Toyota hosts Toyota Way in Sales and Marketing lecture

MANILA, Philippines -  Aiming to inspire a generation of future business leaders and to disseminate the philosophies of the Toyota Way, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) held a special lecture on Toyota Way in Sales and Marketing (TWSM) last January 22, 2010 at the GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center Auditorium in UP Diliman. Yoshio Ishizaka, senior advisor to Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), was invited to talk about the key points of his book entitled “Toyota Way in Sales and Marketing” and share concrete and practical examples from his vast experience in Toyota. Vicente Socco, an alumnus of the UP Diliman School of Economics and currently the senior vice president of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, hosted the event and facilitated the panel discussion following the lecture. The lecture was attended by associates from the automotive industry, partners from different academic institutions, and members of the Toyota Network.

Built on the two pillars of continuous improvement and respect for people, Toyota Way is the fundamental DNA at Toyota, which defines the beliefs and values shared by all Toyota associates in every part of the world. Former president and current chairman, Fujio Cho, embarked on an initiative to develop a standard set of principles to address the growing need for a common corporate culture brought about by the expanding operations of Toyota across different countries around the globe. One interesting practice of TWSM is the Glocal approach, which involves the process of “thinking globally, yet acting locally”. While best practices are being shared among overseas Toyota employees, it is imperative to customize these in accordance to the needs of the local market to further improve operations.

The TWSM Lecture is yet another fitting endeavor in line with Toyota’s efforts in promoting Asian and Philippine Studies Program in the Philippines. “As Ishizaka-san once said, a good leader is a student forever. Although the Toyota Way was developed through automotive business, I hope you will find it relevant in your respective areas as well,” expressed Hiroshi Ito, former president of Toyota Motor Philippines.