Chapman University MBA Travel Course
Through this trip I have posted blogs that thematically connect Scandinavian culture, values, and history to the innovation, progress, and practices of both newer and more established businesses. For this last post I would like to view the trip from … [Continue reading]
One our last day in Copenhagen, we continued our trend of visiting innovative companies. Dong energy was our first and only stop for the day before departing to Oslo. Dong Energy is a Danish run energy company that was created out of the merger of … [Continue reading]
We detoured from Copenhagen because of a national holiday to go back to Sweden. Our business tour began at Orbital Systems in the small, but mighty town of Malmö. Orbital Systems is considered the shower of the future. Their shower was initially … [Continue reading]
Countries in Scandinavia gain wealth through their plentiful, yet narrow variety of raw materials. With an abundance of iron ore, oil, and beech trees, the nations have no difficulty in maintaining a strong economy through international trade. … [Continue reading]
One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to try the regional cuisine. While in Sweden, I tried a multitude of regional dishes with origins from both the North and South of the country. Some characteristics of classic Swedish cuisine include a … [Continue reading]
Pagen has been baking bread through 5 generations, and over the past 135 years the small family bakery has become an international success. In 1961, the company designed an office space with an open floorplan, which is now very common in Swedish … [Continue reading]
R&D is very long and tortuous process. When I was working in the HR team, I had recruited about 10 R&D experts for my company. But situations that was not expected occurred and experts always lacked. The success of R&D project is very … [Continue reading]
Stockholm Upon arrival in Stockholm, it was apparent that the Swedish culture remained strong, even in a bigger metropolitan city. At Keolis, a transportation company based out of France, has become the first bus transportation company … [Continue reading]
The days leading up to our departure of Stockholm there was one company that really stood out as leading the way for innovation and sustainability. Northvolt is a company that is focusing on changing the future of how batteries are made, maintained, … [Continue reading]
Piteå is growing in population, containing about 41,000 people in North Sweden. It is the smallest city (in population) on our itinerary for Sweden. Still, it was a great place to begin our journey through Sweden. Sometimes small cities are a … [Continue reading]
During this week of our trip, we visited two of Sweden’s powerhouses, Volvo and IKEA. We started at Volvo Cars’ headquarters, known as the “Eagle’s Nest,” for a session on innovation and supply chain transformation, followed by a tour of the factory floor. Walking into a building with that kind of nickname, you expect a […]
Saab Technologies I didn’t expect a company visit to be one of the most memorable parts of this trip, but our stop at Saab Technologies in Stockholm ended up sticking with me more than I thought it would. Saab isn’t a company most Americans think about day-to-day, but in Sweden it’s almost a household name. […]
The Volvo Example: Volvo is known worldwide for Swedish safety and engineering. However, when selling outside of Scandinavia, they have to customize heavily. In the US, they build larger SUVs with bigger cup holders and stronger hybrid engines to fit long American road trips. In other global markets with poor roads or heavy traffic, they have […]
