Group assignment mgt103 topic unilever company analysis

Untitled 1 FPT UNIVERSITY CAMPUS HO CHI MINH  GROUP ASSIGNMENT [MGT103] TOPIC UNILEVER COMPANY ANALYSIS Course MGT103 Group members Name of group member Code Contribution (%)[.]

FPT UNIVERSITY- CAMPUS HO CHI MINH



GROUP ASSIGNMENT [MGT103]

TOPIC: UNILEVER COMPANY ANALYSIS

Course: MGT103 Group members:

Name of group member Code Contribution (%)

Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 7/2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION 3

II ORGANIZATION’S ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNILEVER 3

1 The external environment 3

1.1 The general environment 3

1.1.a The Economic Dimension 3

1.1.b The Technological Dimension 3

1.1.c The Political- Legal Dimension 4

1.2 The task environment 4

1.2.a Competitors 4

1.2.b Customers 5

1.2.c Suppliers 5

1.2.d Regulator 5

1.2.e Strategic Partner 5

2 The internal environment 6

2.1 Owners 6

2.2 Board of Directors 6

2.3 Employees 7

III OVERVIEW OF UNILEVER 7

1 Visions 7

2 Goals 7

3 Culture 7

4 Organizational structures 8

IV THE BUSINESS SITUATION OF UNILEVER COMPANY 9

V IDENTIFY AND ANALYSE SOME PROBLEMS THE COMPANY HAS ENCOUNTERED 10

1 The challenges/ difficulties/ barriers the company has encountered 10

2 How the company handles them and the results 10

VI HOW IS UNILEVER CURRENTLY MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES 11

1 Attracting Human Resources 11

1.1 Human Resources Planning 11

1.2 Recruiting employees 12

1.3 Selecting employees 12

2 Training and Developing Human Resource 12

2.1 Change HR Department to Strategic Partnerships Department 13

2.2 Plan to train human resources at Unilever 13

VII CONCLUSION 15

I INTRODUCTION

- Unilever Plc (Unilever) is a manufacturer and supplier of FMCG The company's product portfolio includes food, beauty and personal care products, beverages, home care products, vitamins, minerals and supplements Unilever has three main businesses: beauty and personal care; food and beverage; and home care And the chief executive officer is Alan Jope (CEO) They have 148,000 people around the world There are more than 400 brands in over 190 countries

- Unilever is committed to making sustainable living the norm, and their logo is a visual expression of that commitment The big blue 'U' on their logo stands for Unilever But look a little closer and you'll see a lot more Each symbol in the logo has a rich meaning at its core, representing an aspect of our business and our aim to make sustainable living popular Learn more about all of them below

II ORGANIZATION’S ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNILEVER

1 The external environment

1.1 The general environment

1.1.a The Economic Dimension

- The following economic factors influence Unilever's environment generally:

+ Economic Downturn

+ Interest rates

+ Exchange rate

+ Inflation rate

+ Export subsidies

+ Import tariffs

+ Duty regulations

+ Cheap labor

- Besides, Unilever also increases wages and high growth in developing countries In addition,

it also creates economic stability of developed countries

(Source: Unilever,(2013))

1.1.b The Technological Dimension

- Technology is essential to the success of gaining a competitive edge and giving globalization power For Unilever, they consist of:

+ R&D Activity

+ Informational Technology

+ New machines

+ Innovative products

- Unilever is global leader in research and developments, is convinced that innovations based

on tremendous vitality are essential to achieving sustainable growth The first Chief Research and Development Officer was appointed by Unilever in 2008 More than 6000 R&D professionals merged into one cohesive company The company invested 927 million euros in

R&D globally Five laboratories run by the corporation are located all around the world and they study fresh ideas and methods to help us create our products Strong R&D capabilities provide it a competitive edge

(Source: Unilever,(2013))

1.1.c The Political- Legal Dimension

- Political and legal aspects of business greatly influence the development of new tactics These elements may have an impact on a company's operations, expenses, and product demand It contains:

+ Political stability

+ TAX Regulation

+ Trade Regulation

+ Employment Laws

+ Environment Laws

+ Health and safety laws

+ Employment laws

+ Consumer laws

(Source: Unilever,(2013))

1.2 The task environment

1.2.a Competitors

- In an economy, the business itself will not be the only type of business that can satisfy the needs of customers, so neither should Unilever The more products, the greater the level of competition

 Competitive company

- The competition in the industry of rivals for Unilever is huge and fierce The company faces many competitors such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Nestlé, Nivea, Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft Foods, Mars Incorporated, These are mostly big competitors with strong financial potential

 Competition in advertising methods

- In terms of communication, Unilever is given a plus point because of its proximity to the Vietnamese people through the messages it wants to send on each product While P&G, the company is often said to copy TVC from other markets to replay in Vietnam However, this has significantly changed the tastes of customers when choosing celebrities in showbiz to advertise This increases the closeness to the customer In addition, the messages conveyed are becoming clearer and clearer

- For example:

P&G Coporation - the father of Pantene - one of the most successful shampoo brands in the market This has proven the perfection of the business-advertising strategy Besides vibrant and impressive advertising on television and in newspapers, Pantene also successfully applied non-mass-media advertising In addition, the product sponsors popular TV shows That support has contributed to a huge increase in brand awareness for P&G's Pantene products

- However, Unilever is not inferior when it owns successful brands such as Sunsilk, Clear, and Dove, They also have attractive advertising business strategies such as compelling and targeted story-lines factors affecting specific customers

=> As can be seen, each company has its own way to achieve its goals Both corporations have ambitious goals For P&G, that is adding 1 billion new customers in 2015, while Unilever plans to double its revenue by 2020 and halve its negative impact on the environment

1.2.b Customers

- At market launch, from the first years, Unilever's products have become trusted brands by many people of all ages, be it individual consumers or Institutional customers Unilever knows how to diversify products and provide services to different market segments That has made customers have more choices to be more suitable

1.2.c Suppliers

- Unilever's suppliers are diverse according to each context and corporate values such as To achieve long-term and sustainable growth, Unilever has chosen to work with partners who can share the company's values The Group has always been responsible for an in-depth understanding of raw materials, ingredients, value chains, and supply markets Each value chain partner plays an important role in creating the value, capabilities that Unilever needs to deliver the brands and products that consumers and support people's lives and the planet

1.2.d Regulator

- In 2020, Unilever unified its Group legal structure under a single parent company, Unilever PLC, creating a simpler company with greater strategic flexibility, that is better positioned for future success

A Regulatory Agencies

- Environmental Protection Agency

- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

B Interest Group

- Preventing Insider Trading

- Anti-Bribery

- Fair Competition, Competitors’ Information and Intellectual Property

1.2.e Strategic Partner

- With the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Unilever has extended its strategic alliance for an additional three years The partnership will also concentrate on gaining momentum for the development of a circular economy that includes both fashion and food The extended relationship builds on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), which has been in place for ten years and examines how the company will “ decouple growth from its environmental impact, while at the same time increasing its positive social impact.”

(Source: Louise Prance-Miles (Jun 12, 2020))

- Unilever’s Partner with Purpose (UPWP) programme, which launched in 2020, is taking purpose-led partnerships to a whole new level to fuel industry-leading innovations, protect and regenerate nature and make sustainable living commonplace

(Source: Page: Unilever)

3 The internal environment

2.1 Owners

(Source: Unilever,(2022))

2.2 Board of Directors

- The Board of Unilever comprises Executive Directors and, in a majority, Non- Executive Directors

A Board committees

- Audit Committee

- Compensation Committee

- Corporate Responsibility Committee

- The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

B Management committees

The Disclosure Committee (comprises the EVP Financial Control, the EVP Finance Markets

& Group Performance Management, the EVP Corporate Strategy, and M&A, the EVP Tax and Treasury, and the PLC Deputy Secretary )

(Source: Unilever,(2022))

2.3 Employees

- Unilever is dedicated to fostering a work environment that values equality, diversity, and respect for human rights It also prohibits any forms of discrimination They will only select, hire, and advance individuals based on their suitability and aptitude for the job at hand They are dedicated to providing all employees with secure and healthy working environments Besides, employees are always required to abide by the rules and regulations that are in effect

in the nations where Unilever does business

(source: Unilever plc, (2016))

III OVERVIEW OF UNILEVER

1 Visions

- Unilever’s corporate vision is “to make sustainable living commonplace We believe this is the best long-term way for our business to grow.” This vision statement puts emphasis on sustainability, especially among consumers

( Source: Justin Young, (2017))

- Sustainable living is an important component of Unilever's corporate vision statement This component demonstrates the company's attempts to adapt its products to current market conditions Unilever, for example, helps consumers achieve their sustainability goals by designing sustainable home care and personal care goods According to the company vision, routine sustainability is the greatest long-term strategy for the firm Unilever recognizes the significance of sustainability and other market changes influencing the sector Furthermore, the vision statement highlights the company's perspective on sustainability as a means of sustaining commercial growth This vision statement is consistent with Unilever's CSR approach for addressing business stakeholders in the consumer products industry

2 Goal

- Unilever wants to change the institutions that keep people back by campaigning for new policies, laws, and social norms that promote health, happiness and greater inclusion for all parts of society Our goal with our brands is to effect positive change

3 Culture

- Unilever is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the global economy The growth of this company is tied to its organizational culture and the types of activities and

policies that leaders have implemented over time A company's organizational culture, leadership, and human resources are all interrelated The company succeeds because of the overall effectiveness of its leaders in supporting organizational culture improvement Unilever's corporate culture contributes to the improvement of other areas, such as manufacturing and human resources

- Unilever has a performance culture that prioritizes employee outcomes This corporate culture also determines the significance of the criteria or metrics used to assess the needed output and its appropriateness The following qualities characterize Unilever's organizational culture:

+ Focus on performance - individual performance and organizational performance + Focus on quality - produce high-quality results in all areas

+ Efficiency - working efficiently through technology and other tool

- The organizational culture at Unilever is centered on performance and quality This corporate culture may be seen throughout the company's long history The company has developed from a little start-up to a global behemoth That success is largely due to Unilever's organizational culture's ability to instill high performance and quality into the work ethic of its employees in order to maximize business production

( Source: Justin Young, (2017))

- Management is essential to the development of Unilever's organizational culture This corporate culture has an impact on the structure and practices of human resources Unilever strengthens its performance and quality corporate culture through continuous monitoring and evaluation of executives, as well as dedication and support Assessment results, for example, are used to inform HR policies to promote Unilever's organizational culture of performance and quality Employee requirements are identified and incorporated into HR program enhancements The organization views quality to be a determinant of employee performance and productivity by reinforcing this culture

4 Organizational structures

- Unilever's organizational structure is based on product type divisions The organization is separated into compounds based on the focus of its products The corporation, for example, has a section for personal care items and others for home care products

- The company will move away from its current matrix structure and will be organized around five distinct Business Groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream Each Business Group will be fully responsible and accountable for its strategy, growth, and profit delivery globally To enable Unilever to benefit from its scale and global capabilities, the five Business Groups will be supported by Unilever Business Operations, which will provide the technology, systems, and processes to drive operational excellence across the business A lean Unilever Corporate Centre will continue to set Unilever’s overall strategy

(Source: Unilever - Unilever Simplifies Organization, (2022))

- Management is essential to the development of Unilever's organizational culture This corporate culture has an impact on the structure and practices of human resources Unilever strengthens its performance and quality corporate culture through continuous monitoring and evaluation of executives, as well as dedication and support Assessment results, for example, are used to inform HR policies to promote Unilever's organizational culture of performance and quality Employee requirements are identified and incorporated into HR program enhancements The organization views quality to be a determinant of employee performance and productivity by reinforcing this culture

IV THE BUSINESS SITUATION OF UNILEVER COMPANY

- At the end of July, for the six-month period ending June 30, 2021, Unilever released its results for the first half of its fiscal 2021 (FY) year The business posted a net profit of 3.4 billion euros (4.0 billion dollars), down 4.1% from the same time last year Sales revenue less discounts, sales tax, and expected profits, which the corporation refers to as "revenue," grew

by 0.3 percent to €25.8 billion over the same time last year (YOY) 1 6 In Europe and Asia, the word "revenue," often known as "total revenue," is frequently used to refer to revenue

- Unilever's core sales growth, which excludes the effects of acquisitions, liquidations, currency fluctuations, and excessive price appreciation in hyper-inflationary nations, was 5.4 percent in comparison to the first half of the year in 2020 Operating profit was 4.4 billion euros for the time frame, which was a 5.3% decrease from the previous year Basic non-GAP operating profit for the first half of 2021 for the firm was 4.8 billion euros, down 4.7% from the same period last year, after excluding several categories

- Unilever issued a warning that the COVID-19 pandemic was still having an effect on the environment in which it operates The management said that China was returning to normal but was still below re-pandemic levels and that extended restrictions in India had a substantial impact in the second quarter but were not as bad as the prior year Translate As demand for domestic food and hygiene goods increased, the company's markets in North America and Europe were weaker in the first half of fiscal 2021 than they were in the same time of fiscal 2020

(Source: Greg Mcfarlane, (2018))

V IDENTIFY AND ANALYSE SOME PROBLEMS THE COMPANY HAS

ENCOUNTERED

1 The challenges/ difficulties/ barriers the company has encountered

- Unilever is a strong and famous company with popular products in the fields of food, beauty care, and hygiene for individuals and families Since its establishment until now, the company seems to have never encountered any serious difficulties or crises even during the Covid 19 pandemic because of its stable and safe production strategy But it's also why Unilever faces some minor challenges internally when it comes to arguing stability and profitability -Unilever is under pressure from investors for “focusing on sustainability over financial performance.”

- According to Reuters, after taking over as CEO, Alan Jope stated that "brands without a purpose will have no long-term future with Unilever." But a few months later, on quarterly earnings reports, the company's revenue growth and profit margins were lagging behind its rivals, and the company's stock had fallen about 13% over the past year Some investors have questioned the company's strategy for this reason and the failure of their $68 billion (50 billion pounds) bid for GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) consumer health division Because of this, Terry Smith, the CEO of Fundsmith LLP, Unilever's ninth-largest shareholder, accused management of being "obsessed with publicly displaying sustainability credentials at the expense of focusing on the fundamentals of the business." In advance of Unilever's results, Reuters spoke with a dozen investors, despite some controversy, ultimately most investors praised Jope's sustainability strategy The company has built the trust and love of consumers through a parallel plan between manufacturing products and solving environmental and social issues Remainers said they hoped Jope would provide more clarity on how to balance this with financial performance

2 How the company handles them and the results

- Although there is no official statement about this, Jope has proven his word by maintaining steady revenue and successfully continuing to maintain the trust and love of Unilever customers Also agreeing with Alan Jope, Mr Do Thai Vuong - Vice President of Sustainable Development and Communications, Unilever Vietnam, said: “Sustainable development in the business and manufacturing sectors has always been the focus of the board Unilever's leadership towards and commitment to implementation Unilever's sustainable development programs always create and increase positive values for the community, helping Unilever Vietnam maintain its growth momentum and further contribute to the country As one of the pioneers in sustainable development, Unilever wishes to share experiences and inspire other businesses to make sustainable development popular in Vietnam.” When a company wants to make a stable profit, they need to have sustainability in business, production, and long-term development

- For instance, In the campaign "Standing Vietnam" 2020, Unilever has accompanied the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to support more than 1.5 million products from famous brands Lifebuoy, Omo, Vim, Cif, Sunlight, Clear, Knorr, P/S, to 3,000 schools, 110 hospitals, isolation areas, and 500 central and provincial hospitals nationwide At the same time,

"Standing Vietnam" also carried out a series of communications on disease prevention, reaching more than 37 million people across the country the Hand-washing Station "For a Healthy Vietnam" Construction Fund also provides 113 free hand-washing stations at piers, bus stations, markets, and parks to raise awareness and contribute to Maintaining personal hygiene for people in public places Especially, in mid-June 2021, Unilever Foundation accompanies the Ministry of Health in the communication campaign "5K Dance", launching creative music products, and transforming 5K messages into melodies and sentences, lively, memorable choreography, closer to the people, thereby preventing and repelling the Covid-19 epidemic together This incoming 5K communication campaign has reached more than 61