Analysis of People and Organization Management at Hindustan Unilever

This report delves into the crucial aspects of people and organization management, utilizing the Hindustan Unilever case study as a primary example. It explores the significance of employees as key assets, examining similarities and differences among them, and the impact of human motivation and orientation to work. The report further analyzes learning processes, self-development strategies, and the nature of group dynamics and teamwork within the organization. It also provides an in-depth look at organizational perspectives, including various leadership theories such as trait theory, the great man theory, and contingency theory, and the role of politics and culture in the workplace. Finally, the report outlines strategies for managing people, encompassing advice and learning, to achieve effective organizational outcomes. The report also highlights the importance of adapting to changing working conditions, the impact of employee satisfaction, and the influence of leadership styles on employee performance and organizational success.

Management people and organization

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Perspective on people .....................................................................................................................3
Similarities and differences..........................................................................................................3
Human motivation and orientation to work.................................................................................4
Learning process and strategies for self development.................................................................4
Nature and dynamics of groups and team....................................................................................5
PERSPECTIVE ON ORGANIZING...............................................................................................6
Theories of leadership..................................................................................................................7
Politics in the workplace..............................................................................................................8
Culture..........................................................................................................................................8
Strategies for management people ................................................................................................10
advise and learning .......................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Management of organization is the crucial task as it consists of number of activities
through which the company can produce effective results. It includes overall aspect related to
management of human, physical and financial resources. Present report is based on case study of
Hindustan Unilever which is an Indian consumer goods organization. This organization was
formed with merger of Lever Brothers and Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturers. It provides wide
range of products and services to large number of customers. Furthermore, report lays emphasis
on theoretical perspective of human behavior in organization. In addition to this, three key
aspects such as perspective on organization and strategies for management of human resources
are explained.
PERSPECTIVE ON PEOPLE
Similarities and differences
People are key assets of any organization because they contribute towards long as well as
short term achievement of the organization. It enables the corporation to move ahead with
increased rate of return. According to the case study, all employees are not similar as they
possess some kind of differences. The main reason behind their differences is level of
motivation, personal issues and other related problem with regards to their learning (Dowling,
Festing and Engle, 2008). On the other hand, similarities can be found in term of working
conditions, pay scale and organizational environment. It assists the management to integrate
workforce together and achieve the set targets on right time. In this given case, employees feel
that their wages are low because they were not able to fulfill their expectations regarding to food
and traveling. Because of this reason they go on strike. However, management of Hindustan
Unilever was in dilemma because they cannot meet additional expectations of the workforce. In-
spite of non-fulfillment of their expectations most of employees were dedicated in the direction
of growth and success of the company (Edenborough, 2007). It shows that it is the employees
who contribute towards achievement and success of the company otherwise management cannot
meet organizational goals on right time. All workforces put their joint efforts in the direction of
growth and success through which the corporation can effectively deliver good quality of
services to large number of buyers (Kumar, 2010).
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Human motivation and orientation to work
Human motivation refers doing something among employees by satisfying their wants
and preferences. This aspect makes it possible for the management to enhance flow of
production and cater need of different types of buyers effectively. According to the given
scenario, company is facing issues regarding lack of motivation among employees as their
demand were not fulfilled (Maley, 2011). It is the reason that they did not pay attention towards
achievement of organizational objectives. Here, new employees are provided with training at the
initial stage by which company can provide detail information to employees with regards to work
culture and other related information. Through this, the workforce can generate interest among
them and can work with integrity. However, during that phase cultural diversity is also important
which is considered by Hindustan Unilever while accessing sources of recruitment. This aspect
facilitates in determining success of corporation in the marketplace while hiring highly qualified
as well as competent employees (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2008).
The case reflects some of the cultural issues because the company is operating in many
regions where it accessed local employees of respective unit. At this juncture, problem was faced
while managing employees in both aspects such as monetary as well as non-monetary. Also at
that time, corporation was in dilemma that what should be done to meet the demand of
employees should. In this regard workforce is required to get their demand fulfilled through
management (Berger, 2008). It is the only way through which their level of satisfaction can be
enhanced. However, company was facing issues related to low demand of tea in the market at the
initial stage. Owing to this, the firm was unable to meet all the demands of workforce and other
strategies like volunteer retirement and retrenchment started. Here, some of the workforce who
took advantage of VRS became poor. These situations generated fear among others by which
they did not take advantage of such kind of scheme (Gully, 2013).
Learning process and strategies for self development
Learning process is the foremost way through which self development of workforce can
be done. This way corporation can have competent employees who can contribute towards its
long run success. As per the given case, Prasad who was one of a growing number of women in
Hindustan Unilever learned from her past experience and came to know regarding building good
relation with the workforce (Lucio, 2013). She thought that knowing each employee by their
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name makes sense for the organization. It is because employees also feel that they are valued at
the workplace and are given importance for whatever they are doing. However, mismanagement
of workforce made it impossible for the organization to manage their work effectively (Werner,
2008). However, union was unhappy because of moving of corporation into one another in very
less time span. Organizational image was negatively impacted and management faced loss
during the same time. Apart from this, Prasad faced several other monetary issues of union with
regards to tea, lunch break as well as holiday lists. In addition to this, organization can introduce
number of learning process so that employees can reduce differences between actual and
expected results (Afiouni, 2013).
Nature and dynamics of groups and team
Group refers to two or more than two people who contribute towards achievement of long
as well as short term objectives. It is the process of forming group defining their structure as well
as functions to be done by them. Also, group dynamics depicts that how members of group are
interacted among each others. Group dynamics are of two types one is formal and the other is
informal. Formal groups are those which are formed to fulfill specific purpose of corporation. On
the other hand, informal group are formed without any certain aim (Brown, 2003). This is also
known as team where number of workforce put joint effort to complete the common task. Team
work is very important for any corporation like Hindustan Unilever. The reason behind the same
is that team work facilitate in completing the work in less time span. It enables the management
to deliver good quality of services to buyers and retain them for longer time span (Ci-sheng and
Shu-ming, 2012). Furthermore, team work enhances the sales turnover and meets expectations of
buyers in an effectual manner. Apart from this, team work as per the common goal and they
ensure face to face interaction among each other. In addition to this, group members remain
dependent on each others. Here example of Hindustan Unilever can be taken because employees
were not happy with compensation and additional benefits provided by the corporation (Gannon,
Doherty and Roper, 2012). It affects their performance to a great extent and corporation does not
get expected results on the right time. Furthermore, as per the given structure in scenario, it has
been found that team workers are working for Ice Create and tea are directed by General
Secretary Tea union A and B. Not only this, but tea workers were also working under the
guidance of General Secretary ICU union C. Thus, employees were provided guideline from
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numerous departments which may be misunderstood by them. It ultimately can have negative
impact on products and services.
Furthermore, changing working conditions and other related factors did not allow
employees to accept changes imposed by Hindustan Unilever (Agarwala, 2002). They resisted
further changes as they were already not comfortable with additional facilities provided by
corporations. However, organization provided training to employees in accordance with its own
benefits. For example, employees were trained in such a way that they can be shifted from ice
cream to tea department as per the requirement. As both products are demanded in different
season so this cyclical fluctuation provided advantage to the organization.
PERSPECTIVE ON ORGANIZING
According to Hays and Kearney (2001) management has tendency to perform all
functions in the direction of growth and success of corporation instead of mere employees.
However, different strategies are formulated to manage people just to fulfill objectives of the
company. They define organizational hierarchy, structure, flow of communication and delegate
authorities among employees. Further, company or management focuses on organizational
objectives or its aim as well as mission. According to the given case study management of
Hindustan Unilever performed several task to integrate employees at relocation, new work
environment and culture. They also set criteria for organizational success and accordingly
manpower provided necessary resources. Miriam and Londregan (2006) argued that employees
want management to value efforts contributed by them. This is the only way through which
management can retain workforce for longer time span. At this juncture, management of
Hindustan Unilever needed to adopt effective practices for motivation, learning and retention of
employees. Not only this, but they formulated effective strategies for successful positioning of
products or services in the marketplace.
Leat (2012) reported that management facilitates to define roles and responsibilities of
organization and employees working in the same. It shows that, company need to put its efforts
so as to deliver quality services and retain number of buyers. Furthermore, management adopts
effective practices so that conflicts can be sorted out and level of satisfaction workforce could be
increased. This way the management support company to give upward direction and ensure
production of right kind of products and services.
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Theories of leadership
There are several theories of leadership which assists an organization to work in the
direction of growth and success. Some of theories are explained as follows-
Trait theory
This theory depicts that there are certain characteristics which should be present in a
person to become successful leaders. Further, this theory believes that leaders are either born or
can develop qualities like sense of responsibilities, intelligence and creativity. Further, ability of
leaders to influence others is also an effective feature which needs to be ensured (Leat, 2012).
Here, Hindustan Unilever focuses on certain aspect with the help of which the organization can
effectively enhance productivity and reduce employee turnover. It proves to be effective for
resolving issues which are being faced by the corporation. However, it has also been found that
employees resist change in case scenario. These can be tackled by right leaders so that
employees become ready to aspect change and determine growth and success of the company.
Great man theory
It is another theory of leadership under which it has been assumed that leaders are born. It
shows that leader cannot be made with training and learning as there are some qualities which
remain present in an individual. It is what makes a person different from others and influence
other in an effectual manner (Agarwala, 2002). This theory also reflects that people with such
kind of leadership tend to be more focused and sort the problem of corporation in an effectual
manner. However, a counter argument might be that leaders are not born. They can be made also
through effective training and development program.
Contingency theory
According to this theory a leader do not follow a certain style of leadership. Here, people
become leader on the basis of certain situation. As per the given case study, Prasad learned from
her past experience and it is the reason as per the situation she thought to join employees in order
to motivate them. However, workers of Hindustan Unilever collectively strike because a person
took initiative to guide all of them (Werner, 2008). Here, initiator was known that followers will
be responsive because everyone agreed for the same terms and conditions. It facilitates to work
with integration and achieve whatever has been targeted.
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Politics in the workplace
Politics in the workplace is also crucial aspect which affects the performance of an
organization to a great extent. It depends on cultural of working unit. For example, scenario
depicts that Ice cream unit and Tea factor has different set pattern to work. This is the only
reason that in-spite of integration employees were having different culture. This kind of issues
occurs because of political leaders (Olsen, 2014). Owing to this, Hindustan Unilever was not
able to bring change at the workplace and make employees agree for the same. On the other
hand, company could get benefits with integration of culture effectively. This is because human
resource involved in Tea factor can work for Ice Cream unit during off season. Because of some
issues and different political leaders, organization was not in position to manage the integration
effectively (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008). Here, it was very important for the corporation
to meet the expectation of workforce and adopt different practices so as to boost morale of
employees and put them into action as per the give direction.
Culture
According to Edenborough (2007) diversity management is the process to enable each
employee to perform their potential at workplace. This process facilitates in implementing
organization system and practices in order to maximize potential advantages and minimize the
disadvantages of the same. It proves to be effective in effective utilization of limited human
resources and ensure that diversity among employees contribute towards achievement of
organizational objectives in an effectual manner. According to the given case scenario,
Hindustan Unilever integrated its Innovation Unit into Tea factory but still employees were
maintaining the distinct culture (Kumar, 2010). These issues are faced because of different work
culture and mindset of workforce working in the team. For example, personnel working in Ice
Cream Unit have different perception from those of Tea Factory.
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(Source: Olsen, 2014)
The above stated approach of diversity management depicts that value type of
acculturation strategy are directly associated with workforce diversity. Here, both value of
acculturation strategy collectively focus on target recruitment, selection and retention of
employees (Maley, 2011). This facilitates in managing diversity among existing employees.
Furthermore, non-discrimination policies and sensitivity training are also conducted in order to
manage conflicts among employees of different culture and values. In addition to this,
instruments are used to manage conflicts of both units such as Ice cream and Tea factory
(Marchington and Wilkinson, 2008). Thus, all these processes target towards detrimental process
in order to resolve the conflicts. Furthermore, benefits process like market access, creativity and
decision making are some of the factors which are performed by the organization to achieve
growth and success. All these factors results in good performance of the company. Thus,
diversity management facilitate in determining the long run success of corporation because
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Illustration 1: Diversity management

organization effectively manage differences which exist among employees with different culture
(Berger, 2008).
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGEMENT PEOPLE
According to Afiouni (2013) there are number of strategies adopted by the corporation to
manage people. Here, different leadership styles and active participation of employees in the
decision making process makes it possible to retain employees for longer time span. However,
management of people is done through inclusion of competent and motivated employees so that
Hindustan Unilever can achieve its long as well as short term objectives. It facilitates in
delivering good quality of services and retaining customers for longer time span. On the other
part, human resources management focuses on different motivation techniques and policies as
well as practices (Brown, 2003). With the help of this, the corporate can effectively resolve its
issues. Furthermore, resistance of change can be managed with inclusion of right kind of leaders
in unit like Tea and Ice cream. With this, corporation will be able to integrate culture and reduce
the differences among human resources. Apart from this, employees should be motivated by both
monetary and non-monetary means.
ADVISE AND LEARNING
According to the aforementioned evaluation it can be advised to the management of
Hindustan Unilever that effective approaches needs to be adopted for the culture integration. In
this regards, workforce can be provided with comfortable work environment and they must be
treated with respect and dignity. It enables the management to carry out all business activities
effectively. Furthermore, company can ensure good communication among each department so
that they can be directed properly. Not only this, but employees should be communicated about
the problems which are faced by company and they must be communicated to provide their
immense support for success of corporation (Hays and Kearney, 2001). It will prove to be
effective to get integrated support of all units for managing the business affairs of the overall
corporation. On the other hand, management should ensure that expectations of customers as
well as employees are met properly. Here, employees should be rewarded for their better
performance. Also, management can ensure inclusion of employees in the decision making
process. This aspect tends to generate positive attitude among workforce.
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Furthermore, Hindustan Unilever should take into account issues raised by employees. It
facilitates in increasing productivity and sales performance of corporation. It leads to create
competitive edge of corporation in the marketplace. With this, company can effectively manage
its brand and retain customers for longer time span. In addition to this, company is required to set
culture in such a form that it gets respect for each employee which are engaged in the
organization. Apart from this, it has been found that Hindustan Unilever's current system and
practices are not effective for motivating employees. Owing to this, management should ensure
cultural diversity by which employees can work with integrity. On the other hand, company is
facing issue related to cultural integration which can be resolved through effective
communication and modify current practices and processes.
CONCLUSION
The aforementioned report concludes that good flow of communication and motivational
strategies of corporation contribute towards long run success of the organization in the
marketplace. It can also be said that, effective working can be done by respecting the cultural
differences among workforce. It helps to attain organizational goals on right time which assist in
creating competitive advantage in the marketplace. In addition to this, organization should focus
on leadership aspect as well as management of human resources so as to ensure optimum
utilization of limited resources.
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REFERENCES
Journals and books
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Learning and Intellectual Capital. 1(10). pp.18-34.
Agarwala, T., 2002. Human Resource Management: The Emerging Trends. Indian Journal of
Industrial Relations. 37(3). pp. 315-331.
Berger, L., 2008. The Compensation Handbook. McGraw Hill Professional.
Brown, P., 2003. Seeking success through strategic management development. Journal of
European Industrial Training. 27(6). pp.292-303
Ci-sheng, W. and Shu-ming, Z., 2012. Organizational learning and the complexity of strategic
human resource management. Kybernetes. 419. pp. 1297-1304
Dowling, P.J., Festing, M. and Engle, E.D., 2008. International Human Resource Management:
Managing People in a Multinational Context. Cengage Learning EMEA.
Edenborough, R. 2007. Assessment methods in recruitment, selection and performance: a
manager’s guide to psychometric testing, interviews and selection. London: Kogan Page.
Gannon, M. J.,Doherty, L. and Roper, A., 2012. The role of strategic groups in understanding
strategic human resource management. Personnel Review. 414. pp. 513-546
Gully, S., 2013. Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning.
Hays, W. S. and Kearney, C. R., 2001. Anticipated Changes in Human Resource Management:
Views from the Field. Public Administration Review. 61(5). pp. 585-597.
Kumar, R., 2010. Human Resource Management: Strategic Analysis Text and Cases. I. K.
International Pvt Ltd.
Leat, M., 2012. Exploring Employee Relations. Routledge.
Lucio, M., 2013. International Human Resource Management: An Employment Relations
Perspective. SAGE.
Maley, F. J., 2011. The influence of various human resource management strategies on the
performance management of subsidiary managers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
Administration. 3 (1). pp.28 – 46.
Marchington, M. and Wilkinson, A., 2008. Human Resource Management at Work, Wiltshire:
CIPD
Miriam, A. and Londregan, B. J., 2006. Centralization and Wage Inequality. American Journal
of Political Science. 50. pp. 208-213.
Werner, S., 2008. Global Compensation: Foundations and Perspectives. Routledge.
Online
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Olsen, J., 2014. Understanding organizational diversity management programs: A theoretical
framework and directions for future research. [PDF]. <Available through:
http://www.workplaceleadership.com.au/app/uploads/2014/07/OlsenMartins2012-
AuthorVersion.pdf>. [Accessed on: 2nd January 2016]
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