Toyota Motor N.A
Toyota Motors Corporation is a Japanese car manufacturer that deals with a wide range of cars and tracks for its clients globally. The company has been was selected for analysis because it is a global leader in automotive industry, with a large client base, a corporate communication strategy to brand itself, both internally and externally, and established outstanding policies to support its inclusive workplace initiatives. It has implemented inclusive practices to ensure its future progress. Toyota positions diversity and inclusion as an integral part of its management strategy, and continues to work to promote an appealing environment for its workforce. It implements various strategies to address the current social issues affecting the world. Moreover, by supporting a program known as Re-Instate, the company strives to improve the employment opportunities for disadvantaged people in the society. It also collaborates with suppliers, sales networks, and overseas dealers and distributors to ensure it successfully achieve its corporate objectives. Accordingly, Toyota Motors Company has reaped significant benefits from implementing its inclusive workplace practices and programs.
Toyota Motor N.A
Toyota Motors Corporation is going places. The giant Japanese car manufacturer deals with a wide range of automobiles for its clients globally. Its cars range from small cars to large trucks. The company was established in the year 1933 by Kiichiro Toyoda and the first vehicle manufacture were made in 1934. Toyota Motors Corporation is based in Tokyo, although it has so many subsidiaries in many countries globally. It embarks on designing, manufacturing, assembling, and selling passenger cars, commercial vehicles, minivans, and related parts and accessories mainly in Japan, Europe, North America, and Asia. Additionally, Toyota motors provides financial services through the Toyota financial services division. The company also manufactures robots for many industries apart from buying and owning other companies like Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino among many more. Toyota has been was selected for analysis because it is a global leader in automotive industry, with a large client base (Worldwide operation. Toyota). This company also adopts the corporate communication strategy so as to brand itself, both internally and externally. The company has established outstanding policies to support its inclusive workplace initiatives. The first section describes the company’s inclusive policies and the motivation behind them. Then, inclusive practices and programs are discussed in light of the Inclusive Workplace Model. Finally, the evidence of the outcomes of those inclusive practices are provided.
The company’s motivation for implementing inclusive practices
Toyota Motors Corporation has implemented inclusive practices to ensure its future progress. It is derives its motivation from its values and policies. The company believes that innovation is birthed from diverse perspectives, which according to Hoque et al. (2013), promote greater competitiveness. Moreover, the company operates on the principle of making positive contributions to the society. It undertakes social contribution as a vital component of its brand image. Through its social policy, Toyota Motors respects the rights of the workplace and employees in expressing themselves via social media. This policy offers guidance on the internal and external uses of social media, especially where personal use of communication channels involves the company. The company also engages in corporate social responsibilities by supporting their employees as well as the social projects for the communities around them (Toyota Industries report, 2012). Via its safety policy, the company is committed to ensure the safety of its employees by preventing any form of accidents and injuries. To do this, the company encourages active participation of the workforce to eliminate all forms of workplace risks (Tregear, 2015).
The nature and extent of the inclusive programs and practices
Valuing and utilizing people and intergroup differences within its workforce
This level of inclusive workplace model denotes the company’s relations with its individual employees. The general perception about an exclusionary workplace, according to Mor Barak (2013) has been the need for workers to conform to the norms and standards established by the employer. Meanwhile, an inclusive workplace is that which embraces a pluralistic value frame – one that respects the notion that employees come from different cultural orientations (Mor Barak, 2013). Thus, an employer that is pluralistic minded would strive to constantly manipulate the corporate values and norms to be able to accommodate its diverse workforce, thereby promoting inclusion. This approach has been adopted at Toyota Motor.
The company positions diversity and inclusion as an integral part of its management strategy, and continues to work to promote an appealing environment for its workforce. First, the company established a Free Time & Location Program. The program is an expansion of its current Working at Home Program to enhance the flexibility of its employees to work. To promote women participation in the company, Toyota implemented Promote Women’s Participation in the Workplace and the Toyota Female Engineering Department Foundation (Sisson & Elshennawy, 2015). This has motivated women to take part in achieving the corporate goals. Most importantly, Toyota initiated various programs to create a conducive environment for acknowledging and accepting the LGBTQs. To further promote an inclusive environment, the company uses Chatter to provide its staff an opportunity to interact with each other, subsequently revolutionizing how employees work. Employees can interact by posting questions and answers, and exchanging advice across the world at any hour of the day (Marksberry, 2011).
Cooperating with and contributing to the local community
This level of inclusive workplace model denotes the company’s inclination towards playing an important role in the surrounding community, notwithstanding the fact that the company does not make any profits (Mor Barak, 2013). The overall perception of an exclusionary workplace, according to Mor Barak (2013), significantly overrides the link between profits and the community due to its main focus on financial responsibility to its investors. Meanwhile, an inclusive workplace is that which ‘…maintains a dual focus, simultaneously intrinsic and extrinsic, that comes from acknowledging its responsibility to the wider community’ (Mor Barak, 2013, pp. 9). This approach has been adopted at Toyota Motor.
The company has implemented various strategies to address the current social issues affecting the world. The main issues of focus for the company include society and culture; environment, traffic safety; education, and international exchange and sports. In traffic safety, the company has implemented a traffic safety education program for high school students in the US (Toyota Global, 2017). In collaboration with the transport and education departments, the company targets the generation X and new drivers. Meanwhile, in Education, the Toyota has initiated a Toyota Family Learning Program in the US. The company further supports employee volunteering activities by Team Toyota and the Special Olympics. To ensure proper implementation of its social programs, Toyota has established overseas implementation structure. For instance, in the United States of America, under its Executive Committee, the company provided the Philanthropy Executive Council to lead its philanthropy strategies and continuous decision-making. In addition, the company has foundations, such as Toyota Foundation and Toyota Mobility Foundation to enhance the living and improve mobility (Toyota Global, 2017).
Alleviating the needs of disadvantaged groups across communities
This level of inclusive workplace model denotes the company’s role in ensuring the lives of people who are disadvantaged in the society are improved. According to Mor Barak (2013), it is not necessary that that the disadvantaged people in the society must not necessarily be residing within the geographical vicinity of the company. The overall perception of an exclusionary workplace, as explained by Mor Barak (2013), significantly focuses on the company’s stakeholders to ensure their well-being. Meanwhile, an inclusive workplace is that which develops programs that help underprivileged people in the society to secure jobs in the organization (Mor Barak, 2013). Mor Barak (2013), demonstrates that an inclusive workplace not only secures job for disadvantaged people in the society, but also trains those employees to work with them and hires graduates of those training programs. This approach has been adopted at Toyota.
The company supports a program known as Re-Instate. The program is designed to improve the employment opportunities for disadvantaged people in the society. Specifically, this social enterprise is used to enhance the lives of people experiencing mental illnesses and learning disabilities in the local communities. To achieve this, the company uses innovative ways to support employment and learning. Workshops are used to equip people with the abilities to retain, prepare, and search for job opportunities. Considering that safety is a principle policy at Toyota, the company trains the people to operate power stackers safely (Toyota Forklifts UK, 2018). Moreover, it offers free training resources, such as packing and dispatching equipment.
Collaborating with individuals, groups, and organizations at the local and national levels
This level of inclusive workplace model denotes the company’s responsibility to collaborate fairly with individuals, groups, and other companies regardless of their nationality or culture. The general perception of an exclusionary workplace, according to Mor Barak (2013), is to encourage exploitation of the local workforce, especially by multinational corporations, and depleting the community resources. Meanwhile, inclusive workplaces shun away from practices that would jeopardize the reputation of the organization; they not only contribute to the communities in which they operate, but also help the host communities to grow while encouraging transparent partnership with the local residents (Mor Barak, 2013). Thus, an inclusive employer makes the effort to contribute to the development of the host communities through beneficial community services, rather than exploit the labor and natural resources of those communities where the company makes its products. This approach has been adopted at Toyota Motors.
The company collaborates with suppliers, sales networks, and overseas dealers and distributors to ensure it successfully achieve its corporate objectives. It utilizes its CSR measures in its supply chain. Among other things, Toyota espouses fair competition founded on an open-door policy, mutual benefit founded on mutual trust, and by promoting good corporate citizenship. When dealing with its suppliers, the company ensures its supply chains are free from corruption, support the suppliers’ CSR activities, ensure human rights, enhance corporate health and safety, and encourage environmental responsibility.
Evidence of outcomes
Toyota Motors Company has reaped significant benefits from implementing its inclusive workplace practices and programs. Employee satisfaction level has increased significantly for administrative and engineering employees from 74 percent in 2012 to 78 percent in 2016 (Toyota Global, 2017). There has also been better safety for Toyota employees. Its employees are able to use machines safely and productively with the knowledge they received via Re-Instate (Toyota-Forklifts UK, 2018). The company has also experienced a reduction in smoking rates from 30 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2016 (Toyota Global, 2017). Most imperatively, the company has experienced exponential growth as a result of its inclusive workplace environment. By 2017, Toyota became the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the world, and the first automobile company to produce more than 10 million motor vehicles annually, which it has maintained since 2012, when it announced its 200 millionth vehicle production (Flynn, 2012). By July 2014, the company was the largest in Japan in terms of market capitalization and by revenue (Forbes, 2017).
Conclusion
Toyota Motors Company has implemented an inclusive workforce through policies, programs, and activities, thrusting it into a highly competitive automobile manufacturer and a multinational corporation. The company derives its motivation to implement inclusive practices from its values and policies. The company positions diversity and inclusion as an integral part of its management strategy, and continues to work to promote an appealing environment for its workforce. To achieve this goal, it runs different programs and activities, such as Free Time & Location Program, Promote Women’s Participation in the Workplace, the Toyota Female Engineering Department Foundation, LGBTQs awareness, and the Chatter. The company has also implemented various strategies to address the current social issues affecting the world. To achieve this, Toyota conducts traffic safety education program, Toyota Family Learning Program, employee volunteering activities, and through foundations. The company supports a program known as Re-Instate to improve the employment opportunities for disadvantaged people in the society. Workshops are used to equip people with the abilities to retain, prepare, and search for job opportunities. Finally, Toyota collaborates with suppliers, sales networks, and overseas dealers and distributors to ensure it successfully achieve its corporate objectives. It ensures it is free from corruption, support the suppliers’ CSR activities, ensure human rights, enhance corporate health and safety, and encourage environmental responsibility. These initiatives have bolstered the company by promoting employee productivity, becoming a highly competitive multinational company.
References
Flynn, M. (2012). Toyota: 77 Years, 200 Million vehicles. Retrieved from: https://www.themotorreport.com.au/car-review/toyota-77-years-200-million-vehicles-76325.html
Forbes. (2017). The world’s most valuable brands. https://www.forbes.com/companies/toyota-motor/