Acheiving Global Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Acheiving Global Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The organization employs more than 320,808 people in 160 countries (Toyota Motor Corporation, Annual Report, 2009). TMC is a multinational company. It is a very popular auto company. It designs environment-friendly and superior technology cars. The company was established in the year 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda. However, the company gained global eminence in the year 1952. The company started advancing in leaps and bounds. North American was the first country to import the cars of Toyota (Source: Toyota Motor Corporation, Annual Report, 2008). TMC and Toyota Motor Sales joined forces in the year 1982 to augment the international presence of the company. There are 522 subsidiaries of the company. In 2008 the company had achieved the status of â€Å"The biggest automobile-manufacturer†, but the financial crisis of 2007 saw the fall in revenue generation of TMC. Its current global standing is number three. The company is based in Toyota City, Aichi in Japan (Toyota, Overview, 2011). The company took over General Motors in 2008. The company is proficient in designing and manufacturing an array of products. The main line of production ranges from luxury and sports vehicles. It also manufactures buses, minivans, trucks, and SUVs. These vehicles are manufactured using either hybrid or combustion engines (like Prius). The subsidiaries of Toyota (like Daihatsu Motor) are also proficient in auto manufacturing. Hino Motors (another subsidiary) manufactures buses and trucks. TMC also produces automotive parts. These are used in the vehicles made by TMC, as well as sold to other automobile manufacturers. The most popular Toyota models are Tundra Truck, Lexus Line, Land Cruiser, Corolla, and Camry. Toyota vehicles are very popular in Asia, which contributes to 40 percent of its sales (Toyota, Products and Services, 2011). TMC has expertise in not only car-manufacturing but also many other fields like e-Toyota business, afforestation,

Philosophy of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Philosophy of Education - Essay Example Teachers are asked to follow certain procedures or teach certain topics. There is readjustment in schools from admission criteria to the marking system. In such an environment it is natural to ask questions that deal with the content of education and not methods. What should be taught and who should decide it. Should it be the government, parents or the children themselves? The question that is discussed here is whether a child’s needs and interests should determine the syllabus. At first look this question looks a bit odd because it is based on the assumption that children are mature enough to guide their own education. But what looks as an assumption is actually a vague hint at the child-centered theories that exist in modern philosophy of education. These theories believe that any education that is not child-centered is not in fact education at all (Barrow, 116) I believe that a child’s needs, wants and interests shouldn’t determine the syllabus. But in this e ssay I will look at both sides of the issue. I will provide reasons behind this argument. There are many theorists who believe that the children shouldn’t be trained but instead they should be nourished. But I believe that both training and nourishment are required. Rousseau discovered that Children’s mental capabilities and ways of looking at things were quite distinct from those of adults. He said that people need to recognize that children were mentally different and unique. In his book Social Contract he said that all men are born free. I agree with Rousseau but don’t believe that a child is completely free from any restriction (Chandra, 90). Children may be unique but I don’t agree with Rousseau’s line of thinking. Even George Bernard Shaw said that this was ‘‘the most flagrant lie ever told by a sane man.'' I think that the child-centered theories have become extremist in their claims about children being able to decide right curr iculum for themselves. Earlier there was a dearth of philosophy of education. Now we can rest on the findings of Piaget and other researchers. But this opulence of literature on child education wasn’t always present. For a long time the only relevant theories came from a pragmatist philosopher called John Dewey. Dewey had a huge stature in United States and his personal influence led formation of tradition of philosophy of education influenced by his viewpoints. Their views are in sharp contrast to the subject-centered theories that existed before this new debate on education. Before this the education system was formed on the Christian belief of fallibility of man and his salvation through service of the God (Hastings, 587). Because of this thinking a child was an evil soul and hence it needed discipline in order to be saved from the sins. This view is completely different from the child-centered views who uphold that a child’s interest should be a beacon for his stud ent life. The Christian view of child needing authority was flawed for various reasons. It ignored two factors: the sinfulness and fallibility of those in authority, and the necessity for a mutual responsibility between teacher and pupil for the conduct of the educational process. This mutuality is necessary for proper communication. Child-centered theorists such as A.S. Neill believe that a child’s nature is intrinsically good. They believe that a child has an innate wisdom and realism (Neill, 200). Here we see diametrically opposite views on the innate quality of children. It is the adults who