The Impact of Innovation and Technology on Toyota's Organisational Performance

Discussion

This particular report is primarily aimed to evaluate the effect and importance of innovation and improved technology on the development of organisational performance. Toyota, which is operating in the automobile industry of the UK, is determined as one of the largest manufacturers of cars in the international domain. The adoption of technologies by Toyota, which has allowed the company to gain advantages and improve its growth, will be duly presented in this report. The significance of innovation and technology in the company will also be significantly evaluated here to understand its importance. The company is also increasing its profits in the UK, along with the international arena, due to the adoption and implementation of technology. The technological advantages of the company are allowing it to compete with other companies functioning in the UK and gain advantages. Additionally, the effect of technology by the company and its effect on knowledge management in the decision-making process will also be presented in this report.

Discussion

Innovation and technological improvement is determined as one of the requirements, which has a massive influence on the growth and advantages of companies. Innovation is also able to help companies to gain competitive advantages by improving the quality of products. Toyota is operating in the UK and has improved the quality of its products with the implantation of technology and innovation. The growth of the company in the international domain is increasing due to the focus of the firm on innovation. The firm is also able to make changes in the process of production with the help of technological improvement. Innovation and technology have a massive influence on the overall performance and growth of companies in the international domain, as it allows in improving and manufacturing new products, which increases the ability of firms to compete with other organisations that are functioning in a similar market.

Organisational overview

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese Multi-national corporation, which is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. The firm has expanded its business and is successfully operating in the UK. It is determined as one of the largest companies, which is manufacturing cars. The company is primarily engaged with financial services and automobile manufacturing (Palmer et al., 2018). It has a robotic division that focuses on conducting research and building robots. The automobile sector of the company is designing, developing, manufacturing and selling cars. The company sells different kinds of vehicles, such as trucks, mini cars, vans and related accessories, along with parts. The vehicles manufactured by the company are being classified into two different categories, such as hybrid and conventional engine vehicles. The products manufactured by Toyota are determined as compact and subcompact cars, which includes luxury, sports, buses, sport-utility and mini vehicles. The luxury vehicles of the company are being sold as the brand “Lexus” in the UK and the entire European market. The brand “Lexus” is also operating and selling the vehicles of Toyota in Japan and North America (DeBarro et al., 2015). The company is focusing on the improvement and sustainable development of society through the manufacturing process followed by it. From the time of the establishment of the company, Toyota was focused on contributing to the sustainable development of society through the innovation and development of high-quality products.

The Effect of Innovation and Digital technologies on Toyota

Toyota has become one of the largest companies that are operating in the UK, along with the international domain. The primary focus of the company towards innovation is enabling it in developing and improve the quality of vehicles, which has helped the company to become one of the leading organisations in the automobile industry (Kumar and Rodrigues 2020). Moreover, the production system implemented by the company is allowing in producing an improved quality of vehicles and selling those at a reduced price. It has helped the company to expand in the international domain by attracting and influencing customers. Toyota Production System (TPS) is one of the innovations developed by the company, which is allowing ingraining advantages from the international domain. It is determined as one of the primary factors behind the success of the company, as the TPS has allowed in reducing the manufacturing cost and the piece of vehicles. Innovation and technology are allowing the company in developing opportunities (Ramírez-López et al. 2021). The use of technology is also allowing the company to utilise its resources in an efficient manner. It is helping the company to reduce the use and waste of resources, which reduces the manufacturing cost, and the firm is providing vehicles at a reduced price in the UK, along with the other markets.

Innovation and digital technologies in the company

Toyota is focused on innovation in the UK, which is helping the company to become one of the leaders in the industry of automobile. Innovations by the company are allowing it in gaining benefits (Clifford 2015). Toyota Production System (TPS) was invented by the company to reduce waste during its manufacturing process. The Toyota Production System is allowing the firms to maintain the high quality and standards of their products. The TPS produced by Toyota is based on two concepts, which includes Jidoka and Just-In-Time. Jidoka is determined as one of the systems that allow for halting the entire production line and identifying the issues (Kehr and Proctor 2017). The identification of the issues allows in solving the issues in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, Just-In-Time is another system that allows the delivery of the right part to the production line at an appropriate time. The manufacturing industry has adopted TPS, as it is reducing waste, improving productivity and minimising costs.

The adoption of Quick Responses Codes by Toyota is helping the firm in managing the production process in an appropriate manner. The use of QR Codes in the manufacturing process is helping Toyota to track the manufactured parts of vehicles (Florin 2015). The tracking of vehicle parts during the manufacturing process is helping the company in maintaining and reducing the time of the manufacturing process in factories. The adoption and the usage of optical coding are also helping the customers to visit the company website.

Innovation and digital technologies in the company

Hybrid Synergy Drive is a technology that is helping the company to implement the most influential and best-selling petrol-electric hybrid system. The adoption of this technology is helping the firm in reducing the release of pollution in the atmosphere. It synergises the efforts of two separate sources of power to allow them in working independently. It is also allowing the fuel cell technology to work appropriately (Suzuki 2016). It is another technological improvement and innovation by the company, which is helping in implementing the technology in different formats. It is able to develop efficient electricity, which is vital for reducing the consumption of fuel by the vehicles manufactured by Toyota. The reduced consumption of fuel by the vehicles is reducing the expenditure of customers and influencing them. It is also determined as one of the innovations of the company that is helping in reducing the expenditure.

Effect of Innovation and Technology on the Organisational Development of Toyota

Manufacturing companies in the international domain are focused on making changes in their quality of products, developing new designs, managing the cost, and improving productivity to gain competitive advantages. The aspect of competitive advantages has allowed the automobile industry of the UK to adopt technologies for innovation (Morgan and Liker 2020). The automobile industry of the UK is focused on adopting technologies for innovation, which has a massive role in competitive advantages. Toyota is one of the leading companies in the automotive industry of the country, which is also focusing on innovation with the implementation of new and advantageous technologies. The technologies adopted by the company has improved its performance in the international arena, along with the UK. Moreover, the adoption of advanced technologies in the process of manufacturing vehicles is allowing the company to compete with other brands of the country (Potter and Graham 2019). Technological improvement is helping Toyota to develop its products in a reduced expenditure. The reduced cost with the help of technology is allowing the company to provide the vehicles at a reduced cost, which is also reducing the expenditure of customers in the country. The reduced price of the vehicles of Toyota in the UK is helping the company to attract customers and increase its profitability in the country. On the other hand, Toyota has adopted a highly formalised system, which is helping the company to ensure the flexibility of all the projects (Potter and Wilhelm 2020). The company is also able to improve the productivity of the employees during the manufacturing process due to the use of advanced technologies. In addition, the implementation of technology and innovation is allowing Toyota to improve the skills of its employees, engineers and supervisors. Technology is also helping the company to improve the performance of products and design, which is beneficial for the company to improve the overall performance of the company in the international domain. The products developed by the company are helping in competing with other firms of the international domain, as the performance is increasing due to the innovation and advanced technologies (Matsuo 2015). The number of errors is also reducing due to the identification of issues through the use of technology. The usage of the Toyota Produce Development System is allowing the involvement of suppliers in the development of new and advanced vehicles that are sustainable in nature and reduces the expenditure of buyers. The adoption of technology is also increasing the knowledge of employees and management of the company.

Effect of Innovation and Technology on the Organisational Development of Toyota

Pros and Cons of Adopted Technologies

The technologies are helping the company Toyota to increase its growth and profitability in the international domain. The technologies are enabling the company to improve its processes and productivity, which has a massive influence on the expansion of the company. Moreover, Toyota is able to expand its businesses in different markets due to the implementation of technologies for innovation (Dyade and Bhande 2017). The company is able to increase its growth in the international domain by the implementation of technology. These technologies have helped the company to increase its brand value in the market by improving the designs and quality of products. The TPS is helping the company to reduce waste in the manufacturing process. It also allows in using the wastes as the materials for the manufacturing process of the firm. The “Just-in-Time” technology is enabling the company to deliver appropriate parts of vehicles as per the requirement. The quantity of manufacturing the vehicles and parts as per the required amount and time is possible by the company due to the implementation of “Just-in-Time” (Morris, Zhong and Makhija 2015). It is also helping the company to meet the demand f customers and satisfy them. These are increasing the profitability, growth, sustainability and the brand image of the company in the UK, along with the international market. The firm is gaining improved advantages with the adoption of technology. The errors of employees are also reducing due to the innovation with the help of technology.

These are challenges also regarding the use of technology by Toyota in the global arena. The challenges regarding the future are increasing for the companies due to social issues, like exhaust gas regulations, oil crises, increased traffic accidents and others. The issues are increasing due to the improvement and transformation of the sector. These issues are also able to affect the growth of Toyota in the UK and other markets in the global domain (Paul et al. 2016). The use of plastics and aluminium is helping the firm to reduce the weight of vehicles. On the other hand, the use of plastics is increasing safety issues for the passengers, which are able to affect the company’s growth. The increasing carbon emission in the international domain is able to affect the performance and growth of Toyota. In addition, the implementation of technology and training the employees about the usage of these advanced technologies require a massive time (Zhang et al. 2018). The reduction of cost in the manufacturing process is possible with the technologies. However, upgradation and completing the required changes in the technologies require massive time and expenditure.

The Effect of innovation and Digital Technologies on Data and Knowledge Management in Toyota

Innovation is determined as one of the primary aspects of organisations to gain advantages in all the markets they are functioning in (Soetjipto, Susilo and Riswanto 2020). Competitive advantages and economic growth are being gained by Toyota with the implementation of innovation. The rapidly evolving technology is enabling the company to increase its economic growth by the development of the designs and quality of manufactured vehicles (Othman et al. 2019). The organisational strategies adopted by companies have a massive influence on the knowledge management and growth of companies such as Toyota. Moreover, innovation is determined as one of the essential aspects for firms to improve knowledge management. The improvement of knowledge management in Toyota in the UK and the global arena is possible with innovation. The betterment of knowledge management enables the company to improve the performance of its employees, which is essential for the development of organisational productivity (Matsuo 2015). Rapid changes in the technological aspects of the company are improving the overall performance of the company, as the increased knowledge of employees is allowing them in focusing on successful innovation. Furthermore, the growth of the company has increased due to the improvement in the knowledge management in Toyota, which has also improved the skills of the staffs. The ability of the employees in managing the errors and reduce those has improved due to the betterment of knowledge management with innovation (Morgan and Liker 2020). Successful innovation by the company is possible due to the complexity of information about the markets, demand of customers, purchasing habits of consumers, needs and requirements of purchasers and others. The information about these aspects is helping the company to increase its growth in the market (Breznik 2018). Knowledge management is allowing the company to gain advantages by meeting the demands and needs of customers in the different markets, including the UK. Furthermore, knowledge management is helping Toyota to manufacture appropriate products as per the requirements and demands of consumers, which is determined as one of the effective aspects that attracting the buyers towards the company (Moore, Calvo-Amodio and Junker 2015). The expansion of the company is also possible in different markets, and increasing the growth is possible by the company due to the knowledge management with the implementation of technology and innovation. The technology is helping the firm to gain advantages from the global arena, along with the UK, due to the availability of information about the needs of customers and their needs.

On the other hand, innovation is determined as the introduction of the new combination of existing materials in the production process to innovate a new product with the use of technology. The process of innovation includes new technology, new product, new market, new market and new combinations (Paulin and Suneson 2015). All these aspects of innovation are possible in companies with the availability of appropriate information and knowledge. Furthermore, knowledge management is also able to improve performance by developing new abilities, enabling superior productivity, encouraging innovation and enhancing the value of customers. Knowledge management is able to help individuals working at Toyota in knowledge creation, knowledge mapping, knowledge sharing, knowledge transport, knowledge valuation, knowledge metrics and distribution, along with the storage of knowledge (Bloodgood 2019). It is also managing the flow of knowledge among the individuals that are working in Toyota in the UK. Knowledge management in the company is also allowing the management of Toyota to help their employees in gathering appropriate knowledge and implementing them as per the requirement. It has improved the overall performance of the employees and the company in the UK, along with the international market (Heisig et al. 2016). The knowledge management in Toyota is also increasing the brand image of the company due to the improved implementation of the gathered knowledge. In addition, Toyota is able to achieve long-term benefits due to the effective management and implementation of information through knowledge management. Competitive advantages for Toyota in the UK is increasing, as knowledge management is allowing the firm to focus on innovation with the use of improved technologies (Hemmati and Hosseini 2016). The strategies adopted by the managers of the company are appropriately guiding the employees in their operations, which is able to reduce the errors, which has an influence on the job satisfaction of employees. It is also helping the employees of Toyota to meet their organisational goals. Additionally, knowledge management is able to evaluate the skills of employees that are working in Toyota by supporting them in an efficient manner (Lopes et al. 2017). Collaboration and knowledge sharing are also being allowed and supported by knowledge management, which improves the decision-making process of the employees and the management of Toyota. Additionally, the business decision-making process by the management and the employees of Toyota has improved with knowledge management. Additionally, knowledge management is helping the company to gain advantages by helping in managing the supply chain, which is essential for improving the business processes (Zaim 2016). The decision-making process by the management of Toyota is possible due to the knowledge management and the maintenance of an effective decision-making process, which is also allowing for improving innovation.

Conclusion

  It was fundamentally concluded from the report that innovation is allowing firms to improve their opportunities and competitive advantages in different markets. Automobile companies, such as Toyota in the UK, are able to increase their advantages due to the technologies and innovation. It was also concluded that the knowledge management by the company is helping in improving the business processes. The knowledge management, usage of technologies and innovation is helping Toyota to manufacture new vehicles with appropriate designs. It has been understood that the productivity of the employees in Toyota is increasing due to their improved knowledge.

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