Organisational behaviour

1. Introduction

IKEA is a global home furnishing brand. Founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, starting with an exclusively local business. IKEA wanted to be an economic entity whose vocation is to change the consumer trend.

Today, IKEA is one of the world's best-known furniture brands, including thousands of people who work for IKEA to realize its vision of making life better for many people with 367 stores in 30 countries.

Mission: The IKEA concept begins with the idea of ​​offering a range of affordable home furnishings for most people, not just for a few. It is achieved by combining function, quality, design and value - always in the interest of sustainability.

The shared values and strong culture make IKEA unique, both as a place to work and as a brand. Key values which include: Togetherness, Cost-consciousness, Renew and improve, Give and take responsibility, Caring for people and planet, Simplicity, Different with a meaning. (www.ikea.com)

Structure of organisation: 

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The structure of the company is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising.
Inter IKEA Systems is owned by Inter IKEA Holding, a company registered in Luxembourg.

After the restructuring of the company in 2016, Inter IKEA Holding Ltd. no longer exists. Mathias Kamprad, the son of IKEA’s founder became a member of Inter IKEA Group board and the Interogo Foundation. Mathias and his two brothers Elders, who also hold management positions at IKEA, are working on the company's overall vision and long-term strategy. (Annual Report, 2018)

In the recent news IKEA launched Live LAGOM, which is built on initial in sigh from the Kalmar Project in Sweden, which saw IKEA offer lifestyle change support to 12 households. This concept has since grown into a multi-year initiative that aims to make living sustainably at home easy, affordable and desirable.  (Edie.net. 2019)

In addition, IKEA has transformed part of its workforce to contribute to the growth of the Live LAGOM initiative. Some collaborators were trained as LAGOM leaders directly to help local participants adapt to a more sustainable lifestyle, while involving other colleagues in the initiative in all stores. in fact, over 90% of Live LAGOM executives claim that the project has developed them both professionally and personally. (Edie Newsroom, 2019)

This report will focus with Retail IKEA branch.

1. Organisational culture, politics and power and its influence on individual and team behaviour and performance.

• IKEA - Influences on the development of culture:

IKEA has a strong organisational culture close to its values. IKEA therefore provides a positive message, which has an influence on their sales. Every employee represents the image of the company. Values ​​promoted externally must therefore be consistent with those disseminated internally to ensure their credibility.

Each employee receives a manual, a guide to "IKEA culture" composed of several elements. Employees must meet the following criteria: humility, equality, enthusiasm, simplicity and sense of challenge. In fact, the "IKEA culture" is based on Swedish culture whose values ​​are simplicity, equality and openness to relevant influences. These values, associated with the Scandinavian work ethic, are the basis of Swedish culture and therefore of IKEA. (Annual report, 2018)

IKEA is known as the largest furniture retailer in the world and has an exciting culture, inspired by creativity and focused on family and community. Working at IKEA means adhering to a certain functioning, certain values, a way of life in the workplace. IKEA culture and values are very important to the company; employees are committed to work according to IKEA’s vision.

IKEA culture and values have been developed over the years. The IKEA culture reflects the Swedish roots of Smaland in southern Sweden, where the IKEA founder was born and raised up.

IKEA’s culture and values influence everything it does. It has a particular way of doing things exactly as in Sweden. Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder states” Maintaining a strong IKEA culture is one of the most crucial factors behind the continued success of the IKEA Concept”. (IKEA.com)

IKEA adopted gender equality in human rights - 50/50 balance in all positions. All employees are valued for their contribution. IKEA empowers employees by trusting them and taking their values into account. (IKEA.com Annual Report).

• How Power influences organisational behaviour at IKEA. French and Raven (1959) Power sources.

According to French and Raven (1959), there are six major sources of power that can be grouped as follows.

• Positional Powers that include: Coercive power; Reward power; Legitimate power and informational power.
• Personal Powers which include: Expert power, Referent power.

IKEA has adopted a horizontal structure while eliminating the hierarchical structure perceived as a success by the media. According to Powers Sources (French and Raven) IKEA uses its power differently from one country to another.

For example, IKEA Canada, the board’s management exercised coercive power when workers at the Richmond store went on strike to demand better contract offers. Workers challenged the use of coercive power, undermined the executive power legitimacy of IKEA Canada. (CBC News, 2013). When a wrong decision is made by the leaders, they lose legitimacy and loss of authority.

Comparing its competitor Wayfair, the American e-commerce selling home furniture online. In June 2019, Wayfair employees protested against the sale of the furniture to immigration detention centres on the southern border, mentioning the difficult living conditions of some migrant children in border centres (The Guardian, 2019)

It said the company’s management “believe it is our business to sell to any customer who is active within the laws of the countries within which we operate”. (CNN, 2019)

This example shows that the feedback was that the CEO made unilateral decisions and employees were not heard. In the case of Wayfair, the CEO exercise a legitimate power. However, when employees participate in the decision-making process, they are more likely to help decision-makers or, at least, understand their decisions.

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