Organization of the Workplace to Promote CoOperation

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Acquisitions and its Implications on Management

According to Gaughan (1996, p. 565), the term acquisition is defined as “the purchase of an entire company or a controlling interest in a company”. However, Gocke (1997) dispose a more detailed explanation concerning the definition of this term. He claims that an acquisition has to attain three requirements. The first is that the acquiring company at least needs to hold a majority stake in the acquired company. Secondly the acquisition can vary in degree from a majority stake to a full merger. Finally, the acquisition leads to strategic interaction between the companies involved. (cited in Hanna, Paradzik & Vladisavljevic, 2002) These definitions clearly illustrate that the acquisition implies a takeover, where a buying company acquire and gain management control over the other.

Stakeholder Definition

“Stakeholders are individuals, groups, and other organizations that have interests (their stake) in the activities and outcomes of the organization” (Hatch, 2004, p. 121). There are different stakeholders involved in the company. Their role and impact on the company is rarely of equal importance. Rhenman & Stymne (1968) say that there are conflicts of interest between the different stakeholders. There are not enough resources in order to secure and fulfil every stakeholder’s interest, and the ability to secure the interests can be limited by the guidelines from the owners (Rhenman & Stymne, 1968).

he Labour Union’s Objectives

The labour union works as the employees’ representative in negotiations with the employer. It often represents a large number of employee members and its power of influence is based on the number of members. This puts it in a position of collective bargaining power. (Huzzard, 2000). According to Dunlop (1950), the union’s reason of existence is to maximize its members’ income (cited in Huzzard, 2000). This rather narrow view is not supported by everyone. Flanders (1970) means that the union’s basic purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions for its members (cited in Huzzard, 2000). This is similar to the Swedish labour union IF Metall’s (2007c) view. They stress that the bargaining agenda should be extended to include the issue of improving the work environment, competence development, gender equality and environmental issues.

Different Dimensions in a Nation’s Culture

To get an in-depth understanding of how management is practised in the two countries we will use Geert Hofstede’s research on cultural dimensions as a background to the other theories about cross-cultural management. Many management theorists and researchers contend that management styles are culturally determined and hence vary markedly from culture to culture. According to Hickson & Pugh (2001), societal culture is basic for understanding how the cultures of differing societies shape the ways in which organizations in them are set up and run. Furthermore, Adler (1986) claims that management styles are said to be reflections of culture, and he states that the term culture is commonly accepted as a heritage to management style. Hence, in order to fully grasp how management is conducted, the authors find it necessary to first understand the societal culture within a country.

Swedish Management

Hofstede & Hofstede’s (2005) states that Sweden and the U.S. are close to each other when it comes to short-term oriented views on planning. However, the study concerns societal culture in general. When we look at managerial issues Swedish management tends to be fairly long-term oriented, according to Bjerke (1998). He claims that it takes time to make decisions and implement changes in Sweden, and a common way to solve problems is to work them through systematically and in detail. Hickson & Pugh (2001) declares that managers feel the need to obtain and analyze all relevant information. There is no pressure to show an assertive management style by driving decisions to an early conclusion (Hickson & Pugh, 2001). Swedish management is also said to be conducted in a rational and practical manner (Bjerke, 1998).

Table of Contents :

• 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Problem Discussion
  • 1.3 Purpose
• 2 Frame of Reference
  • 2.1 Acquisitions and its Implications on Management
  • 2.2 The Labour Union as a Stakeholder
    • 2.2.1 Stakeholder Definition
    • 2.2.2 Stakeholder Classification
    • 2.2.3 The Labour Union’s Objectives
    • 2.2.4 IF Metall
  • 2.3 U.S. vs. Swedish Management
    • 2.3.1 Different Dimensions in a Nation’s Culture
    • 2.3.2 Criticism of Hofstede’s Study
    • 2.3.3 U.S. Management
    • 2.3.4 Swedish Management
    • 2.3.5 Summary of U.S. and Swedish Management
• 3 Method
  • 3.1 Research Approach
  • 3.2 Case Study Strategy
  • 3.3 Data Collection
    • 3.3.1 Primary and Secondary Data
    • 3.3.2 Interview Approach
    • 3.3.3 Data Reduction
    • 3.3.4 Pattern Seeking and Conclusion Verification
  • 3.4 Participant Information and Anonymity
  • 3.5 Reliability and Validity
  • 3.6 Method Reflection
• 4 Empirical Findings
  • 4.1 Empirical Background
  • 4.2 Management at Volvo Car Corporation
  • 4.3 Labour Union Guidelines
    • 4.3.1 Job Security
    • 4.3.2 Fair Distribution of the Fruits of Industry
    • 4.3.3 Co-Determination in the Enterprise
    • 4.3.4 Organization of the Workplace to Promote CoOperation
    • 4.3.5 Professional Competence in All Jobs
    • 4.3.6 Training as an Integral Part of One’s Work
    • 4.3.7 Working Hours According to Social Needs
    • 4.3.8 Equality in the Workplace
    • 4.3.9 A Working Environment Free from Risk of Ill Health and Accident
  • 5 Analysis
  • 5.1 Changes in the Management at Volvo Car Corporation
  • 5.2 Summary of the Management Changes at VCC
  • 5.3 Analysis of Labour Union Guidelines
    • 5.3.1 Job Security
    • 5.3.2 Fair Distribution of the Fruits of Industry
    • 5.3.3 Co-Determination in the Enterprise
    • 5.3.4 Organization of the Workplace to Promote CoOperation
    • 5.3.5 Professional Competence in all Jobs
    • 5.3.6 Training as an Integral Part of One’s Work
    • 5.3.7 Working Hours According to Social Needs
    • 5.3.8 Equality in the Workplace
    • 5.3.9 A Working Environment Free from Risk of Ill Health and Accident
  • 5.4 Summary of Analysis
• 6 Conclusion and Discussion
  • 6.1 Conclusion
  • 6.2 End Discussion
  • 6.3 Further Studies
• List of References

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How an acquisition affects ther elation between the labour union and the company – Acase study of Vol voCars and IF Metall –