[4] Jeffrey K. Liker popularized the philosophy in his 2004 book, The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer.
The philosophy was subsequently analyzed in the 2004 book The Toyota Way by industrial engineering researcher Jeffrey Liker and has received attention in business administration education and corporate governance.
The system is summarized in 14 principles:[10] In 2004, Jeffrey Liker, a University of Michigan professor of industrial engineering, published The Toyota Way.
In his book, Liker calls the Toyota Way "a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work.
The seven types of muda are (1) overproduction; (2) waiting, time on hand; (3) unnecessary transport or conveyance; (4) overprocessing or incorrect processing; (5) excess inventory; (6) motion; and (7) defects.
These principles are also designed to ensure that only essential materials are employed (to avoid overproduction), that the work environment is maintained efficiently (the 5S Program) to help people share workstations and to reduce time looking for needed tools, and that the technology used is reliable and thoroughly tested.
The final principles embrace a philosophy of problem-solving that emphasizes thorough understanding, swiftly implemented consensus-based solutions, continual reflection (hansei), and improvement (kaizen).
The 12th principle (Genchi Genbutsu) sets out the expectation that managers will personally evaluate operations to understand situations and problems firsthand.
[14] The automaker's increase in vehicle recalls may be due, in part, to "a failure by Toyota to spread its obsession for craftsmanship among its growing ranks of overseas factory workers and managers.
[14] Toyota Way has been driven so deeply into the psyche of employees at all levels that it has morphed from a strategy into an essential element of the company's culture.
[25] According to some management consultants, when the pursuit of growth took priority, the automaker "lost sight of the key values that gave it its reputation in the first place.