a format of the play, portraying an allegory of the Salem Witch-Hunts led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. The book is known to have a inexplicable plot. This plot is advanced by multiple characters in the book in order to ensure that the reader maintains interest with the material that is being read. The farmer, John Proctor, would be theRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller841 Words   |  4 PagesThe Crucible is a chaotic play, throughout this American classic Arthur Miller takes the reader through multiple events of terror and insanity. While creating a great on-stage play, Arthur Miller portrays his life through the events, the characters, and plot of The Crucible. Using vivid imagery and comprehensible symbolism, Miller manipulates the real personalities of the characters and events in 1600 Salem, Massachusetts to create a symbolic autobiography. Throughout this play, the reader experie nces