The Toyota Way describes the 14 principles that guide the operations of the Toyota Motor Corporation. The 14 principles of The Toyota Way are:
1.    “Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals.”
2.    “Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface.”
3.    “Use ‘pull’ systems to avoid overproduction.”
4.    “Level out the workload (heijunka). (Work like the tortoise, not the hare.)”
5.    “Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.”
6.    “Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment.”
7.    “Use visual control so no problems are hidden.”
8.    “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.”
9.    “Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others.”
10.    “Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy.”
11.    “Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve.”
12.    “Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu).”
13.    “Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi).”
14.    “Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (kaizen).”

These principles can be analyzed in the context of the concepts of espoused values and enacted values, as well as with respect to the four functions that organizational cultures serve. Toyota’s 14 principles and customer focus also relate to three theoretical perspectivesthe strong culture perspective, the fit perspective, and the adaptation perspectivethat are used to assess the effects of organizational culture. Finally, the case relates to issues of maintaining culture and creating a global organizational culture. As Toyota has expanded around the world, it has adhered to its 14 principles and its customer focus in order to maintain a consistent organizational culture across its global operations. However, recent quality problems have challenged the company’s ability to maintain a strong global culture based on the 14 principles of The Toyota Way.
Questions

1.     Describe Toyota’s culture from the perspective of espoused values and enacted values.
2.     Using the perspective of the functions of organizational culture, explain the impact of “The Toyota Way.”
3.     Using the perspective of the effects of organizational culture, explain the impact of “The Toyota Way.”
4.     What challenges does Toyota face as it attempts to maintain “The Toyota Way” while pursuing vigorous global expansion?