Review at least one article in the University’s online library dealing with corporate governance. Determine the relationship of the firm’s governance and the firm’s strategic plan. How does governance manage the plan, inform the plan, amend the plan, and/or direct future action of the firm using the plan. Support your position with other peer-reviewed articles from the Ashford University Library. Submit your findings in a three to four page APA style paper. Introduction Toyota Motor Corp. s a company that produces vehicles. Their logo is “filled with possibilities”. It is a cleaver logo because it is a picture of a gas tank set on full. The “F” for full, is used in the logo to start the word Filled. Toyota has been in the United States since 1957 (www. toyota. com). Toyota was a trusted company until a defect in the gas pedals was detected. This led to some massive recalls. The purpose of my paper is to evaluate Toyota’s corporate governance and the relationship to the firm’s strategic plan. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is a term that refers broadly to the rules, processes, or laws by which businesses are operated, regulated, and controlled. The term can refer to internal factors defined by the officers, stockholders or constitution of a corporation, as well as to external forces such as consumer groups, clients, and government regulations” (2006). According to Search Financial Security, “In recent years, corporate governance has received increased attention because of high-profile scandals involving abuse of corporate power and, in some cases, alleged criminal activity by corporate officers.

An integral part of an effective corporate governance regime includes provisions for civil or criminal prosecution of individuals who conduct unethical or illegal acts in the name of the enterprise” (2006). Toyota’s view on corporate governance is they “strive to enhance the long-term stability of its corporate value and maintain society’s trust by earnestly fulfilling its CSR commitments in accordance with its Basic Philosophy. We strive to enhance our corporate governance based on the elief that maintaining and improving management efficiency and the fairness and transparency of our corporate activities is of utmost importance” (Toyota. com, n. d. ). Governance helps to manage the plan, inform the plan, amend the plan, and/or direct future action of the firm using the plan. Toyota uses a method they call A3’s, named after the international paper size that they are printed on. “A3s are deceptively simple. An A3 is composed of a sequence of boxes (seven in the example) arrayed in a template.

Inside the boxes the A3’s “author” attempts, in the following order, to: (1) establish the business context and importance of a specific problem or issue; (2) describe the current conditions of the problem; (3) identify the desired outcome; (4) analyze the situation to establish causality; (5) propose countermeasures; (6) prescribe an action plan for getting it done; and (7) map out the follow-up process” (Shook, 2009). The goal of the A3 system is not to solve the problem, but by using the process, it will make the problem solving transparent.

It creates an environment of thinking, learning problem solvers. It aligns people and teams on a common goal. “Toyota’s previous strategy plans have highlighted vague concepts such as improved corporate citizenship and greater delegation of responsibility to local operations outside Japan. Likewise, company officials say the coming statement will be short on specific numerical targets and results-oriented commitments by senior management.

That is likely to disappoint investors and other Toyota watchers, who say the auto maker needs a detailed plan to instill faith in management and restore lost luster to its brands” (2011). The relationship between Toyota’s corporate governance and their strategic plan is that they are trying to fix problems before they arise. If they follow the laws and keep customers safe, they will make more money. Conclusion Toyota Motor Corp. is a company that produces vehicles and possibilities. Toyota was a trusted company till a defect in the gas petals was detected.