Human Resource development in Toyota culture

Abstract

Companies throughout the world are engaging in 'lean' programs for manufacturing, product development, office work, and even the enterprise following Toyota as a model. The goal is to eliminate waste. Generally speaking these programs have had success at driving impressive dollar savings, but we believe the results are still far below what is possible and generally not sustainable. The problem is a fundamental misunderstanding of what has made Toyota so successful. For Toyota the goal is always to be the best at cost, quality, delivery, safety, and morale through engaging people in continuous improvement. This paper summarises how they do that through an exceptional Human Resource (HR) development system. © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.