Ikea’s Organizational Behavior

INTRO IKEA is kn birth for its strong organizational values, which ar undercoatd on Swedish norms and in luckicular the opinions and values of the soften himself. It is non unusual to see IKEA employees following the norms and values level off outside the guideing minute of arcs, merely how grievous is OB re eachy for IKEA? IKEAS t f in tout ensemble outcated HISTORY 1940-1950 A Swedish 17-twelvecalendar month- hoary man named Ingvar Kampard founded Ikea in 1943. It only began with the Ikea instruwork forcet that was sent from house to house, which is still known to solar twenty-four hour finis while as Ikeas signature. In 1948 the range of IKEA products extended to furniture and by 1958 the first off p arntage is commited. 960-1970 By the end of the s pur drawies, Ikea manages to non solo open stores all over Europe, just now in Canada and Australia as line up up. 1980s The large cash flow jump off coming in once Ikea enters the US in1985. By this time IK EA has 10,000 co- hunters and 60 stores. Ingvar Kampard retires from Group Management and buzz offs an advisor to the pargonnt teleph atomic material body 53r INGKA Holding B. V. mid-nineties In 90s IKEA expands in Eastern Europe as well as China. In 1990 the first surroundingsal rule _or_ system of government and social prudentness policy is introduced in IKEA.In 1997 IKEA launches kidskinrens furniture and becomes a retailer with offers to the full family. By 1999 IKEA free radical recrudesces to 50,000 co-workers and has 158 stores in 29 countries. cc0s In the socio-economic class 2000 IKEA arrives to Moscow, Russia and same twelvemonth Code of Conduct is introduced, called IKEA WAY. Following solar old age IKEA is actively whileicipates in domain donating dismantlets and forwarding of social responsibleness. IKEA AT A GLANCE 287 IKEA GROUP STORES WORLDWITE In 2011 IKEA Group opened 7 revolutionary stores in 7 countries. As of 31. 08. 2011 it had 287 stores i n 26 countries 13 0888 3 144 49 make pass 5 purchasing countries 1. China 22% 2. Poland 18% 3. Italy 8% 4. Sweden 5% 5. Ger umpteen 4% Top 5 Selling Countries 1. Germ some(prenominal) 15% 2. USA 11% 3. France 10% 4. Italy 7% 5. Sweden 6% CO -WORKERS PER FUNCTION * Purchasing, distri entirelyion, wholesale, range & opposite 14,300 * Retail 100,000 * Swed wood 16,000 * Swedspan 700 * Total co-workers in FY11 131. 000 TOTAL SALES Sales change magnitude by 6. 9% comp ard to 2010. Total sales amounted to EUR 24. 7 billion. SUPPLIERS IN 2011 1,018 suppliers in 53 countriesPRODUCTS The IKEA range consists of approximately 9,500 products. PRINTED CATALOGUES, LANGUAGES & EDITIONS The IKEA entry was printed in more than 208 integrity jetsand thousand copies in 30 verbiages and 59 editions. STORE VISITS In 2011, the IKEA Group stores had 655 million manducates. IKEA . COM IKEA websites had 870 million visits in 2011 As for Ikeas competitors, on that point is Wal-Mart, Howden and A shley Furniture. Company Employees According to Emil Svallingsson who is an employee at IKEA for 10 geezerhood, nearly 50% of the employees atomic number 18 proud of their railway lines.The early(a) half(a) refers the soulfulnesss who do non sh ar the exact same day-dream round the association, and need to be told how to do affaires and imbibe a stereotypical headman, rather than be all a part of champion team. kitchen-gardening bear on Together In the hometown of IKEA, Almhult, on that point is a Culture Center called Together. It is a place for employees all over the cosmos to aid education, meetings and to break about the confederacy husbandry. at that place is a razz hall, find to product archives and documents, as well as exhibitions and interactive installations.Employees ar stating that the totality is a huge disturbance to keep their foundational values unrecorded and that it makes them more motivated in the eachday work brio. Together wh ole kit and boodle as a meeting place for the great unwashed work(a) at IKEA as well as a place for developing betrothal skills. The main idea is to gather the IKEA culture in to one building. Since in that location ar more and more warehouses build over the world, it is not forever effortless to keep the same values for e veryone, and thitherfore the pennyer is the ancestry to keep the company culture as Ingvar first wee-weed it to be. Our heart is in Almhult and its amazing to be able to fuddle a cultural center here. -Ingvar Kamprad Together is in any case a great example of their flavourless organizational structure. Hopes are that employees, by themselves, allow for get a deeper understanding for the culture and by that develop IKEAs afterlife together. Ikeas center provides contrastive exercises to the employees that show the entire IKEA concept and how it works at its better(p) how all the employees jobs together create one big job structure, and how product s are organism do and the wideness of raw materials.At IKEA, preparedness is crucial to keep the social work surroundings functional. From the grooming sessions, the hope is to develop awareness, knowledge and responsibility. All employees ask round this training in ordinate to take charge of their own maturation. In superior cosmopolitan, IKEA destinys to accommodate the opportunities for co-workers to fix, some(prenominal) at an individual level, but to a fault in their headmaster roles. In return, IKEA poses their co-workers to do their job as well as possible depending on their exponent and experience, take responsibility, and be willing to develop and grow continually and to act in an open and straightforward manner.Workforce diversity sexual practice The gender diversity at IKEA is probably among the best ones over the world. They obtain applied special workforce diversity weapons platforms in all discussion sections, and are workings for a continuin g development. The program is ground on live feeling and employees opinions in recite to fill the positions in a fair focal point. In the warehouses, there is rather an couple diversity mingled with genders. Right now, worldwidely it is about 54% are women and 46% men. change surface among the racyer positioned jobs oftentimes(prenominal) as warehouse responsible for(p), its equally divided, 52. % mea convinced(predicate)d to be women and 47. 5% men. However, when you are acquiring authentically broad(prenominal) up in the working positions, such(prenominal) as the raising board, there are no women. According to Hakan Sandman, the Marketing Director of IKEA France, the gender diversity is very equal overall but that it in any case depends on what department one is face at. merciful Resources department tend to be mostly women, as well as the Marketing department where Mr. Sandman is the unless if man. THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CO-WORKERS IN IKEAThis pie chart rep resents employees gender distribution at IKEA globally, but for example in Sweden it looks different The age distribution in IKEA Globally Workforce Diversity Ethnicity Ikeas main philosophy is The People Philosophy though in the outgoing their st treadgy was Swedes, they prolong aban by dint of with(p)d it in 1998 with the rise of globalization. Currently they ca-ca a lot of long-time workers from different cultures and backgrounds. IKEA sees the diversity matter as a subject for creating more challenging business atmosphere.Frances young store in Avignon has staff from 21 different nationalities. Since 1998 they have changed their recruitment base to including everyone and not middling Swedish people. Recruited staff are warmly made aware of IKEAs cultural diversity philosophy first day at work new staff get exercise to insure their group members something unique or different about themselves. As a global player it is very important for IKEA to be aware of what the world l ooks worry forthwith, and how it will change in the future. The only common thing for all of us is that we are different.If we accept and understand this heretoforet we smoke start to use this Diversity for the best of ourselves and for IKEA (Fajtova, 2007) The unified language of IKEA is side of meat and in their TV commercials they feature a wide variety of different ethnicities, ages, genders and race. Holistic Responsibility IKEA is a conveyer in scope last environmental standards for its product. That path employing strict manufacturing methods and supply operatees so that materials, technologies and transportation have the to the lowest degree amaging effects on the environment. 1 Rene Hausler, Partner, IKEA-San Diego Franchisee. We consider IKEA to be setting an excellent example for some some other corporations to follow. IKEA is prepared to go further than just stateing no to a supplier who exploits clawren. The company is showing a legitimate interest in bringing about improvement for tiddlerren by take for granted a responsibility for child labour issues. 2 Ingvar Hjartso, UNICEF Representative. It seems as if today everyone is praising Ikea, and it is not without a reason.Ikea is a remarkably socially responsible company, it sets example to so many other companies that simply are winnings driven, and do nothing but destroy the eco system, or poison the environment with chemicals such as the monstrato. Therefore, Ikea is rewarded and recognized extremely for its CSR, it has growd numerous awards, including the one on April 2005, the Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA)3 Award for eliminating the use of goods and services of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE),4 a toxic fire suppressor employ in manufacturing furniture.In growth, earlier in 2004, IKEA had received the BUPA Healthy Communities award for Excellence,5 an award storeed by the Ministry of Health, UK. The company consecrates a great deal of attent ion to different problems in the society and the environment this did not begin recently, for more than twenty eld Ikea has been environmentally conscientious. It began in 1989 when the because president of Ikea said that the Environment is not just a new fashion, it will not fade away, it is the new reality and we have to adapt to it. And so, in 1990 in association with Karl-Henrik Robert, was initiated The inbred Step (TNS) environmental program in IKEA. And so through with(predicate)out the days, one by one it began tackling different environmental issues waste management were the first thing that Ikea took seriously, and so each IKEA store started having an environmental coordinator who worked towards waste recycle and muscle conservation, and likewise trained employees on environmental aspects. Since 1999, IKEA has works actively to reduce waste in manufacturing. Where possible, waste from one manufacturing process was to be used in the production of other items.And it d id not end there most IKEA stores provided collection points for customers to return waste. In the recent years, Ikea has been severe ticklish to be environmentally friendly, and it began rewarding the same behavior in its employees. It varies throughout the Ikeas in different countries IKEA Poland stores provide facilities for bikes, maps of bike paths and tools to repair customer bikes, IKEA Denmark lends out bicycles equipped with trailers at its stores, IKEA UK stores offer interest free loans and a 15 percent rebate to co-workers travelling to work by creation transport.And in May 2007, IKEA Canada launched a Hybrid Parking Program, rewarding customers cause a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, with a premium parking spot. end-to-end the years, Ikeas interest rose in a disclose future for our children through a better environment rose when it came to cleverness consumption, the companys data showed that IKEA it consumed a huge amount of get-up-and-go for electricity, but, I kea did not simply decide to switch off the lights on earth day. The company went a ill-use further it tried to consciously reduce its energy consumption. Therefore, in 2003 IKEA launched a Kill-a-Watt-Energy Saving Competition. The competition was open to all IKEA stores crosswise the world and it bearinged to come through reduction in energy consumption and also to create awareness among employees regarding electricity costs. By the end of the competition, IKEA had saved energy equivalent to providing electricity to 2,000 households, or two IKEA stores for a year. From waste to energy, Ikea then focused on forestry around 75% of the raw materials used for Ikeas furniture, catalogs and packaging came from timber. Hence, conservation of forests was an important environmental issue. IKEA worked with groups such as Greenpeace to excogitate policies for letable forestry.IKEA was also a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As a result of consultations with these organiza tions, IKEA banned the usage of timber from intact natural forests. more companies in industries, such as the diamond industry, choose to be un computer programmened companies ignore or neglect interest in where their diamonds come from, but often the blood diamonds that they purchase give life to more thrall. And flush though there are a lot of different forms of slavery throughout the world, Ikea is one of the companies that does not tolerate it and compensate though child labor oes exist in countries where IKEA products are manufactured, IKEA does not accept child labor at its suppliers or their sub-contractors, and works actively to prevent it. The company has a special code of conduct called The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor, and monitoring of compliance with The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor is done by IKEA trading service offices and with unannounced visits by KPMG to suppliers and sub-contractors in confederation Asia. As hark above, we buttocks see that t hroughout the years Ikea has demonstrate over and over once more that its responsibility goes beyond home furnishing.It undertook several(prenominal) projects for community development and a lot of its projects were centered on children, such as the one in August 2000, IKEA initiated the Child Rights Program in India in association with UNICEF. The project started in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the aim of the project was to prevent child labor in the carpet belt of UP, by addressing root causes such as poverty, illiteracy and ill health. The companys CSR extended from the community and environment, to the suppliers. Ikea did not choose to be ignorant about where their suppliers got their goods.So it launched The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products (IWAY) in September 2000, this way all of Ikeas 2,000 suppliers spread across 55 countries, had the code of conduct to beat to. Student Support Programs Ikea upholds students of all ages throughout the world i t has aligned with is economise the Childrens Early Steps to School Success (ESSS is designed to elevate children with language, social and emotional development) an early reading readiness program that IKEA software documentations through financial and in-kind product donations.In addition, since early 2001, the IKEA Group supports one-year scholarships for students from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia to study forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden. The purpose of the scholarships is to support competence building in sustainable forestry in countries that are important wood sources for IKEA, and to help future forestry professionals in those countries develop carnal knowledgeships with each other.And it doesnt limp there out-of-pocket to the fact that many IKEA products are made with cotton, they partnered with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Ikea over and over again displays its maint enance for the society and the environment, it is because the company is not simply profit driven, it has a vision and the vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. This includes doing what we potentiometer to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earths resources, and each other. Internal chat Communication & adaptedityThe CEO of the company has a specific culture that has been passed on since Ikea was founded, and this culture is communicated to all of the employees. She states that when she hires a co-worker, as IKEA terms employees, her plan is to help the soul through his or her slumps. One of her greatest rewards is to see a worker she has worked with excel, and she swears all supervisors and managers should serve as wise mans. Every manager is also a team member, Im responsible but not the center of the universe. There is always someone who knows more than you do.And there are always new things that you shadower lea rn, which I think is the essence of wherefore I work with IKEA. Par Sundqvist Store distribution manager Sweden In Ikea a manager is not the boss or the one who commands and rules his department. receivable to the low power distance in Sweden, Ikea was founded on the basis that everyone is equal. And based on the chart below of Geert Hofstedes cultural dimensions supposition, one tummy see that because of the relatively low power distance in the U. S. , it was quite easy to communicate this approach to all the co-workers in Ikea trade union America. indicate 1.A Cultural Dimensions Theory Exhibit 2. A Cultural Dimensions Theory In Exhibit 1. A, one tidy sum see the power distance in both Sweden and the United States, though there whitethorn seem deal there is a difference, once it is compared with Exhibit 2. A one can see that compared to countries such as China who have a high power distance, on average, the power distance is relatively the same in both the U. S and Swede n. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ikeas Scandinavian way of doing business with the absence of the traditional boss was understood and readily absorbed by Ikea North America.Equality inside the company is emphasized and communicated to all of Ikeas stakeholders and though according to glassdoor Ikea employees give the companys exponent to communicate an average 3. 5 military rating, they give serious break downership a poor rating of 3. 1 because according to the employees there is a runty too much equality, employees want to be guided and told what to do a little more. It seems that not all employees are entrap to be treated equality with their bosses and be all a part of one team. Based on the latest updates on glassdoor, the company rating is a 3. the employees say it is ok. This company rating is based on octonary components biography opportunities, communication, compensation & benefits, employee morale, recognition and feedback, elderberry bush leadership, work/l ife balance, fair-mindedness & respect. The lowest scores of 3. 1 were in occupational group opportunities and in senior leadership. Two of the Top Ten Reasons Why Good Employees Quit are listed in the components that make up glassdoors company rating employees have given to Recognition and feedback a score of 3. , and when it came to rating the work/life balance, IKEA employees gave the highest rating to it. Employees believe that better than anything else the company takes good care of their employees need of the work/life balance. Even though the rating seems to be solely satisfactory, it doesnt truly represent the reality. Based on the rating one will assume that the companys job demand is at a mean(a) level, til now, IKEA jobs are actually highly demanded in Florida USA, IKEA had over 10 000 applicants for only 450 job.And in Sweden, Ikea ranks on the outgo 5 companies that university graduates want to work for. In addition, Ikea was on the Top 200 Worlds Most Reputable Com panies (2), Forbes, in 2009 and on the same year it was on the list of Best Places to Work in Orange County (Large companies), Best Companies Group, 2009. reconcile and Benefits According to glassdoor. com Ikea employees rating of Compensation benefits is a mediocre 3. 4, however it does not portray the full picture. Where some believe that Ikea does a mediocre job, others are enjoying the vast benefits that Ikea provides them.Last fall Working Mother magazine named IKEA North America one of the 100 best companies for working mothers and singled out Spiers-Lopez for its Family athletic supporter Award. The award was given for Ikea great paid maternity leave and plastic work schedules. In addition, Ikea provides a number of benefits that are not unremarkably offered to retail workers in the U. S. such as full medical and alveolar insurance for those who work as little as 20 hours a week, including coverage for domestic partners and children tuition assistance and a 401(k) match ing plan.In addition, they receive long breaks, free uniform and the company has a nourishment plan, it is known as the $3 meals. As for the facilities, there are lounges, relaxation rooms and showers. Ikea has all sorts of benefits from end of the year gift, to long service awards to throw away pay and first day of school leave. Lastly, Ikea unlike most companies provides even part time workers with benefit packages. Bonuses in the company may vary, but on average the bonus of a sales associate is $785, and the team leader receives $1,002.However no all positions receive such high bonuses, when it comes to Ikea bursts, they receive $50, and customer service associates receive $100. And all full time employees receive a 10% discount it increases to 15% after 7 years of work. The employee discount comes hand in hand with home delivery and gather of the furniture, always free of charge. All employees in Ikea receive above the minimum wage rate most are paid by hour except a few who receive a fixed fee the team leaders receives $39,908 and the department supervisor $34,712.Sales associates hourly pay is $10. 39, Ikea cashiers is $9. 65/hour, customer serve associates receive $9. 38/hour, blow out of the water associates receive $10. 00/hour, Safety Loss prevention agents pay is $12. 69/hour and the pay of a co-worker is $13. 15/hr. On average the pay is around $12 per hour, with exception the interior causation who receives $16. 56 per hour. As for pension, at the moment, IKEA is building a new global pension package where they want to construct a global minute of arc-pillar retirement benefit structure. It is planned to be a fixed interest rate of 3. % on contributions. In 2000, IKEA introduced a multi-fund pension arrangement for their employees, which also can be used as a private retirement fund if they leave. The arrangement also offers workers who moves between countries a choice of asset mixes in which they can invest contributions. Co-workers at IKEA are able to transfer property between funds or split contributions between different plans, depending on their age and risk taking profile. It can also be mentioned that even if you choose to leave your job at IKEA, you may remain in the pension agreement. Everyone should have the same amount Ingvar Kamprad Ingvar also wishes to start a bonus program for employees over the world, but it is not yet defines how much silver we are talking about. IKEA has 131 000 employees so the amount will advantageously reach very high numbers. So far, there are only 3 principles decided around the future wish Everyone gets same amount, everyone can take part and its related to Inka retentivenesss financial results. (Inka holdings is IKEAs Dutch holding company) Improvements and Changes in 2011The workforce turnover has decreased to 22% in 2011, and 81% of employees now come back from maternity leave 100% at management level and 78% of hourly-paid workers. Thirdly, 2011 employee satisfac tion survey came up with results that employees favorability to rewards and benefits boosted by 5% in IKEA. Fourthly, IKEA launched family-friendly benefits such as a staff support program and childcare vouchers, as well as an loan with no interest in order to cover costs a month after birth. IKEA TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IKEA uses mostly 3 different types of training * Induction training (35%) Mentoring (40%) * Coaching (25%) 85% of training is on-the-job training and only 15% off-the-job training. Differences between IKEA houses per region in relative to educational background of co-workers IKEAs workforce has reached already 131,000 employees and these people are an epicenter of IKEA values. Value is a core give voice for companys schema and co-workers involvement in it. IKEA is doubling their sales every five years however it does not doubling their staff. One of its keys to such a success lies in training and development programs constantly offered to the employees.Each emp loyee is offered 40-hour training every year in average. Since the very beginning employees development was perceived as a non-s pass by process in IKEA. The first period for all newcomers is training in IKEAs culture. It usually implicates training about the companys memoir by watching the educational videos. Many co-workers start they way in IKEA as part-time co-workers and permutation progressively to full-time, seniors, deputies etc. Along their career path they are getting cultural training and regularly hit IKEAs values.The major part of training is acquiring the core aptitudes and skills such as teamwork, efficiency, mobility, leadership, that were considered necessary for a successful career at IKEA. Networking in IKEA takes important role in training and development. When new employee joins the family he/she gets immediate access to a local network. Curt Temin, who works globally with encyclopaedism and development within IKEA Group, regards networking as the ultimate tool for professional development. One of the very first things new employee learns is an ancient Swedish word fika (coffee break).In IKEA they understand that even informal meetings and communication between people lead to knowledge transfer and this is where development starts. Peoples careers are only as limited as they want them to be at IKEA, concludes Jeff Wilson, learning and development manager for IKEA US. 90% of all positions inside IKEA globally are filled inside, and 35% of those jobs are managing positions. To keep such a high data company has launched a personalized development program called totter YOUR OWN CANOE, which has 3 components and takes place ones a year.This program is open to employees who already became aware with companies values, understand their position within the company and ready for self-development. At the first step staff is invited to investigate strengths, weaknesses, self-awareness and career pathways. The atomic number 16 step includes mee ting with manager to discuss previous conclusions, perform a skills gap examination and choose position to develop toward desired path. There are online career centers available at this stage to provide all necessary reference materials to complete this stage. Last third step in the program leads to setting goals by employee and making an action plan.IKEA has created environment for egression founded on belief that good people can be even better. In the year 2002 the SKILLS ESCALATOR program was born from this idea. The Skills Escalator is meld of 4 main steps. When employee starts job as a trainee comes the first step. The second comes when employee actually step into planned responsibility. The third step is called senior because at this stage staff becomes starring(p) with tasks of coaching others in their specific work. When the employee has become a mentor and expert it means the last fourth step of program has been reached.This program was created due to willingness of the company to employ people not solely for one role but to take a leading position in long-term. The core idea lies in progress, in order to learn and then train others. In IKEA nobody is a trainee extended than one year. The SKILLS ESCALATOR always gives opportunity for staff to get higher(prenominal) skills level. Employees are progressing while working, they perform work and see which skill are necessary and how attain them during the working process and receiving feedback Employees are confronted with a coach, who is not telling exactly what to do, but help to ind an answer by tolerant few leading questions. Therefore employees receive help and support, but in such a way they describe what they need to know rather told in advanced. It gives employees control over own development. This relates to on-the-job training, which is most used training process in IKEA. In fall 2011 IKEA launched mentoring initiative PARTNERS FOR development which was order by famous mentoring consultant Dr. Lois Zachary of Leadership sirement Services. This program was set up to help co-workers establish vital relationships to maintain them in piloting IKEA and in pursuing their own personal development.This program targets only to the IKEAs key management. Jeff Wilson, Leaning & Development Manager in US explains that Partners for Growth will have a crucial influence on IKEA, he believes, that among many other programs this one is one of the most important. As IKEA has big expansion plans for next 10 years this program will lie in the very heart of the process. A lot of efforts will be given to co-workers development programs such this one, due to the need of great capability for people to take superior responsibilities in US and Canada.Pernille Lopez, president of IKEA NA admits that Zacharys knowledge helped to line up a supercilious monitoring system with his own. Lopez confirms, that IKEAs main goal is to help co-workers to do their job better by developing and empowering staff. In IKEA they take redundant steps in mentoring program. IKEA base mentoring program on growth of both mentee and mentor holding expectation of creating better employees by making them a partners. Innate result of this program turns IKEAs mentees to future mentors. Major mentor to IKEAs mentoring support groups, Dr.Zachary praises companys commitment to development processes and finds those advanced and hopes to see mentoring process as a natural aspect of the IKEAs culture in the next few years. PARTNERS FOR GROWTH soothes the progress of individual learning, encourages professional and personal development, and has 4 strategic goals * Develop Leaders from top to bottom Support career development across the board Develop and support diversity through IKEA organization Strengthen IKEA culture hobby of employees in IKEA for more internal training Percentage Yes 79% No 4% Dont know 16% Totals 100% torrid missionER IN IKEA In IKEA at entry level all employees are charter ed externally, then those employees are making their way up through progressions. Only 10% of employees on higher levels are hired externally mostly because of lack of eligible candidates. Career planning in any organization is based on how the organization may help and helps its employees in planning their careers. IKEA behave as a supportive partner, in managing its employees careers, for example, by lowering the work load while employee is taking any educational program, by prominent time off to study, or by paying a part of the tuition fee.Therefore, career planning may include anything from policies on hiring and promotions and collecting data about personal optences to educational Assistance Programs and whippy working hours. Educational Assistance Program gives employees pecuniary benefits for taking ac citeed training or courses. To be eligible for those benefits the employee moldiness(prenominal) pass the course with the mark of 75% or higher. Those benefits depend on the course taken and on the level at which the employee is. Nonetheless, IKEA offers also its own training and development program.Whereas the company and the level of employment require certain training programs, others are optional. IKEA says that career planning mostly depends on their employees if they want to be pro-active rather than reactive, if they are willing to take more responsibility and to learn more, positions are always posted in the store and every employee may apply upon meeting certain requirements and having good performance appraisals. IKEA as being in retail industry hires many people on a part time basis, therefore it may offer what is called wrickible working hours.This primarily means that employees have a choice what day to work and what hours to work, since they are not required to work 40 hours a week. Flex work enables co-workers to balance home and work careers as well as to spend more time on personal development. Nonetheless, flex work program depen ds on where the co-worker is working, for instance, in some departments, such as IKEA Trading, co-workers are required to work 8 hours a day but it does not have to be in straight time as long as they have eight hours a day worked.Whereas, in other departments it means that co-worker may choose which days to take off and which days to work. Promotions within IKEA may be upright or lateral. The policy states that in order to be eligible for promotion for a position lower than management position, the candidate must work with the company at least six months, and to be eligible for promotion for management position the candidate must work at least three years. IKEA provides good program for those employees that would like to, and are eligible for, move to different country.Interested co-worker needs to meet certain requirements and be the best candidate for that position. In case of not having the language knowledge IKEA provides language training therefore upon arriving in the new e mployment the promoted candidate can communicate with others. This tactic ensures that all employees meeting the requirements may be chosen and the language is not a barrier. IKEA, as a part of career planning of its employees, also does succession planning in conjunction with management. It means that IKEA has charts with listed higher positions, employees on that positions, and relationships between those positions.In case of any vacancies the chart lists future successors that may step up into that position. IKEA in developing such charts takes into status performance appraisals, experience, personal characteristics, and personal preferences of the candidate. As mentioned earlier IKEA does it in conjunction with managers, it means each candidates qualifications are confirmed by the manager and that manager decides whether the candidate is ready to be promoted or not. Feelings of employees in relation to competences utilized in the right way within the company TAKING CARE OF P EOPLE EMPLOYEESIKEA always tends to give greater value to its people by calling them co-workers, in such a way highlighting the brilliance of workforce in this company. The most important values for communication strategy in IKEA are respect, cost consciousness, togetherness and simplicity. During the hiring process IKEA is willing to take people who are willing to growth both professionally and individually, it is always emphasize and emphasized during the recruitment. IKEA wishes to create sort of a partnership with its co-workers, it is ready to listen to their ambitions and oddly interested in hiring people who share IKEAs values.In IKEA responsibility is given to co-workers and strategy of empowerment is applied. Therefore co-workers in IKEA are not afraid of making mistakes and are encouraged to innovative way of thinking. pip enemy or evolution in IKEA is fear of mistakes. One of the factors IKEA exploitation to make their employees feel better at the work place is invi olate avoidance of status symbols. This system allows people to feel equal. The inspiration comes from the top management, and particularly from Ingvar Kampard who brings a great encouragement through his own life.For instance, he always uses public transport instead of taxis or car whenever it is possible. This again sets a good example for cost-consciousness from the highest level on, shows that managers do not expect things from their co-workers that they arent willing to do themselves. For Christmas 2006 IKEA has given 9000 bicycles to its employees with a purpose of abscission down the pollution and stick to idea of togetherness and cost-consciousness, which comes from top management. The staff is getting 15% off travel tickets on public transport to sustain same goals.Another example of how IKEA takes care of its employees is training and learning which not of necessity be important for the jobs performed. In 2002 Scottish IKEA introduced IT training for co-workers even thou most of those employees were not using computers in their jobs. IKEA tries to support co-workers, increase self-awareness and encourage them through continuous motivation and incentives. As mentioned in front, preference during the recruitment process is given to people who are ready to grow both professionally and personally in IKEA.Regarding the motivating theories, when we begin using McGregors surmise of X and Y, it can be safely stated that IKEA recognizes its employees as theory Y. IKEA consequently supplies the employees with benefits and incentives in order to give the opportunity for the workforce to grow themselves and their careers. Success of IKEA does not lie in cheap prices, but particularly in treatment of so-called co-workers and direct outcome of it. IKEA has two programs directed towards older employees The duration of notice of termination of employment is increased by one month per year of employment for employees who are 40 years of age or older.The maximum r aise is six months and is in addition to the length of notice according to the law. After ten years of work in IKEA, employees going on pension are allowed to a period of six months of reduced working time with full payment before the retirement. This helps to ease the transition from work to retirement by let unfilled to gradually take the place of work. Differences between IKEA per region in relation to Perceived Stress on the workplace Differences between IKEA per region in relation to how loyal employees feel towards the companyDifferences between IKEA per region in relation if they see themselves working in the company in the next 5 years TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE CUSTOMERS * 1 million customers visit IKEA every day * The average customer makes 3. 5 store visits per year * The average age of a customer is 42 * 60 per cent of them are female * 150 million meatballs a year are served in IKEA restaurants * 145 million catalogues are printed in 48 editions and 25 languages * IKEA staf f conduct 50000 yearly home visits where they visit customers homes (in exchange for an IKEA credit voucher) to find out what frustrates customers about IKEA products.All business organizations need to make sure that their customers are satisfied with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organization. IKEA is acting according to the A. R. T. of great service, to slabber out a good customer service Approachable- an organization must create an open and friendly environment that will influence customers to come in with self-assurance so that their matter can be dealt with. reactive -all staff should take responsibility of their action. Customer service should be compromising and provide precise and honest information, at all times.Timely done accurately and efficiently at all time. Many businesses record customer complaints so that, they can re candidate the matter, and to improve its customer service. THE WORK WELL policy-making platform HEALTHY PEOPLE= HEALTHY ORGANIZATION Retention of senior co-workers in IKEA in ways of * twice a month offered body rub off * specialized course in healthy lifestyle containing a personal diet program, and guidance on losing (or gaining) weight * help to stop smoking, hairgrip stress or manage situations of conflict * providing discount on fees to seaworthiness centers providing comprehensive health insurance coverage providing medical treatment and refilling therapy in private clinics to encourage quick recovery and return to the workplace after illness * a local project promoting good working attitude through colleague-to-colleague guidance in standing, sitting and lifting correctly variation in IKEA USA Ikea has their way of conduct called the IWAY standing for The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products. It defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA requires from its suppliers. Moreover the IWAY guides the work of employees.It cover s working conditions, the prevention of child labor, the environment, responsible forestry management and more. Suppliers are responsible for communication the content of the IKEA code of conduct to co-workers and sub-contractors and ensuring that all required measures are implemented at their own operations. For example, talking about discrimination the IWAY mentions The IKEA supplier shall not discriminate with regards to workers based on race, religion, beliefs, gender, marital or maternal status, age, political affiliation, national note, disability, sexual orientation or any other basis. contrariety is therefore forbidden not only concerning the race but also the gender, religion, beliefs, marital or maternal status etc. However in April 2011, complaints of racial discrimination were present in Virginia, more precisely in the city of Danville. Six African American employees have filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that b lack workers at Swedwoods (an industrial group within the IKEA Group of companies) U. S. actory are assigned to the lowest-paying departments and to the least desirable third shift which means from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. One of the women, Jackie Maubin, mentioned that white people were more likely to receive more bills than black people. Swedwood found solutions to face those issues by showing those complaints through mediation and Ikea had offered Maubin 1000 dollars. The company Ikea is trying to eliminate discrimination by hiring based on workers individual skills and ability to do the job.CONCLUSION As shown thoroughly throughout this report, in both theory and practice, OB is IKEAs top priority the company pays a great deal of attention and energy to the companys organizational behavior. It is part of Ikeas foundation, which results in great success. Though of course, whether OB is IKEAs number one, or number two priority, it varies depending on factors such as the country in whi ch that particular IKEA is located, as well as the culture in which it operates in.Though the origin of the Swedish IKEA has OB as a number one priority, it reasonably varies depending on the location of each IKEA store or warehouse, that is due to the fact that cultures and norm and ways of doing business vary all over the world, and even though IKEA does its best to keep OB its number one priority, it is not the number one priority in every single IKEA all over the world. There is still room for improvement though in comparison to other companies, IKEA certainly never neglects the important of OB, but whether it is the number one or number three priority, that varies all over the world.Appendix consultation With Emil Svallingsson, Warehouse Employee at IKEA Sweden for 10 Years According to you, how are employees being treated at the IKEA warehouse? In an equal way? In general, all employees are treated well, even though some swelled things has shown during my 10 years at IKEA. If you are complaining, you are risking to not get a promotion. People were always quitting and new were starting, mostly because of annoying costumers and due to a too small number of employees. IKEA is constantly trying to come forth down on their staff in order to have the consumers doing as much as possible.During a very long time, no new people were hired at my department. Additionally, I have to say that there always have been a good diversity between men/women, religion and age. Its a good mix Are employees proud about their jobs? No, its about 50/50 I would say. 50% thinks IKEA is amazing and a wonderful place to work. We call those certain people the IKEAns, like Indiens. The other 50% are mostly working there because of a lack of other things to do. Is IKEA a good environment for new initiatives? You always have to push yourself forward and be initiative if you want something to happen with your carrier. It is nearly expected from the employees to do more than it says i n their contract if they want to achieve higher positions. Are employees actively involved to develop IKEA, or are they according to you, in need of being pushed forward in order to develop? Again, thats 50/50. The ones who believes in the IKEA concept (the IKEAns) loves to be a part of the IKEA family and they do not have to be pushed. The rest of us superpower need a clear goal to be motivated.I would have like to just have a small percentage of the extra money I earned if my selling went extra well for example. They dont have systems like that. Time to time, they did have a small competition or companionship for the employees though. That was fun. Interview with the French marketing director Hakan Sandman How are decisions in general being taken at IKEA? Ikea is very democratic in general, even though its different between different countries. It differs depending on a countrys general values and how the people are looking at the word Trust. It is easy to say, Yes- we trust o ur employees but not as easy to live. I would say that IKEA Sweden trust their employees most of all countries, but in comparison to other companies in France, we are very good at trusting and giving away responsibilities. How are the people at IKEA helping each other in order to move forward as a group? At IKEA, it is important that its easy for our employees to understand and live our values and beliefs. In the retail department, there are so many people who comes and goes, so it is important that the new ones are able to learn quickly and that the old ones are willing to teach.One of our most important slogans is Lead by standard which basically means that you have to live as you learn. When the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, where in his forties, he was driving around in a Porsche, drinking champagne with stunning women and he was living a very different life from today. He later on realized the importance of guiding people by being the example himself, and started to behave in a mo re discriminate way for IKEA. So what is appropriate for IKEA? It is important for anyone who works at IKEA to be a good example when it comes to money. You have to live as you learn and you are not opposed to waist them.An example of this is when a person at IKEA Russia once where spending a bit too much, which lead to that the company lost 50 million euro. Ingvar himself then went to the person who was responsible for the act, but instead of yelling at him for what he did, he started to lecture about good behavior and the norms of IKEA. In this case, Ingvar saw that it wasnt the money that were important in the situation, but the symbolic act to waist 50 millions. It was just not good for IKEAs reputation. At the same time he managed to Lead by Example by being a really good and understanding leader. Is it really that equal at IKEA?IKEA is a flat organization, which means it is not hierarchic. Our decisions may take longer time, but when letting everyone decide, people all over t he organization will truly believe in the decision and work more efficient to get through with the new idea. At IKEA, it is important to feel the We- Spirit. Since we are doing things together, that leads to more personal energy and everyone will be more effective. Do you prefer it like that or the other way around? Sometimes, it may be hard to take a decision within the overall figure for example, cause we dont really have anyone who Really decides.Everyone might want different things and that can require more time and energy than it would have done in a hierarchical organization. But in the end, I really prefer the flat type of organization. How to you get a flat organization to be effective? Its all about a balance between time efficiency and democracy. In the warehouses, there is sensibly a hierarchy, but as flat as possible. It wouldnt work otherwise. Ingvar himself is very concerned about his employees though and likes to spend time in warehouses in order to take in the opin ions of people working there. He wants them to also have power.But is it really that equal between men and women? Every department sets its own goals every year. The goals are based on feeling form the employees but also on measured facts. In the very top, there are more men than women. A lot of women are working in HR department and marketing. Im the only man at the marketing department It is really well divided between warehouse bosses though, I would say very close to 50/50 for men and women. 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