Toyota Origins Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toyota Origins - Term Paper Example (Piotrowski & Guyette, 2010, p.89) It was Mr. Toyoda Sakichi, who provided the original impetus to the young company. This entrepreneur and inventor par excellence translated some of the creative ideas he employed in the textile industry to the fledgling automobile industry. Under the mentorship of Toyoda Sakichi, his son Toyoda Kiichiro applied the proven methods of efficiency from the textile looms to automobile manufacturing. In mid-twentieth century, Ford and General Motors had a significant market share of the Japanese car industry, and competing with them was near impossible. Yet, based on the visionary aspiration of the deceased Toyoda Sakichi, his son took upon the challenge of competing with the bigger firms. Apart from the founder’s vision, some practical necessities in the form of Japanese military missions also facilitated the growth of Toyota Motor Corporation in its early days. And then when the legendary Ohno Taiichi joined the company after the Second World War , his incisive engineering inputs helped transform the company into a reputable global player. (Price, 1997, p.14) In 2001, Toyota issued a document titled Toyota Way 2001, which highlights some of the core principles and values espoused by the management and the workforce. Some of these principles also serve as strategically important in distinguishing Toyota from other companies. For example, principles such as Respect for People, Continuous Improvement, etc are inculcated into the workforce right during times of prosperity and distress. The automotive market in the world is said to be highly competitive and volatile. Moreover, demand in this market is affected by a number of factors such as social, political and general economic conditions; launch of new vehicles and technologies; and expenses incurred by customers to buy and operate vehicles. These factors can make consumer demand to vary substantially from one year to another across market geographies and for different types of automobiles. Yet, in spite of such uncertainties and still competition, a recent annual report of Toyota shows â€Å"increasing unit sales from 2006 to 2008, based on the total unit sales of its products all over the world. But, based on the unit sales per geographic segment, there was a decline in the  Toyota unit sales in Japan, from 2,364,000 units in 2006 down to 2,188,000 units in 2008. Despite the decline in the unit sales of  Toyota’s products in Japan,  Toyota’s market share (including Daihatsu and Hino) including min-vehicles, and  Toyota and Lexus' market share excluding mini vehicles, remained at a high level close to prior fiscal year reflecting the sales efforts of domestic dealers (Cortez   & Penacerrada, 2010, p.113). One of the key driving forces behind the continued success of Toyota is its embrace of Lean Manufacturing and Just-In-Time Production techniques. Then there is the overarching set of philosophies and values brought under the ter m the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way can be further broken down into 4 components. First is a long-term approach to management decision making; second is a systematic approach to problem-solving; third is value addition to the company; and fourth is to focus on solving persistent problems facing the company. These principles and procedures add up to form the formidable

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, Essay

With specific reference to the UK economy over the past 20 years, critically discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of operating a floating exchange rate regime - Essay Example In a floating exchange rate system, the market forces determine the value of the currency; that is, by the interactions of several of banks, firms and other institutions seeking to sell and buy currency for the purposes of clearing transactions, arbitrage, hedging, and speculation. In October 1990, the UK joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), where the Sterling Pound was fixed against other currencies. In September 1992, UK left the ERM when the pound experienced sustained selling pressure, and the monetary authorities could no longer justify extremely high interest rates to maintain the value of the pound, when the domestic economy was under a deep recession. Since 1992, UK has adopted a flexible exchange rate system; there is no official intervention by the Bank of England to the currency markets to attain the desired level of exchange rate (Roderick & Paul 2004, p.143). The following are the key arguments in favor of a flexible exchange rate. First, reduced necessity for currency reserves; there is no target for an exchange rate level meaning there is little necessity for the Bank of England to hold large scale reserves of foreign currency and gold to use in possible official intervention, in the currency markets. However, in the real world, for example, in UK, the government always has some currency reserves, in case of balance of payments crisis, or the sentiment that the Sterling Pound is getting a bit too low or too high (Karl 2010, p.182). Second, useful tool of macroeconomic adjustment; a floating exchange rate may act as a useful instrument of macroeconomic adjustment. For example, depreciation of the currency should provide a boost in demand of net exports and thereby stimulate growth. This assumes that the higher wage claims or export prices do not dissolve the achievements from a low exchange rate as noted