Toyota s Quick Thinking Operations Management Essay

Managing Operations In March of 2011, northeastern Japan was struck by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. The magnitude 9 quake (Oskin, 2015) triggered a devastating tsunami, killing thousands, damaging the country’s infrastructure and paralyzing all private, public, and government entities. One of the businesses disrupted by the disaster was Nissan Motor Company LTD, a multinational auto manufacturer producing automobiles under the brand names of Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun. This paper will discuss how Nissan’s quick-thinking Operations Management (OM) team responded to the crisis with rapid efficiency, helping it to capture a competitive advantage over other Japanese auto makers and succeed in its recovery from this monumental natural disaster. I. Generating Value A. Evaluate how the company (Nissan) in the case study uses operations management functions to provide products and generate value for its customers. Support your claims with examples from the case study or outside sources. It takes a skilled, prepared, empowered, and above all a diversified OM leadership. One of Nissan greatest strengths is employing a diversified leadership, a workforce of nationalities, which draws on the strengths and experiences from many. This corporate strength brings a robust collaboration of ideas and unique approaches to resolving any issue. Nissan focuses on maximizing its auto manufacturing operations through flexibility and efficiencies by maintaining aShow MoreRelatedLean Manufacturing And The Production System1686 Words   |  7 PagesDefinition Lean manufacturing is the process of eliminating waste in every area such as production, supply chain, maintenance, quality control and factory management. The ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to decrease the human effort, inventory and time to meet the customer demand in the most efficient and possible economical manner. 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