Productivity is “A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs.” (BusinessDictionary.com) It is a way for companies to maintain their quality and quantity of products and services in a cost effective manner. Especially if several companies are at the same level, able to access the same factors of inputs and goods, incur similar costs of production then price becomes the key to success during such competition. Such a growing market generally provides an opportunity and necessity to companies for achieving greater productivity. This essay will aim to evaluate a growing product market as a necessary precondition for achieving “super productivity” while taking the automobile industry as a growing industry, especially during the 1980s and 1990s, and using Ford’s and Toyota’s productive methods as examples.
In a growing industry, most companies would like to achieve superior productivity. Superior productivity is often associated with the advances a company’s production system will achieve through technological and managerial changes. In order to evaluate the necessity of growing product market as a precondition for superior productivity, one must understand the growing stage of the Product Life Cycle. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) has four stages; introductory, growth, mature and decline stage. The growing stage is like the transition period from the first to the second stage. Since companies experience the highest level of competition in a growing product market, they try to expand their market share and indulge in different marketing, pricing and advancing methods to be the leaders of the market. Thus,