Posted: September 13th, 2017

References:

Order Description

References: Russell, R. S., & Taylor, B. W. (2014). Operations and supply chain management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN: 9781118738542.

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

This assignment helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
•Develop innovative and sustainable solutions to strategic and global operations management challenges.
•Apply theories, models, and practices of global operations management to address business problems.
•Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.

Activity Overview

In your assignments throughout this course, you will build an operations improvement plan (OIP) based on the real-world example of the Toyota Motor Corporation‘s recent product failure crisis. The essential purpose of an OIP is to provide the rationale and data to support a change proposal for a particular organizational process that could benefit from improvement. It is a formal recommendation presented to an audience of organizational leaders. The OIP contains data-based descriptions of the existing problems and presents ideas for effectively modifying the organizational process. At the core of an OIP are a variety of tools that can be used to both analyze findings and present them for an executive audience.

If you have not already done so, take some time now to read all of the assignments for this course. Each of the first five assignments represents a component of a typical OIP. For the final assignment, you will compile your work to deliver a finalized OIP, incorporating updates and focusing on the message you want to deliver to the organizational leaders (in this case, the leaders at Toyota Motor Corporation).

Note that several case studies and library resources that address the Toyota accelerator crisis have been assigned throughout the course. These materials should give you a starting point for your research, but it will be necessary for you to conduct further independent research on the Toyota crisis in order to build your OIP. The Capella library is a recommended source of scholarly and professional information on the subject.

Activity Instructions

For this assignment, complete the following:
•Using your preliminary research, identify several of Toyota’s existing organizational processes at the time of the accelerator crisis. You will be developing an OIP that would replace some (or one) of these processes.
•For each process you identify, write a short summary addressing the following specific topics. Your analyses should be as thorough as possible. Be sure to cite your resources for this information. ?Importance: What is the importance of the process to the Toyota organization?
?Scope: What is the scope of this process (what is the breadth of its reach)?
?Parties involved: What customers, as well as internal and external suppliers, are affected by this
?process?
?Priority: What is the timeliness or urgency for resolving the issues involved in this process?
?Benefits: What is the overall impact or benefit for Toyota in improving this process?
?Cost: What are the costs to Toyota if the process is not improved?

•Select one of the processes you have identified as needing improvement to use as the basis for your operations improvement plan (OIP). Select a process that lends itself to an in-depth analysis and that is important to the Toyota corporation. Be sure to focus on a process that you will be able to evaluate and address within the scope of your OIP, given the relatively short duration of this course. Take into account the amount of time required to complete the OIP.
•Explain why you think this process should be addressed, focusing on your analysis of its importance to the organization and how the process would benefit from improvement.

Submission Requirements
•Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
•APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
•Resources: Minimum of 2 sources required.
•Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
Process Identification Scoring Guide Grading Rubric

Criteria

Non-performance

Basic

Proficient

Distinguished

Analyze the principles and techniques of operations management to select a process for improvement.
22%
Does not apply the principles and techniques of operations management to select a process for improvement. Applies the principles and techniques of operations management to select a process for improvement. Analyzes the principles and techniques of operations management to select a process for improvement. Evaluates the principles and techniques of operations management to select a process for improvement. Describes strategies used for the improvement process selection.

Analyze process opportunities for innovation or improvement.
22%
Does not identify process opportunities for innovation or improvement. Identifies process opportunities for innovation or improvement. Analyzes process opportunities for innovation or improvement. Evaluates process opportunities for innovation or improvement. Describes an optimal time frame for implementing the innovation or improvement.

Analyze the impact of the existing processes on an organization.
23%
Does not identify the impact of the existing processes on an organization. Identifies the impact of the existing processes on an organization. Analyzes the impact of the existing processes on an organization. Evaluates the impact of the existing processes on an organization. Justifies the value of existing processes with relevant real-world examples.

Analyze the potential impact and benefits of improvement to an organization.
23%
Does not identify the potential impact and benefits of improvement to an organization. Identifies the potential impact and benefits of improvement to an organization. Analyzes the potential impact and benefits of improvement to an organization. Evaluates the potential impact and benefits of improvement to an organization. Discusses the consequences of not implementing improvements.

Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
10%
Communicates in a manner that is not professional or consistent with expectations for members of the business professions. Communicates in a manner that is inconsistent with expectations for members of the business professions. Communicates in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions. Communicates in a manner that is professional, scholarly, and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions. Adheres to APA guidelines, and work is appropriate for publication.