Learning Outcome:

1.To develop your understanding of the core and current management frameworks, theories and tools, and your ability to assess critically their relevance to leading and managing in the 21st century

2.To help you select and adapt techniques and approaches appropriate to your management context, in order to have a real impact on your management practice

3.To develop interpersonal and conceptual skills that will help you use ideas and frameworks to make sense of and work with organisational complexity

4.To challenge your thinking and practice by reflecting upon them critically in the light of the ideas you encounter and through debate with others

5.To enhance your ability to plan and implement change through the use of inquiry and creative thinking, which will have a real impact within your organisational context.

All questions to be answered compulsory. Questions are drawn from the case- 'Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability'. Before attempting each question, please ensure that you read the website and answer accordingly.

About Unilever's New Global Strategy:

The case describes Paul Polman's appointment to lead a troubled Unilever, and his subsequent decision to implement a bold new global strategy based on a platform of sustainability. It opens by describing Unilever's historical background, including its commitment to the philosophy of "doing well by doing good". In 2009 as the board recruits Polman, Unilever's first ever outsider CEO, to turn around the company's declining performance. The new CEO develops the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) with three bold social and environmental goals for 2020: to halve the environmental footprint of Unilever products, to positively affect the health and well-being of a billion people worldwide, and to enhance the livelihood of millions. In a surprising development, Polman establishes these challenging goals not only for the company itself, but also for its entire value chain and over the full product cycle. The case describes how they eventually recognize the need to expand the original goals to reach beyond the corporate boundaries, setting targets based on achieving major transformational change to the broader systems of which Unilever is a part.

Instructions: Use ALL of the material studied in B716. Support your arguments with theory from recent articles from academic journals and examples with quotes from Unilever website.

QUESTIONS

Q1. Define and describe the key characteristics of the following theories of management and provide evidence of how they have informed the organisational design and practices of Unilever?

1. Corporate Culture as a source of competitive advantage
2. Total Quality Management

Q2Use the 'high and low prole' symbols framework to describe the organisational culture of Unilever.

Q3As a financial manager of Unilever, you are required to present a report to CFO of the company on the lucrativeness of company for prospective investment.

Q4Describe the four Cs of Unilever businesses.

Q5Is Unilever employing Humanitarian logistics and/or Environmental responsibility practices in its operational design?