Process Improvement

Process Improvement

Write a report that explores an existing process in need of
improvement at Toyota at the time of the 2010 accelerator crisis. This
process will be at the center of your operations improvement plan (OIP).
This assessment should build on the work you did in Assessment 1,
looking more closely at key details.

Your report should outline your process improvement idea and include the following elements:

• Problem statement: What exactly needs to be
  improved? Use problem framing and cause-and-effect analysis to develop a
  brief, preliminary problem statement. Note: You will expand your problem statement in Assessment 3.
• Background of the issue: Detail relevant historical data, including how long the problem has been occurring and what it is costing the organization. Note: You are not expected to provide specific data results at this early stage of your investigation.
• Impact: What could happen if the problem
  continues as it is? What could happen if the process is improved?
  Outline both tangible and intangible pros and cons for improving the
  issue or ignoring it. Identify some potential general business results
  and impacts on business relationships.
• Desired outcome: How will your new process be
  different from the old? What competitive advantages will it yield? How
  will it impact stakeholders? Consider the cost-benefits of the process
  improvement, estimating how much will it cost the organization and
  outlining how costs will be offset by the benefits derived.

The work you do for this assessment will inform your work in future
assessments. You will also draw on it for the final, comprehensive OIP
that you will submit in Assessment 6.

Additional Requirements

• Length of assessment: 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages.
• APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA style and formatting.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Resources:

Toyota Specific Resources

• Gerondeau (2015). How Toyota Recovered from a Huge Crisis. What can be learned from it. Retrieved from: https://thethirdroad.com/?p=280
• Khan, Riz (2010). The Toyota Crisis. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved from
• Toyota Motor Corporation. (n.d.). The origin of the Toyota production system.
  Retrieved from
  http://www.toyota-global.com/company/vision_philos…
• Trudell, Craig and Yuki Hagiwara (2014). Toyota Recalls More Than 6 Million Vehicles Worldwide.
  Bloomberg. Retrieved from:
  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-09/…

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Additional Resources for Further Exploration

You may use the following optional resources to further explore the Questions to Consider and assessment topics.

Operations Management

The following resources offer a foundational broad view of operations management.

• Deming, W. E. (1987, December). Transformation of today’s management. Executive Excellence, 4(12), 8.
• Foster, S. T., Wallin, C., & Ogden, J. (2011). Towards a better understanding of supply chain quality management practices. International Journal of Production Research, 49(8), 2285–2300.

You may want to search this blog for the following terms: automotive recalls, operations improvement, and strategic planning.

• Harvard Business Publishing. (n.d.). HBR blog network. Retrieved from https://hbrblogs.wordpress.com/
• Russell, R. S., & Taylor, B. W. (2014). Operations and supply
  chain management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Available from the bookstore
• Value Creation Partners. (n.d.). Analyzing and improving operations. Retrieved from http://www.valuecreationpartners.com/training/anal…
• van der Aalst, W. M. P. (2011). Process mining: Discovery,
  conformance and enhancement of business processes. New York, NY:
  Springer. Available from the bookstore

Case Studies

The following case studies are recommended for further examination of the topics addressed in this assessment.

You may wish to purchase this resource from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

• Greto, M., Schotter, A., & Teagarden, M. (2010). Toyota: The
  accelerator crisis [Case No. A09-10-0011]. Glendale, AZ: Thunderbird
  School of Global Management.

You may wish to purchase this resource from Harvard Business School Publishing.

• Gray, A. E., & Leonard, J. (2009). Process fundamentals [Case No. 969-023]. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.