THE FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT AND HOW THEY ARE IMPLEMENTED IN TOYOTA

CORPORATION
Introduction

Management is a social process which involves responsibilities of regulating the

operations of an organization towards fulfillment of set goals. It consists of several
activities and elements. The functions of the management are common to each
manager irrespective of his status or level. There are five main functions of
management namely; planning, organizing, staffing, directing or leading, and
controlling (McLean, 2011). These functions are normally overlapping and
inseparable. Each of the function blends into the other thus, affecting their
performance. It is the responsibility of the top managers to ensure that all of these
functions are aligned with the company`s objectives. Effective management plays a
proactive role by forecasting into the future, developing a strategic plan, organizing
the organizational resources and operations, hiring competent employees, directing
the employees, and taking corrective measures. This essay analyzes how Toyota
Corporation implements the five management practices in its operations.

Toyota is a leading automotive company in the world that is used as a global

benchmark in terms of quality and constant improvement (McDonald, 2010). The
company has created and maintained a strong brand name through development of
high-quality products that meet customer needs. Toyota is well recognized across
the world for its quality. The company developed a marketing strategy that is based
on customer experience and quality of the products in order to improve its image.
The company also pursued a generic cost leadership strategy in its operations.
Toyota company started of as a small family firm and developed over the years to
become one of the leading global giants in the automotive industry. The company
plays a leading role in lean manufacturing across the world and it is well-recognized
for its quality and continuous improvement.

Planning

Planning is the basic management function which deals with forecasting future
course of action and making a decision on the best alternative for achieving the
organizational goals (Singh, 2012). It involves deciding in advance on what, when,
and how to do. This greatly helps in making of strategic decisions and solving
organizational problems. Planning is a systematic process of thinking about the
ways of accomplishing pre-determined goals. It is the most important process
because it ensures that the organizational resources are properly utilized. This
makes the organization not to be caught unaware of what is happening and may
affect their business negatively. Having conditions which are appropriate with the

prevailing conditions give the company an advantage edge in accomplishing the set
objectives. Planning the operations of the organization is facilitated effectively by
having clear guidelines on what is needed to accomplish the intended goals.

Toyota Corporation has developed a strategic plan which guides the long-term
operations of the firm. The company is focused on lean manufacturing, customer
satisfaction, and quality. This strategy has been adopted to minimize operational
costs and at the same time ensure that quality products are produced to meet
customer needs. Management plans the activities of the organization as they have
to take account of what is necessary with the appropriate prevailing conditions.
Globalization has led to increased competition across the world thus, the need for a
competitive advantage. Toyota pursues a generic cost leadership strategy in its
operations. The company practices lean manufacturing to reduce costs and remain
competitive (McDonald, 2010). The company developed a marketing strategy that is
based on customer experience and quality of the products in order to improve its
image.

Organizing

Organizing refers to the process of bringing together all the organizational resources
and developing of a productive relationship to ensure organizational goals are
achieved (Carroll & Gillen, 1987). It involves determination and provision of both
human and non-human resources to a particular organization structure. The human,
physical and financial resources are all brought together through proper
organization. Organizing entails identification of business activities, classification of
the activities, duty assignment, creating responsibilities, and delegating of duties as
well as coordinating of responsibilities and authority relationships. Toyota
coordinates operations in all its subsidiaries across the world to ensure that there is
a smooth running. Most of the manufacturing activities are done centrally and the
spare parts are transferred to respective subsidiaries for assembling. This is done to
minimize the costs and ensure uniformity.

Management has a duty to organize an organization to suit the prevailing conditions

in the business environment (Singh, 2012). The organization should have a
structure, material, and human personnel that have the necessary skills and
capabilities in giving what the organization desires. If the management organize the
company effectively, then it will experience the desired goals and vice versa.
Coordinating of the organization roles is important considering it is made up of
many groups. Management has a vital role of making all the teams in the
organization working towards achieving a common goal. This makes sure that there
is unison and harmony as management oversees the direction where organization is

heading too and what are the necessary steps needed to be undertaken to attain
their objectives.

Staffing

Staffing is also one of the most important functions of the management. It is a

process of acquiring the required human resources and manning them to ensure
that they work towards a common goal. This function has become more important
in recent years because of the technological advancement, increased business
sizes, and diversity in human behavior (Bloom et al, 2012). The main aim of staffing
is to ensure that right people are given the right jobs. It involves manning of
employees through effective selection, developmen,t and appraisal. A human
resource manager should estimate the number of employees and skills required to
fill the respective positions, search for competent individuals, and put them in the
right position. It also deals with training and development, remuneration, and
performance appraisal. Toyota hires highly qualified and talented employees that
add value to the company. The company has a team of very competent employees
that are hired through a competitive process. Toyota employees are well
compensated and they are normally taken through frequent training exercises to
sharpen their skills.

Leadership

Directing or leadership is a management function which deals with development of

effective working methods to ensure organizational purposes are met (Singh, 2012).
It directly deals with influencing, motivating, and guiding the subordinates towards
achievement of the organizational goals. It is the duty of the manager to lead or
direct employees in the organization and ensure that they are doing the right job.
The overall function of the organization is to supervise and give the necessary
guidelines to attain the intended objectives easily. Management should lead in a
reasonable manner with realistic expectations from its employees. This will always
ensure that there is activity among employees and is beneficial to the organization
as it does add value.

Toyota Corporation is one of the best managed companies in the world. The
company has a strong leadership structure involving family members of the
company`s founder. The current CEO of Toyota Mr. Akio Toyoda is the grandson of
the founder. The company`s top managers are highly competent and committed to
towards attainment of organizational goals (McDonald, 2010). Teamwork is
encouraged across all hierarchical levels and all members of staff are given an
opportunity to participate in decision-making. Creativity and innovation is highly
encouraged among the employees in order to give the firm a continuous
competitive advantage. Customers are highly valued by the company and the main
focus is to provide the best services to the customers. This has enabled Toyota to
developed customer loyalty leading to a strong brand name. Toyota also enjoys a
good relationship with other external stakeholders such as various governments,
the local community, and the shareholders. This has contributed to the
establishment of a strong corporate brand that is recognized in all parts of the
world.

Controlling

The last management function is controlling which refers to the measurement of the
actual performance against the set standards and corrects any deviation that might
occur. It is the process of evaluating the performance of a business operation and
taking possible corrective measures if necessary. The main purpose of controlling is
to ensure that business operations conform to the organizational standards (Carroll
& Gillen, 1987). An effective control system should be able to detect any possible
deviation before it occurs. The process of controlling involves establishing of the
performance standards, measuring of the actual performance, comparing of the
actual performance with the set standards to determine if there is any deviation,
and finally taking a corrective action.

Toyota closely monitors its operations and evaluates its performance against
organizational targets. The company has clearly set targets which guide its
operations at all levels of the organization. Auditing is normally carried out on a
regular basis to ensure that the organization is moving in the right direction. Any
deviation from the set standards is adjusted through appropriate corrective
measures. This can be clearly seen in the way Toyota handled an accelerator crisis.
Immediately the accelerator failure problem was reported by the customers after an
accident, Toyota recalled its vehicles from the market and launched an investigation
to find out the cause (McDonald, 2010). The problem was identified and corrected
immediately saving the reputation of the company.

Management controlling the operations of the organization provides a platform on

where they can gauge and determine what needs to be adjusted to make its

processes efficient and easy towards attaining the greater goal (Singh, 2012).
Management needs to see that every thing aligns with the policies and practice of
the organization. The organizations blue print is a vital aspect as all factors have
been to consideration and what is supposed to be done is already known. Using it as
a reference point the management can be able to control all activities involved in
the organization.

Conclusion

There are five essential functions of management that align with the principle of
management. They include planning, leading, organizing, staffing, and controlling.
Management is vital in the organization as it does offer the blue print of the
organization having an effective management will imply being successful in the
overall operations. The management does focus the future in what the organization
wants to do or may anticipate. This gives the organization a level they can gauge
their operations by examining the future and where they hope to be if their set
goals are achieved with the present guidelines. Toyota Corporation has managed to
grow its business and gain customer recognition across the world due to effective
management.