Report on the Corporate Communications at Toyota Motor Corporation Essay

Report on the Corporate Communications at Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) - Essay Example Report findings indicate that the corporation has adopted corporate communications structures aiming to brand itself as a leader in the automobile industry, setting the pace of appeal for automobiles, and trends of the industry across the world, while earning recognition as a global enterprise with a profound appeal. Toyota applies both product-led communications, based on its specific products and corporate-led communications, which revolve around the themes in its Global Vision. Advertorials promote Toyota’s environmentally friendlier cars while the leaf care logo conveys its commitment to environmental goals. Toyota also communicates through sponsorships and CSR programs in communities it serves by offering financial grants, and social welfare services through the volunteer time of Toyota associates. The corporative uses multi-cultural marketing strategies and diversity awareness panels to address the cross-linguistic communications barrier that lead to shortcomings in comm unications, to promote its global integration and diversity goals. The report recommends that Toyota should leverage on the new Information Technology outlets such as social media platforms to reinforce both its internal and external communications functions (The Wall Street Journal, 2013), to achieve optimum benefits and to address its information communication deficit. Introduction This report will examine the internal and external communications functions of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), the Giant Japanese automobile manufacture, highlighting both the best practices in communications functions, as well as communications shortcomings. Additionally, the report analyses the effectiveness of Toyota’s communications functions, and makes recommendations on how to improve them to achieve optimum benefits for the corporation TMC: Overview Headquartered at Toyota Aichi in Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation is a giant Japanese automobile maker that offers full range of vehicle models from mini-vehicles to large trucks; the corporation became the largest automobile manufacture in 2012 by production. Kiichiro Toyoda found TMC in 1937 as an offshoot from his father’s company Toyota Industries to manufacture automobiles (Flaccomio 2011, p.1); the Toyota Group is one of the Leading Conglomerates worldwide today. The Toyota Way, the corporation’s philosophy and strategy has evolved over the years, with a focus on core principles such as Lean Manufacturing and Just in Time Production; Toyota aims to achieve respect for people and continuous improvement. The company’s corporate goal is to keep improving its corporate value while continuously growing through global operations and innovative technology; Toyota’s strategy is enhanced technology, production, and marketing, as well as improved quality control, cost-competitiveness, and personnel development. Toyota pursues environmental goals, which influence corporate strategies (Menon & Menon 1 997, p.51), through improvements of its unique hybrid technology to create environmentally friendly products; Toyota’s goals entail pursuing sustainability at three levels, research and design, manufacturing, and social contribution. TMC Communications overview In 2002, Toyota took a new strategic direction articulated in the Company’s 2010 Global Vision program, which set out its long-term operational and strategic policies (â€Å"