Swedish management style
slav...@my-deja.com
outlet), and thought that it would be interesting to post it and see
what kind of comments people would have.
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The following was adapted from the November/December
edition of Volvo Cars magazine
By Tatiana Butovitsch Temm
DEARBORN, December 15, 1999 (Volvo Cars) -- Swedish
managers are afraid of conflict and take their time to get moving,
according to some people.
No, they delegate and have no thoughts of prestige, others counter.
Both groups are right and it is for precisely these
reasons that Swedish leaders really get things done.
"Knowing how we work makes the partnership with Ford
far more effective," says Lars-Goran Jarvung, human resources manager
for new car projects. "For example, we Swedes make decisions in such a
way that other people don't realise that we have made them. We talk
things through and then we move on. If you don't protest or say
something, it is assumed that you agree with the decision."
Our nationality is not the only thing that colours us.
Our corporate culture has just as much effect on our behaviour. These
are the conclusions of the two researchers who have been studying two
car projects at NedCar over the past three years.
"Mitsubishi, for example, is a cost-driven company, while Volvo is a
customer- or engineer-driven one," says Anders Edstrom, a researcher at
the School of Economics in Goteborg. "This means that Mitsubishi says,
'We can't change, it costs money', while Volvo says, 'We have to change,
the customer wants us to', or 'The engineer has decided we need to.'"
This can cause conflict.
When it comes to handling conflict, this is where
nationality comes back into the picture. The Swedes are happy to
compromise and back off initially, if their opposite number is
aggressive.
The Dutch are far less likely to avoid conflict. If they want something,
they are not afraid to say so, raising their voices and
gesticulating, should this prove necessary. They then go out for a beer
in the evening and are the best of friends.
"The Swedes hate to be criticised in public. And we wouldn't dream of
going out for a beer with someone who had hurt us," Jarvung
says with a smile.
"However," he continues, "there is one point on which Volvo people never
compromise and that is safety. That's where our corporate culture makes
its presence felt. No one can get a Volvo employee to budge when it
comes to safety. This applies throughout Volvo, regardless of
nationality."
The basic question for the two researchers was management across
borders. They wanted to study the way Swedish leaders function
in other countries. They contacted Volvo and were given the chance to
study the question at Ned Car in Born in the Netherlands.
At NedCar, three cultures unite - Japanese Mitsubishi, Swedish Volvo
and, in the definite majority, the Dutch, the residents of the
host country.
For almost three years, researchers Anders Edstrom and Sten Jonsson have
been video-filming the meetings held by two project management groups.
These meetings have then been analysed to see whether the participants
are able to communicate effectively.
"In an organisation that is extremely cost-conscious, it is difficult to
get people to leave their jobs and go to meetings and project
groups. For example, Production was not able to take part in planning as
early as Volvo would have liked" explains Anders Edstrom, who is still
analysing the results of the project.
In spite of this, he feels that the communication worked, even if it was
not always as effective as it might have been.
"It goes without saying that it was more difficult and complicated, but
they usually managed to find practical solutions when both sides agreed
to compromise. What's more, the Swedes and the Dutch have learned a
great deal about each other's management methods."
Swedish management tends to summarise, whereas management in the
Netherlands and Belgium is more clear-cut. The Swedes drive and lead by
asking the right questions, not by giving answers. Process-oriented
leadership, in other words.
"I believe that this is the method of the future," says Lars-Goran
Jarvung, adding that the concept of process-oriented leadership is also
gaining ground in the U.S. "People have to understand that a purely
Swedish management style will encounter problems in other countries.
However, after a time, we meet somewhere in the middle -- in both Born
and Ghent we have developed new, more effective ways of working."
What is more, the Swedes who have worked abroad have learnt that the
world will not fall to pieces if they are subjected to public criticism
or the occasional harsh word.
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