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| The Toyota Way | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeffrey Liker
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
Buy New: $14.70
You Save: $13.30 (48%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 7443681
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B000EUMM3O
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Product Description
How to speed up business processes, improve quality, and cut costs in any industry In factories around the world, Toyota consistently makes the highest-quality cars with the fewest defects of any competing manufacturer, while using fewer man-hours, less on-hand inventory, and half the floor space of its competitors. The Toyota Way is the first book for a general audience that explains the management principles and business philosophy behind Toyota's worldwide reputation for quality and reliability. Complete with profiles of organizations that have successfully adopted Toyota's principles, this book shows managers in every industry how to improve business processes by: - Eliminating wasted time and resources
- Building quality into workplace systems
- Finding low-cost but reliable alternatives to expensive new technology
- Producing in small quantities
- Turning every employee into a qualitycontrol inspector
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| Customer Reviews: Read 79 more reviews...
 Highly Recommended! August 4, 2004
30 out of 32 found this review helpful
This book is like a Toyota vehicle: not necessarily fancy, but extraordinarily capable of getting you from point "A" to point "B." Author Jeffrey K. Liker's thorough insight into the continual improvement method known as "The Toyota Way" reflects his experience with the Toyota Production System (TPS) and his knowledge of its guiding philosophies and its technical applications. He explains why Toyota has become a global symbol of passionate commitment to continual improvement and efficiency. Toyota's success as the world's most profitable automaker is no accident and now, thanks to this book, it's no mystery, either. Liker drills down to the underlying principles and behaviors that will set your company on the Toyota Way. The book reflects years of studying Toyota's philosophy: it is well mapped out, straightforward and exceedingly although not daringly innovative. We highly recommend it to anyone striving to improve their organization's operational efficiency.
Clearly shows you why so many fail to copy them November 4, 2006
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
I've read this book a few times, and got our factory excited by it as well. We read it 2 chapters a week as a group, with a volunteer facilitator reviewing the content of the chapters in a weekly session. Suggest you start with this one and then read "Creating a Lean Culture" by David Mann and then "The Toyota Way Fieldbook" by Jeffrey Liker. A must read for those interested in Lean Manufacturing or Self-Directed Workteams.
Pro:
-Shows the commitment of Toyota to their methods and philosophies. By commitment they mean a willingness to pursue your transformation for at least 10 years, which is why I think so many fail... lack of commitment.
-Provides building blocks upon which to apply lean tools or lean toolkit
-Philosophy is quite detailed for a few hundred pages, appears thorough and complete so if you want to, you can create a similar systems-based approach
Con:
-Not a recipe for you to copy... no shortcuts or cutting corners here.
Neutral:
-Not much detail on "tools" which is out of scope for the content of this book
Bottom line: I think that this book is true to the philosophies of Toyota as I've directly observed from the 4 or 5 different senseis (former Toyota executives turned consultants) I have had the chance to work with. I only recommend a few books, this is one of them. Pairs well with "Creating a Lean Culture," by David Mann as a way to extend the lessons learned in The Toyota Way.
 Once Upon a Time... June 25, 2004
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
The author has written a good book on the "old" Toyota, not the one like the Camry plant in Georgetown. The "old" Toyota used principles based on the founding fathers and became successful accordingly. I work at the Georgetown facility and we have 100% American management team and they do not put quality ahead of profitability. Dr. Liker's chapter on Quality, "getting it right the first time" is the old Toyota. In fact, Dr. Liker just happened to be in our plant the last 2 days for a series of seminars with the American management team. Had he ventured out into the plant floor on Wednesday, the 23rd. he would have seen for himself that Toyota does not practice these principles regarding Quality. Yesterday, out of approx. 500 car built in plant #2, we had 36 vehicles with major mutilation scratches on the finished paint surface - that's 1 out of every 14 cars having a major defect. Dr. Liker would have seen that this principle is not viable if profit and productivity is the priority. Cost cutting interferes with serving the customers needs. My point is the book has some excellent information if your goals match those of the early Toyota, the same Toyota which earned a fine reputation for Quality. The modern Toyota, at least the one in Georgetown, Kentucky, has a different set of goals. I don't recommend this book because Dr. Liker is leading the reader to believe that Toyota practices these principles when in fact, it does not. To serve as proof that Georgetown Toyota does not practice these principles all the reader needs to do is review the recent history of J. D. Power awards. Perhaps Dr. Liker's next book should focus on the principles that Toyota's competitors follows because their customers are more satisfied with their products, not Toyota's. I question the choice of Georgetown Toyota's President, Mr. Convis, for writing the forward. Since he's been here the Camry has not earned a J.D.Power award. Dr. Liker's book is good, but the information is dated.
 How to do it well March 19, 2005
20 out of 31 found this review helpful
I work in the shipping department for a newer Toyota supplier and was intrigued by the way TMMI pulled orders, so I picked up this book on my own. It is a lot of information to digest, but I thought worth it. A lot of times I was laughing as I read because I remember a couple of years ago when everything at my employer was "5S" this, lean that - only they had it all wrong and management's interest fizzled after a couple of months. In the case of our plant manager, thirty years of manufacturing experience puts him at a disadvantage, especially with the concept of producing in small quantities and doing more version changes. I think management should definitely get with this program, because soon it will be what has to happen to be competitive.
A Team Members Perspective June 24, 2004
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
This book outlines many fine principles that Toyota Motor Corporation used to build this company. However, if Dr. Liker had devoted an extensive period of time in the Georgetown, KY facility, TMMK, where I've been a Team Member for 13 years, he would have gained a better perspective as to how the modern Toyota system operates, quite unlike the blueprint outlined by this company's founders. Quality is not the same as it was 10 years ago and cost cutting is the flavor of the day. Our workforce consists of a large percentage of temporary non-Toyota employees, many who have been here online for over 4 years. We have not earned a J.D. Power award in a few years either. Mr. Convis, who authored the forward, is the President of TMMK and has recently been engaged in thwarting a union movement by nearly 40% of the regular Team Members. In short, Dr. Liker's failure to extensively study Toyota in action in todays environment failed to appreciate the notion that the 14 principles are ideal, but only if practiced. I welcome anyone at Toyota to prove me wrong. I will say this: When Mr. Cho opened this plant back in 1988, we were a much better run organization and we earned many J.D. Power awards because the environment at that time was the application of many of these 14 Principles - not so today. I believe the author should rethink the way he writes his next book - this one isn't accurate and the reader is being misled if he or she thinks that Toyota adheres to this philosophy
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