Effects of Quality Management on Domestic and Global Competitions: Toyota V. Ford

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Effects of Quality Management on Domestic and Global Competition: Toyota v. Ford Quality is extremely important for any business to succeed. When the economy took a hit, the automotive industry took a hit as well. The quality of the automobiles took a major hit once the recession began both globally and domestically. For example, Toyota (global) had problems with their accelerator in some cars went faulty; whereas, Ford’s (domestic) had faulty catalytic converters. This paper will be comparing and contrasting these companies as they got over these hurdles. Ford and Toyota are always trying to do something new with the cheapest but highest quality products. When they were building these automobiles, Toyota and Ford thought the parts were extremely cheap and high quality. “During tough times, quality initiatives are often the first functions to go” (Goetsch & Davis, 2010). Then, Toyota’s accelerators did not allow the automobile to stop just speed up. With Ford, the consumers were stuck on the side of the road because the catalytic converters exploded. In 2000, “Quality suffered, productivity fell and then came the Ford-Firestone fiasco, costing billions in repairs and goodwill” (Muller, 2012, p. 13). The strategic plan was to make sure the customer was happy. Toyota is the largest company in Japan that sells globally. The strategy they use “A big part of Toyota's success is that it applies "lean thinking" not just to products and manufacturing processes, but also to relationships with employees and customers” (Gallup Business Journal, 2012). The way to define lean thinking is to first focus on the consumer, then engage in the employees and the consumers, and finally focus on learning. They attributed this with the accelerator problem. When the company was aware of this situation, the immediately warned the public. Then, Toyota focused on engaging the customers

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