Page 6 - Toyota Under Fire

Foreword

Reports of Toyota’s demise follow-
ing the sudden acceleration crisis in 2009–2010 were greatly ex-
aggerated. Initial accounts of Toyota’s response to a mountain of
public concern about Toyota’s vehicle safety were quick to allege
a number of severe flaws in Toyota’s culture. The crisis, indeed,
cost Toyota dearly in recall costs, and loss of sales and reputation.
A brand that for so long had been synonymous with reliability,
customer focus, environmental responsibility, and world-class
quality was all of a sudden portrayed in the most negative way by
analysts and the press. And yet, a year later, not only has Toyota
turned the corner, but it has used the crisis as an opportunity to
further strengthen key processes. As it turned out, it was the very
culture that was all too quickly blamed for the poor management
of the crisis that ended up saving the day.
Treatises on crisis management normally focus on immediate
damage control, PR strategies, and clever contingency plans. At
a time of crisis, leaders may be hailed as heroes for taking “bold
action,” or they may be hung in the court of public opinion—as
was the case with BP’s CEO Tony Hayward following the oil spill
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Numerous analysts and experts accused Toyota’s leaders of
responding late and insufficiently to the crisis, of denying or even

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