The applicability of Swedish Management

1. The applicability of Swedish Management Andrew Lowe

2. Introduction • Te nets of Swedish Management • Lateral hierarchy • Spreading decision making power and responsibility • Discussion-based decision making • Benefits claimed • Longer employee retention • Greater institutional knowledge retention • Greater knowledge re-use • Method and scope of implementation key to success

3. Applicability to Unskilled Labor • Knowledge of limited scope • Jobs require little education or training • Decision-making concentrated above menial tasks • Knowledge retention of limited value • Training investment low • Potential institutional knowledge loss minimal • No value to outsourced manufacturing • No decision making • Labor market does not dictate western-style employee relations

4. Unskilled Labor cont’d • Employee knowledge not valueless • Insight into job satisfaction • Limited insight into task efficiency • Use of Swedish techniques in this context • Narrow implementation • Focus on satisfaction and productivity

5. Applicability to Skilled Labor • Employee input, decision making • Wider scope of knowledge • Firmer grasp of areas outside their task • Knowledge retention • High levels of education and training • Long ramp-up time • Knowledge re-use • Over-the-wall vs. Concurrent Engineering • Knowledge-based engineering

6. Skilled Labor cont’d • Knowledge retention important • Training costs • Potential for knowledge loss • Knowledge re-use critical • Concurrent Engineering • KBE principles

7. Applicability to Project-level Management • Lateral Management and discussion-based decisions necessary • Complex, specialized tasks • Free flow of ideas necessary to compete • Vertical, individual decisions required • Time-to-market and deadline concerns • Technical employees tend to get narrowly focused

8. Applicability to Organizational-level Management • Timeframe much less of a concern • Business models, Five-year plans, etc. • Decisions have huge long-term effects • More time to make decisions • Full comprehension of organization cannot be concentrated in one person • Discussion necessary • Tapping lower-level employees for specific knowledge • Disasterous consequences for bad decisions

9. Conclusions • Swedish Management is effective in some situations • No single model is an end-all solution • Different areas require different management styles • Different levels have different timeframes • Balance is key • Good management requires balance • Know the needs of the task and those performing it • Be familiar with a variety of management styles • Utilize different techniques where appropriate

10. The applicability of Swedish Management Andrew Lowe