Toyota's Quality Impact on Brand and Customer Satisfaction

Contents 1. 0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Background of the research ............................................................................................. 4 1.2 Problem statement ............................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Research question ............................................................................................................ 6 1.4 Research aim .................................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Organizational background .............................................................................................. 6 1.6 Research significance....................................................................................................... 7 2. Literature review .................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Emergence of quality management .................................................................................. 9 2.3 Importance of quality management ............................................................................... 11 2.4 Quality system adapted in Toyota.................................................................................. 12 2.4.1 Components of TQM in Toyota .............................................................................. 13 2.5 Quality issues faced by Toyota ...................................................................................... 14 2.6 Refocus on the TQM in Toyota ..................................................................................... 17 2.7 Benefits of quality management .................................................................................... 18 2.8

CRM and Service Quality ......................................................................................... 19

2.8.1

Customer‟s perception of quality: ...................................................................... 19

2.8.2

The Perceived Service Quality approach ........................................................... 22

2.3.3

Gaps between customer expectations and perceptions: ..................................... 23

2.9 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................................. 29 3.0 Research methodology ....................................................................................................... 29 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Aim of the research ........................................................................................................ 29

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3.3 Research philosophy ...................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Research design ............................................................................................................. 30 3.5 Research approach ......................................................................................................... 31 3.5.1 Inductive method .................................................................................................... 31 3.5.2 Deductive method ................................................................................................... 31 Justification .......................................................................................................................... 31 3.6 Type of research ............................................................................................................. 32 3.6.1 Quantitative ............................................................................................................. 32 3.6.3 Qualitative ............................................................................................................... 32 Justification .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.7 Data collection methods ................................................................................................. 33 3.7.1 Sources of data ........................................................................................................ 33 3.7.2 Types of data ........................................................................................................... 34 3.9 Ethical implication ......................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................................. 36 4.0 Data presentation and analysis ........................................................................................... 36 4.1 Data gathered through questionnaire method ................................................................ 36 4.3 Data gathered through case study method ..................................................................... 43 Chapter 5 .............................................................................................................................. 44 5.0 Results and discussion ................................................................................................... 44 5.1 Impact of customer satisfaction ..................................................................................... 44 5.2 Working towards perfection .......................................................................................... 44 5.3 Empowering quality workers to achieve perfection ...................................................... 45 5.4 Production system .......................................................................................................... 46 5.5 Leaner production, higher quality .................................................................................. 46 5.6 Technology innovation .................................................................................................. 47 5.7 Green technology ........................................................................................................... 47 2

5.8 Business model towards customer satisfaction .............................................................. 48 5.8.1 Vision of TKM ........................................................................................................ 48 5.8.2 Mission of the company .......................................................................................... 48 5.8.3 Business model ....................................................................................................... 48 5.9 Steps to improve quality for customer satisfaction ........................................................ 49 5.9.1 Approach to Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................ 50 5.9.2 Wide Ranging Information Gathering and reflection in Development of new vehicles ............................................................................................................................ 50 Chapter 6 .................................................................................................................................. 52 6.0 Conclusion and recommendation ....................................................................................... 52 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 52 6.2 Evaluation of data .......................................................................................................... 52 6.3 Relation between findings and aim of the research ....................................................... 52 6.3.1 Toyota is named for Quality ................................................................................... 52 6.3.2 Impact of quality affects the customer satisfaction................................................. 53 Customer satisfaction as a mantra.................................................................................... 53 6.4 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 53 6.4.1 Refocus on the quality system to improve customer satisfaction. .......................... 54 6.4.2 Bring quality changes in the required areas ............................................................ 54 6.4.3 Aim at new levels of customer satisfaction ............................................................ 54 6.4 Future research ............................................................................................................... 54 6.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 55 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 56 Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 62

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1. 0 Introduction 1.1 Background of the research Reputation of Toyota has been built upon four factors quality, reliability, safety and selection of practical choices. “When customers are not satisfied with these then they question the company‟s reputation which might spoil the image of Toyota when companies like Hyundai, Ford, Honda, Subaru, and Nissan are offering a wide range of products and quality services and are climbing up the ladder of quality”. This was told to Reuters by Jake Fisher an automotive engineer for Consumer Reports. As stated by the vice president of the global automotive division at J.D. Power and Associates, Dave Sargent Toyota was able to minimize the negative effects due to the recall and halt in sales depending upon the communication with customers. Sargent states “We feel that Toyota is taking the right steps here”. It is important that they stay focused with respect to customer and dealer communication. Though we can understand there is some confusions now Toyota has to be clear as to what customer expectations are, how dealers are supposed to handle consumers etc. To understand all this is a highly competitive task. Even if actions to be taken are complex clarity in communication is important. Considering the overall customer satisfaction of the Toyota brand, we cannot be convinced that Toyota will have a big success. We are still not aware of what Toyota‟s action will be to solve this issue, but until the issue is identified and fixed, they will not risk their reputation by releasing their faulty vehicles. Toyota‟s actions clearly indicate that they are mainly focused to solve the problem and the source of the problem altogether. The probability of them developing further products without the complete satisfaction of fixing this issue is very less. They can wait for few weeks even if they facing certain loss and fix the problem rather than putting their highly valued reputation at stake. This indicates that the implementation of quality management with respect to customer satisfaction is important. Business is getting challenging and global. The East Asian countries show a faster growth and their production costs are often less. This might be due to huge investment or less paid employees. This resulted in a dip in the market rates. Following this we can see drop in other markets also. Companies easily get patronized between low rated products of Eastern countries and the modernized Western products. Companies are adopting new technologies 4

which have lessened half the time of production. Reduction in defect rate, improving productivity, innovation and gaining customers are the main challenges for an organization. According to Nagaprasad (2009) these challenges help the organization‟s to strive forward in producing quality products and provide high quality services. In recent years we can see that the concept of quality has created a revolution in the global business market. Though quality might be hard to cultivate, customers are attracted to organizations which have quality in their services and products. Multiple organizations have to produce different kinds of same product if they have to survive in the current market where quality is the main factor to be addressed. The main purpose of producing quality products is to make the organization competitive enough in the market. Apart from this quality products gains the loyalty of customers, idealizes the brand name and reputation, attract new customers and also increases the profit for the organization. The concept of quality came into picture only through Total Quality Management (TQM). This was first implemented by Toyota and they were able to drastically increase the product quality which made then unique in the business market in the competition for achieving quality. A products quality is measured using the factors like customer complaints, failure rates, satisfaction and loyalty of customer. Though lot of expenses occurs while implementing quality, it will help the organization sustain in the market for a long term. Quality is not a static factor, it keeps changing with time. As time increases quality also increases, indicating that the standards of the quality keeps increasing with time. Quality is intangible in certain factors and it cannot be measured accurately in all aspects. In this research a study will be carried out as to how the Toyota organization is affected by the quality factor. The influence and significance of quality management in the organization is thoroughly studied here. This helps us in understanding the influence of quality and importance of Toyota, India.

1.2 Problem statement The recent with respect to quality in Toyota has brought in disastrous impact on the brand and customer satisfaction of Toyota. The recall process has exposed serious quality issues in the gas pedal and braking system in the products developed. This has affected the customer satisfaction in Indian market. What would be the level of impact and how would it have impact on the performance of the organisation?

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1.3 Research question The following are the research queries that provide the direction to the research during investigation of quality process in Toyota. •

What is the Total Quality Management (TQM) process in Toyota?

•

What are the TQM methods adapted by Toyota to increase the quality?

•

How the problems in quality implementation in Toyota affect the customer satisfaction of the organization?

•

What will be the impact of quality on the performance factor of the organization and how it helps in growth of the organization?

1.4 Research aim The aim of this research is to study the impact of quality management on customer satisfaction and investigate the quality process of Toyota in India. The objectives of the research as follows: 1. To investigate how quality and quality management is implemented within Toyota 2. To identify and analyze quality management process, and how it ensures the improvement in customer satisfaction 3. To evaluate impact of quality management on customer satisfaction and retention in Toyota

1.5 Organizational background The organization was named Toyota at the start and the cars which were produced also shared the same name. This name was adopted from Kiichiro Toyota, founder of the organization. Then in the year 1937, the organization registered the name as „Toyota Motor Company‟. Toyota used different names in different regions of the world to sell their cars. During the early 70‟s US hit a major oil crisis. But the US automakers were focused in producing big cars. This led to the degradation of the quality of smaller cars than compared to bigger ones. In the early 1980‟s Toyota implemented the concept of TQM in their overall structure of their organization and was awarded by the Japanese government. Around 1982, a

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structural change that took place in the organization led to the merging of Toyota motor company and Toyota sales to form Toyota Motor Corporation. Few years later years Toyota signed a joint venture with the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc (NUMMI) for a plant that is located near California. Both the organizations signed the deal that they would operate on the close plant. As a result of this various models of cars were introduced in to the market by Toyota. In the year 1989 Lexus, a luxurious model of car was introduced by Toyota. Then Toyota started to focus on SUV‟s and hybrid cars according to the customer demands and market needs. Analyzing the factors of the market Toyota created the Pirus model which is to be known as one of the best hybrid models. Toyota‟s major success covered the American and European market. Then in the 2005, Toyota was ranked 8th in Forbes 2000. In late 2009, there was major recall of all vehicles produced by Toyota due to problems in the gas pedal in several models and as a result of this drop the sales was halted for Toyota‟s top 8 selling models. Apart from this the organization has recalled around 7.43 million vehicles worldwide. Later again with regards to safety issues there was a recall and in 2009-2010, 14 million vehicles were recalled. The problem due to seatbelts that occurred recently in 2013 has also caused Toyota to 200,000 Cruiser. The recall process has led to a negative impact on the customer satisfaction and performance of the organization.

1.6 Research significance The research is significant from the organizational perspective, as Toyota has entered the Indian market and it has not achieved any major success as it has achieved in the other international markets. Hence the organization has to understand the influence of quality and how it affects customer satisfaction and growth of the organization. Contribution of quality towards profit and its importance with respect to customer satisfaction in the Indian market were highlighted. All these parameters are analyzed and in the analysis, the relationship and the factors that are affected due to quality and customer satisfaction and its benefit to the organization could be identified. With the help of this, the researcher has designed the recommendations that would ensure the support to improvise the plans for growth.

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2. Literature review Key theme of the literature The literature has been begun with the definition and meaning of quality, quality management. The emergence and the development of quality management through different tools like Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma were reviewed. The importance of the total quality management is reviewed with respect to the customer satisfaction that is in relation to the research carried out. Then the objectives of the quality design are reviewed. A brief look is given into the quality system adapted in Toyota. In order to achieve the aims and objectives of the research, quality issues and the refocusing of quality by Toyota is also reviewed from various journals and articles. The relation between the quality and customer satisfaction is reviewed through various different models to understand the impact of quality on the product developed by an organisation. This has provided more knowledge in regards to the research which has enabled to further proceed the research according to the plan. Structure of the literature review Emergence of Total

Importance of Quality

Quality Management

management

Refocus on the TQM

Quality issues faced

Quality system

in Toyota

by Toyota

adapted in Toyota

Benefits of quality

CRM and Service

Conclusion

management

quality

Introduction

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2.1 Introduction Quality plays a major role in the current business market. Quality not only influences one part of the organization but on overall quality of the organization. So the entire quality has to be improved for the Total Quality Management (TQM) process to be implemented. Profits and prosperity to business and employment is not achieved through chances but the success is purely based on managerial skills and the employee‟s activities in handling the business. Outside forces usually do not affect the outcome of any business and if anything happens then the quality frameworks are used to identify and eliminate them which stop the business from getting worse. Identifying defects at an earlier stage and eliminating them helps the business to move forward in right direction. The process of making a business successful involves ups and downs but usage of total quality management helps in achieving success.

2.2 Emergence of quality management Richard (2009) stated that the strength and weakness of the organization are the factors which decide the success and failure of the organization. Identifying and rectifying the failures helps in regaining the success back. Practicing total quality management in all activities of the organization leads us the zero defects which will minimize the failure in business. In order to succeed in business these practices should be effectively spread from top level to bottom level members. The concept of total quality management was introduced by W.Edward Deming, an American after the Second World War about improving the quality in production of the goods and services supplied. Jha (2006) stated that this was not considered as an important factor by Americans until Japan implemented this in 1950 after the post war in all their business and product development and they became leaders in business in the 1980s. This success made the Americans to accept that the assembly line model of the 19th century expired and they had to implement total quality management to meet the demands of global economic growth. According to Mehrotra (2005) total quality management is defined as a cultural process where the organization uses it to give quality product and services to customers and also aims in providing good service to them. Total quality management aims in providing quality in all processes of the company. This research is to discuss about two key elements total quality management and customer satisfaction of Toyota. The context of the study is to create a theory regarding the impact of 9

total quality management with respect to customer satisfaction. The direct relation between customer satisfaction and TQM is tested using various theories. A literature review of the level of customer satisfaction attained through quality management is used for this research . This also involves various case studies. Results framed through the discussion are relevantly from the study about the quality management and its influence in the business progress. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management (TQM) is about improving quality of work and managing the process implementation. It consists of vast processes which can be implemented in all areas of organization. TQM process has to be applied in all horizontals and verticals of the organization like: top to bottom of the organization as well from the decision making to final outcome. Total quality management uses three different approaches namely, empirical research, quality leaders and formal evaluation model. In the year 1986 Deming brings out the importance of using of statistical technique in quality management (Jha and Sunand Kumar, 2008). He also throws light on the 14 principles such as , develop right product the first time, clear the obstacles and misunderstanding between the team by developing communication and coordination, work on qualitative objective, training provided to both managers and employees, following an improvement philosophy and good leadership.

According to Juran(1993) the three basic areas of the quality management process which are of importance to technical and managerial aspects are planning, organization and control. These stages are also the process involved in improving the quality of the organization. Juran and Gryna (1993) indicate that the objective of management is to minimize the cost of mistakes to reach a point the total costs of improving quality is minimal. In order to achieve continuous improvement Ishikawa (1985) emphasized the importance of using cause effect diagrams for problem solving, providing quality training and being in quality circles.Crosby defined 14 steps for improving quality, which includes top and intermediate management commitment, quality measurement, minimizing quality costs, corrective action, training, a zero defect principles, objective setting and employee recognition.

Lastly, Feigenbaum

(1991) described “the notion of total quality, is mainly based on leadership and on understanding the aspects of quality improvement, a commitment to incorporate quality in the

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organization practices, and the participation of the entire manpower, the objective being the reduction of total costs”.

Objectives of quality design Key element of quality improvement approach is finding defects and reducing or eliminating them. Full concentration is given in the design stage itself as in quality improvement there is a strong emphasis that prevention of defects is better than detection in implementation stage. To produce defect free product customer driven process in in place and this will prevent errors. In case the defect occurs in product development stage the aim is to track it and solve it rather than to hide the defect which will create problems in the later production phase. When the defects are not rectified and are passed on to the next stage the problem widens its area which leads to more loss to the organization. According to Gastl (2009) this process aids the organization to develop high quality products through quality design.

2.3 Importance of quality management Quality management improves the standard of products and ensures best quality products. Performance, reliability and durability are the standards against which the quality of product is measured. Quality is an important parameter which distinguishes an organization from its competitors. Quality management tools are used to accommodate the changes in system and process which results in producing superior quality products and services. All quality management methods like Total Quality Management or Six Sigma have same goal i.e to deliver superior quality product. Quality management is necessary not only to produce high quality products but also to meet the demands and exceed the customer satisfaction. A business is successful in the market only when they focus on producing good quality products rather than quantity. Customers have to be satisfied using our brand. Production of quality products ensure that you survive the competition and create a breakthrough. Customers would return to organization only if they are satisfied with your products and services. When your product meets the customer expectations and fulfills his needs they 11

would be happy and satisfied. More information regarding customer‟s needs and demands can be gathered using relevant data. Customer feedback is to be collected on a regular basis and monitored. Quality management ensures high quality products and services by eliminating defects and incorporating continuous changes and improvements in the system. High quality products in turn make the customers loyal and satisfied customers bring in new customers along with them which results in business gain. The main outcome of TQM is continuous improvement, but this is also linked with all the organization activities and operations. Customer is provided with higher level of satisfaction with the products or services provided by the organization which is a result of continuous improvement. This creates a link between the customer satisfaction and quality of the product as well as relation between product and process quality. Stamatis (2004) states that continuous improvement process encourages all the activities that are involved in the design and development of product or services. This process gets full support from all departments including administrative service to customer support department. Toyota uses the technique of measuring the continuous improvement by means of evaluating their own process with other companies. The support of top level management to bottom level employees helped the organization to show continuous improvement that was well tested by Toyota. They also built a analyzed system on measuring the performance to achieve success. This system encourage s all the activities that takes place in the organization with the support of the entire manpower. There is a direct or indirect connection between the development and performance as well as customer requirement and their satisfaction.

2.4 Quality system adapted in Toyota Emiliani (2007), stated that the production system used to manufacture vehicles in Toyota motors is known as lean manufacturing system otherwise termed as JIT (Just in Time) system. This system was built over many years spending time in evaluating customer feedback through continuous improvement process. The main objective is to produce the vehicle ordered by the customer in most efficient and deliver it quickly. The process framed to support this objective is as follows: “ •

When a vehicle order is received, a production instruction must be issued to the

beginning of the vehicle production line as soon as possible. 12

•

The assembly line must be stocked with small numbers of all types of parts so that

any kind of vehicle ordered can be assembled. •

The assembly line must replace the parts used by retrieving the same number of parts

from the parts-producing process (the preceding process). •

The preceding process must be stocked with small numbers of all types of parts and

produce only the numbers of parts that were retrieved by an operator from the next process”.

2.4.1 Components of TQM in Toyota •

Put Customer first.

•

Create continuous improvement

•

Aiming Zero defect

•

Training and development

Put Customer First

Fulfill customer expectations and needs by providing quality products and services. Customers decide the level of quality of product and services and rate between levels high and low. Satisfaction of customer is the factor which decides how they are feeling about it and rate accordingly. Companies will not be able to satisfy customers‟ needs or meet their needs in providing quality product and services if they are putting customers as their first preference. Customers can be put first through a variety of initiatives including “ • Conduct market research to discover consumer needs so that the organisation can develop products and services that exceed their consumer‟s needs. • Take care of all customers whether internal or external. Internal customers are employees of the organization and should be considered as customers when they approach each other for a service. External customers are all non-employees (of the organisation) that approach the organisation in connection with a service or product. • Effective customer care support. • Meeting all service level standards. 13

• Listening to customer views and opinions. Responding to customer views including resolving customer complaints and ensure that it satisfies their expectations. Once customer complaints are resolved they should be analysed to prevent future occurrences”.

Create Continuous Improvement This is the component derived from the Japanese word “Kaizen”. According to kaizen the organization that follows TQM needs to improve their quality of product and service as well as increase the quality standard indicating that there is no limit for continuous improvement. An organization which implements TQM creates a positive approach and also have alternative plan in case of any problems. They also follow process that support customers change needs and also accommodate them in producing the changes product with quality. Changes also explore the organisation to develop quality product in accordance to customer needs. Aiming Zero Defects There are various reasons for producing zero defect products. Defective products decreases customer confidence level with the product/services and organization as well as it is expensive. Defects which are found in earlier stage decrease the cost of production stage rather than finding and eradicating in the final stages. Zero defects product/service can be achieved by means of the combination of both quality assurance and control. Training and Development In order to achieve success in all areas , organizations that implement have to provide proper training to the employees and make them understand the importance of TQM . Employees of the organization implementing TQM need to understand the concept of how quality is achieved using TQM and what are the necessary processes they have to follow from their side to ensure success. Without full support of all the employees companies face lot of difficulty on practicing TQM (Hino, 2005).

2.5 Quality issues faced by Toyota For more than a year, there were complains about the car sudden acceleration which was out of control in various Toyota and Lexus models.

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1. Toyota has clearly lost its quality edge by having been involved in numerous recalls over the past few years. In 2009 Toyota announced the first annual net loss of 5 billion US dollars over the last six decades. Between 2004 and 2007 Toyota recalled 9.3 million vehicles, a number exceeding its total annual output. In 2009 Toyota recalled about 4 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for faulty gas pedals that stuck in floor mats, resulting in sudden acceleration. Furthermore, some experts mentioned that there were faults not only with mats but with Toyota‟s vehicle throttle systems which cause accelerators to stick at high speeds thereby causing accidents. In 2010, 2.3 million cars were recalled in the US due to the same reason (Toyota, 2010). Besides this famous sticky acceleration pedal the reasons for recalls were the following: steering column defect, air bag defect, engine sludge, ECU and other software glitches, body rust etc. Quality assurance became a real problem for Toyota when people began to get into car accidents and some even faced a fatality. It was reported that the family of four was killed in California as the Lexus in which they were travelling accelerated on its own. During the investigation it was revealed that Toyota outsourced pedal parts from CTS Corporation, North American supplier (Toyota, 2010). But though the parts of the recalled vehicles had been supplied by an American company, it was Toyota‟s responsibility to ensure that they worked properly before they were installed. 2. As more production defects begin to occur rather frequently, the JIT system principles could not be followed anymore. Inventory should be increased and cost reduction was not into picture any more. The required products could not be produced in specific quantities. 3. I think Toyota is trying to do their best to handle the situation. Toyota spends much money on recalls which proves that Toyota really cares about its customers. We must understand that recall is the only solution for the quality problem. It is a way to prevent possible failure in future. Owners of the recall cars get their car fixed, have their car washed and have their fuel tanks filled to the top for free after having been fixed. According to interview over the years people still like Toyota on the basis of quality and other factors. They say if any breakdowns happen with their cars, Toyota will service them with proper care. Though Toyota Motor Corporation did not gain much last year and as we cannot predict what will happen in 2010, Toyota is trying to save its customers who made the company profitable for the previous 60 years. Other manufacturers had faced similar problems with their cars, but none of them pulled its vehicles out from the market as Toyota did. Since 2006 Toyota hired 850 engineers and opened two quality institutes each in North America and Europe to inculcate the “Toyota Way” in its workers in these regions. The “Toyota Way” is a set of conduct guidelines and 15

principles of quality assurance production process which was invented in 2001 by Toyota for its overseas production sites and facilities. The idea of it was no matter where Toyota vehicle were produced, the same quality should be maintained irrespective of locations. According to analysts Toyota has been trying to improve its quality nowadays like never before. To prove this they say during the recession Toyota had no involuntary layoffs and employed extra people to focus intensely on quality and safety (Toyota, 2010). At some production plant 40% of workers who were not needed for production were paid full-time to learn its famous production system and identify problems during production process. In February 2010 Toyota launched a major public relations campaign. The company ran a full-page print ad in major newspapers explaining its decisions to halt production of the defective cars. A top executive from Toyota gave interviews on television to discuss the recalls. To hold the reputation of the company, Toyota‟s president Akio planned to set up a global quality special task force that would conduct regional quality improvement activities around the world. The committee headed by the president was to inspect every process – quality in design, quality in production, quality in sales, and quality in service, then analyze and provide customers with satisfying products in each in every region. Based on the improvements, Akio planned to seek evaluation from outside experts and customers regarding its newly improved quality-control management and listen to each improve the quality. Akio Toyoda said: “All our employees around the world, all our dealers, and all our suppliers will unify in their utmost efforts to regain the trust of our customers as soon as possible” (Toyota, 2010). 4. In order to prevent its image from dipping down further, Toyota had to focus on its quality factor. The company needs to closely monitor quality and overhaul its design, engineering and manufacturing operations. The company has to pacify its aggressive global expansion in order to concentrate rather on quality than on quantity. It is evidently that the famous Toyota Production System with its concepts such as Just-in-Time, Kanban, Jidoka, Kaizen and Pokayoke was not maintained at all production units during manufacturing. There was a lack of highly skilled specialists at production sites and those who were did not care about producing quality products at all. To improve this Toyota has to provide all its plants with highly skilled personnel which will keep up to the TPS strictly. If any failure occurs, the worker will have to pull the rope down to stop the assembly line and to fix the defect before it goes to the next stage like it was in the past. Also as Toyota outsources some parts and components from other manufacturers, it should set higher quality standards to prevent breakdowns in their cars. It is a fact that while Katsuoki Watanabe was a president of the 16

company, he was constantly focused on cost cutting that created production glitches and turnaround in quality levels. He forced the suppliers to produce parts at least 10% cheaper. Toyota should clearly understand where it is possible to save money and exclude defects in the parts which are responsible for the life of drivers and passengers. I mean accelerator pedals, steering columns, electronic devices etc. To cut a long story short Toyota has to go back to the basics. The company has to find what made it the most reliable and high quality automaker in the world and has to begin following this strategy again. The market is competitive and challenging. Few improvements and modern techniques rea necessary to survive in this .Thus, having achieved high quality factor again, it is necessary to make people believe that Toyota‟s quality is back and, I think, money has to be invested in higher levels for this new campaign.

2.6 Refocus on the TQM in Toyota Total quality management is about how quality is implemented in the functional areas of the organization and all inter related activities at all levels of the process. When there is interaction of various elements in the organization this is the system approach usually adapted. This indicates that the effectiveness of the entire system is higher when compared to output generated by individual through subsystem. This subsystem includes the organizational function all in whole as the product life cycle such as planning, design, production, distribution and field service. Customer focus strategy, tools of quality and employee‟s involvement need to be integrated with the management subsystem (Dale, Barrie et al., 2007). Organization that follows improvements in all levels of function will be able to develop products or services with standard quality. Providing high quality product or services attracts the customers and this in turn improves and expands the business. The conference board has summarized the key issues and terminology relates to Total Quality Management: “ • The cost of quality as the measure of not meeting customer requirements and a measure of how the quality process is improving.

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• A cultural change that appreciates the primary need to meet customer expectations, implements a management technique that acknowledges this emphasis, encourages employee involvement, and embraces the philosophy of continuous improvement. • Enabling mechanisms of change, including training and education, communication, recognition, management behavior, teamwork, and customer satisfaction programs. • Implementing Total Quality Management by defining the mission, identifying the product, identifying the customers, negotiating customer requirements, developing a “supplier‟s specification” that details customer objective, and determining the activities required to fulfill those objectives. • Management ethics includes being a role model, use of quality process and tools, developing communication, sponsoring feedback process, nurturing and providing a supporting environment”.

2.7 Benefits of quality management Quality is an important factor which influences the organizations involved in business and their customers. Customers feel secure only if their products are of best quality which pushes the companies to secure their products. Price of products might vary according to their quality and the quality and price can never be equated. Customers can be made happy in any means either through quality or through quality. Customers are satisfied if they get quality products at a reasonable price. Adding Value: Writers have their own way of describing customer satisfaction. One among them is Tom Peters who has written about customer satisfaction in his book “Thriving on Chaos”. Here he has described that quality wins over the price of the product or service. Peter states that customers are ready to pay high prices to get better quality product or services. This indicates that is a product is of goof quality it definitely adds value to the business. Quality Control: 18

Quality control is the process which identifies if the products or services complies the company standards or not. If the product is not up to the mark then either the product is upgraded or it is discontinued from the market. If not then the organization will have to face negative feedback which will affect the business in large scale. Quality Assurance: This is the process which is followed by the organizations to make sure that the products or services they sell meet the quality standards. Goal of this process is to ensure that everything is of zero defects. This also saves the money spent by preventing the sales of products which are below standard. Toyota‟s reputation was protected by following this process. Quality control is involved in identifying the product/service with low quality and quality assurance all about preventing the production of low quality product or services. Quality circle “A quality circle is made up of a group of people at different levels within the organisation. These people will have meetings where they will discuss and attempt to solve problems within the organisation. Each of these problems will be real time problems that are faced by the organisation and will require solutions that can be put into practice”.

2.8

CRM and Service Quality

Service quality is a comparison between expectations and performance. It is essential for an organizations growth. From the time of its emergence this has caught the attention of researchers and practitioners (Gronroos, 2001). A customer's expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as recommendations, personal needs and past experiences. Service quality is quite different from this representing a long-run overall evaluation. The customer satisfaction level is a result of the customers‟s comparison of the quality of the service encountered with perceived service quality. This indicates that customer satisfaction depends upon their experiences while quality does not (Caruana, Money and Berthon, 2000). 2.8.1 Customer’s perception of quality: The way your customers view quality is really only a reflection of their interactions with you and do not necessarily mirror the actual quality embedded within your products, and/or 19

services. Customers may already have impressions about you well before their first interaction with you. Interactions, including a series of moments of truth between the customer and the service provider occur. Such buyer-seller interactions or service encounters have a critical impact on the perceived service. If customers believe that your quality is lackluster, then they will perceive poor quality in what you do and how you do. The Nordic Model, built by Christian Gronroos and developed by others, adopts a disconfirmation of expectations approach. This model indicates that customer have certain expectations with which they will compare their actual ones. If the expectations are met, this is confirmation; if they exceed the expectations, this is positive disconfirmation; and if they do not meet the expectations this is negative disconfirmation. According to Gronroos (1984), there are two dimensions to the quality of service as perceived by customers; a technical or outcome dimension and a functional or process-related dimension. What customers grasp from their interaction with the organization is very important as a part of their quality evaluation. This is one quality dimension, the Technical Quality of the outcome of the service production process. Though there are multiple encounters between service providers and customers , which has few moments of truth , the total quality does which the customer thinks he has received does not include the technical quality dimension. The customer will also be influenced by the way in which technical quality- the outcome of the process is transferred to him and this will have an impact on the process experience. Examples include the accessibility of ATM, a website, appearance and behavior of servicing staff, how efficiently employees perform their task, what they say and how they do it. Another interesting fact is that, other customers simultaneously consuming the same or similar services may influence the way in which customers will perceive a service. Thus, the consumer is also influenced by how the customer is handled, how he receives the service and how he experiences the parallet production and consumption process. This is the second quality dimension, the Functional Quality of the process, closely related to how the moments of truth of the service encounters are taken care of and how the service provider function. Illustrated in figure 1, there are the two basic quality dimensions, namely, What the customer receives and How the customer receives it; the technical result or outcome of the process (technical quality) and the functional dimension of the process (functional quality. An organization‟s image is a crucial factor that has a positive or negative impact on marketing activities. Image is considered to have the ability to influence customers‟ view of the goods and services offered (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). Image is considered to influence 20

customers‟ minds through the combined effects of advertising, public relations, physical image, word-of-mouth, and their actual experiences with the goods and services (Normann, 1991). Similarly, Grönroos (1983), using numerous researches on service organizations, found that service quality was the single variable that influenced the customer view of organizational image. Thus, the most important factor that influences a customer‟s mind is his experience with the products and services in regard to image. For instance, if the service provider creates a positive or favorable image in the minds of the customers, minor mistakes will be overlooked or forgiven. But, if the image is negative, the impact of even a small mistake will often be greater than it otherwise would be.

Total

Quality

Image (Corporate/ Local)

Technical quality of

Functional quality

the outcome: WHAT

of the process: HOW

Figure 1: Two service quality dimensions (Gronroos, 2001)

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2.8.2 The Perceived Service Quality approach

In 1982 Gronroos introduced the concept of service orientation to quality which aligns with Perceived Service Quality and the model of Total Perceived Service Quality. This approach is basically derived from the research done on customer behavior and the feedback regarding the product performance on post-consumption behavior. In previous sections, the two basic quality dimensions (the what and the how) in the minds of the customers has been analyzed. However, the quality perception process is more complicated. Experience of the customer alone is not the factor which decides whether quality is perceived as good, neutral or bad. Figure 2 illustrates how quality experiences are connected to traditional marketing activities resulting in a Perceived Service Quality. When the customer expectations i.e. the expected quality meets the experienced quality good perceived quality is obtained. If expectations are not real which cannot be satisfied then the total perceived quality will be low, irrespective of how good the experienced quality measured. As illustrated in figure 2, the expected quality is a function of factors, namely, marketing communication, word of mouth, company/local image, price, customer needs and values. The modes of marketing communication include advertising, direct mail, sales promotion, sales campaigns, internet communication and web ads. The marketing side is directly under the control of the company whereas the image and word of mouth factors which are indirectly controlled by the company. Image of the company plays a crucial role in customer view of service quality. Thus, it is mandate that image is to be managed properly. Finally, the needs of the customers as well as the values that helps them to decide also directly impact their expectations. Thus, the level of total perceived quality is determined by the gap between the expected and experienced quality and not by the difference between the level of technical and functional quality dimensions.

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Image

Expected quality

Experienced Total perceived quality

quality

Image      

Marketing communication Sales Image Word of mouth Public relations Customer needs and values

Technical

Functional

quality:

quality:

WHAT

HOW

Figure 2: Total Perceived Quality (Gronroos, 2001) 2.3.3 Gaps between customer expectations and perceptions: There is always a gap between expected service quality and perceived service quality. Parasuraman et al (1985), made an attempt to explain such gap, with the help of a „gap model‟ which is necessary for managers to understand how service quality can be improved and also to analyze the sources of quality problems The model is illustrated in figure 3.

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Figure 3: The Gaps Model (Source: Parasuraman et al, 1988) This model is all about how service emerges. The upper portion of the model includes activities related to customers, while the lower portion contains activities related to the service provider. The expected service is a function of the customer‟s past experience and personal needs and of word of mouth communication. It is also influenced by the market communication activities of the organization. In this model the service experienced, is defined as perceived service, and it is the result of a series of internal decisions and activities. Management perceptions of customer expectations guide decisions regarding service quality specifications to be followed by the company when service delivery (i.e. the execution of the service express) occurs. The customer has a thought that the service delivery and production process is a process-related quality component and the technical solution received by the process is an outcome-related quality component. As illustrated, marketing communication can influence the expected and perceived service. This basic model demonstrates the steps 24

that have to be followed during analyzing and planning service quality. The five discrepancies (so-called quality gaps) between the various elements of the structure are a result of inconsistencies in the quality management process. The ultimate gap (Gap 5) i.e. the gap between expected and perceived (experienced) service is a function of other gaps that possibly occurred in the process. The five gaps are discussed below: “

1. The Management Perception Gap (Gap1): This gap occurs when the management expectations are different from that of the customer expects or perceives. This might occur due to wrong or inadequate information from research conducted on the market and improper demand analysis, misinterpreted information about expectations, unrealistic demand analysis, bad or nonexistent upward information from the organization‟s interface (sales team) with its customers to management and numerous organizational layers which influence the information that may flow upward from those directly involved with customer interaction. In these cases necessary action has to be taken to ensure smooth flow of various internal information through all upward channels

2. The Quality Specification Gap ( Gap 2): This gap signifies that service quality specifications are not consistent with management perceptions of quality expectations .This might be due to errors in planning or improper planning procedures, bad management of planning, lack of insight in goal-setting and insufficient resources for planning service quality in top management. The problems faced during planning may vary depending on the size of the first gap. However, even if there is sufficient data on customer expectations, planning of quality specifications may fail due to lack of real commitment to service quality within top management. Commitment, dedication and devotion to service quality are three values which are of highest importance and priority among management as well as service providers to bridge the Quality Specification Gap.

3. The Service Delivery Gap (Gap 3): This gap means that quality specifications are not met by performance in the service production and delivery process due to specifications which are very complex to understand and/or too rigid, employees not in line with the specifications and therefore not satisfying them, specifications not 25

being in line with the existing corporate culture, lack of service operations, insufficient internal marketing resources and technology and systems which do not allow developing product according to specifications. There are many possible reasons and they may vary and usually the reasons for the prolonged existence of gap in Service Delivery is complicated and so are its solutions. The reason for this gap can be divided into three categories: management supervision, employee perception of specifications

and

rules/customer

needs

and

wishes,

and

a

lack

of

technological/operational support.

Management and supervision related problems may also be in varying degrees. Taking a situation where supervisors do not approve or support the quality behavior or the supervisory control systems may be in conflict with good service or even with quality standards. There is a case in an organization where control and reward systems are decided separately from the planning of quality specifications, there is easy risk of a Service Delivery Gap occurring. At certain times activities that are not in quality standards might be encouraged by the control system and unnecessary activities are controlled, perhaps even rewarded. Control and reward systems partly shape the corporate culture, along with objectives and standards that do not fit the existing culture have a tendency of not fitting the execution. The solution here is that managers and supervisors should change their way of treating their subordinates and the way supervisory systems control and reward performance. There is a conflict between the performance requirements of the specifications in one hand and the existing control and reward systems in other hand. This might lead to a situation where the customer service person may realize that the customer requires a different behavior whereas the company has a different set of behavior for the role of service provider. Even though there are situations where the service provider is aware of the fact that the customer is not receiving what he expects and may feel that the customers‟ expectations can be fulfilled he is not allowed to perform accordingly. This may lead to low motivation among the service provider personnel. If proper people are not recruited then their attitudes may create problems to customers. For instance, the firm may have employees who are unable to adjust to the specifications and systems that guide operations. Workload is also a factor which adds to this problem. For example, too much paperwork or some administrative tasks may be 26

involved, which leads to the situation where the quality specifications cannot be fulfilled and a result of which, the service provider does not possess time to attend to customers as expected. Lastly, the technology or the systems of control, including decision making may not be suitable to employees. Sometimes employees may be the problem, but the probability is higher with the technology and operational and administrative systems have been introduced inappropriately. Perhaps the technology and systems do not support appropriate behavior, or they have been improperly introduced to the employees. To close the Service Delivery Gap, the problems need to be dealt with effectively and efficiently. 4. The Marketing Communication Gap (Gap 4): This gap occurs when promises given by market communication activities are not consistent with the service delivered due to market communication methods not being integrated with service operations, lacking or insufficient coordination between traditional ways of external marketing and operations, the organization failing to meet the performance standards. A lot of organizations follow market communication campaigns which stick to these specifications and an inherent propensity to exaggerate, and, thus, promise excessively. The reasons which create the Communication Gap in marketing can be divided into two categories: the planning and executing of external market communication and operations and a company‟s expectation by over-promising to recreate in all aspects of advertising and marketing communication. The solution in the first situation will be to create a system that coordinates planning and execution activities of external market campaigns with service operations and delivery. For instance, every major campaign could be planned hand in hand with those involved in service production and delivery for both targets to be achieved. Firstly, promises in market communications will have higher accuracy and realistic and secondly, a greater commitment to what is promised in external campaigns could be achieved. The second category of problems i.e. over-promising can be dealt with by improving planning of marketing communication and/or closer management supervision.

5. The Perceived Service Quality Gap (Gap 5): This gap signifies that the perceived or experienced service is not consistent with the expected service resulting in negative 27

image (bad) quality and a quality problem, bad word of mouth, a negative impact on organization in market and loss in business. However, this gap may also have positive impacts, which leads either to a positively confirmed quality or over-quality. If a Perceived Service Quality Gap occurs, the reason could be any one or a combination of those discussed above or other additional reasons. Bridging these gaps could be a basis for developing service processes in which expectations and experience consistently meet and a good perceived service quality will be built.

2.9 Conclusion From the research carried out on quality management and its tools involved in the improvement of quality, it is evident that customer satisfaction has high level of impact based on the quality of the product. The quality directly or indirectly contributes to the customer satisfaction of the organisation. This has also helped to build a group of loyal customers who contribute to the continuous revenue for the organization by means of purchasing products or services. Quality management aids to identify and track defects in the products and lays down the path for the further development of the product. As quality management is blended with each and every process practiced in the organisation, the need and importance of quality management is significantly arising above from the impact that has created on the quality and customer satisfaction.

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Chapter 3 3.0 Research methodology 3.1 Introduction The research methodology is about the different methods and the techniques that are to be used for the research. In this chapter of the research, a brief study is carried out on the methodology has enabled the researcher in lying out the structure for the implementation of the research. The study has been carried out on the research philosophy, design, approach and types of the research. After the careful study, the research methodology has been chosen based on the need and demand of the research. It is chosen in such a way that the methodology aids the researcher to accomplish the aim and objective of the research successfully in the given time. To start with the methodology, aim of the research is described followed by the other methodological process involved in the research. In this section, a brief research would be conducted on the methodologies and the data collecting techniques that will make sure the research starts in an appropriate way. In this case the researcher should be aware of the objective of the research, so that it would help the researcher in choosing the methodology that suits the research that is to be conducted.

3.2 Aim of the research The research is aimed in conducting an analysis on the quality factor Toyota. The contribution of quality towards customer satisfaction is analysed with the impacts made on the organisation. The method that is adapted by the Toyota for increasing the quality is studied. Finally the area that has to be improved for the further development is to be recommended to the organisation. For this the data has to be collected and analysed. The data has to be collected in such a way that it enables to match all the requirements that has been mentioned in the aim. The data collected should enable how the quality contributes and impacts the customer satisfaction of Toyota.

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3.3 Research philosophy Selection of research paradigm is known as research philosophy. There are two kinds of paradigms according to Hair et al (2007) and are positivist and interpretive. This could be defined as “the choice would be opted on how well it suits the research. The positivist paradigm has the features like the observer is independent, considers world as an external objective and science is taken as a value free and it only focuses on the facts. But in interpretative paradigm, the external world is considered as a social constructive and it focuses on the meaning rather than the facts. Along with the science is seem to be driven by human interest and the observer is a part of being what is observed. In the positivist large samples are used in the research but in interpretive small samples are used in the research but are investigated in depth” (Saunders.M et al, 2007). Justification The investigation that is being carried out on the quality system of Toyota involves the human social factors in the research. These factors are directly related to the quality of the products that has been produced by the organization. The human and the social factors which are influenced by the external factor tend to change with the change in the external behavior. Thus the data which has to be collected for the research is not isolated from the external environment. The reflective nature that is adapted in the interpretative methods better suits the research. Hence interpretative technique has been chosen as the research philosphy of the research that is being conducted on the quality impact on customer satisfaction of Toyota.

3.4 Research design From Ader et al (2008), it is clear that the research could be designed in three different methods. They are experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental method. These are defined according to Ader et al which as follows: “According to the Ader e al, in the experimental research method, conditions of the involved in the research are constantly changes to know the change in behavior of the participants. The participants for the research are randomly selected for the research for different conditions. The other variables that are involved in the research are controlled. In the non-experimental research method, the research is carried out similar to the experiment method without the manipulation of the condition. The non-experimental research method could be carried out in three different methods. They are correlational method, comparative method and the longitudinal method. The other method 30

of research design is quasi method in which the research is carried out similar to the experimental method with the only difference that it would select the participants of the research instead of random selection in the experimental research design”. Understanding the three designs, quasi method alone found to allow the researcher to select the samples which would enable in increasing the accuracy of the research (Creswell, 2003).

3.5 Research approach The research could be either carried out in the inductive or deductive method based on the requirement of the research. There are two approaches in which the research could be carried out according to the need and demand of the research (Saunders .M et al, 2007). They are inductive method and the deductive method. 3.5.1 Inductive method In the inductive method of research, the research would start from the specific issues which would widen later to form theories or provide general conclusion. This method of research is also known as bottom up research method. The specific issues would be first identified and analyzed for the similar patterns. With the patterns hypothesis would be formulated from which the theory or general conclusion would be derived. 3.5.2 Deductive method In this method, the research would begin from the generalized area to more specific functions. This method is also known as top down research method. In this method of research, a theory would be proposed at the beginning of the research. This would be narrowed down to the hypothesis. The narrowed hypothesis would be tested from the data and information that has been collected for the research. This would aid in validating the theory that has been proposed. Justification

In this research inductive method is used to achieve the necessary results. This is due to the reason that the area of problem has been spotted on which the research is carried out. This research would be build around the problem to understand issues and factors affecting them. After that the researcher would start collecting the data from the participants of the research 31

regarding the quality impact on customer satisfaction of Toyota, India. After brief analysis this is found to accomplish research successfully and time saving as well.

3.6 Type of research In the olden days the research has been carried out using quantitative type. Mostly scientific researches were carried out in this method. It was only in the 19th century, flaws in the quantitative research method have been identified. This has led to the emergence of qualitative research method. Later on this method of research has been used widely for the factors involving social science. These two types of researches could be used to conduct the research (Saunders, M et al, 2003). 3.6.1 Quantitative Quantitative research method, as said earlier is often used for the scientific researches which involves lot of numbers and statistics. Hence in this method, it is difficult as it increases the complexity of the research. Added to that, this method is not flexible and rigid method of carrying out the research. But when the research involves several social factors and has the influence of external factors requires flexibility in carrying out the research. With this, it is difficult to carry out the research involving social factors completely using statistical method. In the investigation that has to be conducted on the quality factor in Toyota does not seem to involve as much of numerical data has the term quality itself mentions the investigation would be carried out on the how far the quality has impact, contribution and benefits the organisation. 3.6.3 Qualitative In this research type, the qualitative analysis would be carried out on the gather the data required for the research. When some faults have been reported in the quantitative methods, qualitative method came into existence. The history refers to the existence of this qualitative research method from 17th century.

Qualitative method of research is completely different from that of the quantitative research method. This method of research is said to be flexible and does not increase the complexity in carrying out the research. This method of research is said to be best suited for the researches involving social factors (Shaughnessy et al, 2006). The flexibility that is required in carrying 32

out the investigation on the quality customer service is available in the qualitative research method. Justification

In the investigation on the quality impact of customer satisfaction in Toyota and its contribution, different human aspects are involved and have to be analyzed. By comparing the pros and cons of both the methods, quantitative method of research has several contradicts with the needs and demands of the research. With the several contradictions to aims of the research, it would not aid the researcher in accomplishing the research to get the result and also difficult to finish in time. But when qualitative method of research is adapted, it provides the required flexibility to the research, less complex compared to the quantitative method and also best suited for researches involving social factors. With all this advantages is found in the qualitative method. Hence qualitative method of research has been chosen for the research.

3.7 Data collection methods 3.7.1 Sources of data There are various sources of data which could be used to collect data for the business researches. In order to gather qualitative data for the research, qualitative data collection techniques are used. Some of the qualitative data collection techniques are interview method, grounded theory, focused group interview, survey method and observation. From the brief analysis made on the various techniques, questionnaire and interview technique has been chosen considering the advantages and benefits it could bring in the investigation on quality of Toyota. These methods have been chosen after careful study of the methods that are available for the research. The case study method is chosen for the research as it would enable to collect the necessary information for the investigation. More over the quality is the factor that has to be specifically analysed in the investigation. For carrying out specific analysis, questionnaire method is found to be effective method for conducting the research (King, 2004).

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3.7.2 Types of data The research is aimed at analysing the quality impact of customer satisfaction in Toyota, where the primary and secondary data collected for the research. While preparing to conduct the research, it has been well planned so the research has to be completed in time. For this reason all the proactive steps have been taken. As a way of reducing the time wasted in collecting the data for the research, a list is developed for the information that has be collected for the research. This would be guide for the researcher to gather the necessary data without being looking for the other data‟s which are not required for the research. Time being spent for collecting the data has been effectively used. The data that is collected through the case study method on the quality impact on customer satisfaction of Toyota contributes to the primary data and the data that is collected from the journals, articles and all other company documents contributes to the secondary data for the research. The primary data collected for the research is always unique unlike the secondary data. This is due to the reason that the primary data is purposefully collected for this research. In order to avoid the disadvantages of gathering data through case study method, Robert. K (1984) rules were followed to stay in focus of gathering only the required data for the research. Questionnaire was developed using simple language to improve the understanding of the participants of the research. 20 questionnaires were first developed and after regress analysis to gathered only the data that is required to accomplish the aims of the research it was brought down to 8. Sampling size of the research was kept high to make sure that the result of the data derived would be more accurate. 100 customers were made you participant in the research after their interest to participate in the research.

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3.9 Ethical implication The ethical standards have been maintained from the beginning of the research to improve the standard of the research. Some of the ethics that has been adapted in the research as follows: 

Stick to research plan towards the research



Prepare a task sheet regarding the data that has to be gathered for the literature review as it enabled the researcher to avoid wastage of time in collecting unnecessary data for the research



Participants of the research were briefed about research before taking part in the research



None of the customers were disturbed or forced to gather the data for the research



In order to improve the transparency of the research, appendix has been added at the end of the research



Closed type of questionnaire has been used to increase the response and accuracy of the data collected

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Chapter 4 4.0 Data presentation and analysis Appropriate techniques and methods were chosen to gather enough for the research in the previous section. All the information that has been gathered for the research is presented and analysed in this section. The data gathered from the questionnaire method has been presented in the form of graph for the reason that it would aid in better understanding of the information gathered. Vast amount of data was gathered from case study method. It has been refined to the core in relation with the aim and objective of the research and also presented in this section. The researcher has chosen 100 customers so as to gather more accurate information that is required about the customer satisfaction of Toyota in Indian market.

4.1 Data gathered through questionnaire method To begin with, data gathered from the questionnaire method are presented in graphical format. The researcher has begun the data collection process by collecting information on quality aspect from the customers. Participants of the research were queried whether quality is first and foremost aspect of Toyota as quality was the key factor made the organisation into global brand. The responses from the participants were quite enough to accept that the organisation focuses on quality as the first and foremost aspect. Out of 100 participants, 9 strongly agreed to the statement and 63 agreed to the statement as against 13 were disagreeing and 12 were strongly disagreeing to the statement made. There were 3 customers who were not able to comment clearly on the question and chose neither or nor option. It is clear from the participants of the research that quality remains as the first and foremost aspect of Toyota.

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Fig 1. Quality is first and foremost aspect for Toyota

Quality is first and foremost aspect for Toyota 63

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

13

9

12

3

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Then the researcher went on to know the impact of recent issues on the customer satisfaction level of the organisation. So the participants were queried about the impact of recent quality issues with Toyota vehicles and their recalling process all over the world. The response was pretty one sided that almost all the customers were clear that recent quality issues has taken a fresh hit on the customer satisfaction level in India. This is understood from their response in which 56 participants strongly agreed and other 38 agreed to the statement made by the researcher. There were only 6 other participants saying the quality and recall issues had brought no impact on the customer satisfaction level in Indian market. So it is clearly understood that the quality and customer satisfaction is directly relational to one another. Fig 2. Recent issues has brought disastrous effect on customer satisfaction level of Toyota

Recent issues has brought disastrous effect on customer satisfaction level of Toyota 56 38

60 40 20 0

0 Strongly agree

Agree

6

0

Neither Disagree Strongly agree nor disagree disagree

37

After understating that the quality issues has made a considerable damage to the organisation, the researcher went to know whether the organisation is taking necessary steps to overcome the issues as it is affecting the customer satisfaction level. The participants of the research were queried about the continuous improvement in quality management within Toyota. There were mixed response from the customers which could be understood from the numbers shown below. Only 62 members were strongly agreeing and agreed to the statement. But there were also only 11 participants strongly disagree and disagreed with the statement. There were 27 customers having doubt about the statement and chose neither or nor option. When the participants were questioned about their choice of neither or nor option, it is understood that continuous quality issues and recalls being made has affected their opinion. Though there was not dominant number of participants supporting the statement, only 11 out of 100 were against the statement. This makes clear that organisation is still on the track to improve quality management.

Fig 3. Toyota is continuously looking to improve the quality management within the organisation

Toyota is continuously looking to improve the quality management within the organisation 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

51 27 11

Strongly agree

6

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

38

Disagree

5 Strongly disagree

As there were more people raising doubts about the quality management of Toyota in the Indian market, the researcher went on to know about the demand of quality from the customers. This is due to the reason that quality was found to have direct impact on the customer satisfaction level. The participants were queried about the demand of quality from Toyota in the Indian market. The response were pretty clear as there were 65 customers out of 100 chose strongly agree and agree options as against only 24 chose disagree and strongly disagree. There were 11 customers who made not able to make a clear decision. From the data, it is clear that 65% of the customers are expecting high quality from Toyota. Fig 4. The demand of quality from Toyota is high in the Indian market

The demand of quality from Toyota is high in the Indian market 40 40 25

30 20

11

16 8

10 0 Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

The researcher went to identify the other ways that through which organisation is looking to improve the customer satisfaction level. The organisation was found to bridge the gap between the customers and manufactures through internet feedback system. So participants of the research were queried about the internet feedback system in improving the customer satisfaction level. The response from the customers was clear from the numbers opted strongly agree and agree option as there were 34 and 38 respectively. And there were only 20 disagreeing to the statement and 8 were neutral. Thus it is evident from 72% of the participants stating that the internet feedback system has aided in improving the customer satisfaction level.

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Fig 5. Internet feedback system

Internet feedback system 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

38 34

20 8 0 Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

From the research, it has been understood that the organisation has came out strongly to accept their issue with quality by recalling millions of vehicles all over the world including Indian market. So the participants of the research were queried about whether the actions taken by Toyota had any positive impact. The response was again clear as 21 strongly agreed and 54 agreed to the statement. There were only 10 and 4 customers disagreed and strongly disagreed to the statement with 11 others remained neutral. So it is very clear that the organisation step recall the products has built a trust and brought in positive impact about the organisation.

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Fig 6. Recall of the faulty products by Toyota in India market has built a trust and positive impact

Recall of the faulty products by Toyota in India market has built a trust and positive impact 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

54 21 11

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

10

Disagree

4 Strongly disagree

The researcher was keen in knowing about the organisation way of improving the customer satisfaction through quality. So the participants were queried about the improvement in quality to satisfy the customer. From the response it was found that 27 strongly agreed and 39 agreed to the statement. Only 19 and other 9 customers disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement made about the improvement in quality for satisfying the customers. From the numbers it is clear that 66% of the participants stated that organisation is improving its quality to increase the customer satisfaction level in the market. Fig 7. Toyota focuses to improve customer satisfaction through quality

Toyota focuses to improve customer satisfaction through quality 39 40

27

30

19

20

9

6

10 0 Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

41

Disagree

Strongly disagree

When comes to the customer satisfaction, it is important to know the kind of customer service that is being offered by the organisation. So the participants of the research were queried about the customer service offered by the organisation and its impact on the customer satisfaction level. From the response, it is identified that 37 customers strongly agreed and 45 others agreed to the statement made. And there were only 5 members altogether were against the statement and 8 remained on the neutral side. From the response, it is clear that 82% of the customers very satisfied with the customer service offered by Toyota. So the customer service offered by the organisation helps in improving the customer satisfaction level in the Indian market.

Fig 8. Impact of customer service offered by Toyota

Customer service offered by Toyota has positive impact on customer satisfaction level 50 40 30 20 10 0

45 37 13 5 Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

42

Disagree

0 Strongly disagree

4.3 Data gathered through case study method In this method, the information was gathered from quality that made the organisation to become as one of the powerful brands in the automobile industry in the world. Complete information regarding the quality issues from 2009 and their recall process were also taken into account though it has all begun in U.S. To understand the quality impact on customer satisfaction, quality management in the organisation was briefly analysed. From the analysis key points are mentioned below: 

High focus on the quality by implementing quality management and several other standards within the organisation



Focus on the feedback from the customers to improve their product development



Shifting towards the green technology



Empowering skilled employees to achieve perfection



Implementation of internet feedback system to bridge the gap with the customers



Structure of the business model towards customer satisfaction

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Chapter 5 5.0 Results and discussion 5.1 Impact of customer satisfaction From the data that has been gathered for the research it is clear that the quality has high influence on the customer satisfaction level. Though it might sound to be two different factors, quality has found to have similar impact on customer satisfaction. Since it is only in the recent decades, Toyota has entered into the Indian market expectation on the quality front is high as they are one of the top brands for quality products. The organisation move to bridge the gap between the customers through the internet feedback system has found to greatly support the customer satisfaction level in India. This is due to the reasons that the number of customers making online order were increasing in the recent times. The focus on quality to improve the customer satisfaction level by the organisation has also resulted in providing satisfaction to the customers. Customer‟s relation division that has been set up by Toyota has improved the customer service offered which in turn was found to have positive effect on the customer satisfaction level.

5.2 Working towards perfection The combined venture between Kirloskar group and Toyota Motor Corporation is the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM) which is one of the leading automobile industries providing more number of opportunities to the people. The development of the company is achieved not only by the networking but also with its additional industries. The important factor that attracts the customer to the TKM Company is their quote that putting customer first which provides the quality products to the customer in a reasonable price. Any business can be succeeded if the team members of the company works hard to the company and the customers are satisfied with the service. The TMC is the main company of TKM that follows the growing together philosophy. This philosophy is used for continuing the business to long term by the dealers and the suppliers of the TKM Company. Most of the companies try to enter India for their automobile business. Similarly TKM focuses to Indian automobile industry for the business expansion and it also helps the locals by giving job opportunities and this also improves the quality of living of the team members and aims in promoting healthy economic activity.

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The company sets certain rules to follow the environmental protection action and the team members are made to follow certain value in their working atmosphere. Genchi Genbutsu describes about respecting the environment as identifying the source that cause the problem and analysing the problem. The team work challenges the old ideas and conventional ideas of the company. The frame work of Toyota pressures the company to react accordingly and to react with the environmental challenges at various life stages of the vehicle. The company faces the environmental challenges in greenhouse discharge of gases, reduction of waste products, recycling and prohibition of using dangerous substance to any part of the vehicle. The consequence of the company is balanced by the quality workers in the company which increases the growth of the company in future prospects. The Toyota Company‟s guidelines are formed by considering the world wide initiatives at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The clash between the trade and environmental rules are concentrated and then concluded in few belief of statement which depends on the preservation, jungle management and sustainable expansion. The Toyota‟s guiding belief acts as a foundation stone in the corporate management philosophy as the company focuses on the customer service. The company was not able to grow in 1997 so Toyota was not able to achieve its goal or sustainable expansion. In 2002 Toyota proposed a long term value of “innovation into future” which resulted in Toyota‟s Global Vision 2012 by exploring its belief and the development of the company in 2010. The guidelines and the belief are useful in understanding the social changes by considering the environment. This made the company to provide the value added products to the customers and the quality worker are benefited through their shared prosperity and participation. The earth Charter states that the beliefs and guiding principles embody a wide range move towards the world wide environmental issue which was adopted in 1992 and revised in 1997. To link the main beliefs, goals, targets and action plans a European Environmental policy was developed with the relationship of Toyota Guiding Principles and Toyota Earth Charter.

5.3 Empowering quality workers to achieve perfection The main basis for the strength of the organisation is the quality workers in TKM. The human resource management of Toyota aims to create a corporate culture which can be seen in all the business process and also in individual work values like „continuous improvement‟ and „respect for people‟. The steadiness of the employment is seen in the company for improving the working conditions and for maintaining them. The quality workers in TKM are trained to 45

build up human resource and to improve the technical skills in Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan. These training are given to young quality workers in the TKM. From various Toyota plants nearly 425 quality workers are trained in the foreign nations. The products and the practices are often improved in TKM and the every member working there are asked to give suggestion on the products improvement and ways to improve the efficiency of the process or the working conditions. The growth of TKM is made easy by empowering its quality workers. TKM does not focus on the product often but finds some to improve the process and service. This company is recognized by other companies like JD Power and TNS Automotive. On seeing the success of the Toyota products in the India and World it was also recognized by the automotive publications like Overdrive.

5.4 Production system Technically advanced products are developed in TKM Company. The quality workers in the shop floor are considered as the best for serving the society says the company. The company provides complete safety to the quality workers. The human resource and the new advanced technologies are balanced by the company in some analysis. This equilibrium helps the company to produce the products at a low and reasonable price. For high production the quality workers of the company are trained regularly for updating them with the new and advanced technologies. The car makers and other few product manufacturers know about the Toyota Production System (TPS). For time consumption and to reduce the waste TPS assigns many new advanced techniques. This produces the excellent quality products that are needed for the customers at a reasonable price for satisfying them. The production philosophy of TPS is “just in time” as it is worth in changing the market demands. This is also the reason for harmonizing and integrating the difficulty of making vehicles.

5.5 Leaner production, higher quality The vehicle is produced as the end product in the system by converting the raw materials into the processed and assembled final product which is the main process in TPS. If there is a necessity of any parts or materials the suppliers are called for supplying those needs. Manufacturing line has specific rules and hence the parts are placed one by one. The vital role of the company is given to the line quality workers. Continuous improvement is achieved by the complete involvement of the team members for identifying the solution to the

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problem. The team members can ensure the quality of the product and ensure them and rate the products. The effective resource for helping the production process is TPS as it considers the environment too while designing the product. The team members are able to solve any problem and they are also helpful in the empowerment. The team members have the ability to increase the productivity and quality of the products.

5.6 Technology innovation For the adaptation of the new technologies the innovation is considered as the company‟s mission. In the innovation there is a necessity of new creativeness and many advanced technology which must also be tested. Toyota Company develops new car models namely P.O.D or FXS. These models are tested as soon as manufactured. These are models for the satisfaction of the future generation. The greatest property of Toyota is the engine. Engineers in Toyota have developed the award winning engine for representing its high quality design standards. The performance and responsiveness in Toyota is the engines are developed in a certain manner to reduce emission, saving fuel. The customers of Toyota have additional advantage because they develop variable value technology (VVT-i) petrol engines, common rail turbo diesels (D-4D) and Toyota Hybrid system (THS). Toyota gives more priority to safety in advanced steering, braking. New control technologies are designed for safety that is installed in all Toyota‟s product. Every vehicle is designed for providing the maximum protection like SRS airbags for the case of collision. Every manufactured product go to the market only after the testing.

5.7 Green technology An eco friendly car has been developed in 1997 after the launch of Toyota Eco project. During the development of eco friendly there came an improvement in the technology such as petrol and diesel engines and new technology was introduced in electric and alternate fuel vehicles. Eco car was also developed by Engineers. The green technology is shown in the Pirus which has hybrid petrol electric vehicle. The fuel cell vehicles and FCHV 4 sport utility vehicles are the best known of the company products. Toyota does not cause environmental damage as it uses the recyclable materials for the production. Low temperature durability test, High temperature durability test, rough road durability test, flooded road driving test and crash test are considered for giving safety technology. 47

5.8 Business model towards customer satisfaction 5.8.1 Vision of TKM The companies various vision is to utilize the different technologies and service for the customers through the ground breaking products, TKM tries to contribute to Indian economy by making particular development to become as one of the best auto industry company in India which links all stake holders, TKM follows Toyota way to develop it into the most accepted and valued company in India and to be a central part company in global Toyota operations. 5.8.2 Mission of the company The mission of TKM is to prepare specific principles to simplify all the business operation of the company. It likes to attract the customers by giving high quality of products and service at a low prices, to rise the mass market the guidance are given to Toyota in worldwide operations. By promoting the intelligence of pride, ownership, mutual trust and team work it creates a demanding workplace. Thinking of the natural world and environment it wishes to create an eco-friendly company. 5.8.3 Business model In the worldwide Toyota is given the top three ranks in the leading automobile manufactures. Toyota manufactures the unique basic model as a result it covers nearly 14% of market share in first four months of the year. It rises up to 2.3% from the previous years and it is considered as good achievement of the company. The business model of Toyota is considered to have Integrated Low Cost Differentiated Strategy. This strategy helps in finding the lowest operational cost along with a unique niche that separates this model from competition. Toyota has changed to new statement from the old as „moving forward‟ which shows the future plans and expectation of the company. This tells about the all factors that a company should face. In low cost operational expenses Toyota had marketed a new CCC21 (Construction of Cost Competitiveness for the 21st century) with the new cost effective strategy. Toyota plans to achieve the name as it is the world‟s best parts purchasing shop at low cost with shortest lead times. Toyota has made the manufacturing revolution which has different practices and separate ways for the product development and designs. This can be achieved by integrating in the areas like design, production engineering, procurement and component supply. This results in the creation of standardised and multipurpose components at lower cost with the good 48

quality. The competition of the product is more as the cost of the product is reduced. As a result Toyota requires intensive coordination with the suppliers. Toyota follows an unique strategy in the automotive industry which is Integrated Differentiated Strategy. The President of Toyota says that Toyota does not try to rival other automakers and it focus only in satisfying the customers with the great products at a low costs.

5.9 Steps to improve quality for customer satisfaction In 2007, the Toyota Motor Corporation was known as the world‟s leading automobile manufacturers. TMC has announced that Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM) had set up a technical school called Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) on Bangalore in India. This TTTI provided job to the locals who had completed their middle school of education and was not able to continue the education because of the financial or other constraints. TMC mainly focuses on the disadvantaged section of Indian society and helps in their employment. This institute was started at 2007 in which the Executive Vice President, Mitsuo Kinoshita said that he was confident in the establishment of TTTI which contributes to the betterment of the Indian society by cultivating the power of the Indian youths. This institution was first started growing in 2005 when Atsushi Toyoshima is the Managing Director of TKM. He visited these institutes many times in India and belongs to Toyoshima. In his analysis he felt the syllabus followed by the institution was out dated and it does not match the requirement of the industry. An analysis was made on 4500 technical institutes but the syllabus in any institution does not sync with any of the manufacturing companies in the country. This was the major hindrance for the companies like Toyota as it as aggressive growth plans in the Indian market as the company had little talent to choose. This was difficult for the companies to select the students who then have to be trained about the requirements of the company. This made Toyoshima to set up a technical institute in India for training the technical skills of the company. Due to this Japan management as set Toyota Technical Skills Academy (TTSA). The Japan management then planned to start this TTTI in India in the month of March 2007. Toyoshima said that this training institute will teach not only of making automobiles but also to contribute to the society by developing the knowledge. This tells the ways to develop the capable human resource and hence it contributes for the development of the society. The first 49

batch of the institute consists of 60 students. Admission for this institute was carried out by advertising it as a three year technical skill program in the local newspaper to reach the public. The applications are accepted and the first batch was formed. The institute offered this course for free of cost as it does not get money for the course, boarding and also lodging. The stipend was given to the trainees in the range of Rs.1800 to 2200 per month. After the completion of course the institute itself provides the opportunity to join the company with the fellowship of US$180 and US$230. The admission was given to 64 members out of 5000 applicants and the training program was started in June 2007. 5.9.1 Approach to Customer Satisfaction The expectation of Toyota is fulfilled by the customer‟s evaluation and opinion. The company gets the opinion from the customers and responds in the correct manner and increase the way for using its product in their corporate levels. This leads to customer satisfaction. The customer demands are grasped by the company and it is constantly checked with the standards for the conformation of the problem and immediate responses are taken to solve the problems. The customer problems are taken for the notice to various departments and division in development, production and sales which helps to raise the product quality and to improve Toyota‟s corporate activities. 5.9.2 Wide Ranging Information Gathering and reflection in Development of new vehicles The customer evaluating data is being collected in wide range in Toyota. They collect the information through having the direct contact with the customers, complaints from the customer and also from the quality reports to the dealers and questionnaires given to purchase of new cars. Toyota also collects the information indirectly from the dealers and suppliers of their group. They also analyse the results from the third party institution like J.D. Power. Internet feedback system has immensely supported to get required feedback regarding service and product development Toyota strengthens its internal coordination based on the research and development after analysing the data in the vehicle production. The needs of the customer are directly contacted by the persons working in the company that is the customer relation division of the company has direct contact with the customers. The staffs consult with the customers regarding the needs and in their complaints and take steps accordingly to improve the customer satisfaction.

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The contact point for the customers and the company is known as Customer Assistance Centre. It nearly handles the suggestion of the customer and complaints from the customer with nearly 200000 people per year. Toyota has branch in India where they collect the complaints through the dealers of their company. Getting the complaint and correcting accordingly improves the growth of the company and increases the fans of Toyota. The customer‟s voice is useful for the company to develop its products and corporate activities. Direct sales, research and development and production division are handled by the Customer Relation Division. Toyota has worldwide distributors and they are evidenced by the establishment of Customer Assistance Centre.

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Chapter 6 6.0 Conclusion and recommendation 6.1 Introduction This is the last section of the research and brief conclusion about the research that has been carried out will be mentioned. The results and the finding of the research would be highlighted. The research result in relation to the literature will be evaluated. Based on the results and the findings, recommendations have been also provided along with the future area of research that would aid the organisation improve further in the future.

6.2 Evaluation of data The data gathered through case study and questionnaire method have been carefully analysed. The data collected from the customer clearly state that the organisation is continuously looking to improve the quality of the products that are being developed.According to Jha (2006) and Mehrotra (2009), the quality has been the culture in Toyota and the organisation has always focused to improve the quality of the products developed. Several quality management techniques like Just-In-Time (JIT), six sigma, Kaizen were adapted within the organisation. The customers in the research have also mentioned that the organisation focuses on the quality to improve the customer satisfaction level. This is in relation with the statement made by the president of Toyota that „Organisation focuses on satisfying the customer to attain no.1 position in the industry than by differentiation strategy followed by many others‟. The organisation shift to green technology and technological innovation to develop products according to the need of customers shows the real interest in satisfying the customers. The importance of quality management after the quality issues has been scrutinized. The gaps between the customer expectation and perception were briefly reviewed in the literature and similar gaps were found from the information gathered from the participants of the research.

6.3 Relation between findings and aim of the research 6.3.1 Toyota is named for Quality It is a well known fact that the products of Toyota are known for its quality. But after the series and continuous issue in 2009 and 2010 has brought doubt on the quality of Toyota in 52

the recent years. The organisation has effectively managed to implement the customer relationship division register the complaints and take necessary actions that are required. The importance of quality given within the organisation shows the clear interest of Toyota to improve its quality level which has brought the quality revolution into the automobile industry. Leaner production, JIT and TKM aids in continuously improving the quality of the organisation. 6.3.2 Impact of quality affects the customer satisfaction The recent issues with quality started from western countries and went all round the world has made the organisation to recall several million products in 2009. The number of recall units were higher the total production number in 2009 causing first annual loss in the decade for the organisation. Recall process has brought light into the quality issues in Toyota. This has caused severe troubles and even priced the life of few. All this events has caused dramatic dropdown in the customer satisfaction level of Toyota. When the demand of quality in India was rising, quality issues were reported in India which also affected their customer satisfaction level. It is clearly understood that quality from Toyota influences to improve the customer satisfaction level in India. The refocus on the quality with the regress improvements made in the quality management systems has enabled to develop better quality that satisfies the customers. Customer satisfaction as a mantra The customer satisfaction as been found to be mantra for the organisation to improve business performance which has taken a fresh hit recently. The organisation has setup customer relationship division to deal with the complaints from the customers and recall process when the products had some serious quality issues has enabled to develop trust on the organisation. Moreover it has also brought a positive impact on customer satisfaction in India. Shift towards the green technology and other technological innovations have also improved the customer satisfaction after the quality issues took place in Toyota.

6.4 Recommendations The organisation went through hard times in the global market recently but has not had similar impact in the Indian market. Though the impact was not to the maximum level as it had in global operations, there was an impact that could be understood from the data gathered for the research. From the analysis and the results derived, the researcher has come up with

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few possible recommendations that would support the improvement process within the organization. 6.4.1 Refocus on the quality system to improve customer satisfaction. The organisation adapts own production and quality management systems within the organisation like TPS and TKM. The area of production system that has raised recent issues with quality has to be addressed. Once addressed, it has to be monitored for the evaluation purpose that would aid the organisation in continuous improvement process. This would aid in developing quality products which could improve and ensure the customer satisfaction level in Indian market. 6.4.2 Bring quality changes in the required areas It has been identified that breaking system and related parts has caused the quality issues. It is important for the organisation to completely analyse before bringing in change into the organisation. Careful and regress analysis could spot any other quality related issues in the production system. This has to be changed appropriately to improve the quality of the products developed. The organisation should not only look at the production system to improve the quality but other systems which have failed to foresee the problems in the development stage. This would ensure the organisation that it develops only quality products which would in turn highly satisfy the customers. 6.4.3 Aim at new levels of customer satisfaction From the brief analysis carried out, the organisation efforts to improve customer satisfaction through improving the quality are evident. The internet feedback system and customer relationship division help in working with the complaints of the products that are developed by Toyota. But the organisation should also get the feedback about the internet feedback system and customer relationship system which would take customer satisfaction level next higher level.

6.4 Future research The research being carried out on the organisations are important for the further development. At the end of the research, the researcher has spotted out light in few areas where further research should be carried out to improve customer satisfaction level. The gap between the customer expectation and perception was found to be high as there is high demand from

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Toyota on quality front in Indian market. When this is carried out, the customer satisfaction level could reach next higher level that would aid in achieving the vision of the organisation.

6.5 Conclusion The research has begun with the aim of investigating the impact of quality on customer satisfaction of Toyota in India. For this the literature related to analysing the quality process and the quality management systems that are implemented in the organisation were reviewed. Furthermore literatures were reviewed on the customer satisfaction and brief review is carried out on the performance of the organisation. Qualitative research methodology has been adapted to gather and analyse the data for the research. The result derived from the questionnaire method was presented in the graphical form and case study method was highlighted and discussed. Recommendation to refocus on quality, changes in areas required to improve quality and improve the customer satisfaction level to the new level were given. The future area of research on customer perception and expectation was also spotted by the research to continuously improve the customer satisfaction of Toyota.

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Appendix The questions that was used to gather data for the research carried out quality impact on customer satisfaction of Toyota in India is mentioned below: 1. Quality is first and foremost aspect for Toyota Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 2. Recent issues has brought disastrous effect on customer satisfaction level of Toyota Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 3. Toyota is continuously looking to improve the quality management within the organisation Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

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4. The demand of quality from Toyota is high in the Indian market Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 5. Internet feedback system regarding quality and manufacture has taken the relationship to the next level between the customers and Toyota Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 6. Recall of the faulty products by Toyota in India market has built a trust and positive impact in customers Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

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7. Toyota focuses to improve customer satisfaction through quality Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 8. Customer service offered by Toyota has positive impact on customer satisfaction level Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

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