TABLE OF CONTENTS Until the 1980s, Nokia was a Finnish company, in the 1980s Nokia was a Nordic company and in the beginning of 1990s a European company. Now, we are a global company.
Jorma Ollila
President and CEO, Nokia (1997)
Nokia's rise to global prominence is nothing short of astonishing. From its humble origins in Finland, Nokia has grown into a global company and a brand greatly admired by companies and employees all over the world. Yet Nokia's runaway success was not an overnight miracle but one that has been borne out of numerous failures and successes, trials and errors before becoming what it is today.
Today, Nokia is the world's leader in mobile phones and the leading supplier of mobile and fixed broadband, and Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Equally impressive is Nokia's net sales which totaled 30 billion in 2001 and has some 17 production facilities in 9 countries, R&D centres in 14 countries and employs nearly 52,000 people worldwide
In order to understand in depth how far Nokia has come, we need to trace Nokia's origins and history. We will also focus on the two prominent leader figures, Kari Kairamo and Jorma Ollila, who have both shaped Nokia with their own unique brand of management. As Nokia is synonymous with design and technology, we will also look into the aspects of design, marketing and telecommunications technology of Nokia. As Nokia's success is driven by Nokia's employees, this chapter will not be complete without examining the work ethics...
