Introduction
Taking a brand to international markets can be an appealing endeavor, and many companies would be quick to pick that chance. However, expanding to international markets can be a very challenging undertaking. Companies such as Unilever that are already in the global scene need to employ strategies and planning that keep them at the international stage.
Globally Integrated (GIE) Approach
The globally integrated enterprise (GIE) approach entails an approach by global firms, not just multinationals, in their operations and management. Such an approach considers issues of the multiplicity of cultural differences, more collaboration, mastering of different skills and behaviors, and less hierarchy (Maerki, 2008). Rather than having a separate supply chain in different markets, firms that use the GIE approach only have one supply chain. It is global for its products, capital, services, intellectual property, and ideas (Lin & Wang, 2010). Decisions on how to locate business operations are premised on how to maximize value for customers, business partners, and employees. Rather than taking employees where the work is, the company takes work to where the employees are (Palmisano, 2006). The GIE approach is beneficial to the organization because it creates value in choosing where and how to invest resources to best execute business processes.
Strategy, Structure, and Culture
The international company used in this evaluation is Unilever. The company’s structure is designed to define the systems used to establish and interconnect the various organizational components, such as teams and offices. The company’s organizational structure adapts to changes in the global market and consumer goods industry. Currently, Unilever sustains a corporate structure that addresses corporate needs regarding managing product types across the globe (Polman & Bhattacharya, 2016). Being a leading consumer goods company, it maintains an organizational structure that facilitates diversified global operations.
Unilever’s international strategy is known as a ‘think-global and act-global strategy’. This strategy uses the same competitive strategy approach across all markets in the world where it operates. It applies only minimal adaptations to local conditions. Unilever’s products are sold with the same brand quality across the globe (Hamilton & Webster, 2018). The company has an international corporate culture that provides a conducive environment for developing and delivering a global employee engagement campaign to help organization members make simple, practical transformations to their daily activities to create more time, effort, and resources (Murphy & Murphy, 2018).
Employer and Talent Brand
Unilever employs approximately 200,000 thousand people across the globe (Hamilton & Webster, 2018). Unilever’s workforce is demographically diverse since it sources employees from a broad range of potential candidates all over the world (Murphy & Murphy, 2018). The company’s talent brand is millennial. Approximately 60 percent of the company’s employees are millennials. Unilever has a program named “The Future Leaders Programme” that hires recent university graduates for seven primary functions of IT, research and development, supply chain, human resource, finance, customer development, and marketing (Polman & Bhattacharya, 2016). Recruiting fresh graduates brings in talented individuals and new ideas that support the company’s sustainable growth. Furthermore, the company aims at promoting a positive mental and physical health environment in the workplace to retain the employees.
Conducting Strategic Planning
The success of Unilever lies in its ability to conduct meaningful international strategic planning. Unilever’s strategy entails producing a broad range of products to inspire people’s living standards. It avails better goods to serve customers with the highest level of satisfaction (Hamilton & Webster, 2018). The company’s international strategic planning process has several stages. A key stage that Unilever takes seriously is finding the right market (Murphy & Murphy, 2018). The company strives to find and select the global market that best suits its type of business. Under this stage, it analyzes and evaluates its product demand in various international markets and finds ways of meeting those demands (Polman & Bhattacharya, 2016). Identifying the right destination according to its business type, is the first step of the company’s strategic global business. The other stages are understanding the competitors and identifying growth opportunities.
Talent Management
Like most international companies, Unilever has its development process where individual employees are given guiding frames to direct their development (Hamilton & Webster, 2018). The company is known for its commitment to retain and protect high potential employees using leadership development processes (Murphy & Murphy, 2018). Talent management is important in an organization because it helps establish a stable employee base (Polman & Bhattacharya, 2016). It considers the organization’s development as a whole.
Acquiring, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Talented Employees
Unilever acquires and retains talents through the use of high ethical standards. The company refers to ethical standards as ‘business integrity’ (Hamilton & Webster, 2018). Through the standards, the company wants to establish an environment where all organization members integrate the company’s values in their work and stay vigilant in identifying potential concerns (Murphy & Murphy, 2018). Unilever’s core values are responsibility, respect, integrity, and pioneering. The company devotes sufficient budget and attention to assessing, training, and developing the careers of valuable local and global employees in the company’s payroll (Polman & Bhattacharya, 2016).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Unilever is one of the strongest and healthiest firms in the world with opportunities to expand into foreign markets that it is not operating in. The company employs the globally integrated enterprise (GIE) approach to decide where and how to invest resources for maximum productivity. Unilever’s strategy, structure, and culture are designed to provide an environment of diversity tolerance and conducive working for all organization members.