Page 214 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

Japan. The goal is that every part of a region’s operations per-
form at the same level as its counterpart in Japan—and therefore
the regions have a strong and respected voice in all decisions that the
company makes. That, of course, requires not just that the re-
gions have the capability but that headquarters respects and lis-
tens to the input and insight of the regions.
Third, Toyota appointed additional American chief engi-
neers in the United States. In Toyota, the chief engineer has broad
responsibility for development of a particular vehicle, from styl-
ing to every aspect of engineering the vehicle. Historically, only
senior Japanese with more than 25 years of experience at Toyota
served as chief engineers. The chief engineer is expected to deeply
understand through genchi genbutsu how the customer uses the
car and what he will value. Chief engineers have taken steps like
moving in with a Beverly Hills family during the design phase
of a Lexus vehicle and driving a Sienna minivan across North
America to experience conditions firsthand. Still, no amount of
“going and seeing” by a Japanese engineer will yield the level
of insight into the American psyche that an American engineer
going through the same process will achieve. In Japan, they use
the expression “under the skin.” Jim Lentz explained: “We can
send all the reports that we can to Japan, but until you’re here,
living it, you don’t have that feeling under the skin of the in-
tensity of something that’s going on.” Early in 2009, before the
crisis, the first two American chief engineers were named. This
was quickly increased to four Americans after the crisis hit. These
four had formerly been senior program managers, one step below
chief engineer, but now they would have the ultimate authority
on decisions for vehicles made specifically for the U.S. market.
Fourth, Toyota is making fundamental changes in the way in-
formation is communicated to the engineers who are responsible

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