Impact of Multinational Companies: A Study on Unilever in Brazil

This report analyzes the impact of multinational companies, specifically Unilever, on a host country's business environment, using Brazil as a case study. The study explores globalization, its benefits, and the influence of MNCs on economic, social, and political conditions. The report includes a project management plan with cost breakdowns, scope definition, and a Gantt chart. It details the research methodology, including qualitative research and an interpretivism philosophy. Data collection methods involved questionnaires administered to managers. The report addresses research questions about business trends in Brazil, Unilever's influence, tax contributions, and recommendations for sustainable operations. The findings are based on the collection and interpretation of data, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by MNCs in host countries. The report culminates in a reflection and conclusion, referencing relevant literature.

Managing a Successful
Business Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................2
Aims and objectives....................................................................................................................2
Rationale.....................................................................................................................................2
Project management plan............................................................................................................3
Work break down structure:........................................................................................................5
Gantt chart: .................................................................................................................................5
LO 2 ................................................................................................................................................7
Research methodology................................................................................................................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
Analyse the results and data findings..........................................................................................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................19
Reflection..................................................................................................................................19
COCLUSION.................................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................21
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................23

TOPIC:
“To analyse how multinational company impact the business on a host country. Study on
Unilever.”
INTRODUCTION
Globalisation is the interaction of individuals, companies and government of different
countries (Hillson, 2017). Globalisation has made it easy for the people and individual of
different countries. Globalization has brought new technology, culture and jobs in various
nations. Globalisation benefits in getting new opportunities, education, technological
advancements, free trade that impact the business and nations. Unilever is a British company that
is headquartered in London, UK. The company is dealing in the products that include food and
beverages, beauty products and personal care products. It is one of the oldest companies that is
dealing globally and the company's product are available in 190 countries. The organization own
more than 400 brands with a revenue of 50 billions. The company was founded on 2 September
1929 by William Lever. The report includes the aims and objectives of the project. Then later in
the report a project management plan is made that includes cost, resources, scope , time etc.
Work Break Down Structure and Gantt Chart are made with task schedule adding to it. Then the
file includes the research methodology that includes research type, approach, philosophy and
design. Further more the study has data and interpretation included and then some
recommendations were given for operations of Unilever.
Background of the study
The research is based on Unilever company. The topic of the research is “To analyse how
multinational company impact the business on a host country. Study on Unilever.” Unilever is a
multinational company which is a global company (Cleden, 2017). One of the host country of
Unilever is Brazil. It is an emerging country thus it attracts foreign investors. Economic, social
and political condition of the host country is influenced by these MNC's because when they enter
in the market the flow of cash increases, improves balance of payment. Through this host
country's economic and political conditions are stable. The research was conducted with the
sample size of 25 managers and data is collected through questionnaire.
1

LO 1
Aims and objectives
Aim of the study:
“To analyse how a multinational company impact the business on a host country. Study
on Unilever.”
Objectives of the project:
 To describe concept of globalization and its benefit for countries
 To investigate business trends in Brazil
 To assess relationship between operations of multinational companies and business
environment of Brazil
Research question:
 What is the trend of Brazilian business environment from the perspective of economic,
social, political and financial factors?
 How Unilever influence the business operation of Brazil?
 How is MNC”s main source of paying tax to government?
 What are the recommendations given to Unilever for sustaining in the host countries?
Rationale
The reason behind choosing the topic how a multinational company (Unilever) impact the
business on a host country is the growing economy and global trends in the market (Polonsky
and Waller, 2018). Economic conditions of the country is highly affected by establishment of
multinational companies. Business environment involves political, social, cultural, financial and
economical factors which affects business positively an negatively. The reason for choosing
Brazil as a host country is that its economic conditions are stable, there is not much fluctuation in
the inflation rates thus customers purchasing power is also high. Multinational companies are
expanding its business in such economic conditions to generate more revenue and develop the
economy. The result of the research will identify the main issues which MNC's is facing while
conducting and operating its business in host countries. The major impact on Brazil business
environment, does Unilever contribute in generating employment opportunity in host countries
etc (Bass and Haxby, 2019).
2

Project management plan
It is a document which is used to determine each phase of research project. It is the
baseline of every research which is essential part of project (Cha, Newman and Winch, 2018).
Project management plan includes initiating, designing, carrying out, controlling and monitoring.
It is a structure through which research is been carried out. There are some of the important
elements of PMP which need to be considered while planning a research report.
 Cost: It is one of the important element which need to be consider while planning the
research. It is a financial plan within which researcher need to perform all the task ion
order to get accurate results (Nicholas and Steyn, 2017). Every phase of the plan is
allotted some amount, plan need to be completed within the financial limit. It will help
researcher to carry out the report effectively and efficiently. To conduct how a
multinational company impact the business on a host country research will require £7000.
Cost breakdown
Equipment cost £2500
Labour cost £4000
Location cost £500
Total cost £7000
 Scope: It refers to the reach of the study to achieve the objective of research. The scope
of this research report is how a multinational company impact the business on a host
country. This research is beneficial for company to evaluate the external and internal
factors that affect performance of business. The scope of research will help academic
sector as well as corporate sector. This research will be useful for students who are doing
project on liberalization and globalisation (Hillson, 2017). They will learn about how a
multinational company impact the business on a host country and use its findings in their
research.
 Communication: It is also one of the major element to be consider while planning
project management. It is the responsibility of researcher to clearly convey the plan and
every detail to the people who are related to the research project directly or indirectly.
There should not be any communication gap, researchers need to convey the information
3

through emails, messages, orally and by other means of communication. Communication
gap lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of results (Cleden, 2017).
 Resources: Resources are needed to carry out the research in a correct manner to reach to
the conclusion. Resources need to be utilized effectively and efficiently. Inadequate
resource will create barrier in completing the project. In the research report human
resource, equipments (laptops, stationery, internet connection) etc. is needed.
 Quality: It is necessary to maintain the quality standards by the researchers. Data
collected by the researcher need to be reliable and valid. Researcher have to guarantee
that data collected for how a multinational company impact the business on a host
country is within the expected quality standards. To maintain the quality researcher need
to maintain the secrecy of the data collected by the people (Polonsky and Waller, 2018).
 Time: The research conducted on the topic how a multinational company impact the
business on a host country need to be completed on time. Time is important factor within
which report need to be finished. Researcher need to follow time management and allot
specific time to each activity of the plan. Delay in time will affect the quality of work.
This study will be completed within 35 days ( 18/7/2019 to 15/8/2019).
 Risk: It is essential to check the feasibility of the research so that there is no risk in
conducting. In order to carry out the research smoothly researcher need to take an
overview of environment to find out risks. There are many risks such as security issues,
theft etc (Bass and Haxby, 2019).
 Milestone: There are some milestones set by researchers which will be helpful in
achieving the objective of research such as maintaining and achieving quality standards,
evaluation of data sources and report will be conducted ethically.
Work break down structure:
It is a breakdown of project in manageable sections. It is a deliverable hierarchical
decomposition which is to be executed by the team members. It is a visual form of plan which
determines the scope into small task which is easily understandable (Cha, Newman and Winch,
2018). Project management team divides the activities into sub-parts so that each activity is
assigned to individual person.
4

Gantt chart:
It is a bar chart which shows the schedule of the project. On the vertical axis chart shows
the list of task being performed and on the horizontal axis the chart shows time intervals. It is
used in the project management to illustrate graphical schedules which is beneficial for
coordinating the plan (Nicholas and Steyn, 2017).
5

Task schedule:
Task name Duration Start Finish Predecessor
Research proposal 2 days 18/7/2019 19/7/2019
Aims and objectives 4 days 20/7/2019 25/7/2019 1
Research methodology 7 days 20/7/2019 28/7/2019 1
Data collection 8 days 26/7/2019 4/8/2019 2
Data analysis 4 days 29/7/2019 3/8/2019 3
Data interpretation 5 days 5/8/2019 11/8/2019 4
Findings and conclusion 2 days 5/8/2019 8/8/2019 2, 4
Recommendations 1 days 12/8/2019 12/8/2019 5, 6
Execute the plan 1 days 9/8/2019 9/8/2019 7
Submission 1 days 15/8/2019 15/8/2019 8, 9
6

LO 2
Research methodology
Introduction
It is important chapter in the research project. It is used to conduct research
systematically (Bright and et.al., 2017). It refers to the selection of best research type, design,
method of data collection, sample size and best approach to carry out the research. Both
qualitative and quantitative methods are used to collect information which includes surveys,
observations, secondary data and primary data collection. There are various elements to be
considered while making the report.
 Research type: Researcher need to select the appropriate research type according to the
nature of research. There are 2 types of research methods i.e. qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative research is based on feelings, emotions and non-numerical elements
(Svantesson and et.al., 2017). It refers to understand the reality of individuals, cultures
and groups. It includes various methods to collect the data are open-ended questionnaire,
interviews, surveys and observations. Quantitative method is based on numerical data
collection, solving problems and finding out the results. This type of research is an
attempt to check the theory and models. In the present report qualitative research is used
to find out the perception on an individual. It is beneficial for researcher to use this type
of research because it can give accurate data.
 Research approach: It is a procedure which include steps in detailed collection of data,
evaluation and interpretation (Saunders and Bezzina, 2015). It is based on the quality of
research. Researcher need to identify the best approach to address the questions. There is
2 type of approach inductive and deductive approach. In deductive approach hypotheses
is formulated to find out the results. In inductive approach hypotheses is not formulated
instead it formulates questionnaire, aims and objectives to achieve goals. In the present
report based on how a multinational company impact the business on a host country
inductive report is used because it gives accurate results. It is the most suitable approach
for this research. Researcher has used questionnaire for data collection.
 Research philosophy: It is a manner in which data need to be collected and analysed. It
deals in the development, nature and scope of knowledge (Shaw and et.al., 2017).
7

Secondary and primary data is used to collect information and data is collected. There are
2 types of research philosophy i.e. positivism and interpretivism. Positivism is based on
the knowledge based on human experience. Hypotheses is formulated in this type of
philosophy, researcher is independent in the research. Interpretivism is used to interpret
the elements, human interest is integrated. It is based on data collection through
observations and questionnaire. Present report on how a multinational company impact
the business on a host country, in this research interpretivism philosophy is used. It is
beneficial for researcher to gather information (Bourque and Bourdon, 2017).
 Research design: It refers to design which researcher chooses for particular research.
There are also 3 types of research conducted i.e. descriptive, exploratory and casual.
Descriptive research is used to describe the situation, it is used to gather information and
present the collected data. It provides insights of the research. Exploratory research uses
thoughts and ideas as primary dependent, it explore the unexplored aspects. Casual report
is used for business environment to evaluate the change in present operations. In the
present study research type is descriptive because it find out the facts from the studies. It
is beneficial for researcher to find how a multinational company impact the business on a
host country (Whicher, Philbin and Aronson, 2018).
 Sampling: A sample is number of individual or group of individual taken out from huge
population to collect the data. It is important to select the right sample so that they are
able to answer the questions and researcher get results. The reason behind selecting a
small group of people to collect data is that it is not possible to collect data from huge
population, it takes long time and incur cost. In the present report random sampling
method is used. 25 managers of Unilever is selected as a sample size to find how
multinational company impact the business on a host country (Bright and et.al., 2017).
 Data collection: After sample size is selected than researcher collects data from the
respondents. It is a process of collection of information from all the respondents in order
top find the results of the research. There are 2 types techniques in collecting information
such as primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected from observations, surveys
and interviews and secondary data is collected from books, journals, newspapers etc. in
the present report both primary and secondary data is collected. For primary data
8

questionnaire is prepared and for secondary data articles is used. It is beneficial for
researcher to collect primary data as it gives exact results (Svantesson and et.al., 2017).
 Data analysis: When the data is collected then data analysis and interpretation in done.
In this process raw information is converted into meaningful information. It refers to the
process of analysing and cleaning the improper data which is not useful. It is beneficial
for researcher to make decisions. For data analysis researcher has used qualitative method
(Whicher, Philbin and Aronson, 2018).
LO 3
Analyse the results and data findings
Theme 1: Respondents response to how long they are working in Unilever.
Less than 1 year 5
Between 1-2 year 7
Between 2-5 year 8
More than 5 year 5
Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 8 managers are working with the company for 2-5 years which is the
9

highest number. 7 managers are working in the company between 1-2 years and 5 managers are
working in company from less than 1 year and other 5 are working for more than 5 years in
Unilever.
Theme 2: Respondents response to operations of multinational companies impact on
economic, social development of Brazil
Strongly agree 15
Agree 2
Disagree 4
Strongly disagree 4
Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 15 mangers strongly agree that operations of multinational companies
impact on economic, social development of Brazil because expanding business will generate
employment opportunity for the people of Brazil which will generate revenues, economy will be
stable and their social development is made. 4 managers strongly disagree because they feel that
operations of multinational companies may have a negative impact on the economy and social
development if there is change in the economic condition of Brazil company may face loss and
10

increases employee turnover. Unemployment rates increases in the economy thus stop the
development of society.
Theme 3: Respondents response towards whether Brazil has potential to attract
multinational companies in the country.
Yes 18
No 5
Not sure 2
Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 18 mangers say yes that Brazil has potential to attract multinational
companies in the country as its trade policies is attractive and their economical, political
conditions are stable which attracts companies to expand their business. They feel that
multinational companies will generate revenue for the economy. 5 managers say no because they
feel that it is difficult to understand the cultures and adopt it. 2 manager are not sure whether
Brazil has potential to attract multinational companies.
11

Theme 4: Respondents response to what extent does Unilever contributes in generating
employment opportunity in host country.
To great extent 15
To some extent 8
No contribution 2
Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 15 managers feel that Unilever contribute in generating employment
opportunities upto a great extent. 8 managers feel that Unilever contributes upto some extent and
other 2 managers feel that Unilever does not contribute in creating employment opportunities in
host country.
Theme 5: Respondents response to performance of Unilever help in improving economic
condition of nation.
Strongly agree 10
Agree 5
Disagree 6
12

Strongly disagree 4
Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 10 manager strongly agree that performance of Unilever is improving
economic condition of nation as company has helped economy in increasing GDP, organisation
has also give people employment. 6 managers disagree to the statement because they feel that
Unilever is not fulfilling the demand and needs of the customers which decrease the sales thus
economic condition are not improves.
Theme 6: Respondents response to major advantage that Unilever can enjoy by operating
in host country.
Labor access 7
Technological advancement 9
Political stability 9
13

Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 7 managers say that labor access is the major advantage that Unilever
enjoy by operating in host country because it give opportunity for people for employment. 9
managers feel that technological advancement and political stability is the major advantage for
Unilever to enjoy operation because stable political environment helps company in smooth
functioning. Technological advancement is an advantage which company can implement in its
production system to reduce cost of product.
Theme 7: Respondents response to whether Unilever is creating competition in Brazil.
Yes 16
No 5
Not sure 9
14

Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 16 mangers say yes that Unilever is creating competition in Brazil as it
has highly increases competition in accessories, food and beverages. 5 managers say no because
there is already high competition in the market, Unilever is not creating competition. 9 managers
are not sure about the statement.
Theme 8: Respondents response to whether MNCs are paying huge tax in Brazil.
Strongly agree 15
Agree 5
Disagree 3
Strongly disagree 2
15

Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 15 managers strongly agree that MNCs are main source of paying tax
because their profits is increasing. It provides a valuable source of revenue for government
which increase economy of country. Whereas 3 respondents does not agree with the statement.
Theme 9: Respondents response to the major impact that held in business environment of
Brazil due to working of Unilever
Raise competition 10
Employment 5
Increase pressure on home country 10
16

Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 20 respondents feel that rise in competition and increasing pressure on
home country is the major impact that held business environment of Brazil due to working of
Unilever, they justified that there is a decrease in the market share domestically. Emergence of
company globally has also raised competition and gain competitive advantage to sustain in the
market. 5 managers said that employment has major impact on business environment as
company has reduced unemployment rate by providing employment to the people. Hence
business environment is affected by the decrease in employment rate.
Theme 10: Respondents response to the major issues that is faced by MNC when operating
into host country.
Difference in culture 12
Recruitment 2
Infrastructure 5
Capital or fund issues 6
17

Interpretation: From the above table it can be interpreted that out of 25 mangers
selected from Unilever 12 respondents feel that the major issues that is faced by MNC when
operating into host country is diversified culture. They have given justification that it is difficult
to understand the needs and preference of the culture and it is also challenging for the company
to adopt the culture. 6 respondents feel that the major issue was raising funds or capital because
it is difficult for financial institution to trust companies, they fear whether company is able to
repay the funds back or not.
Recommendations
From the data analysis and interpretation there are some recommendation and
suggestions for Unilever:
 Unilever need to diversify its business by acquisition of similar firms but not in consumer
goods.
 Company need to provide employment to the people so that economy of host country is
developed by generating revenues.
 Unilever need to adopt the culture of host country so that it will be easy to operate
business and satisfy customer need. This will benefit company in increasing market share
and sales.
 Unilever also need to take care of its home country along with host countries. Developing
market share in host countries may give less preference to domestic markets, thus to
18

maintain its stability in both international and domestic market company need to focus on
both the markets.
 Company need to build trust among the financial institutions by performing well in the
markets so that it is easy for company to raise funds.
 Unilever need to follow the political policies and law so that its business environment is
not affected by the changes in any factor.
LO 4
Reflection
Overall experience from the research report is very effective, it has helped me in
developing skills and gaining knowledge. I came to know about the topic deeply and I can use
this in my higher studies or any other research report. I learned management techniques and
functioning of MNC's in host countries. While conducting the research I get to know that I lack
in various skills which become barrier in gathering information and completing the research. I
realised that I lack in communication skills. I identified that I was facing problem while
communicating my ideas and thoughts to my team and also facing difficulty in explaining the
questions asked from respondents. They were not able to understand the questions. I will try my
best to improve my skills by going to English speaking class so that I become confident in
speaking.
I have also identified that my time management is not proper. I am not able to finish my
work on time. To improve my time management I will schedule my task according to the task.
After doing this I am now completing my work on time.
COCLUSION
From the above report it can be said that the project plan includes cost (£7000) to
complete the project that will be in 8 weeks. Th scope of the project will be it is beneficial for the
company to evaluate the performance of the business. The company has to maintain the
standards or quality of the product and communication should be proper between the researcher
and people who has to implement the work. After the interpretation of the data's it can be said
that there are some advantages that Unilever as in host countries and Unilever is creating
competition for Brazil. Some of difficult factors to work in the host country are Difference in
culture, recruitment of employees. Further report also conclude that company faces difficulty in
raising funds in host country because financial institution hesitate in trusting companies. MNC's
19

are the main source for paying tax to government. This benefits host country to improve its
economic conditions. Report also conclude that major impact that held business environment of
Brazil due to working of Unilever, they justified that there is a decrease in the market share
domestically. Company is not able to manage its home country market which increases pressure.
20

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bass, J. M. and Haxby, A., 2019. Tailoring Product Ownership in Large-Scale Agile Projects:
Managing Scale, Distance, and Governance. IEEE Software. 36(2). pp.58-63.
Bourque, C. J. and Bourdon, S., 2017. Multidisciplinary graduate training in social research
methodology and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis: a hands-on/hands-off course
design. Journal of Further and Higher Education.41(4). pp.475-491.
Bright, O.J.M. And et.al., 2017. Research Priorities for Studies Linking Intake of Low-Calorie
Sweeteners and Potentially Related Health Outcomes: Research Methodology and Study
Design. Current developments in nutrition. 1(7). p.e000547.
Cha, J., Newman, M. and Winch, G., 2018. Revisiting the project management knowledge
framework: Rebalancing the framework to include transformation projects. International
Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 11(4). pp.1026-1043.
Cleden, D., 2017. Managing project uncertainty. Routledge.
Hillson, D., 2017. Managing risk in projects. Routledge.
Nicholas, J. M. and Steyn, H., 2017. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Polonsky, M. J. and Waller, D. S., 2018. Designing and managing a research project: A
business student's guide. Sage publications.
Saunders, M. N. and Bezzina, F., 2015. Reflections on conceptions of research methodology
among management academics. European management journal. 33(5). pp.297-304.
Shaw, B. E. and et.al., 2017. National institutes of health hematopoietic cell transplantation late
effects initiative: the research methodology and study design working group report.
Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 23(1). pp.10-23.
Svantesson, E. and et.al., 2017. While modern medicine evolves continuously, evidence-based
research methodology remains: how register studies should be interpreted and appreciated.
Whicher, D., Philbin, S. and Aronson, N., 2018. An overview of the impact of rare disease
characteristics on research methodology.Orphanet journal of rare diseases.13(1). p.14.
21

APPENDIX
Questionnaire
1. Since how long you are working in Unilever?
 Less than 1 year
 Between 1-2 year
 Between 2-5 year
 More than 5 year
2. Do you agree that working or operations of multinational companies impact on economic,
social development of Brazil?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
3. Do you think Brazil has potential to attract multinational companies in the country?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure
4. To what extent Unilever contributes in generating employment opportunity in host country?
 To great extent
 To some extent
 No contribution
5. Do you agree that performance of Unilever help in improving economic condition of nation?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
6. What are the major advantage that Unilever can enjoy by operating in host country?
 Labour access
 Technological advancement
 Political stability
7. Do you think Unilever is creating competition in Brazil?
22

 Yes
 No
 Not sure
8. Do you agree that MNCs are paying huge tax in Brazil?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
9. What is the major impact that held in business environment of Brazil due to working of
Unilever?
 Raise competition
 Employment
 Increase pressure on home country
10. What are the major issues that face by MNC when operating into host country?
 Difference in culture
 Recruitment
 Infrastructure
 Capital or fund issues
23