Unit 1: Business and the Business Environment Case Study

Introduction - Unilever's Business Strategy and Competitive Landscape

Food & snacks, cosmetics & personal hygiene and residential care are merely a few of the sectors where Unilever, an international household goods company with its head office located in the UK, works. Having offices across the globe, Unilever handles an evolving business climate driven by consumer behaviour, competing markets and economic changes. This report will concentrate on Unilever's organisational duties, how it operates competitively in a number of sectors. Further, report also intricate connections between its internal aspects given the presence of external macroeconomic factors.

A number of duties as a strategy researcher at Unilever are to thoroughly look into the company’s settings. The report is to write up a comprehensive case report that describes Unilever's operating motion, assesses the business's internal advantages and disadvantages by referring external macro problems as well as offers suggestions for potential development. The objective of the report is to offer line managers useful data so that they can make decisions on Unilever's prospects for the future and strategic goals.

This report will investigate various organisational structures, dimensions ranging and scope in relation to Unilever's business activities in the components which follow. It is going to provide up-to-date examples that explain how macro environmental variables affect Unilever's business activities.

Explaining different types and purposes of organizations

The public, advertisement, and voluntary sector are defined by a range of organisational buildings, all with specific objectives & legal frameworks. Organisations in the public domain are those which are that are governed or controlled by the federal government that operate for the benefit of all people. They help to supply essentials which include health care, infrastructure and education. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the agency in control of sending letters and postal services throughout the United States, and NHS from the United Kingdom is a couple instances of organisations within the public sector.

On the opposite hand, firms in the private sector include enterprises which owned and operated by specific entity. Earning a profit for the shareholders or owners is the primary goal they have (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2019). These companies, that represent an array of industries like producing goods, technological advances and finance, battle for these marketplaces. Apple Inc., an international technological advances corporation renowned for its applications and commercial devices, is an excellent instance of a private sector organisation.

The objective of voluntary sector organisations, additionally referred to as charities or governmental organisations (NGOs) is to advance social or humanitarian endeavours (Prakash, 2019). They typically work to tackle social problems or support specific organisations and receive funding by gifts, grants, donations or campaigns for fundraising. Oxfam is a renowned charitable organisation which seeks to reduce impoverishment, create equitable society and offer assistance to those in need throughout the globe.

Explaining the size and scope of a range of large-, medium-sized and small organizations

Companies that vary in sizes are able to be differentiated based on the size they are and range. Large, medium-sized, and small organisations have differing objectives related to market share, profit margins, development and sustainability aspects. Large businesses typically have large employees, broad operations and plenty of resources. They are often employed in several different countries or places. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) function on an average scale using a somewhat fewer workforce and set of assets. In contrast, small enterprises function on smaller budgets, hiring fewer employees and having less capital altogether.

Big companies generally have broad goals and objectives such as controlling their sector, growing globally, and producing a variety of revenue sources. Due to their often huge market share, they're able to exert significant power and competition throughout the field they work in (Hernández, Yañez-Araque and Moreno-García, 2020). Given economy scale and the capacity to pick up a bigger share of the market, bigger organisations generally have greater profit percentages.

Usually, medium-sized companies aim for consistent expansion that expands their audience's reach without compromising efficiency in operation. They might hold an average percentage of the market, allowing businesses to compete effectively in specific sectors or regions. According to their efficiency and position in the marketplace, small and medium-sized companies might receive an alternate profit share.

Small companies tend to concentrate on survival while creating an image for their company in specialised markets or areas (Harney and Alkhalaf, 2021). They might wish to zero in on developing an audience, preserving security, and steadily expanding. Smaller enterprises usually focus on specialised or localised sectors, which restrict their marketplace share. Due to the restricted size and assets, the share of profit is susceptible to volatility and broader margin.

Explaining the relationship between different organizational functions and corporate objectives & structure.

Organisational roles typically involve significant sections or components of a business, every one of whom serves a unique part in achieving the business's goals. The ones that follow are example organisational duties within the setting of international consumer goods company Unilever:

Marketing and sales: In the role of developing advertising campaigns that increase share of the market and revenue, doing research on the market, and publicising the goods made by Unilever.

Research and development (R&D): Concentrates on creating novel offerings, improving current offerings, and fulfilling consumer demands so as to stay successful at marketplace (Yuan, et. al, 2020).

Operations and production: It lays focus on monitoring the manufacturing processes to ensure the efficient production and global distribution of the goods manufactured by Unilever.

Human resources (HR): Controls recruiting, educating, relations with employees, and organisation expansion in attempt to maintain qualified workers in line with the company's goals.

Finance and accounting: Controls the administration of money resources, monetary reporting, spending, and adherence to regulations.

Supply chain and logistics: monitors the purchasing of essential supplies, manages stocks, and guarantees timely distribution of merchandise to customers.

These positions fit strongly with the company's business objectives, which frequently involve creativity, ethical behaviour, market leadership and profitable expansion. For instance, R&D unit facilitates the achievement of business innovation goal through the development of novel products that are compatible with evolving consumer pReferences and environmental goals.

Organization chart

Figure 1 Unilever’s Organizational Structure, 2023.

Each of these duties might be displayed in a hierarchical framework in an organisational diagram for Unilever, demonstrating how they're connected to each other (Unilever, 2023). The CEO or Presidents will sit at the highest level and then followed by the leaders of the departments with oversight of the supply chain, operations, finance, marketing, research and development, and HR. Each group head is in possession of their particular tasks and work together to achieve the larger objectives of the company.

Critically analysing of the interrelations between organizational structure, size and scope link to business objectives, products & services

The organisational design of Unilever, that emphasises divisional units and decentralised making choices, provides many benefits as well as drawbacks. Being an enormous worldwide organisation, the business's scope impacts its organisational structure, which has been designed to effectively handle an assortment of products and marketplaces. While this decentralised structure improves adaptability and response locally, it could additionally complicated and improperly integrate efforts across ministries and geographic regions.

Throughout Unilever, the organisational structure is heavily influenced by the departments with functions. While this decentralised structure provides divisions a chance to customise strategies which suit to market regions, it may hinder efficient multidisciplinary collaboration and interaction (Grant, 2021). For example: strong partnership among marketing and R&D is required for developing items that satisfy buyer requirements as well as sustainability goals.

The dispersed structure, yet, would render it more challenging for data to move easily throughout different divisions, which might impact the rate of goods emergence and development.

On the basis of the design's appropriateness, Unilever's business activities could profit from a more connected tactics, such a matrix design. Greater collaboration between departments can be fostered by a hierarchical framework that brings together divisional and function methods yet maintains an eye on local marketplaces and products (Soderstrom and Weber, 2020). By making better use of the strengths from different groups, this structure might assist Unilever remain more creative and flexible in responding to changing consumer preferences.

Moreover, a flatter organisational structure could prove more efficient considering Unilever's objectives of innovation and long-term sustainability. A flatter structure could promote invention and quicker making decisions through permitting more rapid responses to changes in the marketplace.

Analyzing an organization's PESTLE Model, identifying its positive and negative

Positive impacts

Economic factors (positive): Customer spending on sporting goods and equipment may increase in an economy which is healthy and expanding. A prosperous period tends to promote spending on sports-related products and activity.

Technological factors (positive): Developments in sporting goods and e-commerce sites, for instance, may widen the business's customer base and offerings of goods, leading in greater customer participation and revenue (Kpoku, 2021).

Legal factors (positive): An advantageous setting for the sporting goods retail industry can be established through tax advantages for fitness-related goods or favourable regulations surrounding sports advancement, which may result in potential for growth.

Negative impacts

Socio- cultural factors (Negative): Interests of consumers especially regarding sporting or fitness pursuits can be affected by shifting social patterns and preferences, which may have a bearing on demand for specific goods sold by the retailer.

Environmental factors (Negative): A developing attention to sustainable development might result in a more thorough investigation of the components and manufacturing methods employed for sporting goods, which could drive up the manufacturing cost (Ullah, 2021).

Political factors (Negative): The supply chain of goods may be interrupted by regulations governing trade or unrest in politics; either may affect the availability of goods and lead to market worries.

Traffic light chart

This traffic light graph shows limited legal difficulty, significant raising money activity indicating the potential for growth, moderate rivalry in the sporting goods retail sector, and a medium chance for investment due to potential hazards and uncertainty.

Conducting the internal and external aspects of specific organizations to identify their strengths and weaknesses

Internal factors

Skilled and efficient workforce: Unilever has highly skilled and talented workforce which involved in introducing and undertaking innovative practices. Technology impacts an organization's internal advantages and drawbacks. Competitiveness is driven by inventiveness, allowing businesses to create distinct products and services. On the contrary, lagging ahead on technological advances can be an asset as it might result in depreciation or decreased value in the marketplace.

External factors

Technology (External): Advances in technology that originate elsewhere having an effect on businesses. Monitoring patterns may assist companies grow more profitable, but rapid modifications may render it hard for them to stay up, which may impact their activities and initiatives.

Society: Customer perception and perceptions of brands are affected by legal and moral constraints in addition to the general public's opinion. Staying aligned with societal principles could prove beneficial because it promotes client confidence and devotion (Strength And Weaknesses Of Unilever, 2023). Disregarding societal demands, yet may have created a bad impression on others and harm a person's image.

International factors: Companies are influenced by around the world variations in culture, rules and regulations, and economical fluctuations. Global economic prosperity might present possibilities for development. On the opposite hand, culture and legal disparities pose challenges which affect operation and entry into markets in multiple sectors.

Country- Specific factors: The success of a business especially in certain markets can be affected through variables that include legal structures, cultural oddities, and the financial health within these nations. Potential for development may be provided by favourable economic circumstances, but if regulatory and social differences are not handled properly, they may hinder business success.

Interrelation with external Macro factors: It is apparent how external macro requires influence interior strengths and drawbacks. One instance of an external factor which may increase a business's competitiveness occurs when its cutting-edge technology (an internal strength) aligns with technological developments (an external factor) (Jose, 2021). On the contrary hand, a business's image might be damaged if it does not adapt to the norms of society (an external element) regarding ethical behaviour (both internal weakness).

Companies can capitalise on their strengths and minimise the weaknesses affected by external factors by recognising the connections between them. In dynamic scenarios, robustness and profitable development can be guaranteed by matching approaches with changes in the outside world.

Evaluating the PESTLE model and SWOT/TOWS analysis to critically analysing organization's macro environment and its influence on decision-making processes

SWOT Analysis

• The establishment of environmentally conscious lines of goods and advertising initiatives is rendered simpler by the company's commitment to environment (an internal strength) and a growing social tendency towards environmentally conscious goods (an environmental opportunity).
• Unilever could be able to get around any possible weaknesses in its capacity to rapidly adjust to changes in the field of digital marketing or novel products by utilising advancements in technology (an external benefit) (SWOT Analysis of Unilever, 2023).
• With effective communication techniques and ethical businesses conduct, Unilever's solid brand image (both internal strength) may mitigate the effect on potential regulatory or political disputes (external threats).
• Unilever might require tackling any internal problems concerning adaptability or adaptability to be able to react swiftly to outside influences impacting the buying power of consumers and changes in the economy.

Conclusion

By concluding the report the assignment analysed Unilever in specifics, highlighting its organisational structure, its impact of the external environment, and strategic assessments which included the use of PESTLE, SWOT, and additional models. It tackled weaknesses including market dependence and administrative complexities whilst underlining Unilever's strengths as a result of international reach, creativity, and environmentally conscious initiatives. Amongst the disadvantages are the analysis's fixed nature and lack of real-time dynamism. For businesses to perform assessments that become more fluid and precise, the future path has to take into consideration actual time information and patterns. It will allow for improved approaches and making choices in a constantly evolving business environment.

Refrences

Books and Journals

• Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A., 2019. Organizational behaviour. Pearson UK.
• Hernández, J.P.S.I., Yañez-Araque, B. and Moreno-García, J., 2020. Moderating effect of firm size on the influence of corporate social responsibility in the economic performance of micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 151, p.119774.
• Harney, B. and Alkhalaf, H., 2021. A quarter?century review of HRM in small and medium?sized enterprises: Capturing what we know, exploring where we need to go. Human Resource Management, 60(1), pp.5-29.
• Yuan, Y., Lu, L.Y., Tian, G. and Yu, Y., 2020. Business strategy and corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 162, pp.359-377.
• Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A., 2019. Organizational behaviour. Pearson UK.
• Grant, R.M., 2021. Contemporary strategy analysis. John Wiley & Sons.
• Soderstrom, S.B. and Weber, K., 2020. Organizational structure from interaction: Evidence from corporate sustainability efforts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), pp.226-271.
• Kpoku, O.K., 2021. Positive and negative influence of globalization on international business actors’ activity (on materials of Unilever Group) (Doctoral dissertation).
• Ullah, N., 2021. A Comparative Analysis between Unilever and Johnson & Johnsons.
• Jose, J., 2021. Analyzing the necessity and impacts of organizational culture on the performance of Unilever UK Ltd (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin, National College of Ireland).
• Prakash, A., 2019, November. Nonprofit governance, public policy, and the Oxfam scandal: An introduction. In Nonprofit Policy Forum (Vol. 10, No. 4, p. 20190059). De Gruyter.

Online

• PESTLE Analysis of Unilever, 2023. Online. Available through <https://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-unilever/>
• Strength And Weaknesses Of Unilever, 2023. Online. Available through <https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Strength-And-Weaknesses-Of-Unilever-FCJHW2QPCU#google_vignette>
• SWOT Analysis of Unilever, 2023. Online. Available through <https://www.managementstudyguide.com/swot-analysis-of-unilever.htm>
• Unilever, 2023. Online. Available through https://www.unilever.com/
• Unilever’s Organizational Structure, 2023. Online. Available through https://www.organimi.com/organizational-structures/unilever/