Corporate Strategy: Toyota Case Study
Essay by people • April 26, 2011 • Case Study • 371 Words (2 Pages) • 3,160 Views
Corporate strategy: Toyota Case Study
16/12/2010 Flore Gbadie - 1 -
1 Introduction
Strategy is a vital element for companies in the way that it shapes their objectives towards success.
Some companies are known worldwide for success as they have learnt to implement winning
strategies by efficient combination of their resources and plans.
Toyota Motor Corporation, a large automobile firm, is one of these companies. It achieved this
success by developing a set of principles that have enabled it to position itself as the most efficient
manufacturer of cars. The principles such as Kanban and Lean manufacturing have now become
commonplace in the business world. This report looks in detail at the resources and strategies that
enabled Toyota Motor Corporation to become and remain competitive in the automobile sector and
to continue to provide value to its shareholders.
2 Overview of Toyota Motor Corporation
Kiijiro Toyoda established Toyota Motor Company in 1937. Before this, it was a division of Toyoda
loom works at its headquarters in Aichi prefecture, Japan. In 1982, the Toyota Motor Company and
Toyota Motor Sales merged into one company, the Toyota Motor Corporation. Today, Toyota
employs over 300,000 people in more than 26 countries.
Toyota's Toyo Trust and Banking merged with two other banks to form UFJ Bank UFJ in 2006. The
result was the fourth largest bank in Japan that year. This helped the company expands its financial
activities. In 2006, it held the title of the most profitable automobile maker (US$11 billion) and in
2008 it displaced American giant General Motors to become the world's largest automobile
manufacturer for the year 2008. Toyota's business is organized in two main segments: automotive
operations, financial services operations along with numerous others. The automotive operations
include the design, manufacture, assembly and sale of passenger cars, minivans and commercial
vehicles, and related parts and accessories. According to Toyota's 2010
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