On day three we toured the Volvo facility which is one of the most popular national brands of Sweden. Our first lecturer Christian highlighted Volvo’s philosophy which is built on pillars of trust passion change and performance. We also discussed what is considered as a highly sought after candidate which includes bilingual capabilities and global experience. Volvo’s management style emphasizes teamwork and they award groups that practice ethical behavior. While Volvo has a predominantly technical culture which is highly represented by men, they have been encouraging more women to learn engineering functions. As with most Swedish companies, they practice fika and actually encourage it as a means of fostering a social and collaborative culture. The https://sites.psu.edu/hpasweden/olvo organization believes that a positive management culture with low power distance is essential to a organic work environment that drives good decision making. Later in the day we toured Volvo’s museum where we learned about the evolving history of Volvo design and its connection to the global market. We explored a range of vehicles and machines such as dump trucks, fire trucks, cars and even a Lego auto.
-Nick and Michael