Management and organisation of Icelandic organisations

Abstract

This article introduces research into the organisation and management methods of Icelandic firms. Its chief objective is to examine the types of organisational structure used by Icelandic firms. A second aim is to discover which are the most widely used management styles in Icelandic business and a third objective is to investigate whether companies have outsourced particular activities and entered into formal cooperation with other enterprises. The results indicate that the geographical position of companies in Iceland and the sectors within which they operate do not have a significant impact on their management styles or organisation. Company size and managerial levels of education, however, strongly influenced numerous aspects of management and organisation, e.g. in the use of accepted organisational charts, teamwork, cooperation between companies and the outsourcing of particular tasks. There was no observable connection between management styles and operational success; the main reason for this being that a large majority of businesses returned a profit in 2003. Further research is required in the field of management methods and organisation in order to strengthen Icelandic industry and ensure the long?term success of companies.