Unilever South Africa provides personal care and food products

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Unilever South Africa provides personal care and food products. The company offers products such as soups, sauces, noodles, meals, ice creams, tea-based drinks, margarines, oral care, soaps, washing, deodorants and skincare products. Over two billion people choose a Unilever product globally on any given day, from feeding their family to keeping their homes clean and fresh. Throughout their history, Unilever has been a purpose-driven company and this spirit has shone through in every step of their journey. It all started back in 1887, when William Lever, the founder of Lever Brothers, registered the Sunlight trademark in South Africa (SA). Undaunted by a crippling drought that prevailed on his first visit, and an as-yet undeveloped economy, Lever saw a manufacturing future for the country and it wasn't long before the company set up its first South African factory at Maydon Wharf, in Durban, in 1911.

Unilever has always believed in "doing well by doing good" and they are working every day to make the world a little better. They are determined to be a catalyst for change that enhances livelihoods and embeds sustainable values, in harmony with the nation's ubuntu spirit. They are bringing transformation through an innovative business that reduces their environmental footprint, sources raw materials sustainably, invests with social awareness and uses technology responsibly.

As the proud employer of 0.28% of the country's workforce, and manufacturing 95% of their products right here at home, they occupy a unique place in the lives of South Africans and they are honoured to help them thrive through their products. Their R4 billion investment in new and refurbished manufacturing facilities across South Africa demonstrates their confidence in economic growth. They are preparing young South Africans, eager to apply their minds in the workplace, through their Youth Employability Programme - and their target is to help one million young people in Africa by 2020. They have already trained 200 000 young job seekers in the last year, in South Africa. One hundred Unilever managers are enrolled to serve and mentor the youth.

Many of the key levers for socio-economic change, identified by President Ramaphosa are aligned with projects that Unilever has already embarked on. One of these is the focus on revitalising the township economy by training and employing youth through inclusive growth models with SMMEs and start-ups. This builds sustainable businesses within the Unilever value chain, creating new local economies and linking people to opportunities in the formal business sector. The prosperity of township communities is linked to the long-term success of their business and they are actively learning how best to add value, serve the people and utilise their considerable economic footprint to build this prosperity. At Unilever, they believe that women's empowerment is one of the greatest enablers of human development for economic growth. By promoting the formal and active participation of women throughout their business, they aim to transform lives, families, communities and the South African economy. This will ensure growth in their markets, brands and business while simultaneously driving positive change in society.

Their "Brands with Purpose", such as Lifebuoy, Domestos and Mentadent, creating a brighter future for all, though initiatives such as the National Schools Hygiene and Sanitation programme, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, which aims to touch 15,000 public primary schools and more than one million learners in the next 5 years. They promote safety for women in the communities they serve through their Joko Tea programme aimed at reducing gender-based violence. Their partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Wildlands Conservation has created 10 000 "Greenpreneurs" who turn waste into useful products and together, they have planted more than one million trees since 2015. They support programmes helping the unskilled and unemployed to gain jobs and dignity, such as their OLA Vendor programme, which currently employs close to 3 000 individuals.

President Ramaphosa has invoked the moving lyrics of the revered late Hugh Masekela and the spirit of service expressed in the words, Thuma Mina, igniting the #SendMe movement across the country. They say, "Send Unilever" - where they can share their knowledge and experience for quick action and impact, where they can serve and help to usher in South Africa's promise of a "New Dawn".

 

Question 1.

Discuss organisational culture as one of the strategy implementation elements that Unilever introduced.

In your answer, you need to define the term organisational culture (1 mark), explain the various layers of organisational culture (3 marks) and provide two examples from the case study for each element of the layers of organisational culture (10 marks). (14)

 

Question 2.

Which type of strategic change can mostly be associated with the socio-economic changes that were implemented by Unilever in the above case study (1 mark)? Substantiate your answer (1 mark). (2)

 

Question 3

Discuss the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a strategic planning and control tool that Unilever can adopt.

In your answer, you need to describe the BSC (1 mark), discuss the four perspectives of the BSC (4 marks) and provide practical examples of what each perspective should address (4 marks). (9)