Analyze How Should Mcthai Maintain Its Market Competitiveness During the Global Recession with Specific References to the “Porter’s Five Forces Analysis”

{draw:frame} {draw:frame} World’s largest carmaker Toyota has announced that it will reduce its worker’s working hour and wages in the UK by 10% (BBC Business). The aim of this strategy is to reduce its high labour turnover which is caused by the global recession. Toyota announced from its annual report that during the year of 2008 the company has experienced difficulties in its sales, production and marketing, which lead to the loss of $ 1.6 billion (see Toyota Announces Results for January 2009 for latest update). “This would be Toyota 's first operating loss since 1950”, Toyota spokesman Steve Curtis said (CNNMoney.com). This announcement will take effect on the 1st of April 2009 and has been described as a “positive move” by the Unite union as they were the representative for the workers who negotiated this plan. This plan will provide stability to the Toyota workers as they will not be made redundant and a steady income will still made. On the other hand, Toyota can still maintain a high-level skilled work force ready when the upturn comes. Toyota tries to maximize its profitability by reducing costs and even downsizing as a measure to counter the global recession. In the UK, Toyota has already suspended a night shift production line for a total of four weeks in order to reduce operating costs. Toyota is also considering downsizing in the UK, it has already cut 200 temporary jobs and opened a voluntary redundancy scheme. A voluntary redundancy scheme is a financial incentive offered by an organization to its employees with the purpose of attracting volunteers to leave the organization, due to downsizing or restructuring situations. The purpose is to circumvent union employee regulation laws. {draw:frame} {draw:a} The advantages of this plan would be that it has provided a motivation towards its workers as they only lose 10% of their wages rather than being made redundant which fits the Taylor’s motivation (Wikipedia, Scientific management) as money is

Bibliography: http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/22/news/companies/toyota/index.htm BBC Business, last updated at 13:41 GMT, Wednesday, 11 March 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7936397.stm Wikipedia, Scientific management, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management Toyota Announces Results for January 2009 http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/09/0225.html