Table of Contents

I, Introduction........................................................................................................2
II, Total Quality Management (TQM) of IKEA....................................................2
2.1.Customer focus............................................................................................2
2.2.Leadership...................................................................................................2
2.3.Engagement of people.................................................................................3
2.4.Process approach.........................................................................................3
2.5.Evidence-based decision making................................................................3
2.6.Improvement...............................................................................................4
2.7.Relationship management...........................................................................4
III, Quality Management System and Quality Leadership adopted by IKEA.......5
3.1.Quality Management System......................................................................5
3.2.Quality Leadership......................................................................................6
IV. Conclusion.......................................................................................................7
REFERENCE........................................................................................................8

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I, Introduction
IKEA is a giant multinational corporation with furnishing centers located in 43 different
countries and has about 127,000 employees. Since its founding by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943,
IKEA has gained international renown for its high-quality products and amazing customer
experiences. In order to satisfy the customers expectation, IKEA have followed a strict quality
management system.

II, Total Quality Management (TQM) of IKEA

Total Quality Management is a “comprehensive and structured approach to organizational
management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing
refinements in response to continuous feedback” (Pasquel et al.). It is said that quality of the
products is a major concern for IKEA, and specific procedures have been improved and
applied to ensure generating safe and high-quality products.

2.1. Customer focus

IKEA has stayed true to the customer-focused purposes. This aligns the company’s
commitment that the quality of products meets the customer’s expectations. Besides the main
purpose of IKEA, which is to helps customers improve their “everyday life”, this company
also wants to improve the lives of "the many people" through quality, affordable, valued
service and goods. In order to support its purpose and vision, the company offers a variety of
well-designed and functional domestic furniture products at low prices for many people.

2.2. Leadership
Leadership is considered as one of the company’s core values. IKEA managers instill
excellence that is directly proportional to the superior quality of products delivered. The
managers try to set a good example and encourage others to emulate the same. Kamprad, the
founder of the company, admits that the best way to get the best out of the employees is by
setting an example and encouraging the employees to work hard while adhering to the
stringent business ethics, and above all, excellence. The company has embraced a Democratic
leadership approach, and thus employees can participate directly in the decision-making
process.

For example, managers in IKEA consult employees over issues and listen to their feedback or
opinions and make the actual decisions in the best interests of the workers as they believe the
staffs still need direction. In this way, the leaders have contributed to increase employees’

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confidence, lowers employees’ job stress and improves relations and trust between employees
and managers.

2.3. Engagement of people

People at all stages are considered as great essence to IKEA. The company has put the efford
to take in a range of stakeholders as much as possible. There is a platform to ensure that
communication of defects arrive on time and taken seriously. IKEA cooperate with 2 agencies
and use its own online newsrooms on company’s website to share the stories of brand.
Moreover, the company also has a PR team that strives to publish accessible and informative
content that can be of great use to the people. The company wants dialogue with the
stakeholders and key to this is the transparency about the social policies as well as the inner
workings.

2.4. Process approach

IKEA organization is divided into 4 main different areas. This four areas have direct
implications on the quality management system of the company

The first area range: conducted by IKEA of Sweden

Purchasing department: undertaken by the agents who have responsibility for placing
orders according to the requirements of the firm

Distribution and wholesale department: have duty in distributing and transporting the
finished goods to the regional distribution centers of the company, and across the world after
that

Sales function: guarantee the standardization of selling methods and customer service in all
stores owned by the company

2.5. Evidence-based decision making

Decision-making

IKEA choose to make decision based on evidence, which is a key factor in the quality’s
standardization. Most of the decisions are support by some clearly data that can interpreted to
generate a framework for decision-making without difficulty. Since the problem is common to
IKEA stores, the main players in making decision are the upper-level managers. They need to
focus on the problem and give a solution that would be executed in the stores around the
globe.

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Problem-solving

As Pasquel et al. mentioned, IKEA has been applying the strategy of “quality crcles” which is
based on employee involvement. Quality circles are voluntary groups of employees who are
trained in problem-solving. These groups may consist up to 6 people, and they are take
account of all the problem-solving steps, from recognition to the execution of solutions. The
quality circles encourage the continuous improvement, team spirit, self-development, and
employees’ involvement in the decision-making process.

2.6. Improvement
IKEA positions itself as “life improvers”. This company is best known for its modern designs
while concentrating on operational details, cost control and continual product improvement.

The goods quality has significantly been on the rise courtesy of the continuous development
and innovation measures. They have stayed on top of continues improvement and change. In
order to attain continuous enhancement, the company has strived to have a value system in
place supporting innovation and continues improvement

The innovations of IKEA are varied, range from specific good to the launch of augmented-
reality shopping. Once the majority of IKEA furniture was being sold flat-packed, the design
of the shops could be completely rethought. This heralded the birth of warehouse-style stores
in out-of-town locations. Shoppers would follow a designated route around a showroom,
ensuring they saw the entire collection, then simply collect the items from the warehouse and
take them home (Amy Freason, 2018). Recently, IKEA has developed a new type of joint,
called a wedge dowel, which makes the process of assembling wooden products become
much quicker and simpler. This tool is also convenient for customer because it does away
with the need for screws, bolts, screwdrivers and allen keys.

2.7. Relationship management

IKEA has a very comprehensive Customer Relationship Management system that makes it
possible for the company to improve the quality delivered constantly. CRM has not only
assisted in better customer service but also gives the customers a better value preposition. The
relationship management with the suppliers has also impacted positively on the quality
management systems in the company.

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CRM can display in many ways. IKEA furniture is low-cost, which requires the customer to
assemble the piece. On the surface, this appears to be a CRM detractor, but IKEA makes the
assembly simple, and it brings a sense of achievement to their customer when they’ve
accomplished the products.

III, Quality Management System and Quality Leadership adopted

by IKEA
3.1. Quality Management System

IKEA organization has to a greater extent attempted to comply with ISO 9000 standards. ISO
9000 is defined as a set of international standards on quality management and quality
assurance developed to help companies effectively document the quality system elements
needed to maintain an efficient quality system. ISO 9000 can support a company satisfy its
customers, regulatory demands, and achieve continual improvement. It should be considered
to be a first step or the base level of a quality system.

The products of IKEA are attested to and are expected to comply with the national and
international legislations of all the markets where the products are sold. The product
development phase for most of the products involves the numerous tests in the test lab, which
has also been accredited to international standards. The implication for this is that the quality
of products is taken very seriously, hence conforming to customer expectations when it comes
to quality. Given that the company has managed to deliver quality at very minimal prices, it
succeeded in raising 25.2 billion euros total revenue, and a total of almost 2.9 million Euros
for two consecutive years since 2012 (Stadtler, 2015).

There are strict specifications in place, hence compelling the suppliers to stick to the strict
requirements, which is further, developed by ISO 9001. This standard can be said to be
demanding as compared to the ISO 9000 standard that goes an extra mile to ensure that the
suppliers of the company can meet the internationally agreed quality standards.
Besides, IKEA also adheres to the "IWAY Standard" which provides guidance for IKEA's
suppliers on everything from recommending limits to CO2 emissions, to enforcing livable
wages and reasonable working hours for all employees. IWAY's strict guidelines ensure that
IKEA receives the best quality materials from the most morally responsible organizations.

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The fact that the company has been able to engage with people has seen it realize some
consistency in delivery of quality. The reputation of the company brands has been the same in
most of the markets in which the company operates. For example, the company delivers
lightweight tables that have taken the market by storm. Lightweight means quality. There are
many durable, lightweight materials that the company delivers using less wood, and has less
impact on the environment (Jones & Robinson, 2012).

Nevertheless, the incorporation of ISO 9000 Standards in the quality management system of
the company has earned the company enormous reputation both in the local and international
markets. As mentioned earlier, the company uses materials from the sustainable sources and
submits the products through the durability tests. The customers have been able to view IKEA
as a company that represents full responsibility to healthy, safe and legally compliant products
that are produced with minimal impact on the environment (Hoyle, 2001). This earns the
company more customer loyalty, hence sustainability in the level of sales that have been
recorded by the company (Jones & Robinson, 2012).

3.2. Quality Leadership

There are 5 different leadership styles have been applied by IKEA:

Autocracy Leadership style: where the manager sets objectives, allocates staff with tasks,
and strongly encourages obedience. As a result, decisions will reflect the opinions and
personality of manager, which in turn can project an image of a confident, well managed
business.

Democracy approach: encourage employees to participate in business decisions. Always

consult with employees or ask their suggestions on the final decision and the managers must
be able to clearly explain ideas and understand co-worker feedback. Therefore, they will more
likely to put more effort on their work.

Laissez-faire approach: helps employees to be relaxed and less stressful. Sometimes, over
tension at work will contribute to the drop of productivity.

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Paternalistic Leadership Style: trait all employees in the company as they are part of his
family. Thus, the managers are taken care of their employees, seek to satisfy them and offer a
comfortable work environment. The manager also consults employees over issues and listen
to their feedback or opinions.

For transformational leadership, IKEA get staffs to see beyond their own needs and self-
interest for the good of the group which makes employees feel that they are a vital part of the
organization and help them see how their job fit with the organization’s vision.

IV. Conclusion

 IKEA has attempted to understand both the current and the future needs of the customers and
is striving very much to meet the requirements of the customers and exceed their expectations
in terms of quality. In term of quality management system, IKEA have followed a strict
quality process to ensure the product standard. Besides, five leadership styles adopted by
IKEA have significant contribution to organizational success.

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 REFERENCE
1. Chuck, W. & Alan, M.(2010). MGMT, Cengage Learning Australia.
2. Dahlvig, A. (2012). The IKEA Edge: Building Global Growth and social good at the
worlds most iconic home store. New York: McGraw-Hill.
3. Enquist, B., Edvardsson, B., & Petros Sebhatu, S. (2007). Values-based service
quality for sustainable business. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal,
17(4), 385-403.
4. Freason, A. (2018).10 game-changing ideas and innovations from IKEA
5. Izquierdo, R. (2021). The Importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
6. Pasquel, Erika, et al. (2014). Total Quality Management (TQM) as practiced in IKEA
7. Pontefract, D. (2016). How IKEA Delights Its Customers

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