Toyota ethical issues

Toyota is a multinational company that deals with the manufacture, assembly, and selling of motor vehicles and it is headquartered in the country of Japan. Through the numerous levels of development, Toyota is currently operating about 180 billion dollars in its annual sales and it holds the record as the largest dealer and maker of automobiles in the world. The company has opened its operations in most of the continents in the world including Africa, Asia, and America. Over the years, the company has concentrated on making automobiles and delivering the best kind of services all around the world. However, the company is facing challenges regarding the automobiles it manufactures which is an ethical issue facing this great company (Bowen & Zheng, 2015).

The sudden acceleration of the vehicles is one of the ethical issues that Toyota has faced in the recent times. This unintended, uncontrollable, unexpected acceleration of the vehicles to speeds that are dangerous which are accompanied by the immediate loss of the breaking services in the vehicle. Such a problem can be caused by the driver, mechanical issues or the electric problems of the vehicle or a combination of these problems can be a cause. In 2007, the company was faced with an event of its vehicles being ineffective when it comes to acceleration which causes the vehicle to speed up above the speed limits on its own (Stephan, 2016). Toyota admitted to not have tested the safety issue of the vehicles which made it sell the dangerous vehicles to customers all around the world. The company delayed the required safety regulations through avoiding the investigations by the government with regards to the safety measure of all the vehicles it developed.

Finally, Toyota recalled off over eight million vehicles all around the world and this recalling made the company go back to its focal point once more. Apart from the acceleration challenges, more people began to point figures at the company about the lack of business ethics as a big business and this brought more shame to the company. For example, one customer from the company accused the company department of financing of reduced and bad business relations with the company (Stephan, 2016). The person said that the company had initially financed the purchase of his vehicle through the department but after he was dismissed from his job, he was unable to pay for the due installments and this caused the company to repossess the vehicle without prior notice. After he tried to intervene and have the payments done by his friend, the company declined the payments and went ahead to repossess the vehicle. The company sold the vehicle for half its worth and told the prior owner to pay for the losses the company has undergone. These actions indicate that the company lacks the business ethics on how to relate to its customers and this is a poor business strategy (Lee, 2015). The company is more concerned with the shareholders instead of the stakeholders. The aim of the shareholders is to improve on the selling and offering more to the world but lacks the idea of who matters in the business. Concentrating on the profits is not a quality strategy since if the customers are not happy; they will choose to buy vehicles from the competitors, therefore, losing the market. 

It is a lesson that the society must learn that the increase in the growth rate can increase the rate of risking to poor management. The company had aimed to manufacture more than General Motors making it lose the control over the quality of the vehicles made. Toyota was aiming for expansion to the many locations that General Motors is involved but forgot to deal with the issue of safety in its vehicles. Getting the facts quick enough and managing the risk in a fast way is very important (Stephan, 2016). The company recalled more than 4 million vehicles in 2009 and more than 5 million vehicles in 2010 both periods with the issue of the gas pedal being stuck on the floor of the car. The many cars might have been on the roads and when such a malfunction occurs, millions of lives could be at stake. This is an indication that managing the risks involved in the business should be paramount to reduce the loss that might be followed by court actions and finally pushing the business out of the market.

Morals and values are of importance since the company could have avoided the issue by counterchecking on the vehicles made. The company lacked morals through selling more than 10 million vehicles which all had the defective pedals that could have killed more than a million people. Competition is a business issue and the best way to deal with competition is to have quality products and being innovative in whatever business being done. This will push the competitors out of the market or reduce competition but Toyota neglected this issue. The motor vehicle industry is very risky since what is developed and manufactured is a machine that is used by people and any bad move could end many lives (Lee, 2015). This is not an industry of making clothes which can be mended without any lives lost if they have defects but an industry dealing with making lives of people and operating a business more simple and therefore more focus should be given to the end products. When dealing with the customers, the company should ensure that they have a good relationship with each individual for the benefit of the good business environment. Stakeholders are the most important factors in a business and therefore more care should be awarded to reduce the chances of disappointment. This is a value that the company lacks through its lack of being concerned with the views and feedback of the customers. At all times, the company should concentrate on offering quality services and good business relationship with the customers. It is wrong for the company to use its resources and manpower to oppress the minority groups of people. The individual personal purchase of any Toyota model of vehicle is what makes it a great company and therefore the company needs to take care of the customers in a huge way.

 Toyota manufacturing industries locations are rated the first when it comes to suicide and other bad behaviors in the business (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). The workers have accused the company of overworking them with poor pays and less time for resting. The workers have been protesting against the idea of working until you die which is what the company is doing too many of its workers. It is wrong and the company seems to have lost its morals and ethical standards. Overworking people to beat up competition brings loses since the skilled personnel who would have been resourceful to maintain the company at the first positions are overworked and eventually leave the premises to look for a better part to make a living.  

The plan to recall the vehicles was a good idea in order to check them for any defects but the way the company dealt with the recall was a bad idea. The company delayed in the delivery of services and the time it took to recall all the vehicles. The vehicles had been on the market for more than 1 year meaning the company should have realized the issue earlier on and discovered the malfunction and recall all the vehicles immediately. Instead, the company waited for deaths and injuries in order to act accordingly. The immediate response is required in a case where there is a loss of lives at stake. It should not be about the number of losses to be expected but about the lives being kept at risk through the vehicles being in the market. Ethics and training can be the ultimate solution to the ethical issue at Toyota (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). Ethical behaviors will prevent the negative responses by the society towards the company and make them positive again. Before the event, the company had enjoyed a good relationship with the general public and this was a positive thing for the company. After the defects being reported, the company has son found it had to overcome the issue and it is still struggling to regain its previous status. Ethics in business is very important since it eliminates the chances of risking the business and finally losing market value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Bowen, S. A., & Zheng, Y. (2015). Auto recall crisis, framing, and ethical response: Toyota's missteps. Public Relations Review, 41(1), 40-49.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

Lee, G. J. (2015). Crisis Management: The Toyota Way Leadership, Recall, Recovery (Doctoral dissertation, 서울대학교 국제대학원).

Shin, H., Richardson, R., & Soluade, O. (2014). Assessing sales loss from automobile recalls: a Toyota case study. International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 5(1), 14-28.

    Stephan, K. D. (2016). Toyota: Not So Fast, Guys [Ethical Dilemmas]. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 35(2), 36-37.