At Toyota, it's the attitudes that need adjusting, not the floor ...

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By Lauren | May 23, 2011

For those of us who avidly followed the drama at Toyota last year, it was almost disappointing to learn that the company was right about why its cars were suddenly accelerating under the feet of frightened drivers. In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed that the electric throttle system in Toyota?s vehicles was not the cause of unintended acceleration. That finding supported Toyota?s claim that the problem was created by a simple problem with the floor mats in some of its cars.

How utterly mundane.

The story has become more interesting, however, now that the panel of safety experts that Toyota commissioned last year has issued its report. The panel confirmed that Toyota failed to give its North American management team adequate decision-making authority to handle quality and safety problems. The company also failed to listen carefully to its outside critics, ignoring complaints until the unintended acceleration issue spun out of control (no pun intended).

Toyota used to enjoy an enviable reputation as the world?s top automaker. It remains astonishing that the company?s top management allowed a minor problem with floormats to escalate into a major public relations catastrophe. The story here seems less about a technical problem with Toyota?s products than about a company that let its success go to its collective head. Pride continues to go before a fall. That?s a story that many companies would be wise to heed.

Topics: Business Ethics, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |

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Source: http://www.thebusinessethicsblog.com/at-toyota-its-the-attitudes-that-need-adjusting-not-the-floor-mats

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