Toyotism, or accumulation flexible, is a mode of production that succeeded the Fordism from the 1970s. This industrial model was initially applied in Japan due to territorial limitations existing in that country, which is extremely dependent on the import of raw materials and has little space to store its products.
Toyotism is characterized by breaking with the Fordist pattern of mass production, which stood out for its maximum storage of raw materials and machine-made products. With this new mode of production, manufacturing started not to value more for quantity, but for efficiency: it is produced within the standards to serve the consumer market, that is, production varies according to demand.
With that, the system was implemented just-in-time (in literal translation: “just in time”). In this system, the import of raw materials and the manufacture of the product take place in conjunction with consumer orders, with delivery deadlines to be met. In this way, the supply of products will never be greater than the demand, which leads to a reduction in the number of products in stock and the risk of falling profits for investors.
O just in time has become predominant in the current mode of production
As the implementation of the Toyotist system expanded in the world of the industrial market, the more notorious was the deregulation of labor conditions and rights. Unlike Fordism, in which a worker performed only a single function, now the same worker is responsible for different functions, performing them according to the company's needs. Due to this flexibility, Toyotism was also called flexible accumulation.
In addition, there was an increase in outsourcing in the production process, as it became cheaper pay another company to do a certain service than a single corporation to command the entire process productive. This amplified the increase in unemployment and the formation of the reserve army of workers, providing an average decrease in wages and an increase in the precariousness of work.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/toyotismo-acumulacao-flexivel.htm
