Toyota

ITSY/048
IBS Center for Management Research

Knowledge Management Practices at Toyota Motors
This case was written by N. Ruchi Chaturvedi, under the direction of Sanjib Dutta, IBS Center for Management Research. It was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation.

2005, IBS Center for Management Research. All rights reserved.
To order copies, call [phone]/68 or write to IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally,
Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 504, Andhra Pradesh, India or email: [e-mail] www.icmrindia.org ITSY/048
Knowledge Management Practices at Toyota Motors
“Toyota does not have a separate Knowledge Management philosophy and strategy; managing and sharing knowledge are a part of everyday life at Toyota.”
- Rory Chase (Chase), Managing Director, Teleos.1
“I believe Toyota has raised continuous improvement and employee involvement to a unique level, creating one of the few examples of a genuine learning enterprise in human history - not a small accomplishment.” - Jeffrey K. Liker (Liker), Director, Japan Technology Management Program,
University of Michigan.2
KNOWLEDGE AS POWER
In 2004 Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) was Japan s largest company and the world s second largest automobile company with worldwide unit sales of 6.7 million.3 It was recognized as one of the world s best knowledge enterprises, and was a three-time winner of the Global Most Admired
Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) Survey4, and a five-time winner of the MAKE Japan Survey. This award recognizes best practices in the area of Knowledge Management. The survey studied enterprises on criteria like knowledge-based