Contemporary Management Issues & Human Capital at Unilever

This report analyzes the contemporary management issues faced by Unilever in the 21st century. It discusses the external factors shaping human capital development, including political-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological influences. The report examines Unilever's existing policies for talent acquisition, learning and development, and change management. It provides recommendations for new initiatives to ensure the organization's survival in the face of challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of employee training, resource allocation, and motivational strategies. Furthermore, it highlights the crucial role of leaders in implementing these initiatives by fostering teamwork, providing clear instructions, and motivating employees to embrace change. The analysis concludes that effective management of these issues is essential for Unilever to achieve its goals and maintain competitiveness.

Contemporary
Management Issues in
the 21st Century

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
1) Discuss the external factors which shape in the development of human capital and also
identify the role and impact of the information and communication technology in human
capital management? ..................................................................................................................3
P2 Explain the existing policies of talent acquisition, learning and development and change
management process ?.................................................................................................................4
P3 Give some relevant recommendations on the new initiative the organisation should
consider in order to survive? ......................................................................................................5
P4 Discuss the role of leaders in term of implementing the new initiatives? ............................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The business is a activity which is conducted by an individual to create value for the
customers and to provide the needs and wants for its customers. Establishing a business involves
various other external forces which can influence in the operating of the business organisation
business environment is the surroundings and the circumstances which affects the activities of
the organisation. Now a days the business are facing the various challenges due to the change in
the technology and the change in the nature. There are various factors which are responsible for
this change. The company which is considered in this report is Unilever which is the producer of
the soap products. It is headquartered in London(Hafberg, Borinstein, and Alexopoulos, 2019).
This report will include the external factors which shape in the development of human capital,
existing policies of talent acquisition and learning and development, relevant suggestions for the
new initiative for the survival of the organisation and at last role of the leaders in terms of
implementing the new initiatives.

TASK
1) Discuss the external factors which shape in the development of human capital and also
identify the role and impact of the information and communication technology in human
capital management?
It is identifies that as the employees are facing challenges due to the pandemic and the business
organisation is providing Work from home facilities. But, this also is difficult for the employees
to manage their work from home(Stewart and et.al., 2019). Unilever need to adopt the various
strategies for the development of the human capital. There are various external factors which
play a significant role in human capital management discussed below:
 Political legal factor- This factor included the governments role or interference in the
business organisation. The government introduce many policies or rule and regulations
for the spe4cific industry and it varies from country to country. In context of Unilever,
these kind of policies may influence the process of human resource management for the
company. If the company does not adhere to these regulations the organisation may bear
loss or can be fined in illegal practices. The business need to execute the government
policies in order to function and conduct the activities within the country.
 Economic factors- This factor included the population, national income, workforce
market condition etc. In related to the Unilever this factor determine in giving shape and
form to develop the economic practices by including those companies that can influence
the human resource management such as inflationary pressure, income etc.
 Social culture factors- These factors are those which are related to the market trend and
the changing lifestyle of the people which can influence the business organisations. These
affects the human capital management as the attitude, belief of an individual varies from
its culture and religion. The Unilever needs to work better by adopting the management
of human capital as per the requirement(Adam, and et.al., 2019).
 Technology- This elements or the factors is a challenging and as well as opportunity for
the human capital management. In relation to the Unilever the technology has changed
the activities of human capital management there recruitment and selection processes
have been minimized as these processes have been shifted to the online platforms which
are been conducted for a very short time period.

P2 Explain the existing policies of talent acquisition, learning and development and change
management process ?
It is observed that the company Unilever is a suitable business organisation that conducts
its business in market efficiently. The company follows the talent management process in which
they recruit the best suitable candidate for their organisation is respect to the job role. In context
of Unilever, there are some policies regarding to the talent acquisition,development, learning
and chain management(Lim, and et.al., 2018).
The company formulate their own policies related to the talent acquisition as it is very
important fro the organisation that they recruit the talented and skilled workforce. With the
objective of the skilled employees, the company uses both internal and external approaches. As
the consumer demands and the changing environments require a deep understanding of the
market scenario, there is a requirement of the people who can understand the customers
perspective the company focus on attracting the talented people from around the world. They
focus on finding, attracting, hiring, developing and retaining the top talents in their organisation.
The company also provide the training and development programs including the variety
of educational techniques which can be attended on the voluntary and compulsory basis by the
employees of the organisation. The main objective of the company is to improve the skills and
knowledge of the employees so that they can perform better which will result in achieving more
of profits for the business enterprise. The main aim of the company to develop three skills that
are leadership skill, general skill and professional skill in its employees(Abeza, O’Reilly and
Seguin, 2018).
The company also follow the change leadership template which includes planning, creating,
shred needs, vision development, mobilizing commitment, change in communication,
infrastructure alignment and sustaining momentum. They continuously develop their strategies
for managing the change process It is determined that the respective business organisation
follow five levels of change management process such as make it understood, make it easy,
make it desirable. make it rewarding. make it habit.

P3 Give some relevant recommendations on the new initiative the organisation should consider
in order to survive?
It is identified that the Unilever company is dealing with lot of complex situations after
the pandemic as its employees is unable to perform their job role from their respective places. To
thrive and service in the new normal market, it is very significant for Unilever to follow certain
recommendation or suggestion that are discussed below:
 it is recommended that they should determine the impact of initiative4s on each and every
department of the company. They should educate their employee that why the changes
are very beneficial for the and also help them in their skill development
 The company is required to enhance its training and development sessions for its
employees to obtain the goals of the company by improving their efficiency and
productivity(Abdulsoma, and et.al., 2017).
 The company also need to prove the important and necessary resources because ethe
change come up with the cost. For this the Unilever need to form a system where there is
availability of the essential resources for the organisation.
 It is suggested that the company should adopt the new strategies within the organisation
for the new initiatives and for the survival in the market.
 They should adopt some motivational factors to motivate or encourage its workforce in
order to achieve tephrite organisational goals(Grima, and et.al.,, 2019).
P4 Discuss the role of leaders in term of implementing the new initiatives?
The success of the business organisation depends on the leaders and their role and
initiative that they consider to make the business to reach to the next level. In order to be
competitive in the market the leaders should know the effective of the team work and it should
develop a team in such a manner that the outcome achieved should be productive for the
company. The role of the leaders is very important for the business organisation and its strategic
implementation. The leader has a huge responsibility towards the business organisation. In
context of the Unilever the leader needs to ensure that employees are getting the proper training

and other resources in order to work. The leader is responsible for making the clear instructions
and providing the necessary information to its subordinates. The leader are set priorities and
decisive that support changes. Leaders play an vital role in motivation to the changes and get
employees involved. In Unilever, the leader create sense of an urgency and the importance about
changes, show passion and commitment about getting things done. They understand that the
changes may be difficult and realize need for employees to be motivated in order to step out of
their comfort zone.(Combs, Crook and Rauch, 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that it is observed that from the day one
establishing the business there are issues which are related to the business organisation and the
managers need to manage those issues in order to achieve their desired goals and objectives.
There are various external factors which shape in the development of human capital
managements such as political legal, economic, social culture and technology. There are various
policies in Unilever and they formulate according to the system and the type of the organisation.
It is recommended that they should determine the impact of initiative4s on each and every
department of the company. They should educate their employee that why the changes are very
beneficial for the and also help them in their skill development

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abdulsoma, T.,and et.al., 2017. Maqasidic approach in the management of Waqf property: A
study with reference to Malaysian contemporary issues.
Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N. and Seguin, B., 2018. Introduction to the special issue: Contemporary
issues in social media in sport. International Journal of Sport Communication. 11(3).
pp.293-294.
Adam, N.L., and et.al., 2019. Shariah Compliant Web Analysis Tool. In Contemporary
Management and Science Issues in the Halal Industry (pp. 29-35). Springer, Singapore.
Combs, J.G., Crook, T.R. and Rauch, A., 2019. Meta‐analytic research in management:
Contemporary approaches, unresolved controversies, and rising standards. Journal of
Management Studies. 56(1). pp.1-18.
Grima, S., and et.al.,, 2019. Contemporary Issues in Behavioral Finance. Emerald Group
Publishing.
Hafberg, E., Borinstein, S.C. and Alexopoulos, S.P., 2019. Contemporary management of
hepatoblastoma. Current opinion in organ transplantation. 24(2). pp.113-117.
Lim, S.M., and et.al., 2018. Acquired resistance to EGFR targeted therapy in non-small cell lung
cancer: mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. Cancer treatment reviews, 65, pp.1-10.
Stewart, J.D.,and et.al., 2019. Contemporary management of unexplained infertility. Clinical
obstetrics and gynecology. 62(2). pp.282-292.