Flexibilization of the managerial discourse as a strategy to legitimate the power of companies in the age of toyotism: a discussion based on daily workers' experience

Abstract

In recent decades, the prevalence of a discourse which asserts that the hard Taylorism-Fordism was surpassed by a more flexible and humanized work organization model has been observed in the media and, above all, in the managerial literature. It has been noted that the main topics of that discourse - competence, work participation, teamwork and autonomy - deal with aspects that historically have been part of workers' claims. This article begins with a discussion regarding the role of the managerial discourse on the diffusion of the current "spirit of the capitalism". It is emphasized the link between the idea of flexibility and the work organization model named as Toyotism. Based on results of a research that focused on daily experiences of workers in two Japanese automobile companies having plants in Brazil, the article discusses some characteristics of Capital's power todayand the role of the managerial discourse to legitimate this power. It also presents examples of tactics used by workers, which form a kind of "network of anti-discipline" against the power of companies. The conclusion is that the aimed legitimization of the Toyotist organization model of work adopted by these companies is not fully achieved because of the contrast between discourse and practices.