Ingvar Kampradi: Wealthy Man, Frugal Man, Entrepreneur Extraordinair

Introduction Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish born citizen and founder and former CEO of Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd or better known as IKEA. Kamprad created a one of a kind furniture company that has become the largest furniture store in the world. The uniqueness is because they company specializes in everything being able to be broken down and shipped, â€Å"from furniture to the now famous mobile kitchens- could be packed in flat, stackable boxes (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438)†. His way of running the company is based on creativity, hard work and being frugal in his own life as well as the way he runs his company.So frugal that when employees travel they must share hotel rooms, a policy not carried in any major company. The philosophies that he has developed for IKEA are distinctive and have provided a successful way of being very profitable. Kamprad’s leadership characteristics have made him a very wealthy entrepreneur and admirable person but with a dark past. A pas t that he does not deny but states that he has learned from this and according to some has a message to send to other that carries great wisdom. Issues Addressed Kamprad’s company IKEA has been on the rise along with that his personal problems also increased.Alcoholism, his history of Nazi affiliation, and store openings where people died were his biggest problems. Even during his personal problems he never failed to provide creativity for IKEA and to make sure the company was on the right track. He always found a way to lead his company in the direction to be successful despite his personal life. His appreciation for what it takes to be successful and the knowledge that he realizes â€Å"there are no guarantees to economic success tomorrow apart from hard work (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438). Answering the Questions 1. Kamprad is the manager of IKEA, while he is not the CEO he still continues to run the company. He is always trying to create any new ideas, and develop philosop hies to make the company better for their customers and employees. Kamprad is a leader because: he does not sit around pointing fingers and collecting money, but he is out there working to make IKEA a better company every chance he can. Continuing his innovative efforts so the company can be ne of a kind and cater to the people and through all his personal problems and personal achievements the company was always placed at the top of the list; â€Å"he likes to say that IKEA is his fourth child (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438). † 2. Kamprad encouraged a level of followership that has made IKEA a unique company. This followership that he created makes people want to work for IKEA and create new ideas. His philosophies are exceptional and out of the box; his claims of â€Å"we dare to do it a different way (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438)† Kamprad says about IKEA.The way he created IKEA and the way he makes sure the company draws people into being involved. People not only want to shop at his stores, but they want to be a part of the company anyway they can. 3. Kamprad does not want his employees to be sheep or yes men but effective active followers that are independent critical thinkers. Some of Kamprad’s leadership characteristics are â€Å"directive, supportive, participative and achievement oriented (Nelson and Quick, 2011- 413). According to the leadership grid Kamprad is deep in the 9, 1 quadrant which is â€Å"Authority-Compliance management: efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree (Nelson and Quick, 2011- 409). † 4. Leadership of Kamprad †¢Transactional – uses effort for reward because how much effort employees put into the company, means how much reward they or the company will receive. †¢Transformational – motivates his people to work for the prosperity of the company and not just for themselves. His vision about IKEA helps bond his followers/ employees to IKEA. He is charismatic – focusing on creating a message with his philosophies and connecting with his followers emotionally. †¢Authentic – role model towards the people due to his developing ingenuity and philosophies. 5. Key leadership lessons that can be observed by Kamprad’s experiences: a. Creativity & uniqueness b. Hard manual work c. Work hard but work smart d. Delegate less and get more involved, do not be afraid to be different, and listen to my people. Conclusions Ingvar Kamprad developed very young starting his business; selling matches and cards from his bicycle and later expanding his business to elling fish, Christmas decorations and pens and pencils. This small town boy from went on to build a company from a cash reward given to him by his father for doing well in academics, Ingvar Kamprad built a company that generated â€Å"more than $33 billion in revenue and nearly $4 billion in net income in 2011 ( http://topics. bloomberg. com/ingvar-kamprad/). † He was known as a very frugal man that had a dark past but he learned from his past explaining that his Nazi affiliations where the greatest mistake of his life. He said this because while he was not proud of being affiliated with this organization he learned a lot from being part of it.He learned to not waist anything, do not take money for granted and keep in common the one thing all rich people have; which is to leave beneath your means. ? References Bloomberg. Bloomber. com, http://topics. bloomberg. com/ingvar-kamprad/ Global Business leaders. http://www. globalbusinessleaders. org/WebPage/LeaderBio. aspx? leaderCd=l005&levelcd=c03r045 Nelson, D. & Campbell-Quick, J. , (2011). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World and You. (7th ed. ). Canada: South-Western Cengage Learning. Pace, Joe. The Workplace: Today and Tomorrow. The Professional Development Series, Book One.