Kaizen Costing Case Study

The case describes the details about the production process of Toyota and the principles they are following, like JIT & Jidoka in Toyota Production System (TPS), heijunka & kaizen. How they have control the cost, maintain quality through process

Cost accounting is used by most companies whether manufacturing or service to keep track of their daily activities. It is essential in understanding the costs of running any enterprise. In other words they aid in determining the costs of inputs and outputs used in production. It involves analyzing and evaluating different approaches in order to determine the most suitable method that management can use suitably and one that can aid in future planning. Cost accounting is therefore an essential tool in decision making. Decisions made may involve pricing levels, future investment, production levels and coming up with a good competitive strategy. Different industries use different cost accounting method depending on the type of services provided or product manufactured.

Managerial accounting is essential for decision making. Making the best choice depends on the manager's goals, the anticipated results from each alternative, and the information available when the decision is made (Schneider, 2012). The different techniques associated with managerial accounting are very helpful in the decisions that need to be made. In order to truly understand decision making with managerial accounting one must first discern exactly what managerial accounting means and some of the techniques associated with it. The definition of managerial accounting will be discussed along with the techniques of cost management techniques, budgeting, and quality control.

Critically examine the above statements by analysing the contribution of traditional management accounting techniques in an organisation, the necessity for modern management accounting techniques and the role of accountants in the implementation of the modern management accounting techniques in an organisation.

In the book, The Toyota Way, Jeffery Liker provides an in-depth account of, not only the tools and methods of Toyota’s Production System, but also a broader explanation of the principles at work in the Toyota culture. This philosophy of manufacturing can be summarized through two important pillars: “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect for People.” These pillars help define Toyota’s approach to doing business, were the focus is on continuous learning and embracing change. By incorporating this ideology and its 14 principles into its manufacturing operations, Toyota has become the greatest manufacturer in the world. In this essay, I will provide a synopsis of Toyota’s 14 principles and also offer my own account of lean manufacturing at CNH Industrial.

As per the case Danaher Corp decided to develop and utilize Toyota Production System‘s Lean Manufacturing principles of Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) into corporate management. Danaher Corp screen industries to acquire

Yet, the public perceptions may be at odds with the objective measures. In Toyota’s case, there have been indications that the quality level of the company’s products had fallen off in a span of few years. There are changes that have taken place during a period when most of the company’s close competitors, such as Fords, were producing more cost-effective and efficient automobiles. In addition, the company’s unique production approach and the emphasis on continuous improvement and learning coupled with a matrix structure are key reasons for the company’s leadership in the cat manufacturing industry. Toyota’s Production Systems (TPS) was founded in the principles of “Just-in-time. This approach has less opportunity for slack resources and focuses of the benefits of efficiency on the part of employees and reduction on waste resources (Griffin and Gregory, 5). Further, Toyota Company enacts its production system with the assistance of its human resources strategies, culture, and organizational structure. Toyota’s Production System emphasizes on learning and modesty when it comes to assessing past success and differentiated them from

As Taiichi Ohno rightly says – “People don’t go to Toyota to ‘work’, they go there to think”. “where there is no standard, there can be no kaizen”, and “Improvement is endless and

Bhimani, A., Horngren, C., Datar, S., Rajan, M. et al. (2012) Management and Cost Accounting. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall, p.369 - 378.

Costing system is the most important part for any business or engineering company. Cost accounting is necessary for a company to be able to exercise control over the actual costs incurred compared with planned expenditure. From the point of view of cost control, a costing system should not only be able to identify any costs that are running out of control but should also provide a tool that can assist in determining the action that is required to doing right things.

Modern accounting systems have become the foundation from which the modern organization can rely and depend upon to maintain a strong efficient strategy that will help the organization grow. The modern accounting systems embraces the old accounting practices that have been used for hundreds of years and builds upon that platform to give modern organizations control over the finances. There must be set in place internal controls to keep the company assets from being stolen and that is why modern accounting systems utilizes many internal controls with the organization. The modern accounting system is one of the most valuable assets that a modern organization has in its possession because modern accounting systems make better use of the

Toyota’s employees develop strengths through their ability in innovative-thinking by creating continuous improvement known as Kaizens. For example, “Kanban” or ”Pull-System” allows prevention of over-production and manages the inventory accordingly with efficiency.

Lean manufacturing originated long before Toyota and Ford, however the thought that it originated with Toyota is flattering since they are the ones who perfected it. By creating the Toyota Production System (TPS), Toyota found a better way to produce large quantities of product efficiently with eliminating the waste factor and while cutting down cost. Taiichi Ohno a former Toyota vice president promoted the idea of JIT (Just-in-Time) which means “producing the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the necessary time.” (Monden) Which leads to Toyota’s ultimate goal in the TPS is to improve productivity for better return in investment. To have continuous flow in a production system Toyota sought out to achieve the concept of JIT and autonomation . Since the TPS is what creates the parts who monitors the JIT system? The kanban system which is an informational system that controls quantities being produce in each process. As the discussion carries on throughout this paper about Toyota and their use of the kanban system the topic

The major problem that Toyota is facing with its Tundra plants in North America is the sharp drop in demand of pick-up trucks. As the global demand shifted from trucks to smaller cars, sales of the Tundra had been down by 53%. Toyota also faced the problem of overstocks of the 2008 Tundra models due to the unexpected sharp drop in demand. As Toyota emphasizes on its knowledge management system, the five principles of challenge, kaizen, genchi genbutsu, respect and teamwork become the essential strategies for Toyota to success. Therefore, laying off workers would not be a good solution, as it would harm the company’s strategy and knowledge management efforts. However, there are other actions that Toyota can take to hedge its

Application of appropriate cost performance strategy is a vital tool for the organizational objective. Budgeting procedure & its implementation is an important element of the cost accounting practice. The organization that has a substantial history of efficient budgeting methods can easily read the market. The total costing system is a basic of all small and independent cost measurement technique. An organization must have an accounting fit to the infrastructure and management development team. Any kind of variance in the performance must be dealt with due diligence. Cost has a relationship with the whole production process. Whenever this kind of fit is well suited to the performance of the company, there is a strong possibility that the company will improve.