IKEA Swedish management
TOPIC: A reflection on the theory learnt thus far with practical application to IKEA.
INTRO: So far, this subject has highlighted the necessity to understand cultural differences when conducting business dealings with people from different nationalities. The occurrence of these dealings will only become more and more frequent due to globalisation. IKEA is an example of an organisation that was formed from strict ‘Swedish’ values and beliefs and has used these values in every aspect of the organisations global success. The gist of the IKEA philosophy is ‘to provide customers with trendy functional products with minimalist lines, that are manufactured cost-efficiently with suppliers, and priced low enough so that most people can afford them’ (Harapiak, 2013, p26). My willingness to focus on IKEA in this essay is further supported by my experience (strong friendships) with Swedish students on my Study Exchange in Europe who gave me great insight into Swedish mentality and culture.
BODY: The starting point for any question, issue or analysis should be an understanding of elements that form the culture involved. Culture can be described as ‘a code of attitudes, norms and values, a way of thinking that is learnt within a social environment’ (Browaeys & Price, 2011, p 3). Hostfedes input on understanding culture is relevant to the subject because his research looked directly at the connection between culture and management. On a sidenote, one thing I have learnt this semester is that differences in culture are not always the crux of the problem and sometimes you have to also consider the environmental and situational factors specific to the country involved. Looking at Figure 1 (end of essay), we can see that Sweden has relatively low “power distance”, meaning that ideas of equality are embedded within Swedish culture as well as ‘independence, hierarchy for convenience only, decentralization of power and less formal management attitudes’
INTRO: So far, this subject has highlighted the necessity to understand cultural differences when conducting business dealings with people from different nationalities. The occurrence of these dealings will only become more and more frequent due to globalisation. IKEA is an example of an organisation that was formed from strict ‘Swedish’ values and beliefs and has used these values in every aspect of the organisations global success. The gist of the IKEA philosophy is ‘to provide customers with trendy functional products with minimalist lines, that are manufactured cost-efficiently with suppliers, and priced low enough so that most people can afford them’ (Harapiak, 2013, p26). My willingness to focus on IKEA in this essay is further supported by my experience (strong friendships) with Swedish students on my Study Exchange in Europe who gave me great insight into Swedish mentality and culture.
BODY: The starting point for any question, issue or analysis should be an understanding of elements that form the culture involved. Culture can be described as ‘a code of attitudes, norms and values, a way of thinking that is learnt within a social environment’ (Browaeys & Price, 2011, p 3). Hostfedes input on understanding culture is relevant to the subject because his research looked directly at the connection between culture and management. On a sidenote, one thing I have learnt this semester is that differences in culture are not always the crux of the problem and sometimes you have to also consider the environmental and situational factors specific to the country involved. Looking at Figure 1 (end of essay), we can see that Sweden has relatively low “power distance”, meaning that ideas of equality are embedded within Swedish culture as well as ‘independence, hierarchy for convenience only, decentralization of power and less formal management attitudes’