North American executives at Toyota Motor Co. now have increased access to information from the company’s Japan headquarters,
the
New York Times
reported.
As … longtime American executives tell it, a new era has arrived at Toyota. Its face is [Akio] Toyoda, who [in June] reaches his first year as president, and by these accounts, has come to appreciate how closely Toyota flirted with disaster in the United States — and is prepared to shake things up because of it.
According to U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), however, “it is still difficult to coax information from the company about its safety problems,” and analysts note “it is far to soon to say if this is the moment when Toyota departs from its Japanese roots and shares real authority with executives elsewhere,” the
Times
reported.
Nonetheless, interviews with current and former executives at Toyota, government regulators and others who deal regularly with the company suggest that Mr. Toyoda has, in the least, begun to bridge the gap between the company’s Japanese corporate culture and its biggest and most important market, the United States.
Rodney Slater, the former secretary of transportation and leader of an outside advisory panel formed by Toyota following the massive recalls of its vehicles, said “Mr. Toyoda’s realization that a problem exists is just as important as any committees, processes or changes that follow.” (Source:
New York Times,
June 3, 2010.)
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