Choose 1 Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choose 1 Topic - Essay Example Here we are going to discuss about the globalization strategies implemented by Toyota in its production line. Company Overview Toyota, a Japanese automobile manufacturer having headquarters at Toyota, Japan was founded in the year 1937. It started its production operations in America in the year 1957. For more than fifty years, the Toyota automobiles have continuously expanded their operations in 170 countries and regions throughout the world. Today, it has its presence in the major markets of North America, Europe and Asia. With the development of their exports the firm has started to localize their production bases, keeping pace with the policy of "producing vehicles where the demand exists". Presently they have 51 production bases in around 26 different regions globally (toyota-global.com). Moreover, there are R&D and design bases in almost nine locations in the foreign market, exhibiting that "from development and design to production, as well as sales and service, Toyota has now achieved consistent globalization and localization." Production System The company has gone through several hurdles while globalizing their production units. One of the most important factors of this process is quality assurance, which emphasizes on the statement, â€Å"no matter where Toyota vehicles are made, they must have the same high level of quality." The company doesn’t follow the policy of putting a "Made in The USA" or "Made in Japan" tag on their products. Instead they prefer to put the label of "Made by TOYOTA† on all its vehicles. This clearly defines the company’s manufacturing philosophy which is the "Toyota Way" and they like to advertise themselves in this manner throughout the world. The firm believes that through educating people they will be able to achieve quality assurance. Therefore they established the Global Production Center (GPC) in 2003 inside the Motomachi Plant in Toyota City. In addition to this, Toyota commenced regional Global P roduction Centers in 2006, in the United Kingdom, Thailand and United States to perform its respective activities in the Asia-Pacific, North American and European regions. The illustration below shows its design and production houses in several regions of the world- The production process of the company is based on two main principles which are continuous improvement and respecting the employees. Toyota's production system is a means of "making things" which is often known as "lean manufacturing system" or a "Just-in-Time (JIT) system.† The production system has been set up on the basis of constant improvements, with the aim of "making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible."   The company’s production process is based on two models- "Jidoka" that refers to mechanization along with some human touch. It implies whenever an issue arises, the apparatus stops instantly that prevents defective production. "Just-in-Time† concept where every process makes the particular part that will be required by the next process and in this way the production flows. Based on these two concepts, Toyota globally produces exactly whatever is in demand within time and in a cost effective manner. Objectives The main objective of Toyota is to offer world class quality and to meet the customer’

Media activisim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media activisim - Essay Example i. May 4, 1970 was a typical day for many Kent State students getting ready for a revolution. With the Vietnam War going poorly overseas and many students waiting for morbid news of family and friends currently serving, one can understand the social climate and, perhaps, why the national guard was called to settle the 1000 unarmed student protesters on this Ohio campus of 21,000 (Payne). The students were not especially concerned for their safety. It was, after all, a nonviolent protest and "there was no logical reason [for the national guardsmen] to aim or shoot"(Canfora). It is easy to assume that many students were there simply as an excuse to stay out of class, while others were voyeurs, watching the events unfold, warming benches. It is most interesting to hear how the actions of the United States National Guard appeared to eye witnesses. Alan Canfora, one of the nine injured survivors watched the events play out up close, gives a chilling recount of what occurred after he and h is fellow classmates "assumed [the guardsmen] were marching in a retreat back over the hill to the KSU Commons" and that they "were quite shocked when, at the hilltop, perhaps a dozen members of Troop G simultaneously stopped, turned and aimed their rifles." For thirteen seconds the guards fired a total of sixty-one shots into an unarmed crowd as far as almost 400 feet, killing four students and injuring nine others (Payne). ii. But what are we left with today, in the stale exhaust of the Kent State Massacre Do we know why the guardsmen shot, seemingly without reason Was there a sniper Perhaps a student in the crowd concealing a gun These are questions that we do not know the answers to. We must consider how this tragedy affects our society without those answers. Compared to the war in Iraq and the many protests that happen on campuses around the country, it is easy to feel secure next to our dormitories and behind the shield of our constitutional rights, but one must not forget the events of May 4, 1970, and how the security blanket can be so quickly torn away. It is events like this that cause people to rise up and take a stand. The rioters of this time "were called cancer...agitators with disregard for the tenets fo humanity, who would poison [the] water with LSD and set off bombs in [the] post offices and facilitate chaos. Long-hairs. Hippies. Revolutionaries. They brought this on" (Giffels, Klosterm an, & Weinreb). It was events like these that make mere people into revolutionaries. Events like these that convince people to keep protesting. To keep asking questions. To keep fighting for more. B. Che Guevara, Malcolm X, & Martin Luther King, Jr. i. Revolutionaries like Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were consistently reminded of the dangers of their chosen profession. Their chosen activism. Like the students protesting the war with guns pointed at them, these men risked their lives in their every day endeavors. Ernesto Guevara, more commonly known as "Che," is today considered a liberal icon, especially in Latin America where they have "made him a symbol of