Crisisu Managemento

Western manufacturing operations have been following Japanese Kaizen (improvement systems) in the past decades. Yet, it is now time for the Japanese to learn Crisisu Managemento from the West. The recent Toyota “sudden acceleration” saga has unfortunately led to 52 fatalities, and possibly the downfall of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer. While the lost of lives is unforgivable, a successful business operation as Toyota has also provided livelihood to a host of employees, dealers and stake-holders in markets it operates. My verdict is that Toyota should still be given a chance.

Despite Akio Toyoda has made his round of apologies in the US & China, sales is slipping in the two countries. Having recalled 8.5Mn vehicles world-side, Japan remains the only bright spot for Toyota where Prius again remained as the top selling car in Japan in February, nine straight months in a row. This is despite a recall of 199,666 Prius to upgrade its antilock braking software in February.

In a recent poll in China, public opinion on Japanese brands appears to be negative. Based on a survey conducted by Sina.com, 73.6% of on-line respondents mentioned that they would not buy Toyota or Honda cars. Only 16.4% listed Japanese brands as their preference. Despite this, Toyota said February sales in China rose 30% to 45,400 units compared to last year. However, this is a severe drop from 72,000 unit sales in January.