Introduction
Organizations most priced assets are the people working in the said organization who either work jointly as a team or at individual level in order to realize the organizations objectives (Armstrong, 2006). Perhaps this is the reason why the strategic and coherent management style (Human Resource Management) has been adopted by many organizations, in an attempt to focus on their vision. Global automaker Volvo Corporation is an example of a company that has taken human resource management as an important and integral part of its strategies to enhance its High Involvement Work System on its global network. They adopted this considering a recent research that suggests that high involvement can develop positive beliefs as well as attitudes that can enhance employees engagement and performance. The diagram below illustrates the impact of high involvement work structure on the overall productivity of a firm
Figure . HIWS and Productivity.
Background of Volvo Group
The Volvo Group is a
global producer of buses, trucks, equipment for construction, drive system for marines and industrial applications, and components of aircraft engines. They are one of the worlds leading suppliers of transport solutions for commercial use, and offering their customers in more than 80 countries financing and service solutions. The groups major market destination for their products is in Europe, North America, and the presently growing market of Asia. Their spare parts and many more services are handled by their global network of outlets, where they have invested a great deal of money in logistics management, product development, and other areas such as production (Hall, 2007, p. 23). The 2006 financial presented one of the most successful years in the Volvo history. This year saw their sales increase to nearly SEK 250 billion and provided employment to over 83 000 people in over 58 countries, with majority of the employments in Sweden, United States, and France (Camilla & Noomi, 2007, p.39).