Word: gyllenhammar
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...Gyllenhammar has skippered Volvo with the same assurance with which he pilots his 31-ft. sloop Amanda III. Almost immediately after taking over, he replaced a centralized management structure with four semiautonomous divisions, each of which is responsible for its own profits. He also expanded production of trucks, marine and industrial engines and other products to a point where they account for 43% of Volvo's sales. Pretax profits reached $90 million during the first half of this year, despite a 19% decline in U.S. sales of Volvo cars...
...Gyllenhammar appointed two union men as voting members of Volvo's board, a customary practice in some European nations but at that time still rare in Sweden. He also made changes at Volvo's big assembly plant near Göteborg, automating the heaviest jobs and establishing an internal placement agency to help people find more satisfying assignments. American workers will soon get a firsthand look at Gyllenhammar's style. Volvo has broken ground for a new assembly plant in Chesapeake, Va., the first automobile factory established in the U.S. by a foreign company since World...
...changes he has made, Gyllenhammar is no advocate of the kind of "industrial democracy" that would give workers an equal voice with management in corporate decision making. "I believe in giving workers some say in the way their job is carried out," he says, "but how can they have influence in such important executive decisions as where to put a new plant?" Although such views irritate militant Swedish unionists, Gyllenhammar's easy informality (he addresses workers with the familiar du, and they do likewise) and unpretentious style are the earmarks of a natural politician. Some Swedish pols have touted...
...Kalmar system was worked out by Pehr Gyllenhammar, Volvo's managing director (see box). Three years ago, when he stepped in as chief executive, he had to cope with an incredibly high labor turnover rate. At Volvo's main assembly plant near Goteborg, turnover reached an annual rate of 41% in 1971, even though the company pays some of the highest wages in Swedish industry...
...company had to spend heavily to train replacements, and the rapid turnover contributed to declines in quality that have marred Volvo's reputation for durability. Gyllenhammar was convinced that the workers simply did not like their monotonous assembly-line jobs. "As people became more educated -and Sweden spends perhaps more money per capita for education than any other country-their jobs have become less complex," he says. "That does not make sense...