Toyota Motor Sales

The Big Fix at Toyota Motor Sales (TMS)

1. Describe the advantages of TMS's new decentralized IS structure. What are the disadvantages?

Looking at the new structure, it is apparent that decentralized structure provides more control and more what TMS need when taking in consideration their business structure. Cooper discovered that the IS system was both isolated and primitive, so it was in no way acting efficiently for the company. By decentralizing the structure, it automatically improved efficiency. When Cooper resigned the system, she took in account each segment, which allowed her to form relationships between segments that would generate cost saving and improvements in each area.

The advantages include the cost to build, implement, and maintain the new structure and the time that it would take including time for implementation, training, and ongoing updates. By being flexible TMS's DIO had its own responsibility and was accountable for each BU, as well as for the IS's strategy. Therefore, it had a better understanding what the needs of each BU were on both IT and business perspectives. The technology, then, customized to each BU. The rotation of the DIO created a partnership between the business units and IS department. However, there would be a loss of control making it difficult to maintain certain standards and consistent data. To have a deeper customization for each BU there would be a higher infrastructure cost. Another problem of the new IS system was the changing jobs of the staffs majority. If Cooper did not get the support from all staffs this may have been a big problem during the transition. By accepting the disadvantages the goal of the IS project could be accomplished, which was to make significant improvements in the business side, which included new roles, reporting lines, and responsibilities.

2. What problem was Cooper trying to solve with the new IS structure? How successful do you think the new structure will be solving these problem?

The main problem is that there is no real cohesion between units. One of the first things she noticed was that IS was isolated and primitive. In -house IS could not deliver the demands from BU, and it was not supported by the executive managers. With the revamping of the entire IS structure she was able to create relationships that could act as partnerships working toward the same goal. With the new ESC, and DIO, IS been integrated closely in the business side, it had became a leverage for business instead of a burden.

Cooper focused on the business side due to the complete lack that the current structure provided. IS could not explain to the business what it was doing and what the financial need needed. This situation changed under the new system. By restructuring the system and creating DOIs, their goal has become to forge relationships and gain the respect of high-level business executives. ESC was the key answer to the problem. All the IS funding for each DIO projects, now, went through ESC therefore ESC knows the financial situation for each project which it approved. IS was almost useless and became a cost burden for the company because it could not help the business strategy. Cooper was very successful at creating and implementing the new structure. The IS structure