Information Management (Volvo)

Ali Anjum Södertörns Högskola
Information management Institute of communication, media and IT

2010-01-20
Volvo Group
Ali Anjum
Information Management
Södertörns högskola
1
2010-01-20
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Information management ................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Business intelligence .........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
The relationship between data-information-knowledgeError! Bookmark not defined.
Information as a strategic resource ............................................................................. 5
Organization .........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Company management ................................................................................................. 6
Volvo 3p .......................................................................................................................... 7
Volvo Power train .......................................................................................................... 8
Volvo Parts ..................................................................................................................... 8
Volvo information technology .........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Information needs ............................................................................................................. 9
Company management ................................................................................................. 9
business units ............................................................................................................ 12
Volvo 3p..................................................................................................................... 12
Volvo Power train..................................................................................................... 13
Volvo Parts................................................................................................................ 14
Volvo information technology ................................................................................. 15
External Information Maps ........................................................................................... 16
Development areas and trends....................................................................................... 22
Environmental care ..................................................................................................... 22
Global economy............................................................................................................ 22
Commercial transport need ........................................................................................ 23
Raw material prices..................................................................................................... 24
Competitor monitoring ....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Costumer monitoring .................................................................................................. 25
Trial Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 26
Results, analysis and reflection ...................................................................................... 31
Works Cited..................................................................................................................... 34
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Introduction
Write a short paragraph about what information management

involves
Correct and up to date Information is very important for making write decisions for an
organization whether its management or employment level, especially in present fast
moving global changes regarding economy, society, climate etc. Every organization
needs to provide relevant information to its management to come up with effective and
profit generating decisions. Specific information for specific person at specific time is
required and providing system that regulates and full fill these information requirements
for an organization is information management which involves systems and services that
are designed to acquire, share and disseminate information of all kinds, from the
production data from factories to events in the market-place along with the information
which are external i.e. government policies, cultural changes, financial situations etc and
to make sure, how information can be produced and utilized with full value.
Write a short paragraph about what business intelligence is?

Decision making is one of the primary key for the success of any business or
organization. When we talk about business intelligence it means using different mediums
to support better decision making means supporting decision making by providing useful
information. Intelligence is to work for gathering data or mining data and transforming it
to fruit full information and provide this information in the form of report to
organizations. In short business intelligence deals with the information related to or
effecting business outcomes and organizations must concentrate on using this business
intelligence properly.
Write a short paragraph about the relationship between data-

information- knowledge.
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Data- information- knowledge is a concept which deals with the process of three steps.
First step is to collect data in raw material (Loshin, 2003). This data includes collection
of data with in the organization as well as out side the organization and it can be done by
the use of different traditional methods such as document review, interviews, case studies
etc.
“The data collection involved two methods: reviewing critical documents within the
organization and conducting interviews with key staff” (B. A. Sen, 2007)
In second step this data is cleaned and analyzed to come up with the picture of useful
information by giving specific meaning to data and organizing data after creating activity
statement. Activity statement is the part the complete process for perceiving information
from raw data.
“The data were cleaned by removing identities, irrelevant comments and emotive
statements. This left factual data and valid perceptions descriptive of the corporate
situation which could be formed into a series of 'activity statements” (B. A. Sen, 2007)
“Activity statements are statements that are harvested from interview notes and
documents that reflect what managers do or believe they and the organization should be
doing to ensure success” (Caralli 2004: 65)
Here I want to add that these are just few examples of methods specially for gathering
information within the organization for several other context also. But here the context is
information management.
After achieving relevant information, the last step is to construct knowledge by analyzing
and interpreting the resulting information and this knowledge must be in form of proper
patterns to be usable by organizations and must be preserved in easily accessible
mediums.
Write a short paragraph about information as a strategic resource
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In every business or organization it is clear that business strategies are built by

management of the organizations in different areas such as marketing strategies,
financial strategies etc. Basically business strategies are the back bone of running any
business or organizations and its strategy, that in future becomes the reason for profit as
well as loss of the business, good or bad strategies. So for building a successful strategy it
is really important to have a clear picture of useful and up to date information for support.
Information is most important resource for better strategy making.
Organization
The Volvo Group is one of the leading suppliers of commercial transport solutions
providing products. The company has about 100,000 employs along with production units
in 19 countries and sales activities in almost 180 countries Net sales for the Volvo Group
increased by 6% to SEK 303,667 M in 2008, compared with SEK 285,405 M in
2007(The Volvo group, 2008). Their product line includes trucks, buses, construction
equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications as well as aircraft engine
components. The Group also offers its customers financial services. Their strategy is
based on customers’ requirements, which also reflects their mission. The organization has
also leading position in issues regarding safety which is implemented in development of
their products. Hybrid technology is one of the most promising and competitive
technologies offered by Volvo for commercial vehicles. It saves fuel up to 20%. It
reduces emissions. And it can be used together with alternative fuels.
The group is divided into several sections depending on product-related business areas
and supporting business units. The Volvo Group’s operations are organized in nine
business areas, Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks, Mack Trucks, Trucks Asia, Buses,
Construction Equipment, Volvo Penta, Volvo Aero and Customer Finance (The Volvo
group, 2008) along with its management. Here I will select Supporting business units’
and discuss their functions and working areas i.e.:
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 Volvo 3p.
 Volvo Power train.
 Volvo Parts.
 Volvo Information Technology.
The business units are organized globally and combine expertise in key areas. They have
the overall responsibilities (The Volvo group, 2008).
Company management:
The governance structure of the group Volvo, their function and area of work are as
follows;
 Board Chairman and external auditors. The Board is responsible for the
Group’s long-term development and strategy as well as controlling and evaluating
the company’s operations (The Volvo group, 2008).
 The President (CEO). The CEO is in charge of the daily management of the
Group through primarily two different bodies, the Group Executive Committee
and the business areas’ and business units’ Boards of Directors in accordance with
guidelines and Instructions provided by the Board (The Volvo group, 2008).
 Group Executive Committee. The Group Executive Committee meetings, which
are led by the CEO, deal with Group-wide issues and issues affecting more than
one business area/unit, and sharing of information concerning the Group’s
performance. The CEO or another member of the Group Executive Committee is
the Chairman of the Boards of all business areas and business units (The Volvo
group, 2008).
 The Boards of the business areas and business units effect control and follow-
ups of business areas’ and business units’ financial development, business
plans and goals as well as make decisions regarding, for example, investments
(The Volvo group, 2008).
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 Remuneration Committee. The duties of the Committee include presenting

recommendations for resolution by the Board regarding terms of employment and
remuneration for the President of AB Volvo, principles for remuneration,
including pensions and severance payment for other members of the Group
Executive Committee, and principles for variable salary systems, share-based
incentive programs, pensions and severance payment for other senior executives
in the Group. (The Volvo group, 2008).
 Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is responsible for preparing the Board’s
work to assure the quality of the company’s financial reporting through reviewing
the interim reports and the annual report. In addition, the Audit Committee’s task
is to establish guidelines specifying what other services than audit the company
may procure from the company’s auditors and to provide guidelines for and
decisions on transactions (The Volvo group, 2008).
Business units their function and area of work:
Volvo 3p:
Volvo 3P is the business unit with number of employees 4,057. This unit is responsible
for product planning, product development and purchasing for the Group’s truck
companies (one of the business area of Volvo). Product planning involves having the
right products over the longer term. Product development focuses on chassis, cabins and
electrical systems. In purchasing, Volvo 3P offers significant size and negotiating
strength (The Volvo group, 2008).
Volvo Power train:
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Volvo Power train with number of employees 9,181 coordinates the Volvo Group
driveline operations and is responsible for the development and manufacturing of heavy
diesel engines, gearbox and drive shafts. Volvo Power train is also responsible for
ensuring that the Volvo Group is supplied with drivelines for medium-heavy applications.
The Volvo Group has common engine platforms that fulfill the latest environmental
requirements, a more focused research and development program, more efficient
production and a more focused supplier structure (The Volvo group, 2008).
Volvo Parts:
Volvo Parts provides services and tools for the aftermarket. The services start with the
suppliers and proceed via the dealers all the way to the end-customers. This entails
planning, purchasing, shipping and storing parts, as well as inventory management, order
management, and tools and services for the aftermarket. Number of employees 4,175
(The Volvo group, 2008).
Volvo Information Technology:
Volvo IT’s business concept is to manage complex IT systems. Volvo IT delivers

solutions for all segments of the industrial process and provides unique expertise in
product lifecycle management, SAP solutions and IT operation. Its customers include the
Volvo Group, Ford-owned Volvo Cars, and other large industrial companies. Number of
employees: 5,326
Information needs
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As Volvo is one of the leading companies in the market of its products it is very
important for the organization to fulfill appropriate information needs of the group to
maintain their position in the market to compete and to grow further. Information need
for units mentioned above is one of the key factors of their success. As their function and
work are discussed, now its information need can be identified related to their services.
The focus of the information delivery must be according to individual target persons
instead of bunches of information available for every one creating overload of
information.
Company management:
The structure of the management of the company is divided into various sections
depending on their responsibility and authority in the group. From the picture of their
structure, the flow of information is clear. How they perform depending on each other in
the context of information exchange.
Internal
Starting from Board Chairman and external auditors elected by share holders are
responsible for development, strategy and evaluation of companies operations. These
duties are performed through the information from Audit Committee and Remuneration
Committee. Further the information which can be beneficial for these management
authorities in relation to their duties are financial information, suggestions from
supervisors of different departments, relevant data of the insight position of the company
for evaluation and technology promotions of the group for planning development. Board
also needs information regarding performance of their management to evaluate and
appoint the president of the organization.
The president appointed by the board also known as the chief executive officer is in
charge of the daily management of the Group through the information received by
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primarily two different internal bodies, the Group Executive Committee and the business
areas’ and Boards of Directors of each business unit in accordance with information and
Instructions provided by the Board. Information is gathered by heads of each unit and
than delivered to CEO to manage daily tasks. Group executive committee reports directly
to CEO. The Group Executive Committee meetings, which are led by the CEO, deal with
Group wide issues and issues affecting more than one business area/unit, and sharing of
information concerning the Group’s performance (The Volvo group, 2008). Either the
CEO or one of the members of the Group executive committee is the chairman of the
boards of all business areas and business units (The Volvo group, 2008) and receives up
to date information from board members on current affairs about the status of business
units. So there is inter link between all business areas and unit’s management stepping up
from units till the board chairman in information transfer and sharing context to perform
actions and making decisions. For successive decision making by the management of any
organization it is one of the primary factors that decision makers should have complete
hold on internal information from gate keeper till the top management of the organization
means from top to bottom.
There are two committees Remuneration Committee and Audit Committee active for
advising and recommending solution related to pensions and guidelines specifying what
other services than audit the company may procure from the company’s auditors and to
provide guidelines for and decisions on transactions (The Volvo group, 2008).
Information need for these committees is fulfilled by the data available in office
documents or records. Like for remuneration committee, record of the individual
employee regarding his joining date and total time of employment etc and audit
committee perceives information through reviewing the interim reports and the annual
report.
External
When we look at the governance model of the group we can view some of the external
stake holders in form of share holders involve in the management of organization. These
shareholders needs to be updated with the knowledge of organization’s current position to
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be able to exercise their voting rights with regard, for example, to the composition of the
Board of Directors Volvo and election of external auditors. These are the external
management member but needs insight information about the organization about
financial and other issues.
As the organization along with its business units is active all over the world, it is
understood that they must be domestic as well as global external factors that can have
effect on the organization’s environment. Information regarding global changes on the
external factors effecting organization needs to be attained on regular basis to add them to
decision makings according to them and take measures prior to changes. These external
factors include government policies, market trends, competitor moves, economy, politics,
global fuel prices and culture of the countries where organization is running business.
Keeping track on all these factors in form of information is very much essential for any
organization so Volvo management has to take every step to get hold on information
about these external factors to update accordingly. Taking action prior to effects from
these entities can result in fruitful benefits for organization. Management must be aware
of market trends to apply the information for development of the product. Producing
effective product needs to have knowledge about consumer’s attitude; cultural
background, religious back ground as well as keeping information about competitors can
help management to keep organization one step a head in the market. Globally expanding
media can be a great help for organization to keep track on information about external
issues like politics, economy, competitors (by their add campaigns) and costumers
response. Establishing costumer feedback system is also very useful tool for collecting
information regarding costumer requirements as Volvo Group’s strategy is based on
customers’ requirements.
Business units:
Internal
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Internal information for different business unit comes with in the different sections of
units itself and is used by management to take decisions. This information is interpreted
by management and is used according to the working areas of the business units. So there
is a flow of information business units to management and than passing through different
management levels till head board directors. This information is interpreted and than
reversed in form of decision to be executed in same order from top to bottom.
There are four supporting business units in Volvo group acting and organized globally
and have separate expertise in key areas. Depending on their expertise and
responsibilities these units have different as well as similar information needs to be
fulfilled to perform effectively. Basically these units act as a support to Group’s business
areas.
Volvo 3P:
Internal
Volvo 3P is the business unit. This unit is responsible for product planning, product
development and purchasing for the Group’s truck companies (one of the business area of
Volvo). Product planning need to have relevant information at its back with in the
organization to come up with the right product. For product development that focuses on
several truck accessories like chassis, cabins and electrical system unit member must
have knowledge about current running products. All about their durability, faults, quality
analysis etc to come up with better product next time. All relevant information must be
provided by the business area ‘truck companies’ about the outcome of the previous
products as well as any recent demands. For purchasing there must be information about
the progress of previously bought things.
External
The external information that Volvo 3p needs to have hold on are economy changes,
market trends to be able to produce keeping trends and up to date material in mind. Must
have knowledge about the feedbacks received from consumer as well as client to come up
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with relevant decisions regarding product planning. For purchasing unit must have
information about new materials and new discoveries. Unit management should have
close eye on findings of research and development department. Unit must also have
regular information about decisions of management.
Volvo Power train:
Internal
Volvo power train is another business unit which supports and coordinates the drive line
operations. And manufactures heavy diesel engines, gear box and drive shafts. As this
unit works on specific requirements of the group, the source of internal information that
this unit needs and is already supplied is the business area of the group that acts as their
client. The management of this unit needs to be attached to research and development
department and it has to include latest research results in their development process and
final product. The Volvo Group has common engine platforms that fulfil the latest
environmental requirements, a more focused research and development program, more
efficient production and a more focused supplier structure (The Volvo group, 2008). The
unit must also attain relevant information on environmental findings of the group to be
applicable in the production as it is the main focus of the group for this production
context. Information from supply department is also received on the demand of the client
to be fulfilled to capture the quantity of the product i.e. for manufacturing of gear box for
after sales service the quantity is provided by the business unit Volvo parts according to
the market demand calculated. All the tasks are dependent on the information sharing
with in the business units of the group.
External:
Externally this unit is in need to have proper information about environmental
requirements, competitor information as well as market analysis for betterment of their
production. Feed back from drivers about the usability of their products. They need to
know about latest technology related to their development and production line.
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Volvo Parts:
Internal:
The responsibility of this business unit is to deal with and provide services and tools for
after market. It takes up to date information on supply and demand figures to manage
appropriate distribution. The services start from supplier and ends at consumer through
dealers. Their must be developed system which provides regular information about the
sales from dealers to regulate the flow of supply. Like if some part is sold out their must
be indication at the same time so the part is delivered in time. For planning, unit should
have information about the dealers their demands to calculate total parts to be produced
and than pass this information to the production department likes Volvo 3p or Volvo
power train. For shipping unit needs information on regular shipment record out and for
storing unit should have information form store department about the inventory status to
have idea about number of inventory to be reproduced. These all includes in inventory
management and information needs for this management is required as to have up to date
data for taking further actions. Information to manage orders is regulated by different
reports from shipping, inventory, storing departments all together like from shipping
record management gets information that what orders are sent and from inventory
department it is assumed that how much more orders can be fulfilled. So all the system
circulated depending on information flow from each other.
External:
For Shipping management business unit needs to have proper tracking system provided
by the shipping company to have complete track on the shipments and to keep an eye on
the information for capturing shipping company’s progress and if there is any blockage or
hurdle it can be seen and than resolved. Different shipping companies must also be in
touch to see their upcoming offers and promotions. As this department has to deal with
different dealers and has to full fill final consumer needs so firstly unit has to have
regular information from dealers on daily sales as well as consumer feed backs and
secondly their should be a feed back system through which unit gets consumer
suggestions directly about the quality of their product and problems faced by the
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consumers. Unit must also have market pricing information in relation to the competitors
to control prices.
Internal:
This is the business unit that deals with the technology and IT systems of the
organization. For this unit information needs are or can be fulfilled by information from
all business areas as well as management of the group regarding feed back on the existing
information technology used by the group. Unit needs information on the usability of the
systems to evaluate and than to provide technology solutions to the group. Basically this
unit has to solve all the problems regarding technical part of the information
management. So to regulate information flow information is required about different
departments and their tasks also.
External:
Unit should have complete up to date information about the latest technology immerging
in the market to keep the group with up to date technology. The management of this unit
must have a relation with the research and development sector of information technology
to keep track of the finding of the researchers and to apply these results for the benefit of
group. Must also have information about the technology used by competitors to be step a
head.
External information map
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Company management:
Share holder
Market
trends
Politics Through
Through media
media analysts
Culture &
environment Company
Through senior Policies
media & management Through
surveys
government
Consumer’s
Economy feedback
Through Through
global market Competitor media and
moves dealers
Through
media
1. Map of external information needs producers.
External information map for business units:

As all business units work for different business areas of group so information is
produced by the management of different business areas. To be more specific external
information from surrounding world is perceived by the high management through
different mediums as also mentioned in above diagram. Now categorized information is
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further delivered to different departments by the management in form of decisions toward

business areas and business units. Means that external information is primarily produced
by management of the group for business units as business units have to move on
according to the orders from management. There are also some external information
producers as well.
Volvo 3P:
Company
management
Market Consumer
feed back
Busuness unit
Volvo 3p
Supliers for Economy

purchasing Through
media
Research and
Development
2. External information map for business unit Volvo 3p.
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Unit has to keep eye on the external information needs by itself as well as through
management to evaluate and compare for better results.
Volvo Power train:
Company
mangement
Invironmenta
l information
Meterial Through
manufacturer R&D and
Business unit
media
Volvo Power
train
Usability Market
testing R&D analyses
3. External information map for Volvo power rain.
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Volvo Parts:
Company
management
Competitor’s Shipping
pricing companies
offers
Business unit
Volvo parts
Relationship
with group
Dealer’s and sales
information channels
Consumer’s Shipment
feed back information
through through
dealers and tracking
unit itself system
4. External information map for business unit Volvo parts.
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Company
management
Information
about latest
technology in Research and
the market development
Volvo
information
technology
New
technology in Competitor
the market Through
media
5. External information map for business unit Volvo information technology.
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development areas and trends
Environmental care:
We believe that it is self-evident that our products and our operations shall have the
lowest possible adverse impact on the environment. We are working to further improve
energy efficiency and to reduce emissions in all aspects of our business, with particular
focus on the use of our products. Our goal is that the Volvo Group shall be ranked as a
leader in environmental care. To achieve this goal, we strive for a holistic view,
continuous improvement, technical development and efficient resource utilization. (The
Volvo group, 2008). The group must focus on monitoring global environmental changes
in order to achieve their goal. They must have complete picture on the effects of their
product on the environment to reduce it in their future products. By monitoring
environments of the areas which include their business target they will know the
environment position and by using the information will help them focusing on
environmental care. “As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles,
we have a responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our production and the
utilization of our products” (CEO, Volvo group, 2008).
Keywords:
Energy efficiency vehicles, environmental care, motor technical development
Global economy:
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In a declining economy, it is extremely important to act quickly to reduce the Group’s

cost level and ensure we do not build inventories, since large inventories generally lead to
pressure on prices (The Volvo group, 2008). Group must monitor and forecast global
economic changes in order to be safe from big loss in future. The quantity of production
should depend on the global economy which also controls auto product pricing. This will
result in cash flow in the organization to survive in bad economical conditions. As an
example of forecasting effects of declining economy and coping up with it, CEO of
organization mentioned “Under present market conditions, it is difficult to forecast
development in the truck market during 2009. We do not expect any recovery in demand
during the first half of the year, but with the approved and already implemented internal
actions that will gradually generate favourable effects during the first half of 2009, we are
prepared to cope with the difficult conditions” (The Volvo group, 2008). Aero has
already started to prepare for lower demand due to the general decline in air travel
throughout the world. Declining economy effected the ratio of air travelling hence
resulting in reduced demand in Volvo Aero engines. Basically every thing stands on the
stability of economy. When economy declines it affects every aspect of live hence
effecting organizations at the end so as Volvo is one of the leading group in commercial
production sector targeting very large and several group all over the world, it is a real key
for the management to monitor and forecast global economical changes in order to reduce
risks.
On the other hand opposite goes, in case of growth in economy. If the organization
monitors economy and comes to know that its going to increase or increased, it will lead
to high demand for them for which they have to be ready. Growth in the economy and in
transport also clearly underscores the need for a reliably functioning infrastructure. In the
next few years, major investments in the road network will be carried out in markets such
as China, India and Eastern Europe while stimulus packages in the form of investments in
infrastructure are on the agenda in a number of countries. Increased global wealth means
that there is a long-term need to build airports, railways, factories and shopping centres,
as well as housing and recreational facilities.
Keywords:
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Global economy, declining economy, global economy growth, auto product pricing,
commercial vehicle market development, functioning infrastructure, global wealth out
look, construction industry
Commercial transport need:

Commercial transport need is increasing day by day in present world causing increasing
demand commercial buses. The reason for this increase is declining purchasing power of
public due to recession, increasing traffics on the roads, increasing fuel prices etc. The
demands are increasing specially in 3 rd world countries. The group must monitor traffic
flow of the countries in order to get an idea for commercial transport demand. They must
monitor the new countries for extension of their business. For this they have to monitor
country’s economical position, employment ratio, road traffic jam ratios, fuel prices in
the country, public movement mediums etc. Today in developing countries like Pakistan
most important issue is increasing fuel prices. Fuel economy is an important factor when
they choose new vehicles and machinery. This places demands on manufacturers to
develop, new, more fuel efficient products (The Volvo group, 2008).
This is what organization must monitor and see the need for commercial vehicle’s
demand with engines that reduces fuel like hybrid technology is one of the most
promising and competitive technologies for commercial vehicles.
The transport requirement is reflected in demand for transport vehicles, which have
reported growth rates of about 4% a year over a business cycle. Historically, the trend of
registrations of heavy trucks has shown wide fluctuations in North America but been
more stable in Western Europe. The fastest growth has occurred in Eastern Europe and
Asia (The Volvo group, 2008).
Keywords:
Commercial transport needs, fuel prices, traffic flow, public movement mediums, fuel
efficient products, transport requirement,
Raw material prices:
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In order to control pricing and to offer competitive prices in the market it is important to
reduce the costs of production. Cost of production depends on the cost of raw material.
As the group is engaged in the production of heavy vehicles including, buses,
construction equipments and heavy engines, raw material like metals and rubber are
required not in large quantities but in very large quantities. Fluctuation in prices of raw
material can cause a great damage in production cost. As if the cost if raw material is
high it will result in high product prices and low profitability. In order to control this
effect Volvo group needs to monitor pricing fluctuations and to purchase the material
when its cheaper. This can only be achieved by monitoring raw material suppliers along
with the demand and supply closely.
Keywords:
Fluctuation in prices of raw material, raw material suppliers
Competitor monitoring:
For success of any business and to be in leading position it is really important and basic
factor to monitor the competitors very closely. Competitors should be monitored
regarding technology they are using, their marketing strategies, their weaknesses,
strengths, their annual reports, their profitability and specially their pricing.
Keywords:
Competitor’s weaknesses, pricing, strengths
Costumer monitoring:
Monitoring costumers and their companies is also very much significant for Volvo.
Group should monitor its costumers regarding their business goals and targets in order to
understand their requirement specifications. This will also guide group about the use of
their product by costumers and in what context it is being used and who is the final
consumer. Costumer’s business development will be seen and products will be made in
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accordance with that. The customers of the Volvo Group are primarily involved in
transport-related operations. The customers of the Volvo Group are primarily involved in
transport-related operations. They place high demand on products and services. In a
market characterized by intense competition, customer satisfaction is a key factor, as it
represents an assurance of future sales and is a condition of good profitability (The Volvo
group, 2008). And for this assurance monitoring costumer and transport industry is
necessary element.
Keywords:
Requirement specifications, transport-related operations, customer satisfaction, transport
industry
Trial monitoring
Volvo has several business areas and unit acting as pillars of organization. If we
talk about monitoring profile for the organization it will include profile for all the
areas and units and management separately. In all parts above there are several
information needs that are discovered and in development areas and trends
section few keywords are created to be utilized in trial monitoring. The key word
represents and captures areas which provides relevant information and which
should be monitored for the benefit of organization. Some of these key words
were put in Google news domain to find relevant information and actors as well
as websites and latest update information. By monitoring the domain for 3 days,
information update and changing trend for each keyword was calculated. The
results on the changes for few keywords used for trial on Google news are as
follows:
Monitoring key word:
Energy efficiency vehicles, environmental care, global economy, technical development,

commercial vehicle market development, construction industry, global wealth out look,
global economic growth, auto product pricing
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For monitoring the update information of the issues related to the key words I chose
Google new itself and monitored the upcoming news for the selected key words. These
update news are to be monitored by the management of the group as to come up with
current issues in related areas for effective decision making. The time for monitoring was
eight days.
Energy efficiency vehicles:
Regarding the current situation in energy efficiency the latest topic captured were:
 11 jan 2010
Obama Spends Millions to Boost Long Haul Truck Fuel Efficiency 50%
 13 jan 2010
Honk If You Love Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
 17 jan 2010
Mandatory fuel efficiency norms by 2011
 19 jan 2010
Japan to allow US vehicles in its 'clunker' program
Toyota Promises Affordable Fuel Cell Vehicle By 2015
Energy Efficient Technology
These were the few of updates in the news and blog updates regarding issues
relevant for the group.
Environmental care:
 11 jan 2010
Volvo launches the most powerful truck for Indian shores
 14 jan 2010
Porsche wins two prestigious awards in India
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2010-01-20
Technical development:
 11 jan 2010
Hybrids steal spotlight at Detroit auto show
 13 jan 2010
On China's Astounding Economic Growth
 19 jan 2010
Construction Underway for New Ronn Motor Company HQ and Scorpion HX(TM ...
Fisker Automotive raises $115.3 million

Dorel Juvenile Group plans new state-of-the-art car seat Design and ...
Global economy:
 11 jan 2010
Global Economy In Recovery Mode, Trichet Says
IMF head in 'double-dip' global economy warning

BBC News - Jan 18, 2010
The World Economic Forum Lists Global Risks in Year Ahead
 15 jan 2010
IMF, G-20 Start Work On Creating More Balanced Global Economy
 19 jan 2010
Rewiring the global economy
Auto product pricing:
 11 jan 2010
Ford says it will sell an electric Focus next year
 14 jan 2010
Connecticut Transit to add 35 Nova LFS Artic buses to its fleet
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2010-01-20
 19 jan 2010
2010 Detroit Auto Show Walk Around The Exhibit Floor
Fitch Ratings augur well for auto industry in 2010 with 10-12 per cent growth
Nova Bus provides articulated buses to Connecticut Transit
Frost & Sullivan Presents 2009 United States Automotive Technicians' Choice ...
Global economic growth:
 11 jan 2010
Treasuries Advance After China Rates Spur Global Growth Concern
 18 jan 2010
EIA: World economic recovery to restore oil demand growth
 19 jan 2010
Credit and employment: the next phase of the economic recovery
Global wealth out look:
 11 jan
(BOC) Canada's Housing Sector in Recession and Recovery: Beyond Bricks and Mortar
 19 jan 2010
What's the Outlook for the economy?
Commercial vehicle market development:
 11 jan 2010
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2010-01-20
Valence Technology Celebrates New Year with $3.1 Million Battery Order from ...
 12 jan 2010
Valence Technology Celebrates New Year with $3.1 Million Battery Order from ...
 14 jan 2010
Commercial Vehicle Group Announces Gordon Boyd as President of Seating
Systems
 18 jan 2010
Europe Shifting to a Carbon Dioxide-based Vehicle Taxation Regime for a Low ...
 19 jan 2010
SORL Auto Parts Announces New Agreements in the Agricultural Vehicle and
FEATURE: South America's auto industry rides recession
Construction industry:
 11 jan 2010
UK Construction Market Forecast 2010 - 2013
 12 jan 2010
Signs of life in the home-building industry
 19 jan 2010
Bahrain: Construction industry building momentum throughout 2010
These were the headings of the news and topics related to and contain information
about the areas relevant to the Volvo group. This all information is necessary for
group to keep an eye on. The information that I gathered from this monitoring
relevant to areas of information needs were information about current situations and
upcoming technology in the market, technological developments, economy position
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2010-01-20
of the world and its forecasting for future prediction, competitor’s missions regarding
energy efficiency technology and their other plans. The information about the
construction industry was also taken into account to monitor as Volvo deals with
construction equipments in very large scale so keeping an eye on construction
industry overview is very much important and help full.
The use of Google was very much help full infect it was a problem solver for the
problem of identifying the terms to be monitored and than tracking the changes in
Copernic tracker. It is a very informative easy and progressive exercise that I learned
to apply in future for information management in practical. From this exercise I got
clear picture about information context for organizations and how to deal with
information issues in practical.
Results, analysis and reflection:

For beneficial purpose of any type of organization, firm, agency or even counties and
states different types of intelligence plays not only important role but primary roles. As
we know that responsibilities and duties of intelligence agencies in any context is to
gather and spy for information needed for different specific tasks or decision makings in
several contexts and deliver the information to relevant areas to support them for their
future plans so A proper and formal structure for intelligence must be achieved for
accurate results. The purpose of all this activity is to pretend themselves from the
mistakes in past and to take precaution steps depending on information received. In the
same way for any type of business a proper structure for business intelligence is required
whether the business is small or on large scale. A formal structure for business
intelligence should be made and organized depending on the structure of business human
recourse and functional structure. Information should be delivered in form of knowledge
and to relevant target group specifically to avoid overload of information and irrelevant
information wasting time and efforts of the employees as well as organization. Means
intelligence must be managed properly in order to manage information flow through out
the organization in same way as water flows through pipe lines to its final destinations.
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2010-01-20
For any organization there can be two ways in order to full fill the information needs.
Firstly all the employees should look for the information for themselves related to their
information need. They should look and develop monitoring profile for them selves and
track the information on regular bases with the help of several tracking and monitoring
soft wares like corperic tracker. The information they gather form this process can help
them in their daily work. This business intelligence idea sounds good but if we see it
practically, it is very difficult to manage information needs and daily responsibilities at
the same time. This will result in the wastage of time and will reduce the efficiency of the
employees.
Instead in order to obtain and full fill information requirements without waiting time it is
necessary that employees of the group or organization are provided with the key points,
finished and refined information related to their specific needs to which they just go
through with out wasting much of their time. To achieve these task organizations need to
develop a separate department or team to take this responsibility of information
management and keep control on the business intelligence internally as well as externally.
This business intelligence department should look and discover the information needs
required by specific employees, administration as well as external stakeholders. After
determining the specific information requirements of different sections of the
organization intelligence team will get the idea about the problem and once the problem
is diagnosed it can be cured easily. The information department should then look for the
ways to get relevant information depending on their findings about information need.
This all can be done easily by categorizing and making information needs list. Companies
need to focus on their critical information needs relating to corporate success factors to
fully achieve control and management effectiveness (Daniel 1961). The intelligence team
should look and identify the key words related to information needs and form those key
words they must find and make monitoring profile. This profile must be monitored on
regular bases by this department and results of the monitoring should be than cropped and
manipulated in finished form. This finished form should be further categorized and
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2010-01-20
transferred to relevant target groups in very precise and full of knowledge forms helping
different actors of the organization in improvement of their daily work progress which
will lead to the success of organization in long run.
Critical success factor in the article determining the information needs of small and
medium-sized enterprises: a critical success factor analysis also goes for more or less
same with finding critical information needs for organizations success factors. Critical
success factors of any organization are the areas which should be managed and handled
with care for the success and survival of any organization. “The need to examine the
critical aspects of the business had become of primary importance as the information was
not available to make decisions to enable the project to proceed as planned”. (B. A. Sen,
2007). These critical factors of any organization need to be derived in order to understand
the information needs necessary for organization. The method proposed in the article
determining the information needs of small and medium-sized enterprises: a critical
success factor analysis, for finding critical factors includes several steps starting from
defining the scope, collecting data through organization’s document review. The
document review included: mission statements, business objectives and the staff appraisal
document ((B. A. Sen, 2007). After document review interview from several employees
and management members is performed. After interviews data is organized. The data
were cleaned by removing identities, irrelevant comments and emotive statements. This
left factual data and valid perceptions descriptive of the corporate situation which could
be formed into a series of activity statements (B. A. Sen, 2007). Then data is analyzed to
come up with the list of categorized data that shares common characteristics and qualities
for further analyses. From this analyses critical success factors are derived and than
analyzed to create themes related to different parts of the organization and organization’s
success factors in key words. This is how CSF of organization can be derived for being
aid in successful information system. The idea of identifying critical success factors as a
basis for determining the information needs of managers was proposed by (Daniel 1961).
In my opinion complete structured intelligence is necessary for the success of any
organization in today’s global world. A proper information system can help in making
accurate and successful decisions and strategy making from management level till lowest
level employees in simple and little decision makings as well.
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Refrences
Loshin, David. Business Intelligence: The Savvy Manager's Guide
B. A. Sen, R. Taylor, Determining the information needs of small and medium-sized

enterprises: a critical success factor analysis.
Maija-Leena Huotari, T.D. Wilson. Determining organizational information needs: the

Critical Success Factors approach.
33

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Ali Anjum Södertörns Högskola

Information management Institute of communication, media and IT

Write a short paragraph about what information management

Write a short paragraph about what business intelligence is?

Write a short paragraph about the relationship between data-

Write a short paragraph about information as a strategic resource

In every business or organization it is clear that business strategies are built by

 Remuneration Committee. The duties of the Committee include presenting

Business units their function and area of work:

Volvo Power train:

Volvo Information Technology:

Volvo IT’s business concept is to manage complex IT systems. Volvo IT delivers

Volvo Power train:

Volvo Information Technology:

External information map

1. Map of external information needs producers.

External information map for business units:

further delivered to different departments by the management in form of decisions toward

Supliers for Economy

2. External information map for business unit Volvo 3p.

Volvo Power train:

3. External information map for Volvo power rain.

4. External information map for business unit Volvo parts.

Volvo Information Technology:

5. External information map for business unit Volvo information technology.

development areas and trends

In a declining economy, it is extremely important to act quickly to reduce the Group’s

Commercial transport need:

Raw material prices:

Monitoring key word:

Energy efficiency vehicles, environmental care, global economy, technical development,

Energy efficiency vehicles:

Toyota Promises Affordable Fuel Cell Vehicle By 2015

Energy Efficient Technology

Hybrids steal spotlight at Detroit auto show

Fisker Automotive raises $115.3 million

IMF head in 'double-dip' global economy warning

Auto product pricing:

Nova Bus provides articulated buses to Connecticut Transit

Global economic growth:

Global wealth out look:

Commercial vehicle market development:

FEATURE: South America's auto industry rides recession

Results, analysis and reflection:

B. A. Sen, R. Taylor, Determining the information needs of small and medium-sized

Maija-Leena Huotari, T.D. Wilson. Determining organizational information needs: the

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