Globalisation's Impact on Unilever: Business Project Management Report

This report analyzes the impact of globalisation on Unilever Plc, a multinational consumer goods company. It begins by outlining the project's aims and objectives, focusing on the positive economic, cultural, and ethical effects of globalisation on Unilever's HR functions. The report then presents a project management plan, covering cost, scope, time, quality, communication, and resource management. A work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart are used to visualize project stages and timelines. The research methodology employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, including questionnaires, to gather data. The report analyzes the data, offers recommendations, and concludes by reflecting on the value of the research in meeting the stated objectives. The report covers various aspects of the business project, from project planning to data analysis, and provides insights into the impact of globalisation on a major multinational corporation.

Managing a successful
business project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1: Project aims and objectives..............................................................................................1
P2: Project management plan that covers various aspects including cost, scope, time, quality,
communication and resources................................................................................................3
P3: Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages............4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P4: Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods...........5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5: Research and data using an appropriate tools and techniques.........................................8
P6: Appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis.......................17
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................18
P7: Value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives.........................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................20

Title- “Positive economic, cultural and ethical impacts of globalisation on different business
functions”
INTRODUCTION
Managing successful business project is the responsibility of management in order to
bring valuable outcomes to an organisation that will bring ahead than their competitors operating
in the same industry. Generally project includes various aspects such as resources, quality, time,
cost etc. which are required to execute pre-determined project plans and actions due to which its
failure hugely impact their business functioning. For this, project manager should analyse all the
aspects involved in project in advance so that expected results can be achieved within limited
time period. The present assignment report is basedGlobalisation Unilever Plc which is engaged
in providing wide range of consumer products such as food, beverages, personal care products
and many more. It came into market for the very first time in the year 1929. The present report
discusses the aims and objectives of company's project, project management plan considering
various aspects such as cost, time, quality, communication etc., work breakdown structure and
Gantt chart to oversee progress of project, small-scale research using qualitative and quantitative
research methods, data analysis, appropriate recommendations and reflection after undertaking
the project.
TASK 1
P1: Project aims and objectives
Globalisation stated as the process by which firms influences international market by
expanding its business operations in different nations. In other words, it is an integration of
firms, people, and also government of different countries with the help of international trade by
using information technology. It forces an organisation to make suitable changes in their
business process in order to make business more successful at global level. The impact of
globalisation on operations and functions of business is extensive and pervasive (Adzic, 2011).
The company can decide to globalise their business with an objective of achieving huge market
share and profitability. Therefore, it makes positive impact on business and enhance rivalry,
location flexibility, more awareness etc.
Background of Project:
1

Every organisation has a motive of expanding its business at global level in order to
capture large market share and profitability. Globalisation interconnects countries in terms of
understanding the facts of heritage, culture and caste through international trade. The main
aspects of globalisation includes technological advancements, ethnology, transportations etc.
Unilever is UK based organisation which is operated at global level. It is operated in more than
190 countries which increases their brand image globally. The main purpose of company to
globalise their business to reach its brand products to large number number of customers and
increases their brand position in market. While expanding business to other nations, the impact
of globalisation on management and human resource is necessary. Along with this, the company
require to recruit, train and make their workforce more capable so as to help company in
spreading their business in many nations (Ariely, 2012).
Aim:
To identify the positive economic, cultural and ethical impact of globalisation on HR
Functions function of an organisation. A case study on Unilever Plc.
Objective
 To examine the concept of globalisation in context of Unilever Plc.
 To measure the positive economic, cultural and ethical influence of globalisation on HR
Functions function of a company.
 To evaluate the role of globalisation in increasing levels of labour migration between
countries. To identify the basic relationship between influence of globalisation and growth of HR
functions within an enterprise.
Research Questions:
 What are the concept of Globalisation in the context of Unilever Plc?
 How to measure the positive economic, cultural and ethical influence of globalisation on
HR Functions function of a company.
 What are the role of Globalisation in increasing levels of labour migration between
countries?
 How globalisation and growth of HR functions interrelate with each other within
Unilever Plc?
2

P2: Project management plan that covers various aspects including cost, scope, time, quality,
communication and resources
Project management plan includes the various aspects such as cost, time, quality etc.
which must be determined in order to follow pre-determined actions and plans in desired
manner. For this, project management is held liable to make suitable plan, organise, implement
and closing team work with a clear objective of achieving pre-determined goals within allotted
time frame. To prepare an effective project management plan, the managements requires to
consider following aspects which determine the future growth and success in project:
Cost: This is a most crucial aspect which directs management to execute pre-determined
activities without facing any interruptions due to lack of financial resources. For this, the
management must required to arrange and manage funds for better utilisation (Coker, 2014). It
determines the functions of manner which includes planning of funds, cost budgeting, controlling
expenditures etc.
Scope: Unilever is a UK-based company which is engaged in selling wide range of
consumer products in UK and other nations. It is operated at global level with having more than
400 brands which includes Axe, Dove, Omo etc. due to which the scope of company's project is
much wider.
Quality: It is valuable aspect which can easily attracts buying behaviour of targeted
people without investing much money in promotional activities. Due to this, the company should
take quality as main priority during execution of pre-determined project activities. For this,
management should develop training and development programs for their staff involved in
project so that their skills and capabilities are improved which makes easy to utilise available
resources in an optimum manner. This will bring profitable outcome to company in near future.
Communication: It is another important aspect which brings motivation and confidence
among staff to achieve best possible result. For this, the management of Unilever should bring
transparency in communication so that the employees involved in execution of project can
directly communicate with managers regarding their issues and responsibilities (Fisher, 2011).
Resources: It is main element without which the project activities cannot be executed
according to the pre-determined plans and actions. It includes human resource, funds,
technologies etc. which are required to be utilised in an optimum manner so as to bring
maximum positive result to company in near future. For this, the management of Unilever must
3

required to first analyse the existing resources the company have at present so that further
decisions of meeting required resources will be made.
P3: Work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages
Work breakdown structure: It refers to division of activities into small parts that will be
executed in completion of project within allotted time period. It is crucial part of project that will
make easy for managers to distribute work to a team after analysing their performance and
capabilities. With the context of project management, it is more useful in dividing the activities
into a small elements so that the chances of facing any issues by the staff members while
execution of project will be less. Therefore, it is considered as an effective method in order to
execute multi-step as well as complex project done. The main objective of work breakdown
structure is to make easy for staff members to understand their roles and responsibilities by
carefully overseeing the activities into small part divisions. It enhances the productivity and
profitability of executed project in future period of time.
4

Gantt chart: It is a sort of the graphical representation of timetable that is useful in plan,
facilitate and furthermore track the specific activities in project. It is outline under which the
arrangement identified with horizontal lines that indicated measure of the completed work within
time period which is allotted at the beginning of project. In this, the activities of project are
partitioned based on explicit time-frame. It give the objective to employees with the goal that
they can center in playing out the allotted activities in a fixed time frame. It will give the positive
results to project in future time period (Furlong, 2013).
TASK 2
P4: Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
Research methodology may be defined as the systematic process of analysing methods
which are essentially required to use by researcher in order to carry out an effective research. It
includes theoretical analysis of methods along with the principles which are connected with
knowledge branch. There are mainly two kinds of research methods that can be used by the
researcher to draw a valid conclusion at the end of research. Such methods includes:
5

Qualitative: Using such method, the researcher mainly focuses on collecting data of
qualitative means which is well supported by the relevant facts and theoretical perspective. It can
be done by researcher by gathering, interpreting and also analysing data through analysing the
behaviour of people and it is subjective in nature.
Quantitative: Using such research method, the researcher mainly emphasis on collecting
and measuring information in statistical and numeric terms. It requires specific knowledge and
capabilities in researcher to interpret data in understandable manner so that valid conclusion can
be drawn at the end of research (Intriligator, 2017).
Among the two methods, researcher adopt qualitative research method in order to get
accurate and reliable information in detailed manner about the topic of research.
Data collection: It refers to gathering of relevant data related with the topic of research using
different methods such as primary and secondary. It is further explained as under:
Primary: Adopting such method enable researcher to gather first hand information
through using various sources such as questionnaire, interviews, surveys etc. It brings more
accurate and reliable information thus mostly adopted method by researcher while carrying out
their research.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Contact No.-
Address:
Q1) Does you know about the concept of Globalisation?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2) Is government play a supportive role in expansion of business at global level?
a) Yes
b) No
Q3) What are the resources required by Unilever Plc to expand its business operations at
international level?
6

a) Technical resource
b) Financial resources
c) Human resource
Q4) What are the beneficial outcome received by Unilever Plc after globalising their
business?
a) Target new marketplace
b) Enhanced economies of scale
c) Free trade
d) Less culture diversity
Q5) Does human resources get affected by the globalisation of Unilever Plc?
a) Yes
b) No
Q6) What consequences faced by Unilever Plc to reach its business at various nations?
a) Labour migration among countries
b) Increased rivalry competition
c) Enhance trade in world
Q7) What kind of activities required to conduct by Unilever Plc while globalising their
business ?
a) Provide training to staff
b) Recruiting high- quality employees
c) Implementation of new technology
Q8) What are the major difficulties faced by Unilever during the globalisation?
a) Environmental degradation
b) Reduce employment growth rate
c) Unfair working environment
Q9) What are the impact of ethical as well as economic on globalise activities of Unilever
Plc?
a) Technology
b) Culture
c) Politics
Q10) Recommend suitable suggestions to Unilever Plc for globalisation.
7

Secondary method: Using such method enable researcher to collect second had
information which was collected by other researcher in the past. It takes less time, energy and
funds due to which the researcher has adopted such method only if they have lack of resources
for conducting their research. It includes various sources such as books, newspapers, journals,
articles etc.
Sampling: It is the process of selecting limited respondents which represents the views
and thoughts of whole population. Such respondents includes employees, targeted people etc. By
using such method, the researcher select 40 respondents as a sample size of population in order
to gather relevant data related with the topic of research.
TASK 3
P5: Research and data using an appropriate tools and techniques
Researcher must required to draw a valid conclusion which can be possible through
analysing the collected data more carefully. It assist management of Unilever Plc to decide
whether to expand its business operations at global level or should wait for right time. Here are
the proper analysis of data with brief interpretation:
THEME 1: Concept of Globalisation
Q1) Does you know about the concept of
Globalisation?
Frequency
Yes 30
No 10
8

Yes No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
30
10
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly seen from the above mentioned graph that most of the
respondents selected for research aware about about the concept of Globalisation. Among 40
respondents, there are 30 respondents who have sufficient knowledge about globalisation
whereas remaining 10 respondents doesn't know about the same.
THEME 2: Role of Government in expansion of business at global level
Q2) Is government play a supportive role in
expansion of business at global level?
Frequency
Yes 28
No 12
9

Yes No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
28
12 Frequency
Interpretation: From the above mentioned graph, it has been identified that government
play a valuable and supportive role in expansion of business of Unilever Plc at global level. Out
of the 40 respondents, there are 28 respondents who agreed the same whereas other 12
respondents thinks different.
THEME 3: Resources needed for globalised business
Q3) What are the resources required by
Unilever Plc to expand its business
operations at international level?
Frequency
a) Technical resource 10
b) Financial resources 15
c) Human resource 15
10

a) Technical resource b) Financial resources c) Human resource
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
10
15 15
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly observed from the above graph that Unilever plc requires
sufficient amount of resources of different kinds such as technical, financial and human
resources. Among 40 respondents, 10 respondents are in favour of technical resources whereas
other 15 respondents consider financial resource as important resource for global expansion. The
remaining 15 respondents determine human resource as valuable resource.
THEME 4: Benefits received by Unilever Plc after globalised business.
Q4) What are the beneficial outcome
received by Unilever Plc after globalising
their business?
Frequency
a) Target new marketplace 12
b) Enhanced economies of scale 8
c) Free trade 10
d) Less culture diversity 10
11

a) Target new marketplace
b) Enhanced economies of scale
c) Free trade
d) Less culture diversity
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
12
8
10 10
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly identified from the above mentioned graph that Unilever Plc
has achieved huge amount of benefits after globalising their business. Among 40 respondents,
there are 12 respondents have clearly said that the company can increase its existing market
share whereas 8 respondents thinks that globalisation enhances the economies of scale. On the
other hand, the remaining 20 respondents thinks globalisation support free trade and less culture
diversity.
THEME 5: Impact on human resource due to globalisation
Q5) Does human resources get affected by
the globalisation of Unilever Plc?
Frequency
a) Yes 26
b) No 14
12

a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 26
14
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly identified that most of the respondents thinks that human
resources get much affected by the globalisation of Unilever Plc. Out of 40 respondents, there
are 26 respondents who agrees with the same whereas remaining 14 respondents have different
views.
THEME 6: Consequences faced by Unilever Plc to globalised business
Q6) What consequences faced by managers
of Unilever Plc to conduct its business at
various nations?
Frequency
a) Labour migration among countries 18
b) Increased rivalry competition 10
c) Enhance trade in world 12
13

a) Labour migration among countries
b) Increased rivalry competition
c) Enhance trade in world
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
18
10
12
Frequency
Interpretation: From the above graph, it is clearly identified that managers of Unilever
Plc faces lots of implications to reach their business at different nations. Among 40 respondents,
there are 18 respondents who consider labour migration among nation as major implication
whereas 22 respondents determines rivalry competition and enhancing the trade in the world as
main implication faced by manager while operating business at global level
THEME 7: Activities conducted by Unilever Plc while globalising their business
Q7) What kind of activities required to
conduct by Unilever Plc while globalising
their business ?
Frequency
a) Provide training to staff 21
b) Recruiting high- quality employees 8
c) Implementation of new technology 11
14

a) Provide training to staff
b) Recruiting high- quality employees
c) Implementation of new technology
0
5
10
15
20
25 21
8
11
Frequency
Interpretation: It is clearly identified from the above graph that several activities need to
be conducted under Unilever plc while globalising their business. Out of 40 respondents, there
are 21 respondents who recommend company to conduct training programs for their staff
whereas 8 respondents are in favour of recruiting skilled workers. The other 11 respondents
recommend company to adopt new technology while globalised their business.
THEME 8: Challenges faced by Unilever Plc during globalisation.
Q8) What are the major difficulties faced by
Unilever during the globalisation?
Frequency
a) Environmental degradation 10
b) Reduce employment growth rate 12
c) Unfair working environment 18
15

a) Environmental degradation
b) Reduce employment growth rate
c) Unfair working environment
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
10
12
18
Frequency
Interpretation: From the above mentioned graph, it is clearly seen that Unilever Plc faces
lots of difficulties as well during globalisation. Out of the 40 respondents, there are 10
respondents who consider environmental degradation as main difficulty whereas reducing
employment growth rate is another difficult according to 12 respondents. The other 18
respondents have opinion of unfair working environment as main difficulty.
THEME 9: Impact of ethical and economic on globalise activities of Unilever Plc.
Q9) What are the impact of ethical as well
as economic on globalise activities of
Unilever Plc?
Frequency
a) Technology 23
b) Culture 8
c) Politics 9
16

a) Technology b) Culture c) Politics
0
5
10
15
20
25 23
8 9 Frequency
Interpretation: From the above graph it has been identified that there are various aspects
which can affect the globalise activities of Unilever Plc. Among the 40 respondents, there are 23
respondents who thinks that technology makes huge impact on the globalise activities whereas
other 8 respondents thinks that culture is the one which can influence the globalisation. The other
9 respondents thinks politics can affect their decision o globalisation.
P6: Appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis
From the above collected data, it has been recommended to Unilever Plc that
globalisation brings both negative as well as positive impact on their business operations.
Therefore, it has been suggested that Unilever Plc should conduct training programs for its staff
to increase their capabilities to perform business operations at global market. For this, it is
important for an organisation to have sufficient knowledge about the culture, politics of different
nations so that no issues or problems can be faced by them while globalising their business.
Along with this, the management of Unilever Plc also required to recruit staff which have
specific knowledge about the international market. An organisation must required to manage
their limited resources such as financial, human and technical resources which drives them to
achieve huge sustainability in other markets.
17

TASK 4
P7: Value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives
This project is overall about the impact of globalisation of the business model of
Unilever Plc in Human resources. To identify the globalised impact, I have chosen 40
respondents whose views and opinions are taken into consideration while drawing a valid
conclusion. During carrying out research, I have faced various problems regarding lack of time,
money and some ineffective skills of mine. Due to lack of funds and time, I opt secondary data
as well which help me to collect relevant data related with topic of research. During collection of
primary data, lots of respondents are hesitate to present their actual views and suggestions about
globalisation due to having fear of leaking confidential information. To bring them into
confidence, I communicate with them in friendly way and ensure them regarding maintaining
their privacy. Along with this, I have found difficulties to deal to deal with respondents having
different cultures and backgrounds due to having lack of knowledge of multi-languages. Thus, I
decide to enhance my such weaknesses in communication through participating in learning
programs.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above project report that every firms are willing to expand
its business operations at international level with an objective of capturing huge market share and
profitability. To achieve the same, Unilever hire a researcher who conduct research for them
regarding their effectiveness of expansion of business at global level. At the end of research, it
has been clearly identified that the management should follow their decision of expansion as it
brings valuable outcome to company in near future. Along with this, it also required management
to prepare an effective management plan considering all important aspects such as cost, time,
quality, communication etc. and analyse them carefully which can affect their decision of
introducing new product into new market so as to globalise their business.
18

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adzic, G., 2011. Specification by example: how successful teams deliver the right software.
Manning Publications Co.
Ariely, G., 2012. Globalisation and the decline of national identity? An exploration across sixty‐
three countries. Nations and Nationalism. 18(3). pp.461-482.
Coker, C., 2014. Globalisation and Insecurity in the Twenty-first Century: NATO and the
Management of Risk. Routledge.
Fisher, E., 2011. What practitioners consider to be the skills and behaviours of an effective
people project manager. International journal of project management, 29(8). pp.994-
1002.
Furlong, J., 2013, January. Globalisation, neoliberalism, and the reform of teacher education in
England. In The educational forum (Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 28-50). Taylor & Francis Group.
Intriligator, M., 2017. Globalisation of the World Economy: Potential Benefits and Costs and a
Net Assessment. In Economics of Globalisation (pp. 85-94). Routledge.
Mhamed, A. A. S., 2012. Globalisation and higher education in the Arab Gulf States.
Morris, P. W. and Geraldi, J., 2011. Managing the institutional context for projects. Project
Management Journal, 42(6). pp.20-32.
Nicholas, J. M. and Steyn, H., 2017. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Pekuri, A., and et. al., 2014. Managing value creation: the business model approach in
construction. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 8(1). pp.36-51.
Zajda, J., 2015. Globalisation and its impact on education and policy. In Second International
Handbook on Globalisation, Education and Policy Research (pp. 105-125). Springer,
Dordrecht.
Online
Primary source and secondary source, 2018. [online] Available through;
<https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/food-standards-agency/market-research-and-
consumer-protection/primary-and-secondary-research.html>.
Research Methodology. 2018. [Online]. Available through: <https://explorable.com/research-
methodology>.
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APPENDIX
Project Logbook
Name:
Project title: Managing a successful business project
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved
I have done research to analyse the impact of new product into new market for the purpose o
expansion of business at international level.
Yes, I have completed research according to the given direction and resources.
I don't feel to make any changes in the project management plan..
Any risks and/or issues identified?
Yes I have issue in performing research. Uninterested respondents is one of the biggest issue.
Problems encountered
I have faced many problems regarding identifying actual views and perception due to having
lack of knowledge of multi-languages which makes me difficult to bring respondents into
confidence.
New ideas and change of project direction
What have I learnt about myself this week?
I have done all research activities within allotted time period. This help me to acquiring
knowledge about the market and perceptions of people. I plan research work for next week.
Tasks planned for next week
I am able to complete my operations in effective and signifiant manner. I have done my
research work more effectively and efficiently.
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
my project was on time.
20

Supervisor comments to address
Performance Review
What was the project supposed to accomplish?
The present research is based on the impact of globalisation on the business operations of an
organisation.
Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know? Specifically, please outline any
evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, by identifying the actual perception and suggestion of respondents towards the impact of
globalisation.
What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial
inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
Team spirit and group working are the best things which gives beneficial results to company.
What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there timely
identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Time mismanagement and conflict among team works are the major issues which affect the
research work.
What did you learn from undertaking the project?
I am able to acquire sufficient knowledge about the impact of globalisation on different
functions of business.
How would you rate your performance as project manager?
I rate my performance 8.5 out of 10.
What strengths and weaknesses of your performance did you identify?
My strength was futuristic approach for solving problem and weakness is lack of
communication in different languages.
How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?
21

Continuous professional development is helpful in achieving targets and this is helpful in future
activities also.
22