We can group stakeholders in three main groups:
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Internal stakeholders ( employees, management)
Manager and employees have big impacts to future decision, growth of the firm. While manager give directions and decision, employees directly perform work giving by managers. The effluence of employees can be show like that when employees feel satisfy with their work they will be more productive, all objectives are done by the best of their ability. In Cooperation Company, as Unilever, the effluence of manager can be less than shareholders. Thus, managers should satisfy shareholders.
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Connected stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, financiers)
There is no organization without customers. The firm must satisfy customer every time, show them the benefits, if they choose our product. Besides, suppliers will expect to be paid and will be interested in future business.
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External stakeholders (the community, government, pressure groups).
In some case, they do not affect directly to the firm, they affect by give impacts to another factors. For example, when they government rates in fuel price, it will affect to transport of the firm.
1 b) Evaluate the extent to which Unilever achieves the objectives of three stakeholders.
In Vietnam, employees, customers and government are stakeholders most affecting to Unilever.
Each year, a thousand people are recruited at Unilever. Unilever are always looking for people who have the same interest, similar goals with company. For example, the firm looks for employees by image express favorites; company welcome people have similar favorites:
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Or:
By this way, the firm will be easier to achieve the objective of employees. Besides, payment policy of Unilever is assessed higher than other multinational corporations. Unilever mans are intelligent, they’re very devoted, friendly when meet customers. They care what customers care.
Customer is the most important factors for the success of Unilever. The leader of Unilever Vietnam –JV said two most important assets of the firm are 2Bs- Brands and Brains. The core mission of Unilever is that company can provide the high quality product and reasonable prices at any time to consumers. Satisfying customers always are the first target of company. So, good staffs and good products are leading Unilever to success. In details, every day, there are more than 150 million people over the world, and more than 5 million Vietnamese people using products of Unilever such as OMO, Sunsilk, PS, Clear, Pond’s, Knorr, Lifebouy, Lipton, Sunlight, VISO. () 4
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In Vietnam, government is an important stakeholder. They have affect to business more than government in many countries in the world. They can ban whatever products, if they have not brought back profits and are harmful for country. Thus, Unilever is very careful with their products. They always treat waste, instead of putting it into environment. The company concentrates on solving global issues which both society and government focus on such as impacts of environment, economic growth. “After a more than decade of action, we continuous to reduce the environment impacts of our own operation- which extend to suppliers and consumers too” () 6
1c) The responsibility of Unilever and strategies employed to meet them
Unilever is a multinational company. When the firm invests to Vietnam, they have to take responsibility with society, environment.
The firm has obligations taking care of both the people and the environment. As the views of shareholders, they own the assets of company; they maximize the benefits for consumers and also bring back profit for company. Unilever has operated many charity programs for poor children in over the world. For example, through Lifebouy soap and Rama margarine, Unilerver has protected Africa children gave them Lifebouy soap to waste hands. So, they can against illness. By side that, to stimulate children go to school, Unilever give them milk during going to school. As the view of employees, employees are internal stakeholders of company, they have to have responsibility in workplace such as healthy, safe which are healthy and safe, whether this relates to equipment, buildings and hours worked. They also take responsibility with society, neighborhood. Besides, Unilever also think of customers. The firm understands that customers pay for the organization’s output of goods and services. Healthy products and reasonable prices are always core value of Unilever.
Each company has to have obligate protecting environment. The law on environmental protection is covered mainly in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) and the Water Resources Act 1991 (Business Environment, p.53) 7
The EPA features the concept of integrated pollution control (IPC). Its aims are:
- To prevent pollution happening, rather than to clear it up afterwards.
- To ensure that business activities are conducted at minimal risk to human health and the environment
- To encourage the adoption of the most advantage technical solutions, offering the best practicable option for the environment as a whole
- To assess how much pollution the environment can sustain without damage
- To ensure that polluter pays
Unilever established a waste solution system at places which the company operated factories. Beside, the firm focuses on the awareness of each employee. There regularly have meetings and trainings about the important of environment. Unilever also creates Sustainable Living Plan (launched in November 2010), the firm set its selves a bold new target for reducing environment. With slogan “small action, big difference”, Unilever have point out firm’s target “we will grow our business in the way which help improve people’s health and well-being, reduces environmental impact and enhances livelihoods” (.) 8
UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN
SMALL ACTIONS, BIG DIFFERENCE
Two billion times a day, somebody, somewhere, uses a Unilever brand. Our products make small but important differences to the quality of people’s everyday lives.
We have ambitious plans to grow our company, creating jobs and income for all whose livelihoods are linked to our success. But growth at any cost is not viable.
We have to develop new ways of doing business which will increase the social benefits from Unilever’s activities while at the same time reducing our environmental impacts. This is why we have created the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.
Our plan isn’t just the right thing to do for people and the environment. It’s also right for Unilever: the business case for integrating sustainability into our brands is clear.
Our impact goes beyond our factory gates. The sourcing of raw materials and the use of our products by the consumer at home has a far larger footprint. We recognize this and so our plan is designed to reduce our impacts across the whole lifecycle of our products. This full lifecycle approach is both ambitious and, we believe, unique amongst global FMCG companies.
The Plan contains over 50 concrete targets that will:
- Help more than one billion people improve their health and well-being
- Halve the environmental impact of our products
- Source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably
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This program has applied effectively in saving natural resources such as fuel, water, energy, paper. Waste disposal system and improving product system will reduce effects to environment.
Beside, the firm has many other environment programs such as Sustainable agriculture sourcing, Climate change, Water, Packaging.
By the way, Unilever really show their responsibility with environment.
To sum, Unilever always take human’s interest as a development’s target. The firm tries best to make better future, helping people. Further more, people are inspired of clear and healthy life. We want to be with Unilever to develop new ways for convenience.
Volume 2
Global economy has impacts on a country every day, countries as Vietnam must base on its impacts, and give policies to control organizations. The government makes sure that organization develops on the right ways. They can take advantage in using all resources and brings back benefits to country. There are varied policies such as social welfare policy, industrial policy, fiscal policy, monetary policy. Fiscal policy and monetary policy directly affect to country’s economy, development of organization as well.
2a) Vietnam‘s resources include not only natural resources, but also human recourses.
Viet Nam has a very young and high literate workforce
Vietnam’s workforce is estimated at around 42 million of which around 45% are younger than 35 years of age. The labor force is growing an average of 3.5 - 4% a year – faster than the average population growth of 1.4%. Every year, 1.3-1.5 million new workers enter the market. The trend of shifting labor from agriculture to industry and service continues although the pace remains slow.
So, the country has strength in operating labors-intensive industry.
Viet Nam has rich natural resource. The main are oils and gas and mineral resources.
Vietnam’s potential crude oil reserves in the southern offshore area stand at about 270 million tons and are likely to increase substantially with continued exploration. Vietnam has potential non-associated gas reserves of more than 360 billion cubic meters. Proven associated gas reserves are on the order of 57 billion cubic meters
Vietnam’s primary coal resource, anthracite, is concentrated in Quang Ninh Province in the Northeast. It has potential recoverable reserves of 7-8 billion tons of which 600 million tons are shallow (within a depth of 100 meters). The country also has an abundance of other minerals, including bauxite, iron ore, copper, gold, precious stones, tin, chromate, apatite, and building materials such as granite, marble, clay, silica sand, and graphite.
The country has exported raw oil for 20 years. Especially, in 2009, Viet Nam built a refinery named Dung Quat in Quang Ninh Province. This will help the country produce refine oil for internal demand. Beside, the company is also very rich in other natural resources including significant hydropower (10,000 MW), marine resources, tropical forest, and agricultural potential. The country has 4 world heritages recognized by UNESCO, beautiful beaches, national ecologic forests, countryside, high-land and historic places.
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Economy of Vietnam is a developing planned-market economy. By developing agriculture, the nation established a strong agriculture, the 1st nation exporting rice and 2nd nation exporting Robusta coffee all over the world. In 2010, the nominal GDP reached $104.6 billion with nominal GDP per capita of $1218. According to a forecast in December 2005 by Goldman-Sachs, Vietnamese economy will become the 17th largest economy in the world.
Natural resource is a main factor for development of Vietnam’s economy. Economic sectors focus on Agriculture, Fishing, Forestry, Mining, mineral, energy and some new industries such as services, banking, finance, tourism, and manufacturing.
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Besides, Vietnam’s economy also bases on foreign economic relations. Each year, the nation always keep friendly relations with al countries in the world especially relationship with china and USA. In 2004 Vietnam imported more products from China than from any other nation. On January 11, 2007, Vietnam is a member of the World Trade Organization. Foreign trade, foreign debt, foreign aid and foreign investment are the important sources of capital for national development.
2b) Discuss the impact of social welfare and industrial policy initiatives on selected organizations and the wider community.
Industrial policies are motivation of economic growth in industry and halt the decline of the manufacturing sector. Government should be careful when set up industrial policies. They can be both hamper and promote the growth of new industries. For example, Vietnam’s government often set up restraining growth “green belt” for car’s market to prevent the weak local car’s industrial. Besides, we increase electric price to encouraging investment to electric industry.
Vietnam’s industrial policies are a mix of policies. The weak point is that many industrial policies have been targeted at specific ownership sectors rather than at industry or business as a whole. Furthermore, those policies often have special favor to state enterprises such as almost investment capital are used by state enterprises. The private company and foreign company, in some case, are limited, difficult finding capital and high taxes. On the other sides, Vietnam, nowadays, have some advantages. Especially, the policies that have had the largest impact on the country’s industrial development have been those that have provided an overall framework of incentives for individual enterprises irrespective of ownership. The most important of these policies are the enterprise laws of 2000 and 2005 and the laws and rules connected with Vietnam’s membership in the WTO. With those policies, business environment in Vietnam is more exciting. Many multinational companies invest to Vietnam. That makes a hot competitive environment.
Graph illustrates the competition of IBM with other brands
The changing in industrial policies have given many chance for Unilever, the firm operate a new factory at Cu Chi province- Ho Chi Minh City. The firm has to face with other competitors such as P&G Vietnam- a company specializes in Hair Care, Personal Care, Laundry, Fabric Conditioner, Feminine Care, Baby Care, Men Grooming and Oral Care.
“Social welfare policy seeks to protect and directly improve people’s standard of living” (Business Environment, 158) 12
Vietnam is developing country with more 70% people living in countryside. The percentage of poor houses still is high. People need the help of organization, and government. In 2008, Vietnam has:
- 61districts are poorest where more than 50%of household are in poverty
- 13.47% poor household
- About 5.3million disable people
- 1.2 million children in difficult circumstances
- About 9 million elderly
- Millions of people suffer serious consequences of natural disasters per year
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Thus, the government concentrate on social welfare policies, such as a nation program on “hunger eradiation and poverty reduction” (2008), pension for retired persons, “love house” for single elder, provide support for people who suffer from natural disaster, and many other programs. Like other organizations, Unilever expects to bring good quality of life for community. The firm wants to share good things with the communities in which it operates. Up to now, the firm has contributed over 200 billion VND for various community support projects such as long term programs “P/S-protect Vietnamese smile”, “For children’s eyes”.
2c) Evaluate the impact of macro-economic policy (fiscal and monetary policy) measures and influence of the global economy on selected organization and stakeholders in your country.
Fiscal policy is given by government. It involves taxation and other sources of income, government spending, borrowing whenever spending exceeds income and repaying debt when income exceeds expenditure. Central bank will control money supporting: if the economy gets trend recession, central bank will provide more money into market to speed up businesses.
Fiscal policy affects to Unilever and stakeholders. In case, the government raises taxation, it will affect to the price of Unilever products. The firm cannot remain old low prices, and some stakeholders will be in withdrawals from the economy. In economics crisis 2009, Vietnam’s economy was recession, residents would like saving money. People did not want to spend money for luxury products, or buy land. The government had to provide more money to stimulate consumerism and economic development. Unilever business consumer goods, as the result, the business still were successful. Vietnam market had more than 100 million people, so Unilever increased in consumer goods manufacturing and reduced luxury products manufacturing.
Monetary policy involves attempts to influence economic activity through: (Business Environment, p.151) 14
- Interest rates
- Exchange rates
- Control of the money supply
- Controls over bank lending and credit
The monetary policy helps support to fiscal policy and demand management. Government can increase the demand in the economy by using a policy of low interest rates or reduce spending in the economy by using high interest rate.
Vietnam focuses on international trading. Therefore, the percentage of export increases every year. However, Vietnam still is a trade deficit country. The reason is that we export raw materials at low price, and import secondary materials at high price. The deficiency currency seriously affect to economy. When currency price rise quickly, it make the prices of consumer goods increase dramatically. At this time, organizations like Unilever are reduced income. The firm spends cost for inventory, and products. Thus, the investing of Unilever into Vietnam market is limited.
Global economy actuates business activities in Vietnam
Vietnam joined in world trade organization. This event brings back many chances and challenges for Vietnamese organization. The country can attract more foreign investment, but there is also higher competitive pressure. As Multinational Corporation, Unilever will pass the entry easier, when they widen business activities in Vietnam. In 2009, total income nearly equal 1% of GDP of Vietnam. Nowadays, the economics of scale of the firm also is narrow, because of natural disaster at Japan, the war at Libya and economic crisis all over the world.
To sum, Unilever formulate policies base on the policies of Vietnam. Harmonious combination of resources has helped the company become the Vietnam’s top business. The firm has been a good illustration for other companies to follow.
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Unilever, (2011), Unilever-aboutus, [online],[citied 23rd, march,2011], ()
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