|
Here I am again, writing about Toyota’s troubles.
Today, the car company announced another massive global recall of close to 1.7 million cars due to fuel leak problems. The car models in question affecting the U.S. are the Lexus IS and GS sedans. And though Toyota says it has received no reports of accidents or deaths due to the malfunction, it has had numerous complaints from North American, European and Japanese customers.
It’s been a horrible two years for the world’s largest car manufacturer. Last February I wrote about the Prius recall and the numerous questions that followed regarding the company’s totalitarian business environment.
The “Toyota Way” is the company’s long-standing philosophy that, among other things, places an extreme emphasis on maximizing efficiency by minimizing waste. Some have even said it acts almost like a religion amongst Toyota’s 316,000 employees. There is even a Toyota-approved way of turning corners when walking around the company’s numerous hallways (you must do say at a 90 degree angle). Think that’s bad? Toyota also demands that their employees never walk around the office with their hands in their pockets.
Now if only they could be that vigilant and careful with their car manufacturing process. Does Toyota value waste-cutting and efficiency more than product quality and customer safety? It’s a question that has been asked more than once.
Risk Management Magazine and Risk Management Monitor. Copyright 2012 Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
