Strategic Analysis of Unilever: Business Environment and KPIs

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Unilever's business environment, covering its market structure, stakeholders, and key performance indicators. It delves into the organization's overview, highlighting its history and various company types. The report examines Unilever's market structure within an oligopoly, emphasizing its competitive pricing strategy and digital infrastructure development. A detailed stakeholder analysis identifies and prioritizes stakeholders, discussing their influence and engagement. The PESTLE analysis explores political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors affecting Unilever, while Porter's Five Forces model assesses the competitive intensity within the industry. The report also evaluates Unilever's performance using a balanced scorecard approach and offers recommendations for service improvement. The analysis aims to provide a holistic understanding of Unilever's strategic positioning and operational challenges within its dynamic business environment. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

The Business
Environment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
Organisation Overview...........................................................................................................3
Market Structure of Unilever..................................................................................................4
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................4
Stakeholders ..........................................................................................................................4
Shareholders...........................................................................................................................4
Stakeholders Analysis............................................................................................................5
Discussing the stakeholder Analysis in accordance to Unilever............................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
PESTLE ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................6
Porter Five Forces Model.......................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
Key Performance Indicator ....................................................................................................9
Measuring Unilever performance with Balance scorecard....................................................9
Recommendation for improving the services.......................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................13
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Business environment includes various factors which helps the business to possibly
achieve their inherent goals and objectives in the market. These factors could create a impact on
the working operations of the organisation. Unilever is a multinational corporation which
provides various products in the market (Adamseged, and Grundmann, 2020). The brand meet
everyday needs of the customers by providing nutrition, healthcare, and personal products. With
the significant experience they had managed to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. The
report aims to analyse about understanding various components of the business environment. On
the other hand there will be discussion about the market structure of the company. Along with
that, there will be brief discussion about shareholder which influence the company and help them
to asses various growth opportunities. For further instance, there will be evaluation about various
components which helps the company to achieve a sustainable performance in the market.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Organisation Overview
Unilever is an established brand which offers various products to the consumers. The
organisation understand the consumer needs and wants. Due to the ethical practices they had
seen an exponential growth in the market. It was founded on 2 September in 1929 by the British
soap maker lever brothers( Grassi, and Vallati, 2021). With the new digital infrastructure the
company is strengthening their operations and managed to acquire huge share in the industry.
Unilever is a private organisation there are various stakeholders and investors which are present
in the market,
There are various types of companies which are mentioned below:
 Public Company – This type of company offers the shares to the public when there is a
public offering.
 Private Company – These type of companies is managed by the various individuals
which are called investors and shareholder. This is described as private company they can
offer the shares to the public as per their needs and wants.

 Voluntary – There are various organisation which works for the betterment of the
society. Their operations are usually volunteered by different individuals.
 Charity – There are various organisation which fights for numerous causes which is
present in the society. For example, UNICEF works for the better of the society. There
are various campaigns in which the organisation has indulged themselves.
 Public Sector – It is the sector which is mainly controlled by the government. There are
various goods and services which is regulated in the public sector.
Market Structure of Unilever
Unilever is brand which provides various products to the consumers. The main vision of
the organisation is to enrich the lives of the consumers by providing various products in the
market. It is an interdependent firms which dominate the market. There are various segments in
which the company deals with the products and the services. They are one of the most valuable
company in the industry (Yu, Qian, and Zhang, 2021). The industry in which the organisation
operate is oligopoly. There are various big firms which incudes nestle, gamble to give tough
competition to the brand. The consumers can get the products at an affordable prices. They are
using the competitive pricing strategy to dominate the market and offer excellent quality
products to the consumers. With the changing market trends Unilever is establishing digital
infrastructure in the workplace to manage the working operations. They had achieve the goals
and objectives in the market with the experience and managed to create a positive brand integrity
among various customers. In this market there are very few established firms which are
dominating the market. On the other hand, Unilever is one of the most renowned brand in the
market.
TASK 2
Stakeholders
The stakeholders has interest in the enterprise due to their growth and in the market. Most
of the organisation includes various stakeholders in the business to manage the working
operations effectively.
Shareholders
There are various shareholders in the organisation they hold a significant share in the
workplace. They had a important influence of the working operations of the organisation. The

company indulges them in various decision making which helps the organisation to become
more profitable in the market. The company can lists their shares in the initial offering and the
general public can also buy the shares. The employees also holds the significant amount of share
of the company. There are various rights of the shareholders are as follows:
 They are present in in various decision making of the company. They can give various
suggestions to help the company achieve an effective growth.
 They had the power to inspect the books and evaluate various critical factors.
 There are various share of the profit in which the shareholders gets the significant part.
Stakeholders Analysis
It is a process which helps the individual to evaluate various factors and managing the
way of doing operations in an effective manner (Thanetsunthorn, and Wuthisatian, 2019). There
are various suggestions which can gives benefits the parties to make the company more
profitable in the market. There are various new strategies which could be used to gain the
competitive advantage in the market.
Discussing the stakeholder Analysis in accordance to Unilever
There are various stages which are described below in order to make the organisation
function better in the market are mentioned below:
Determining the stakeholders – This is the first and foremost step in which the
company make asses various stakeholders which are present in the business. There are various
shareholders which are present in the organisation. It includes the employees, general public
which also has equivalent control in the company. Unilever is majorly hold by different
corporations. They had indulged in various joint ventures to make grow the business in different
regions.
Grouping and prioritizing stakeholders – There are various shareholders of the
organisations which had influence in the decisions which the company make. There is regulatory
rule in which they can plan the operations of the workplace. The company can follow the gird
which is mentioned below:
 High power high interest – This is one of the most crucial factor in which the
individuals needs to make the stakeholders understand the business vision. Unilever had
managed to capitalised huge share in the market by offering quality products to the
consumers. They had managed to achieve the targets and goals in the retail industry.

 High power low interest – This stage suggest that there is a positive influence of the
individuals in the workplace. Unilever employees works with the ethics and values and
work in a effective way to achieve the goals and objectives in the market.
 Low Power high interest – The leaders develops a cordial relationship with the
employees to create a healthy working environment. Unilever management works in a
systematic away to become more profitable in the market.
 Low power low interest – In this particular stage the management works in an
uniformed way to achieve the company vision and goals.
Figuring out effective communication with the stakeholders – The fare various factors
to understand the stakeholders behaviour towards the organisation growth perspective. Unilever
employees work in a systematic way to achieve the goals and objectives which is set by the
management( Łabędzka, 2018). This helps the brand to gain a competitive advantage in the
industry. They make a positive influence on the stakeholders and they see the vision and targets
which is achieved by them.
TASK 3
PESTLE ANALYSIS
Pestle analysis can be defined as the strategic framework that is used by the organisations
to analyse the various factors that can affects the operational activities at the workplace. Various
components of this analysis are mentioned below in relation to the Unilever:
 Political: This means that all those factors or the policies that are made by the
government that affects the activities of the business in the market. This factor includes
trade tariffs, conflicts and taxation (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2019). In relation to the
Unilever company, managers focuses on to follow all rules and regulations that have been
made by the government of the UK. This facilitates the leaders of the company to carry
out the operational activities in a smooth manner. Through this they become able to give
tough competition to their competitors that affects their profitability.
 Economic: This factor of the analysis means the elements that can affects the revenues
and profitability of the business in the long run. This includes components like inflation
rate, foreign exchange, disposable income etc. in relation to the Unilever company they

keep on changing and updated their strategies and plan in order to achieve more growth
in the market. Organisation also focuses on that they provide products and services to the
customer at a reasonable price.
 Social: This factor includes various components like demographics, culture which
directly impacts the organisation. Organisation should have to critically analyses the
needs and wants of the customers in the market (Kiseľáková and et.al., 2019). In relation
to the Unilever they considers the taste and preferences of each and every customers who
is associated with them. They provides goods and services after analysing wants of the
customers in the market. Company also focuses on to use the resources effectively and in
a sustainable through which the needs of the future generation cannot be compromised.
 Technological: This factor of the analysis means that techniques of production for
carrying out the activities of the business. This factor includes automation, research &
development, technology infrastructure and the cyber security (Abdullah and Mansor,
2018). In relation to the Unilever company, technical department of the company focuses
on to use the update techniques of production in order to deliver the goods and services of
more values. They continuously improves their technology that helps them to gain more
customers towards their business. They also uses new and effective trends through which
they achieve the goal of the customer satisfaction.
 Legal: This factor of the analysis includes various elements that affects the internal as
well as external environment of the business (Betti and Sarens, 2020). This includes
employment laws, consumer protection, regulatory bodies etc. Unilever company
consider all the laws and regulations that have been made by the UK government. They
provides various types of foods products accordance to the UK foods and safety
standards. They have also made various codes and ethics that everyone follows.
 Environmental: This means that the organisation and the business firms should carry out
the activities at the workplace through which they do not harm the environment. It
includes components like climate, geographical locations, weather etc. in relation to the
Unilever company they have significantly changes the ways of carrying out the activities
through which they can attain the goal of sustainability in the market. They have
eliminate the uses of the plastic and they are also focusing to reduce the carbon emission.

Porter Five Forces Model
It is an effective strategy that is used by the business firms and the organisations in order
to better understand the market conditions. This mode was developed by Michael E Porter and
has various components. This facilitate the organisation to introduce the products and services in
the market according to the changing customer demands and preferences. Components of this
factors are mentioned below in relation to the Unilever:
 Threats of new entrants: Organisations in the market should provides the new products
and services to the customers in the market. This will helps them to create a stable
position in the market. In relation to the Unilever they continuously introducing new
products and services to the customers through which it decreases the threats of the new
entrants in the market (Krajnakova, Navickas and Kontautienė, 2018). They uses
competitive pricing in order to retain the customers towards their business. This helps
them to attract lots of customers towards their business.
 Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers plays an major role in delivering the raw
materials and semi furnished goods to the sellers. Unilever focuses on to make healthy
relation with the suppliers through which they do not face any manipulation from them
regarding the price of the raw material. They purchase the raw material at a very
reasonable price that helps them to earn enough margin which results in more generation
of the revenues for the company.
 Bargaining power of buyers: This means that customers are the most important part of
the business that gives shape to the activities that will be carrying out in the workplace. In
relation to the Unilever company they are introducing new products with amazing
innovations that helps them to retain their customers towards them (Cherunilam, 2021).
By providing quality goods and services to the customers they become able to achieve
more growth in the market.
 Threats of substitute products and services: This means that copy or the substitute
product is easily available in the market which can affects the operational activities. In
relation to the Unilever they provide effective products and services in order to minimise
this threat (Hamilton and Webster, 2018). Along with that they regularly takes the
feedbacks of the customers through which they can bring improvement in the products
and services.

 Rivalry among the Existing Competitors: Competition in the consumer goods
company is generally high there are so many competitors present that producing same
goods and services in the market (You and et.al., 2019). Unilever mainly faces
competition from the brands like Tesco and the Sainsburry's etc. Management department
of the company effectively deal with this threat. They used various strategies in order to
attract the customers towards their business.
TASK 4
Key Performance Indicator
Key performance indicators is an effective tool that is used by the organisation in order to
analyse the performance in the long term. Some of the indicators are mentioned below in relation
to the Unilever that will help them to analyse their performance:
 Revenue growth: This indicators means that evaluation of the revenues the organisation
have generated by serving the goods and services in the market. Unilever uses this
indicator that facilitate the company to analyse their financial position in the market.
Through this the managers become able to measure overall growth.
 Customer satisfaction: It is one of the most effective indicators in order to measure the
performance of the company. In relation to the Unilever, they provides customer
satisfaction by providing the goods and services according to the needs and wants of
them. They highly use this indicators in the market.
 Profit margin: There are different kinds of sources from which the organisation
generates profits in the market. In relation to the Unilever they uses this indicators which
helps them to analyse their performance by evaluating their profits they are generating.
They critically analyses the cost they have to put on the goods and the services they will
offer in the market.
Measuring Unilever performance with Balance scorecard
Balance Scorecard
It is an effective performance management metrics that is used by the organisation to find
out the various kinds of factors through which they can improve the overall performance in the
market. The main points that are included in the process are mentioned below in relation to the
Unilever:

 Learning and growth: This means that organisation should study the market before
producing goods and services. In relation to the Unilever, marketing department of the
company analyses the needs and wants of the customers and accordingly they produce
goods and services in the market.
 Business process: It is the second stage of the process in which the organisation and
business firms checks the quality of the goods and the services. Unilever is well
established in the market and they carry out all the practices in a ethical manner.
 Customer perspective: This means that the business firms should achieve the goals of
customer satisfaction by serving quality goods and services in the market. In relation to
the Unilever they provide effective goods and services through which they gain
competitive advantage in the market and customer satisfaction.
 Financial data: This includes sales, budget variance, income targets etc. Management
department of the company analyse the performance by using these factors which results
in the better functioning of the activities at the workplace (Wadin, and Ode, 2019). By
using the clear documentation the organisation can achieve the overall growth in the
market.
Recommendation for improving the services
 Unilever can implement new digital infrastructure in order to gain a competitive
advantage in 6the market (Osiyevskyy, Shirokova and Ritala, 2020). Through this they
can manage their working operations in an better way and achieve the necessary goals
and objectives in the market.
 By implementing different strategies and approaches the organisation can boost their
sales in order to achieve the overall growth in the market. There are various opportunities
in the retail industry on which the brand can capitalise.
 Unilever can introduce a feedback system to improve their products and services. This
will help them to create a positive brand integrity in the market.
 The organisation also needs to improve their websites to provide a never imaging
experience to the customers. This will help them to attract a lot of potential customers in
the market.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has concluded that the organisation needs to follow various
strategies and approaches in order to achieve the inherent goals and objectives in the market. On
the other hand, in this report there will be brief discussion about various various frameworks and
tools which helps the company to manage the working operations in a better way. Along with
that, there will be brief evaluation about the key performance indicators which can help the
organisation to improve their overall performance. For further instance, there will understanding
and the influence of the stakeholders in the workplace.

REFERENCES:
Books and Journals
Abdullah, Y.A. and Mansor, M.N.B., 2018. The moderating effect of business environment on
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Betti, N. and Sarens, G., 2020. Understanding the internal audit function in a digitalised business
environment. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change.
Cherunilam, F., 2021. Business environment. Himalaya Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2018. The international business environment. Oxford University
Press.
Kiseľáková and et.al., 2019. Competitiveness and its impact on sustainability, business
environment, and human development of EU (28) countries in terms of global multi-
criteria indices. Sustainability, 11(12), p.3365.
Krajnakova, E., Navickas, V. and Kontautienė, R., 2018. Effect of macroeconomic business
environment on the development of corporate social responsibility in Baltic Countries
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Vlados, C. and Chatzinikolaou, D., 2019. Methodological redirections for an evolutionary
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Łabędzka, J., 2018. Integrated understanding of Business Intelligence in technological
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information perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(4), pp.2173-2183.
Grassi, A. and Vallati, M., 2021. An Exploratory Study on the Use of Artificial Intelligence to
Initiate Legal Understanding for Business Development. FLAP, 8(4), pp.1065-1082.
Adamseged, M.E. and Grundmann, P., 2020. Understanding business environments and success
factors for emerging bioeconomy enterprises through a comprehensive analytical
framework. Sustainability, 12(21), p.9018.
Thanetsunthorn, N. and Wuthisatian, R., 2019. Understanding trust across cultures: an empirical
investigation. Review of International Business and Strategy.
Wadin, J.L. and Ode, K.A., 2019. Business models for sustainability-change in dynamic
environments. Journal of Business Models, 7(1), pp.13-38.
Osiyevskyy, O., Shirokova, G. and Ritala, P., 2020. Exploration and exploitation in crisis
environment: Implications for level and variability of firm performance. Journal of
Business Research, 114, pp.227-239.