BTEC Business Communication Report: Cadbury Employee Benefits Analysis

This report analyzes the employee benefits and business communication strategies of Cadbury Brothers, focusing on their operations in 1952 and earlier. It examines the company's welfare programs, including housing in Bournville, education, and financial support systems like the Bournville Pension Fund and various workers' funds. The report also covers the company's responses to commodity price fluctuations and financial performance, including revenue growth and restructuring charges. Furthermore, it addresses the legal, ethical, and operational issues related to business information, and the methods used for communicating this information to different audiences. The analysis is based on the provided assignment brief for BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Business, Unit 4 – Business Communication, which requires students to explain different types of business information, present complex information, produce and evaluate corporate communications, and address legal, ethical, and operational issues.

Leaflet on Cadbury
Housing and education were key
features of the employee benefits
package at Cadbury Brothers in 1952,
thanks to founder John Cadbury’s sons.
In 1861, Richard and George Cadbury
took over management of the Cadbury
factory on Bridge Street, Birmingham,
and began to take an interest in
employees’ welfare. They created a
new factory outside Birmingham,
which they named Bournville, which
became known as ‘the factory in the
garden’.
In 1895, the brothers built housing for
their workforce, which turned into the
Bournville Village Trust in 1900.
Young staff attended the Bournville
Day Continuation College for one day a
week until they were at least 18 years
old. Cadbury-funded scholarships were
available on graduation. Shop
committees were the first point of
contact for employees’ work-related
issues, except wages and hours, which
were negotiated by trade unions.
Savings vehicles included the
Bournville Pension Fund, into which
employers and staff made
contributions. There was sick pay of up
to 90% of base wage, and Workers’
Funds available for prolonged illness.
A Dependant’s Provident Fund paid a
lump sum to the next of kin if a male
worker died under the age of 65.
Kraft is expected to seize upon
weaknesses in the update as it considers
raising its offer for Cadbury. The group
reported 7 per cent revenue growth,
mostly derived from raising prices and
changing the mix of products, such as
selling higher margin sugar-free gum.
Analysts expressed concerns about the
drop, which extended the 1-2 per cent
slide in the first half.
Cadbury expects commodity expenses
to rise between 5% and 6% over the
year and be ''weighted toward'' the
second half. Hanna said the company
expects oil prices of between $US130
and $US135 a barrel in the latter part of
the year, compared with an average of
about $US100 in the first half, which
will push up packaging, energy and
transport costs.

Cadbury rose 3 pence, or 0.5%, to 628
pence in London trading. The stock has
declined 8.5% in 2008 and 21% from
its record peak in May 2007, when
investors expected a sale of the US
beverage unit to a private-equity firm.
''The group has been passing on higher
commodity costs through strong price
increases,'' Ian Kellett, an analyst at
Numis Securities with an ''add'' rating
on the shares, said in a research report.
''We see no reason for trading to
soften.''
Cadbury, which spun off its US soft-
drink unit in May, will report 80
million pounds of restructuring charges
in the first half, and expects to report a
similar amount in the second half.
Currency movements will boost sales
and operating profit by about 7% in the
first half.