Nestle is a food manufacturer. It

Hannah Wood Business unit 1

Investigating How A Business Works

Nestle is a food manufacturer. It is a very big company, which is known as an international food company, because its products are used, and known all over the world. The head quarters are in Switzerland. In the UK there are 30 factories. The head quarters in the UK are in Croydon, Surrey. Nestle is the largest food company in the world. It has over 15,000 products, 500 factories in 80 different countries and at least 230,000 employees. Nestle products range from sweets to normal food like pasta. Their brands include Rowntrees, Crosse & Blackwell and Friskies. There are five different groups for the food. They are, beverages, milk products, prepared food and cooking aids, chocolate and confectionery and pharmaceutical products. After being founded in 1867 by Henri Nestle, Nestle sales have increased more and more over the years. Nestle arrived in Britain in 1868. The head quarters for research are in Vers -chez - les - blanc, in Switzerland. Nestle may be a bigger and better company than it was, but like every other company in the world it has aims and objectives. Nestles aims are:

To be competitive because over the years they have found out that customers have looked for competitive pricing and promotions.
To get a profitable growth.
To higher the UK sales and not forgetting other countries in the world that buy Nestle products.
To carry on improving their market shares.
To sell more than competitors like well known and loved companies like Cadburys and Mars.

Nestle also has objectives such as:

To make improvements to their products so that customers will enjoy them more.
To carry on producing new products to keep customers happy.

To succeed in completing their aims and objectives, Nestle knows it won’t be easy. So to maintain them Nestle will carry on giving lots of commitment to the companies standards in training, development and employment practices, which will then hopefully make them an even better company!

Functional Areas

Human Resources

The Human Resources (HR) in the UK for Nestle are in Croydon in Surrey. This is the headquarters. In each of the seventeen factories in the UK, each employs about 10,800 staff.

The role of the Nestle HR department is to recruit, retain and dismiss staff. The department says that the key to the success is that they try to recruit the best people into the business. To recruit staff Nestle put job opportunities in places like local newspapers, job centres and etc. When it comes to training the company has developed policies. These policies help employees with any dealings they may have with customers, other employees or consumers. Nestle thinks that their employees should be valued, share their opinions, contribute to the business and etc. The HR department, deal with the promotion and development of staff too. Nestle want their business to be the best so by promoting their staff their business could get even better. The working conditions for Nestle are very good. They provide all workers with a uniform, as they think it is best for the employee’s safety and it makes the company look better and shows all employees are equal. The HR department gives £374 million each year for research and development. Nestle make sure the work place is safe and isn’t putting risk at any ones health. They ensure the safety fire exits are easily accessible and carry out regular drills.

Job roles in the HR department are jobs such as:

HR manager
Training officer
Health and Safety officer
Personnel assistants

Marketing and Sales (M&S)

Nestle has many functional areas. One of these is the marketing and sales department. The marketing side of the department takes care of products, prices, promotions and places. Marketing helps a company sell its goods by appealing to people by matching what people need or want and how and if the company can make this. To do this Nestle uses market research to find out what consumers want. Then the ideas they have found out are developed and manufactured. After the product is made Nestle advertise this product by using sources like adverts on television and posters on bill boards and etc. Soon after the advertising the product is distributed to retailers like Tesco and Woolworth’s.

Marketing involves research into products. On the life cycle for products the growth of sales after a short while of being introduced can slowly drop and if this does happen the product can either be improved or replaced by another product. An example of a product that flopped in sales after a short time is the chocolate Snickers. Sales were not impressive, so it was improved and its name was changed from Marathon (its original name) to Snickers. A product that has never gone down the path of replacement or renewal is the chocolate Kit Kat. This ...

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Another part of marketing is price. To get a price for a product varies because Nestle needs to make a high enough profit when it sells their product to retailers, and then retailers need to make a profit too, so the price for products is thought about greatly.

Promotion is another part of marketing. Promotion is used to encourage shops to stock their products and public to buy them. To advertise products Nestle advertises on TV, radio, posters and etc.

Typical job roles for the Marketing side of the Marketing and Sales department are:

Marketing manager
Researchers
Copy writers
Artists
Sales representatives
Customer service personnel

When it comes to the sales, Nestle is the worlds largest food company with an annual sale turn over of more than £31 billion. Orders for Nestle products are received and processed by sales office teams in Croydon, York, Chepstow and Warrington.

Typical job roles for the Sales part of the Marketing and Sales department are:

Sales people
Sales representatives

Research and Development (R&D)

Each year Nestle gives £374 million towards the R&D department. The R&D department takes care of designing new products, improving products and packaging. To do this Nestle employs 2,400 people of about 65 different nationalities. The R&D department goes through lots of stages in the food production chain to make high quality foods. This includes packaging, which must appeal to consumers and etc.

Typical job roles in the R&D department are:

Researcher manager
Researchers

Finance

The finance department involves work with profits. This department keeps detailed records of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities. So if Nestle went into a lot of debt it would be the finance department’s fault because it is their job to check what Nestle owes and etc. Also finance provides detailed management information and helps Nestle meet its targets.

The finance department also helps Nestle by giving advice and assistance. As part of this the department prepare accounts, pays salaries and obtains capital and resources.

Typical job roles in the Finance department are:

Finance manager
Accountants
Accountancy technicians

Different functional areas within Nestle interact to achieve their aims and objectives. For example Nestles HR department interacts with all departments to find out if there are any vacancies within the department. The HR department also interacts with the Training manager and the health and safety officer whom of which both work with all departments. The HR department also gives advice on current employment legislation.

The Finance department for Nestle also advises managers of each department on their targets and spending, so the department doesn’t fall into debt and etc. The finance department also answers all queries on wages and salaries. It also authorises people to buy. The managers of each department are also advised on budget spending. The Nestle finance department also pays all the bills, which the company has and relies on departments to notify them on deliveries.

The Marketing and Sales department (M&S) of Nestle interacts with HR, to train employees and employers to sell and promote Nestle products. They also interact with the production department insuring that sales of products are profitable. The administration department keeps customer databases for the M&S department.

Another functional area, which interacts with others, is the Research and Development department (R&D). This department interacts with the marketing and sales to see if products are selling and if not they will see why not and etc. It also interacts with the finance department because it needs to know how much money they have to perform market research and etc.

Legislation

Legislation is the laws, which every company must follow. Nestle follows these laws especially in the countries in which it operates such as the UK and the USA.

Nestle tries to meet high standards throughout the organisation by following the laws, which guide companies all over the world on each sector of business interest.

All companies must follow the Equal Pay Act 1970. This means that both men and women do not better one another. An example of this is that if a man and woman who both work for Nestle have the same job, they must get the same pay because they do the same work. In Nestle this would mean that if two people both worked in the finance department as clerks, they have the same job which means that they do the same thing and as result should get the same amount of pay. Whereas if the one person worked over time he / she would then be entitled to extra pay. So other than because of that reason both people should get the same pay and shouldn’t be discriminated because they have the same job role in Nestle.

The Sex Discrimination Act was first introduced in 1975 but in 1986 it was then improved. This act means that when Nestle advertise for a job they cannot state that the job is only for men, because the sex discrimination act says that both men and women should be considered for the job. As part of the law it also states that if Nestle want a salesman they must call it a salesperson because the job could be done my both men and women. An example of this is that if Nestle wanted to employ someone to work for them they would have to advertise for a salesperson. In Nestle this would mean that if both a man and woman applied for the same job as a lorry driver in the logistics department, even though lorry drivers are mostly men the woman should be considered. Also this law states that when a business is looking for staff they must not say the job is for people who are not married, have children and etc. An example of this is if two people (a woman with a baby and a woman with no children) applied for a job with Nestle, Nestle would have to consider both people because the woman with a baby might be better qualified for the job then the other, and the woman should not be considered just because she has got a baby.

Another part of legislation is the Race Relations Act. This was introduced in 1976. This law means that a company cannot discriminate someone for their race or ethnic origin. An example of this is that if Nestle advertised for an employee they cannot turn someone down for the job just because they are black or etc. Also Nestle cannot tell someone they can’t have a job because they don’t like Welsh people and etc. The reason for these laws is that people could be just as good at each other at doing something and the only thing different about them is the colour of their skin or the place they are from.

The Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in 1995. This is another part of legislation. This law states that when applying for a job a people should not be discriminated for being in a wheel chair or etc. The reason for this is because if someone who has a wheel chair wanted to work in an office, being in a wheelchair will not effect their work because even if they did have normal legs they would have to sit down. So they should not be discriminated because they can still use their hands and etc, which is all they need to work there. This law also has a code of practice, which is new.

The last law in legislation is the Employment Rights Act. This was introduced in 1996. This law states that when Nestle employs someone they must follow some rules. The first rule is that there must be a contract. A type of contract you could have is one that says how long you will be employed for.

This act also says that all employees must have a pay slip. On this slip it shows all the hours you have worked, the amount of money you have earned and etc.

The Employment rights act also means that employees do not have to work every Sunday, but because most shops are open seven days a week now employees may have to work then.

Employees can also be fired fairly if they do something wrong such as they don’t turn up for work continuously and have no sick days left.

Another part of this act is that employees must also be given time off. People normally keep these days for days in which they could be ill or if they want to go on holiday.

An employee can also be suspended from work, which could be the result of breaking a company rule and etc. A result of further breaking of rules and etc after suspension could be dismissal.

Employees can also be granted maternity leave, which implies to both men and women. At this time the person whom which the maternity leave is granted to can have time off because either the woman is pregnant or the man wants to look after his new baby and etc. Once their maternity leave is over their job will still be there if they go back to work.

Employees may also be made redundant. This is when a firm such as Nestles business declines which means there is less work and there is a smaller need for staff. So as a result of this they have the right to make staff redundant.

Communication

Nestle communicates within the company and with other companies by using communication methods. They are things such as fax machines, mobile phones, email, snail mail, the Internet and intranet.

Fax machines (Facsimile machines) are very useful and are very popular within Nestle because they are very fast, very cheap and very easy to send. These faxes may contain graphs, photographs and etc.

Mobile phones are very useful. They are very easy to use and are cordless which means that you can take them any where with you because there are not any wires attached to them like normal household phones. They can be very small which means they do not take up much space and weigh a lot.

Email stands for electronic mail. To send email you need the Internet and to get the Internet you need a computer and a modem to connect to the Internet. Emails are very easy to send and can get from one side of the country to the other side or to any other place in the world in less than 3 seconds! They are increasing being used because unlike other options of sending mail like by post they are very fast.

Snail mail is the slang name given to mail sent my post. It is called snail mail because it is very slow, although before email and fax were around lots of mail was sent by post. Lots of private mail still is sent by post today because people like to send birthday cards and etc.

The Internet can only be accessed on a pc, which has a modem. The Internet is full of websites which nearly all start with WWW, which stands for the World Wide Web, because the internet is used World wide.

An intranet is what a group of computers can have. Lots of businesses have an intranet. Nestle has an intranet because you can exchange information quickly and easily without moving out of you chair. Having an intranet means that you can communicate easily and efficiently. Most small businesses have an intranet. But big businesses like Nestle have both. Other businesses, which will have both, are Cadburys, McVities, Kellogg’s etc.

Fax and letters are both paper-based methods of communicating. Whereas using the mobile phones, Internet, email and intranet and all ICT methods.

Communication is very important so that Nestle can try to meet it aims and objectives because without it Nestles standards would drop. The methods Nestle uses to communicate work efficiently because departments can email information back and forth which save time instead of going from one department to another.

To meet its aims and objectives Nestle uses communication methods such as email. By using emails Nestle can communicate with its customers. To do this customers need to sign with Nestle on the Nestle website, then they could receive weekly or monthly emails about Nestle products. The effect of doing this will mean that customers will hear about new products and may even get coupons for products, which will mean they could go and buy a product or etc. So by using this communication skill Nestle could sell more than competitors and make a profitable growth. By using the internet Nestle can communicate with customers. Nestle also has a program on their website which enables customers to email Nestle with any comments. This feature then enables Nestle to see how they could meet their objective of making improvement with their products and etc.

Ebbw Vale Transport (EVT) is a small heavy goods business based in Ebbw Vale. The company works with goods such as coils of steel, transporting them nationally to places like Newport and the Midlands.

The owner is Anthony McNally. His wife Shelly McNally is the secretary. There are three employees, Darren Knowles, Ken Wood and Tyrone Street. They all drive heavy goods vehicles.

The Hierarchical structures for Nestle and Ebbw Vale Transport (EVT) are very different. Nestle is a very large company and it has a large organisational structure, whereas EVT is a small business with a small organisational structure. EVT has a flat structure which means communication is quicker. Communication in Nestle however is a lot slower as it as many levels within the business. A weakness of a hierarchical structure such as Nestles is that communication can become distorted as messages are passed down each level of authority. Another problem with a hierarchical structure that is large is that employees lower down in the chart may feel that they cannot express their opinions to anything, because the manager of Nestle has no idea what they think, do and etc. Another problem that may occur in Nestles hierarchical structure is that any change, which may have occurred in the company, would take a while to start being used because of the slow communication.

Jobs in a large hierarchical structure such as Nestle hierarchy are stated and employees have definite jobs roles, whereas jobs in a flat structure are varied because people may adopt different roles each day.

In Nestles organizational chart even though it is big it is only because Nestle is a large company. However having a hierarchical structure is good because you will know what your job is so you can learn how to do that job and not have to worry about changing jobs the next day meaning you wont know what to do and etc. Being an employee of Nestle, you can also aim for promotion by working towards the next level in the structure, and even if you reach the next level you will still be aiming to get promoted to the next level, as there will still be levels above you. If you work for Nestle you will also have a Human Resources Function, which can give you guidance on your job and etc. There is also a Trade Union in Nestle that gives you the opportunity to suggest more days off and etc. At Nestle there are also canteens, car parks and rest rooms for employees.

However if you work for a business like EVT you will not have all these benefits because the business is small and doesn’t need all these things, as there are only a few employees. At EVT there are not very many levels, which mean that if you want to work up to the next level could only go to the level before the top, unless you wanted to take over as manager because there are only three levels. EVT doesn’t have a Human Resources Function; trade union although it does have a garage to put cars in when lorries are taken out, but there is no canteen and etc like there is in Nestle.

To meet its aims and objectives Nestle and EVT both need to use their organisational charts. Although in Nestle problems can occur in meeting their objectives like to make lots of profit if something happens in one of the levels, which could mean that no new designs for chocolate are being made, and etc. This then could stop Nestle gaining in their profit all because one level didn’t pass on designs from the level below to the next level. In EVT this could also happen if an employee is ill and doesn’t ring the employer because EVT would not be able to do as much work as normal which could lose customers because if coils are ordered from somewhere for the next day and they don’t get there because an employee is off, he might go to another business for coils because they will get them there on time.

Sources

To find out all the information I needed to do my project on Nestle I used the Internet by going to Nestles website which is . I also contacted Nestle via email to request information booklets and etc so I would be able to do my project. They then sent information booklets to me via post. The other sources I used were my father because he works for EVT and the GNVQ Business Studies book and my GNVQ teacher.