Case Study

$$Customer first, quality first$$ is the policy that drives Toyota. How is it that the company$$s able to

make both the customer and quality a priority? Toyota would say the answer is in its

organizational structure. A company$$s organizational structure describes how an organization

accomplishes its goals, decides the tasks that need to be performed, and who makes the decisions.

Toyota$$s production system and its organizational structure had long been lauded as the most

efficient and effective, which created a culture of excellence. They use what they call a just$-$intime $($JIT$)$ production system, which means raw materials are delivered to the production facility

just as they are needed. This level of production is possible because of Toyota$$s organizational

structure, and that structure has undergone some significant changes since $2013.$ Let$$s look more

closely at the organizational structure of the company before $2013,$ and then take a look at what

has changed and why.

For most of its existence, Toyota$$s organizational structure was based on a traditional Japanese

business hierarchy in which the most senior executives make all of the decisions for the entire

organization. It is typified by little delegation of authority, and all information flows one way:

from the top down. For example, executives in U$.$S$.$ plants are closely monitored by a Japanese

counterpart who makes sure the American executive is following structured protocols. This is

called centralized decision making. While centralized decision making supports the business

goals and strategies identified by the board of trustees, it also means that, the organization reacts

slowly to external threats or internal weaknesses.

Case Study Questions

$01).$ Explain the reason why Toyota has deployed Just$-$In$-$Time $($JIT$)$ production services

$02).$ What is the organiational structure which has been used in Toyota and how has it improved

in decision making?

$03).$ Explain the advantages and disadvantages of centralized decision making and how has it

benefited the Toyota company to improve its productivity.

CONFIDENTIAL

MPO$601$ MANAGING PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATIONS JANUARY $2024$

SECTION B $($TOTAL: $50$ MARKS$)$

INSTRUCTION : Answer ALL Questions

Question $02$

Identify external and internal forces in an organization and explain how these forces leading into

change.

$1)$ Name external forces

$2)$ Name internal forces

$3)$ How these factors create an impact on change of the organisation?

$4)$ What are the challenges that organisation would face due to this change?

$($Total: $20$ Marks$)$

Question $03$

Explain how Hofstede$$s Cultural Dimensions affects in the Multi$-$National Companies $($MNCs$)$

$1)$ Name and explain the components of cultural dimension

$2)$ How does it vary from Western countries to Eastern Countries?

$3)$ What are the challenges faced by the MNCs$?$

Question $04$

Explain what the conflict resolution techniques are and categorize them according to the conflict

of approaches

$1)$ Name and explain approaches of approaches

$2)$ Name the negotiation strategies used in each approach with aid of an example