Toyota's safety recalls - Are they indicators of problems associated with quality management, outsourcing or simply indicators of setting inconsistent competitive priorities in operations strategy?

Toyota is known for its innovative operations management practices. Over the last three decades Toyota has received many awards for their excellent quality and performance. The marketplace has rewarded them with higher sales and market-share, ultimately making them the world's largest producer of automobiles. So what went wrong in January 2010? Are the safety recalls due to faulty gas pedals an example of an isolated, one-time problem or are they symptoms of bigger long-term problems with Toyota and also the automobile industry?

Topics that the essay must address:

* How has operations strategy and competitive priorities evolved in the automobile industry during the last 100 years

* What are the positive and negative tradeoffs associated with outsourcing production functions to supplier organizations?

* What quality systems and procedures and systems should Toyota have followed to ensure that faulty automobiles are not delivered to the customers?