Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility.
BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
I have been asked to write an essay on the Business Ethics and Social Responsibility of my given company, Unilever. The purpose of this essay is to give a good understanding of what Ethical Business practise and corporate Social Responsibility is and how my company personally goes about fulfilling all their obligations to their stakeholders of Unilever. I will do this by obtaining information on both the terms in the question and then about the company and then explain it in my words and complete the question as deeply as I can. I will obtain the information by various means such as websites, textbooks, newspapers, business journals, etc. In addition, the Unilever annual report and other company literature has been collected from the Unilever website.
I'm going to start of by briefly explaining what the terms Business Ethics, Corporate Social responsibility and Stakeholders mean so when you go onto reading the essay you know what you're reading about. The general meaning of Business Ethics is knowing what is right from wrong in the place you work but then more importantly making sure you're doing the right thing. Corporate Social Responsibility is grouping various corporate goals and then evaluating the outcomes by both profitability and the judgements of social desirability. Stakeholders are usually people who have any sort of interest in the business, this don't necessarily have to be financial such as shareholders just general. This can vary from suppliers, Board of Directors, and founders to even customers.
I will now go on to about my given Company, Unilever.
Every company has its own work style. Unilever is an international producer of foods, home products and personal care products. It has a worldwide turnover of more than 47 billion Euros for the year 2000, with 295,000 employees and branches in more than 100 countries. Every day, millions of British consumers choose from Unilever's range of branded products. They have an annual UK sale of over £2.3 billion, and range's of household-name brands includes UK market leaders such as Persil, Flora, Magnum and Lynx.
The UK is home to one of Unilever's two corporate centres, and to two world-leading Unilever research centres. As a whole, Unilever can be divided into two entities.
Unilever NV and Unilever PLC are the twin parent companies of the Unilever Group. They have separate legal entities and separate stock exchange listings for their shares, but operate, as far as is practicable, as a single entity.
In a competitive global economy, the success of a company depends on the way the organization handles information. Both main commodities of Unilever belong to the category of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). In this market, quick acquisition and processing of information about the state of the market, customers and competition can highly influence further sales.
As ...
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Unilever NV and Unilever PLC are the twin parent companies of the Unilever Group. They have separate legal entities and separate stock exchange listings for their shares, but operate, as far as is practicable, as a single entity.
In a competitive global economy, the success of a company depends on the way the organization handles information. Both main commodities of Unilever belong to the category of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). In this market, quick acquisition and processing of information about the state of the market, customers and competition can highly influence further sales.
As a company that is fully aware of its wider responsibilities, Unilever is ready and willing to take a clear position on major issues of public interest. Invariably, many of these topics have a direct impact on business, given the position as part of a major global research-based foods and consumer goods company. Some of the issues Unilever are facing in the UK - such as the need to be vigilant in food safety, and to protect and promote the environment - are common to businesses the world over.
STAKEHOLDERS
The study by Sustainability revealed that stakeholders around the world viewed sustainable agriculture as central to the discussion of sustainable development in Unilever Foods. The focus of the report centred more on the raw material production and supply than on the food processing operations at Unilever Foods. Stakeholders understood sustainable agriculture to be a subset of sustainable development. The perception was that sustainable agriculture required concern for not only the physical aspects of agriculture, but also for the social and economic aspects. Similar to definitions of sustainable development that describe social, economic and environmental responsibilities, the report by Sustainability indicated that stakeholders believed sustainable development in Unilever Foods embodied the same concerns.
Of the three issues central to sustainable development-social, physical and economic-the discussion in the report tended to concentrate on the physical and social aspects of sustainable agriculture. Stakeholders clearly identified the need for Unilever Foods to address the environmental impacts of agriculture by examining the potential harm caused by intensive, chemical-based farming. Furthermore, the social dimensions of sustainable agriculture were a top concern. Stakeholders fingered the preservation of farming and rural communities, as a dominant issue in sustainable agriculture.
UNILEVER'S CORPORATE PURPOSE
Unilever devotes considerable time and energy to understanding and meeting the needs of consumer's worldwide. It aims to meet the every day needs of people everywhere, by using their international expertise to the service of local consumers. Unilever believes that the road to sustainable and profitable growth is based on their deep roots in local cultures and markets and on their commitment to the highest standards of corporate behaviour.
Unilever's social investment is a guided by this purpose. Focused on the country's needs, it has taken a strategic approach to leadership development and channelled its resources behind the Unilever Foundation for Education and Development. The Unilever Foundation is a South African initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of South Africans through education. It has three main programmes:
> Schools,
> Tertiary education
> Leadership development.
CODES OF CONDUCT
Like many multinational companies, Unilever believe that their reputation for high corporate standards is a key asset, which needs to be fresh and living throughout the business. There are more codes of conduct stated, but not all are necessary.
Standard of Conduct:
Unilever conduct operations with honesty, integrity and openness, and with respect for the human rights and interests of all employees. They shall similarly respect the legitimate interests of those with whom Unilever have relationships.
Obeying the Law:
Unilever companies are required to comply with the laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate.
Employees:
Unilever is committed to diversity in a working environment where there is mutual trust and respect and where everyone feels responsible for the performance and reputation of our company. As a company they will recruit, employ and promote employees on the sole basis of the qualifications and abilities needed for the work to be performed. They are committed to safe and healthy working conditions for all employees. Unilever will not use any form of forced, compulsory or child labour.
They are committed to working with employees to develop and enhance each individual's skills and capabilities and will respect the dignity of the individual and the right of employees to freedom of association.
Consumers:
Unilever is committed to providing branded products and services which consistently offer value in terms of price and quality, and which are safe for their intended use. Products and services will be accurately and properly labelled, advertised and communicated.
Shareholders:
Unilever will conduct its operations in accordance with internationally accepted principles of good corporate governance. They will provide timely, regular and reliable information on our activities, structure, financial situation and performance to all shareholders.
The Environment:
Unilever is committed to making continuous improvements in the management of our environmental impact and to the longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business. Unilever will work in partnership with others to promote environmental care, increase understanding of environmental issues and disseminate good practice.
CORPORATE BEHAVIOUR
Companies have a duty to manage all aspects of business in a responsible and sustainable way. At Unilever, they have clear principles of corporate behaviour, which uphold wherever they seem to operate.
As a company that depends on sustainable sources of raw materials, they are also committed to minimising the environmental impact of everything they do, improving sustainability throughout value chain.
Dedicated to meeting the everyday needs of people everywhere, Unilever's values are rooted in being a 'multi-local multinational'. Unilever grow deep roots in the countries in which they do business, respecting and drawing strength from diversity and close proximity to consumers and the societies around them
CORPORATE OBJECTIVE
Unilever's organisation is designed to be effective. Dedicated to the needs of the future, structured clarifies roles, responsibilities and decision making so that Unilever can deliver outstanding performance across business.
The Executive Committee is responsible for agreeing priorities and allocating resources, setting overall corporate targets, agreeing and monitoring business group strategies and plans, identifying and exploiting opportunities created by Unilever's scale and scope, managing external relations at the corporate level and developing future leaders.
Leading the team are the chairmen of Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V., the parent companies. Other members are the global division directors for Unilever Best foods and Home and Personal Care; the corporate development director; the finance director and the personnel director.
The Regional Presidents are responsible for delivering business results in their respective regions. Regional presidents report to either the director of the Foods division or the director of the Home and Personal Care division.
ANALYSE
In September 2000 Unilever announced its intention to focus on fewer, stronger brands to promote faster growth. The company's stakeholders feel that this can benefit towards the market. However, taking the role of a stakeholder, I feel that Unilever can become the leading manufacturing brands company multi-nationally if they do focus on lead selling brands. But maybe they can focus more on the less selling brands to increase sales. However, The Company is whittling its brands down to 400 (from 1,600) including familiar brands such as Dove, Lux, Lipton, Magnum and Calvin Klein fragrances.
An Outlook of views on Unilever's performance varies. On 28 August 2001, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) downgraded Unilever from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, highlighting analysts' and investors' concerns about the performance of Unilever and the integration of Best foods. However, Unilever bounced back stating that there are no concerns about the performance of Unilever and that they will keep to their corporate objectives.
Drawing up to a conclusion, Unilever is defiantly "meeting the everyday needs of people everywhere" and that stakeholders, shareholders and investors are looking into a more in-depth approach to increase its market capability.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Textbooks:
Organisations and the Business Environment
Publication: 1997
Author: Campbell, David J
Current Issues in Business Ethics
Publication: 1997
Author: Dawies, P.W.F
Web Sites:
www.Unilever.co.uk
www.Questia.com
www.business-ethics.org
Hemal Vora
Student Number: 2110443
