Organisational Change at Unilever Essay Example

soap manufacturing plants in Europe has been reduced from 10 to 2, and certain new products will be exclusively produced at one facility.

Unilever is consolidating product sizing and packaging to cut purchasing costs and facilitate unified pan-European advertising. By implementing these measures, the company expects to save up to $400 million per year in its European operations. Lever Europe's goal is to speed up product development and coordinate product launches across Europe. Their efforts have been fruitful, as a dishwasher detergent that was introduced in Germany in the early 1990s became available throughout Europe within a year – a notable enhancement.

Despite historical constraints, Procter & Gamble maintains a consistent brand name for its leading laundry detergent across Europe. On the other hand, Unilever sells its product under different names and has no intention to modify this approach. Unilever values the brand names it has established over a century and sees no benefit in abandoning them for the sake of pan-European standardization. In relation to the early 1990s reorganization, what was Unilever's previous strategy and organizational structure?

Is the strategy and structure of Unilever consistent? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy and structure? By the 1990s, does Unilever's strategy and structure still align with the operating environment? If not, why? What strategy and structure did Unilever adopt in the 1990s? Is it suitable for the current competitive environment? What are the benefits and costs of this organizational and strategic shift?