Report on Strategic Management, Objectives and Strategies at Unilever

This report provides an overview of Unilever's strategic management policies, focusing on the company's long-term objectives, operational strategies, management accounting strategies, sales and marketing approaches, and human resources and risk management practices. It highlights CEO Paul Polman's strategies for navigating economic challenges and maintaining Unilever's market leadership. The report assesses the importance of profitability, productivity, competitive positioning, and employee development as key criteria for long-term objectives. It also examines customer orientation, forward integration, and market development as crucial operational strategies. Furthermore, the document explores management accounting strategies such as acquiring capital, using management information systems, and projecting financial statements. Finally, it discusses sales and marketing strategies, including digital marketing, sponsorship, and public relations, alongside human resources and risk management strategies, emphasizing the importance of managing human capital for organizational success. The document is contributed by a student and available on Desklib, a platform that offers a range of AI-based study tools and resources for students.

Strategic Management
Unilever
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Company Background.....................................................................................................................3
Question 1: Long Term Objectives..................................................................................................4
Question 2: Operational Strategies..................................................................................................7
Question 3: Management Accounting Strategies............................................................................8
Question 4: Sales and Marketing Strategies....................................................................................9
Question 5: Human Resources and Risk Management Strategies.................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
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Reference.......................................................................................................................................12
Introduction
In the business report of 2014 the CEO of Unilever Paul Polman, have highlighted about the fact
that significant economic headwinds and weak market that the company has to deal with. The
main strategy of Unilever is to focus of being the leading organization within the market. They
also have enjoyed high rate of market growth. The four major product groups of Unilever include
personal care, refreshments, food and home care. Being one of the international organizations,
the company had implemented aggressive strategy that has helped them to improve upon the
market share.
The aim of the current report is to discuss various aspects of the strategic management policies
that are being implemented by Unilever. The operational strategies that are being implemented
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within the organization by the CEO are also discussed in the overall report with the help of
various answers.
Company Background
The Unilever is a leading organization in the food industry which has a global presence and a
good reputation in the world market. The organization has varied a product line which includes
personal care, food refreshments, home care etc. They primarily focus on the quality delivery of
the products and services at competitive prices. The organization has a good number of
competitors in the world market; some of them are P&G, Wal-Mart etc.
Question 1: Long Term Objectives
The objectives are the outcome which the organization has to achieve so as to meet its
requirements like the profitability, competitive advantage etc. the long term objectives are the
goals which are supposed to be achieved in a time period of one or two years. When planning the
long term objective it is essential that the organization should follow certain criteria which make
it more effective and result oriented (Daspit et al, 2017).
For the organization Unilever in order to attain competitive advantage, sustainability etc it is
essential to have strong long term objectives. For the new CEO Paul Polman of the organization
Unilever some criteria for the formulation of the long term objectives can be recommended.
Considering four among the criteria of long term objectives a grand strategy is developed for the
Unilever in order to enhance its performance.
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The long term objectives of Unilever that are used in the process of strategy implementation will
help in the process of dealing with most the challenges. The following are the most important
criteria long term objectives:
Profitability:
It is important for the large scale organizations to improve upon the range of their profit that will
help in the process of dealing with the sustainability for longer period (Pearce and Robinson,
2005). It is the duty of the CEO to focus on the levels of profit that can help them in the process
of long terms strategy development process. One of the major characteristics of the strategically
managed firms is to set long-term objectives of profit. This is mainly expressed in the forms of
earnings and the value of the share or the equity that is obtained in exchange. The CEO needs to
monitor the value of the share that can be used as the parameter to measure the level of profit and
growth of the organization.
Productivity:
Productivity is also one of the important components of the strategy that are being implemented
as a part of the strategy. Business firms that can improve upon the rate of production can easily
help to improve upon the profitability. As the CEO of the Unilever Company, it is important to
implement strategy that can help to improve upon the rate of productivity of the products. The
rate of production for the large scale organizations generally depends upon the performance level
of the workers. It is thus important to improve upon the strategy that can help to motivate the
workers to improve upon the level of performance. The CEO also needs to bring about the latest
process of innovation that is also one of the important parts of improving the rate of productivity.
Competitive Position
As the world of business environment is getting tougher, it is essential for the large scale
organizations to have better competitive advantage. It is the duty of the CEO in the context to
have better competitive policies in terms of pricing and quality of the products. The long term
strategy is one of the main parameters of the Unilever Company to gain significant competitive
advantage over the rivals.
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Employee Development:
The development of the performance level of the employees with the personal development and
training program can help them in the process of job security. It is the duty of the CEO to ensure
that all the employees within the organization are able to develop upon the working skills as part
of the training program. This is one of the important part of the long term stagey that can help the
company to have long-term relationship with the employees and thereby able to decrease the rate
of employee turnover.
For meeting these criteria Mr. Paul can document the long term objective in a written formant
and can be circulated so that all the employees can read and understand it well. Sessions can be
conducted so as to provide training to the employees and can interact with them effectively. This
can enhance the understandability level and hence can add value to the effectiveness of the long
term objectives.
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Question 2: Operational Strategies
The operational strategies are the approach adopted by the organization in order to achieve the
objective effectively. Through the implementation of the effective operational strategies the
organizations can enforce an effective systems within the organization through which the
objective achievement, maximum utilization of the resources etc will become practical and
easier. Some operational strategies can be recommended to the Mr. Paul so as to enhance the
effective performance of the organization (Gabler et al, 2017).
 Being customer oriented: This is an operational strategy adopted by the organizations so
as to gain competitive advantage and customer loyalty. Winning the hearts of the
customer is essential to sustain in the competitive market. For example the Unilever can
focus on identifying the needs and expectations of the target customers in terms of food,
personal care, refreshments etc. Meeting those needs, can make it customer oriented and
can make the customers satisfied. Customer orientation can make Unilever to enhance its
performance and reach its objectives effectively (Clougherty et al, 2017).
 Forward integration: Under this operational strategy there is a vertical integration of the
business activities of the organization. Through this strategy the organization can
implement a direct distribution of the products and service. In case of Unilever, Mr. Paul
can focus on supplying its products like personal care, refreshments etc to the market
place directly. It can open its own outlet where the customer can access all its products
and services which can enhance the brand image and quality delivery of the products.
 Market Development: Another operational strategy which the organization Unilever can
adopt is the market development through which it can enhance its number of branches
towards new and also in the existing market places. Mr. Paul can focus on identifying the
opportunities in the new and in the existing market and can open new branches. This
strategy can enhance the accessibility of the products to the customers which can make
them satisfied. Once a product become inaccessible in a market it can swiped away from
the market. Hence through market development operational strategy the organization
Unilever can enhance the percentage of accessibility (Fan et al, 2017).
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Question 3: Management Accounting Strategies
Management accounting is the system or the component of the management which provides
statistical information to the managers which enables the management to make appropriate
decisions. This provides financial information and advice to the management which can be
utilized for the business development, appropriate decision making process etc (Cooper.,
Ezzamel & Qu, 2017). Some of the management accounting strategies which can be
recommended for the organization Unilever is discussed below .
 Acquiring capital to implement strategies: For the implementation of a strategy raising
capital or fund is essential. For example for the operations strategy “market
development” of the Unilever, it is essential to have sufficient funds so as to make it a
successful operation. This management accounting practice enforces two sources of
capital which is the credit and the debit which enables the management to acquire capital.
This strategy can support the Unilever to get sufficient capital to open new branches in
new markets without affecting the profitability of the organization (Turner et al, 2017).
 Management Information System: The MIS is computerized software which is a
database containing various information. This software provides periodic report to the
managers about the statistical information so that they can make decisions appropriately.
The Organization Unilever can make use of this approach of management accounting so
as to make the forecast, decision making etc accurate. For example when making
decision about the target market the MIS can contribute accurate statistical information
regarding the new market which can make the strategy effective and successful
(Goddard, & Simm, 2017).
 Projected financial statements: This is another management accounting which the
organization Unilever can adopt which makes the management to examine the results and
outcomes of various strategies adopted. This type of the management accounting strategy
can be considered as the analysis the impact of various implementation decisions. For
example for the market development strategy of the organization Unilever the projected
financial statements can be utilized to analyze expenditure incurred in it and its impact on
the operations of the organization, profitability etc (Lapsley, & Rekers, 2017).
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Question 4: Sales and Marketing Strategies
The principles of marketing form the guideline for the managers to perform the marketing and
promotional activities effectively. There are various components in the marketing principles
which can shape the marketing activities and can generate relevant awareness in the mind of the
target audience. Some of the sales and marketing strategies which Mr. Paul can adopt in order to
enhance the effective performance of Unilever are discussed here.
 Digital Marketing: This can be one of the most effective marketing strategy which the
organization Unilever can adopt in order to enhance the responses. For example, almost
all the target audiences are using smart phones and are having the internet in their hands.
If the Unilever is promoting their video advertisements through the social network then
the probability of its reaching the target audience is very high and obviously the response
will also be relevant (Malshe, & Khatib, 2017).
 Sponsorship: Sponsoring a specific event or a charity social work can definite boot the
reputation of the organization which can act as an indirect marketing. When the current
market is taken into consideration the reputation and credibility of the organization is
very much important for the sustainability of the organization. For example the
organization Unilever can sponsor the sport events, can sponsor for the children
education fund etc. These activities can make Unilever more visible in the market and
hence can achieve competitive advantage (Siau, & Yang, 2017).
 Public Relations: The maintenance of good public relations or maintaining good
relationship with the customers can also be a wonderful sales or marketing strategy. For
example the organization Unilever can maintain good relationship with the customers
through proper customer engagement process, providing proper response to the
customers, accepting the feedback etc. This can generate higher degree of customer
loyalty which is very essential for the success of the organization (Jarach, 2017).
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Question 5: Human Resources and Risk Management Strategies
The human resources are the assets of the organization that plays a vital role in the success, goal
achievement, profit generation etc. Hence it becomes essential to formulate effective human
resources and risk management strategies so as to manage and maintain the human resources.
Some of the human resources and the risk management strategies which can be recommended for
the organization Unilever are discussed here.
 Maintaining Work Life balance: Work place flexibility is the best option which an
organization can provide to their employees. The organization can offer flexible work
timing to the employees so that they can also concentrate on their family life. This can
make the human resources more committed and loyal towards the organization. For the
maintenance of the work life balance it is also essential that the Unilever should provide
holidays, tours and travel schemes etc which can cherish the employees (Deresky, 2017).
 Implementing and effective organizational culture: Through an effective
organizational culture the organization like Unilever can shape a disciplined and
harmonious working atmosphere which can produce good outcomes and will make the
employees more potential. The HRM of the Unilever can also focus on the same in
building up an effective organizational culture which can make the employees more
productive. There can be a proper code of conduct, proper training programs, motivating
approaches etc which can make the human resources to actively participate for the
success of the long term objectives (Hopkin, 2017).
 Career oriented working atmosphere: The HRM of the Unilever can focus on the
human resource development practices through the implementation of career
development programs. For example the employees can be provided with training and
development, certification courses etc as per the changes in the market which can make
their career developed and secured.
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Conclusion
A report which highlights various strategic management principles and practices has been
prepared. An organization Unilever is taken into consideration and various recommendations has
been discussed so as to enhance its performance.
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