| As I have been learning all of the wonderful tools and | | | | peak in 1985 following recalls of the German |
| innovation that Toyota brought to manufacturing I am | | | | automaker's 5000 sedan. A class-action lawsuit in 1987 |
| astounded to say the least. And up until now their | | | | by Audi owners seeking compensation is still being |
| quality was unsurpassed. What happened? I was | | | | fought." Audi 1980s Scare May Mean Lost Generation |
| reading an article from the Harvard Business Review | | | | for Toyota by Andreas Cremer and Tom Lavell. |
| by Sean Silverthorne on this very subject. Apparently, | | | | Toyota was the industry example of how to run a |
| a significant contributor to this accelerator problem | | | | manufacturing business at optimum performance. |
| was Toyota leadership abandoned their quality driven | | | | When they upheld Lean principles of the customer first |
| system for increased market share. This wonderful | | | | in on all levels of their processes it was reflected in the |
| thing called capitalism comes with an underlying price - | | | | quality of their product. Not just in production, but design |
| manufacturer responsibility to the consumer's safety. | | | | and marketing. This Lean philosophy was translated |
| Toyota let themselves be lured by increasing market | | | | into profit, brand loyalty and an impeccable reputation. |
| share instead of their customer first ideals. I wonder if | | | | They were truly a lean enterprise. I fear that they have |
| the leadership seriously considering the long term | | | | now become just another automaker. Toyota is |
| consequences of this direction. | | | | reexamining what made them great. However, it will still |
| "The flush of catching up to Ford and General Motors, | | | | take years to recover from the brand damage now |
| coupled with a boom in demand, led Toyota's leaders | | | | done. |
| to put sales growth above quality. Senior leaders | | | | Toyota is a clear example of what not to do when |
| became focused on becoming first in sales with a 15% | | | | you have a successful business model. All companies |
| share of global sales. This meant that new products | | | | can be what Toyota was and hopefully will become |
| had to be introduced more quickly, new plants had to | | | | again. Before this recall Toyota had 15% of the global |
| be opened more rapidly, and supply networks had to | | | | market. Amazing. On a local level, think of what is |
| be expanded more aggressively. We're now seeing | | | | would be like to increase your market share just by |
| the consequences of those decisions." - Learning from | | | | doing things Lean. If you were able to set up best |
| Toyota's Stumble by Steven Spear | | | | practices, reduce or eliminate mistakes, full utilization of |
| Another automaker that lost its credibility was Audi. | | | | staff, etc. how would that help you become an |
| "Volkswagen AG's Audi luxury brand spent 15 years | | | | industry leader? The question to ask yourself is am I |
| rebuilding U.S. sales after sudden-acceleration incidents | | | | the Toyota of yesterday or the Toyota of today? |
| in the 1980s almost wiped out demand, a possible sign | | | | This applies for service business too. Which one are |
| of the difficult times Toyota Motor Corp. faces. Audi's | | | | you? |
| U.S. deliveries plunged 83 percent by 1991 from their | | | | |