Exercise 1: Making a Critical Assessment of the Toyota Production System (TPS) Today

a.) Demonstrate your team’s basic understanding of the TPSby 1)definingin your team’s own wordsanyeightof the terms found athttp://www.toyotageorgetown.com/terms.asp, and 2)applying them to one or more of your team’s own companies or other organizations.

b.)Describe the TPS as a total entity.What are its purposes? Its advantages? Its limitations? How is it now evolving? Is it getting better – or not? Has it been successfully copied by other motor vehicle manufacturers? Why or why not?

Exercise 2: Use of a Grid Analysis (Weighted Scoring Model) to Help Make the North American Plant Location Decision for the RX 330

a.List the factors your team considers key to theToyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC): The Lexus RX 330 LineNorth American plant location decision, identifying these factors as either exogenous or endogenous,weighting them using your team’s best judgment (stating any relevant assumptions or constraints), andassigning two scores to each factor: one for production of the Lexus RX 330 at TMMC, and one for production at a Toyota factory in the USA.

a.Using the scores from your team’s weighted scoring model and working with regard to Ringo Sho and Nemawashi, make and support your recommendation for the RX 330 North American plant location – TMMC or a factory in the USA.

Exercise 3: Determining Production Capacity Needed at Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Canada (TMMC)

a.) To maximize profit earned during this period, which production capacity should TMMC in 2000 decide to build – 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000, or 30,000 cars? Justify your choice.

2011. What are the weaknesses or limitations in this analysis? How might they be corrected or reduced?
      c.It is now fall 2011. How well has the RX-330/350 actually done in the North American markt? Is its quality rated as high as if it were made in Japan? Do some online research; it’s part of improving your attainment of Information Literacy, one of the UMUC MBA Competencies.

Exercise 4: Assessment of Toyota’s Current Regional Production Strategy : North America

Source:www.worldatlas.com/<wbr><wbr>webimage/countrys/na.htm,

a.After doing necessary research online or otherwise, document and evaluate the current distribution of Toyota production in North America. Here be sure to include Mexico.

b.Why does the team believe Toyota has chosen to produce its cars in the current manner?

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