HR/MANAGEMENT 36 CARIBBEAN BUSINESS THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014

The latest trend in management styles: Toyota KataPRMA hosting seminar on 'managing by means'

BY XAVIRA NEGGERS CRESCIONIxavira@caribbeanbusiness.pr

Local business people will have a chance to tapinto Toyota Kata, the latest trend in manage-

ment styles, during an all-day seminar the Puer-to Rico Manufacturers Association is offeringMay 1 at the trade group's head-quarters at Guaynabo's Interna-tional Marketing Center.

Merck, Shell and BMW are amongthe companies using this "routinefor continuous improvement" sinceMike Rother developed this man-agement system in 2009. Rotherdeveloped Toyota Kata, or prac-tice, based on his in-depth study ofToyota's corporate culture and whatenabled Toyota to react quickly andcompetitively in an ever-changingmarketplace.

During the past four years, ToyotaKata has taken root in Africa, Swe-den, Iceland, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Chi-na, Singapore and the U.S., among other places.

Trevor Hopster, Toyota Kata master coach andconsultant for W-3 Group, and Yolanda LaSalle,founder of LaSalle Group, will lead the train-ing session in Toyota Kata techniques, whichcosts $795 per person and is the first time this

information has been made available to the publicin Puerto Rico.

"Clients are learning things that will help themonce we get out of their site," said LaSalle, whofounded her management consulting companyin 2009 after 25 years in the pharmaceutical in-dustry. "This will leave a legacy of people who

will be able to take Puerto Rico to thenext level."

While often used in manufacturing,Toyota Kata can be applied to any jobor company, LaSalle said.

Instead of traditional results-basedmanagement, Toyota Kata focuses onthe means that will lead to results, andthen, once that result is achieved, striv-ing toward the company's next goal(target condition), et al. This allowscompanies to attain seemingly impos-sible goals by focusing on the how ofeach small, incremental improvementon a continuous basis.

"The problem with results-basedmanagement is that once you reach the result,you tend to sit back and rest on your laurels. Theproblem is that nothing stays the same. It's eithergetting better or getting worse," explained JeffCain, partner of W-3 Group.

Toyota Kata also differs from traditional man-agement in that managers don't just give workers

a goal to reach, but rather ask and review howeach employee is contributing to the company'soverall immediate goal, such as making 100 morevials of antibiotic per shift without hiring newworkers.

This is referred to as coaching kata. Coachingkata questions that can be emphasized or repeatedfor a routine of continued improvement are:

1. What is the challenge?2. What is your target condition?3. What is the actual condition now?4. What do you think the obstacles are that

prevent you from achieving your targetcondition?

5. Which "one" obstacle are you addressingnow?

6. What step did you take to address thisobstacle?

7. When can we see what you have leamedfrom that step?

This continued application of simple methodshas led to tremendous results at companies. Forexample, after six months applying Toyota Kataat Merck's manufacturing plant in Elkton, Md.,the plant reduced downtime on each productionshift from 2 hours and 42 minutes to 1 minute40 seconds; reduced assembly-line alarms from1 in 1,000 vials to one in 50,000 vials; and in-creased output from 75,000 vials to 95,000 vialsper shift. •

85 Broads: Connecting^ inspiring women in Puerto RicoNetworking organization of professional women works for global economic empowerment

BY HÉCTOR MONCLOVA VÁZQUEZhectorm @ caribbeanbusiness.pr

It has about 32,000 members from a large diver-sity of industries in more than 130 countries.

The women who are its members are making aglobal network of professionals who are inclinedtoward excellence and fight for a better world. InNovember, a chapter of the organization openedin Puerto Rico.

"In January, a chapter started in Mexico, andnext month one will open in Abu Dhabi [UnitedArab Emirates]," said Karys Rodríguez, a financialanalyst at Banco Popular and co-president of thelocal chapter. The other co-president is industrialengineer Bonnie Bandas, vice president of Popu-lar's Corporate Group, Both of them brought 85Broads to Puerto Rico, which is perhaps the mostimportant networking organization for profes-sional women in the world, and its mission is toachieve economic empowerment globally,

Rodriguez heard about 85 Broads when she wasa student of economics and political sciences atUniversity of Chicago. "My mentor there worked

at Goldman Sachs [(GS) which was involved withthe creation of the organization] and was part ofits board in Chicago, When I was working there,I joined the organization," she said.

The name "85 Broads" was generally linked withGS, with the number "85" and "Broads" derivedfrom the financial firm's address at 85 Broad St.in New York. The organization, a precursor ofsocial networks, was created in 1997 by Jane Han-son, a top executive in GS, who after giving birth,felt distant from the business world she knew andloved—so much so that she felt "disjointed" by it,promising to "start a network that would preventthis from ever happening again, to me or any otherwomen."

The organization was started at GS and includedretired and veteran women, who originally usedthe group to reach younger women for mentor-ships, a key aspect that is still part of the organiza-tion's raison d'être.

"After that, 85 Broads spread across differentcompanies and industries—not only in the finan-cial sector. Now we have students, midlevel careerwomen, and C-level and entrepreneurial women,"

stated Rodriguez, who after returning to PuertoRico searched for a similar effort, but found almostnothing.

"I looked for a group like that at [Banco] Popu-lar, or for a cross-industry group, and there weresome groups, but all within their line of business.From that moment [between Rodriguez and Ban-das], the idea was bom to bring this cross-industry,cross-generational and global organization of morethan 30,000 women to Puerto Rico. Among itsmission are the objectives of educating womenand providing them with the skills they need tosucceed in the workplace. Another objective is toeducate women, on a broader public scale, aboutgender-related issues inside and outside business,"Rodriguez explained.

Aside from the co-presidents, 10 addition-al women comprise the organization's board.They are Giselle Bonet, Betina Castellvi, MaraGonzález, Maria Elena de la Cmz, Anne MarieMcCurdy, Elba Luis Lugo, Sheila Gómez, MarielLama, Shirley Sanabria, Rosa Hemández, MariaAwilda Quintana, Doreen Castañer and WesleyCullen. •

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