Business Research Method Part 1
Team B
QNT 561
March 11, 2011
Geoffrey Mugalu
Business Research Method Part 1
Toyota Dilemma Research
Toyota’s major quality issues surfaced long before they were officially made public. In 2010, Toyota executives ultimately had no other choice and made these issues publically known. Toyota was forced to recall millions of cars due to brake problems caused by floor mats and acceleration pedals (The Financial Post, 2010). Due to the acceleration recall, Toyota’s sales and production were put on standby. A major organizational problem emerged from the recalls. Toyota admitted that all recall decisions occur in Japan and that local (U.S.) executives do not have the power to make these decisions (The Economist, 2009). Toyota management needs to pay closer attention to the reported problems by their local administrators. With a local executive in charge of tracking any safety-related issues in North America, Toyota head quarter executives can keep on top of issues. More open lines of communication within the corporation might keep this operational dilemma from happening in the future.
Toyota must find a way to emerge from this crisis and be able to bring trust back to its current and future customers (The Financial Post, 2010). Toyota’s lapse in judgment to immediately report the recall has significantly tarnished the company’s reputation and has altered the company’s status in the auto industry. The massive recalls were seen as a major failure for Toyota. Toyota must research and understand whether the millions of car recalls have hurt their sales in the United States. Team B’s research question is: Has Toyota's safety recalls hurt the sales of the organization's vehicles in the U.S.?
Research Design
To study the impact of how Toyota’s recalls have hurt the sales of the organization’s vehicles in the U.S., Toyota must use case study in its descriptive form to gather essential data. Case...