Effectiveness of Internal

Communication

A Case Study of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

IUBAT

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Effectiveness of Internal Communication:

A case study of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

SUBMITTED TO:

MD. MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN

Faculty of CBA-IUBAT

BUS 201(D)

SUBMITTED BY:

GROUP: PROGOTI

NAME ID PROGRAM EMAIL CLASS ROLL

Shifat Hossain

11202045 BBA Shifat11202045@gmail.com 17

Masuma Akter

11102361 BBA masumabba61@gmail.com 56

Md.Ariful Islam

11102371 BBA Ariful_islam329@yahoo.com 61

Abu Saleh Al-Nasim

11102366 BBA Nasim2366@gmail.com 58

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Letter of Transmittal

7th December, 2011

Md.Mustafizur Rahman

Faculty of CBA-IUBAT

School of Business.

International University of Business Agriculture and Technology.

Subject: Effectiveness of Internal Communication: A case study of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

Dear Sir,

We pleased to submit our report entitled “The Impact on ICT communication in the Social Struc-ture of an emerging Economy “Prepared for you as a final report of the semester.

The main purpose of this report is to evaluate the impact of brand migration of an established brand of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd in the minds of the consumers. While preparing the report, I gathered knowledge on the market dynamics of Bangladesh as well as being able to apply my academic concepts in the practical market scenario to evaluate the impact of the brand migration. This report also highlights my working experience in Unilever Bangladesh Limited and discusses my key learning and development from this experience in the past three months. I hope this re-port will merit your approval.

Sincerely Yours,

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1.5 Acknowledgements

The analysis and thinking contained in this report represents the sum of the wisdom and experi-ence of a large number of people who contributed their time to help me with the internship re-port. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Munir Hossain, my line manager in Unilever Bangladesh Mr. Zahidul Islam Malita (Finance Controller), Ms. Sabrina Momen (Treasury Manager) and Ms. Tanvira Chowdhury, for their excellent guidance, and pro-viding me with an excellent atmosphere for completing this Internship Program. I would also like to thank Unilever Bangladesh Limited for giving me the opportunity to work in a challeng-ing environment thus developing me along the way. Special thanks go to Mr. Zeeshan Bayezid Rahman who provided insights on practical issues beyond the texts and publications and pa-tiently answered my queries regarding my internship report. Lastly I would like to thank the au-thority of International University of Business Agriculture & Technology, Bangladesh for their kind cooperation.

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2.1 Executive Summery

This Report is originally intended to provide guidance on the specification and calibration of ex-plore the issues revolving the effectiveness of internal communication in the Unilever Bangladesh ltd. This report further investigates the internal aspects of the overall impact and suc-cess of the product launch. Information was obtained by surveying employees of Unilever and through observation. The report introduces the products of Unilever Bangladesh ltd. The report examines the problems have unlocked new areas that need attention and startling findings. The results recommend possible solutions that Unilever Bangladesh Limited can adopt to mitigate the aforesaid problems. Given the introduction of unilever products in Bangladesh in recent times and absence of any report on such topic, these finds highlights the significance of this report and suggests that further research and analysis can be carried out in the future.

Keywords: Unilever, Bangladesh, Launch, Product.

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2.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter: 1 Page

The Report Formal Part

1.1 Title Fly…………………………………………………………….……1

1.2 Title Page………………………………………….……………………..2

1.3 Letter of transmittal……………………………………………………....3

1.4 Acknowledgement…………………………………………………..…..4

1.5 Executive Summary…………………………………………………....…5

Chapter:2

The Report Introduction

2.1 List of Tables……………………………………………...….…6

2.2 List of Figures……………………………………………………7

2.3 Introduction……………………………….………………….…8

2.4 Background Information……………………………….………..92.5 Problem Studied……………………..……….………..………..102.6 Objectives of the Study/Report………………………...…….…11

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Chapter: 3 The Report Body

3.1 Review of the Report 3.1.1 History………………………………………………….12 3.1.2 Mission…………………………………………………13-14 3.1.3 Vision………………………………………..……….….15 3.1.4 Strategy…………………………………………………..15-16

3.2 Research Design 3.2.1 Industry Analysis…………………………………..…..17 3.2.2 Unilever Bangladesh Limited…………………………..18-21 3.2.3 Information………………………………………..…….22 3.2.4 Methodology…………………………………………….22 3.2.5 Data collection process……………………………….….23 3.2.6 Data processing & analysis………………………….…..23

Chapter-4

The Report Final Part

4.1 Result or Outcome of the Report

4.1.1 Key learning point……………………………..……..24 4.1.2 Recommendation……………..…………..….………25 4.1.3 Limitation…………………………………….……...26 4.1.4 Framework………………………………………..….27 4.1.5 Conclusion…………………………………….……..28

Chapter-5

The Report Source of Information

5.1 References………………………………………………….29

5.2 Appendix…………………………………………………..30-31

5.2.1 Questionnaires…………………………………….32-34

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2.3 Introduction

This report is a comprehensive study prepared as a requirement for the completion of the BBA Program of IUBAT- International University of Business Agriculture and Technology. The primary goal of report is to provide an opportunity for translation of theoretical conceptions in real life situation. We are placed in enterprises, organizations, research institutions as well as development projects. The program covers a period of 3 months comprehensive study about the Products and works of Unilever Company Bangladesh Limited.

The comprehensive study about the Products and works of Unilever Company Bangladesh Limited prepared under the guidance of our faculty member Md. Mustafizur Rahman. As a requirement for the completion of the program we need to submit this re-port, which would include an overview of the Products of the Company’s was attached with elaboration of the project we were supposed to conduct during the study period.

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2.5 Background Information

Unilever considers itself the second largest consumer goods firm in the world, trailing only Philip Morris Companies Inc., and produces numerous brand name foods, cleaning products, and personal care items.

About 52 percent of revenues are generated in the foods sector; brands include Imperial and Promise margarines, Lipton tea. One-quarter of sales come from the personal care area; brands include Caress and Dove soap, Pears and Pond's skin care products and Salon Selective hair care items, Close-Up and Pepsodent oral care products and Vaseline.

Unilever's third major sector is that of cleaning products, which is responsible for about 22 per-cent of turnover; brands include. Wisk and All laundry detergents, Snuggle and Final Touch fab-ric softeners, and Sunlight dish detergents, and this area also include the company's line of insti-tutional cleaning products.

Unilever maintains production facilities in 88 countries and sells its products in an additional 70. About 47 percent of revenues originate in Europe, 21 percent in North America, 14 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, 12 percent in Latin America, and six percent in Africa and the Middle East.

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2.5 Problem Studied

Incompatible Taste: Most people find the taste of unilever food brand products somewhat tasteless. Some food product is prepared according to an international formulation thus are based towards all over the world. People in Bangladesh like it spicy and have a completely different taste palate.

Seasonality: Vaseline is a seasonal product in Bangladesh, as people prefer it during winter. Bangladesh is a warm country so consumption is not at its expected level.

Lack of Awareness: When they produce a product that time need some awareness to produce something better products that can be suit for Bangladeshi people.

Threats: The entrance of new competitors. Competitor Square has marketing power. Current in-stability of world economic markets. Slow market growth.Increased bargaining power of key buyers or suppliers.Technological changes

Low price: Low price of other products without maintaining quality. That’s why UBL products

could not sell to much.

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2.6 Objective:

The objective of this course is to unleash the theoretical knowledge of the students and enable them to acquire a firsthand practical work experience. The primary objective is to get the stu-dents adapted to the workplace, which they would soon embark upon. Internship enables a stu-dent to gain insight of the ‘real-world’ outside the fortress of education. Also students can learn more about the area they will soon work and get an on-the-job training. Writing the internship re-port allows a student to mesh the theoretical and practical experiences of work.

A. General Objectives:

The general objective of this report is to fulfill the requirement of internship report. To earn practical experience and knowledge about the Unilever Products.

b. Specific Objectives:

To submit a brief description about the performance of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. To make a general evaluation of UBL activities among different professionals. To understand the various services the company offers and to understand the mechanism

of the services. To analyze the Ratio of the company to evaluate the performance To identify the strengths and weakness, opportunities and threats of Unilever Bangladesh

Ltd. To formulate recommendations that could add value to the service of Unilever

Bangladesh ltd.

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3.1.1 History Unilever’s corporate vision – helping people to look good, feel good and get more out of life – shows how of Unilever Unilever's clearly the business understands 21st century-consumers and their lives. But the spirit of this mission forms a thread that runs through-out its history. In the 1890s, William Husked Lever, founder of Lever Brothers, wrote down his ideas for Sunlight Soap – his revolutionary new product that helped popularize cleanliness and hygiene in Victorian England. It was 'to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products'.

This was long before 'Corporate Mission' was coined, but these ideas have stayed at the heart of the business, even if their language – and the notion of only women doing house-work – has become outdated. Although Unilever wasn't formed until 1930, the companies that joined forces to create the business we know today were already well established be-fore the start of the 20th century. Unilever's founding companies produced products made of oils and fats, principally soap and margarine. Tough economic conditions and the First World War made trading difficult for everyone, so many businesses formed trade associ-ations to protect their shared interests.

Unilever was founded on 1 January 1930 by William Hulme Lever, Antonius Johannes Jurgens and Samuel van den Bergh and when Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unite. Since its inception Unilever grew by acquiring brands and becoming what it is to-day. In a history that now crosses three centuries, Unilever has created products that help people get more out of life – cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutri-tion, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and them-selves.

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3.1.2 Mission

The world in which we operate is changing and consumers are increasingly bringing their views as citizens into their buying decisions, demanding more from the companies be-hind the brands. They want companies and brands they trust. In the last five years, Unilever have built their business by focusing on their brands, streamlining how they work, and improving their insight into the evolving needs and tastes of consumers. Unilever’s mission is to add vitality to life. Unilever meets every day needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

The company sees a growing consumer need for:

• A healthy lifestyle

• More variety, quality, taste and enjoyment

• Time, as an increasingly precious commodity

• helping people to feel good, look good and get more out of life, which will enable them to

meet these needs and expand their busi-ness.

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We work to cre-ate a better fu-ture every day.

We help people feel good, look good & get more out of life brands & services that are good for them & good for

Others.

We will inspire people to take small everyday ac-

tions that can add up to a big difference to the

world.

We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size of our company while re-

ducing our environmental impact

Unilever is in a unique position to understand the interrelationships between nutrition, hygiene and personal care. This is possible because of its strong science capability and its locally rooted consumer insight. It is by bringing all this together that the company can strive to contribute to quality of life and wellbeing - adding vitality to life.

The long-term success of the business is intimately interconnected with the vitality of the envi-ronment and the communities in which the company operates. The environment provides Unilever with raw materials and the ingredients necessary to make the products. Healthy, pros-perous communities provide the company with a healthy, growing consumer base.

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3.1.3 Vision

• We work to create a better future every day

• We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.

• We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world.

• We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact.

3.1.4 Strategy

Unilever’s aim is to win share and grow volume profitably across categories and coun-tries. Unilever has a strong portfolio of leading brands and market positions. Their out-standing presence in the emerging markets makes them well positioned to win where much of the world’s future growth will be0F1. Unilever achieves its growth priority using its compass strategy, which strategizes where it will win and how it will win. Unilever’s strategy (where we will win) is to win share and grow volume in every category and country. Figure 2.5 illustrates how it will win.

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Figure 2.3: Unilever's Compass Strategy: How it will win Source: (Introduction to Unilever, 2011)

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Winning with brands & in-novation.

Deliver superior, products, design, branding and marketing.

Bigger, better, faster innovations. Appeal to more consumers across needs &

price points.

Winning in the market place. Lead market development. Win with winning customers. Be an execution powerhouse.

Winning through continuous improvement.

Lean, responsive and consumer led value chain

Drive return on brand support Agile, cost competitive organization

Winning with people Organization and diverse talent pipeline ready to match our growth ambitions

Performance culture which respects our values

Leverage our operating framework for competitive advantage

3.2.1 Industry Analysis

The Bangladesh laundry market has a staggering double digit growth annually with few major competitors fighting for the market share. The laundry market can be characterized as an oligop-oly where few major brands like Keya and Chaka operate. Wheel washing powder is the market leader in the laundry market. The major competitors of wheel are Keya washing powder which uses the same advertisement cue of the lemon power to attract their customers. Apart from the local competitors Wheel competes with their own brand Surf which also owns a major portion of the brand. Apart from the detergents, laundry soaps such as Pocha Saban and Keya soaps are strong competitors of Wheel.

Keya soap launched one of their most successful campaigns portraying multiple benefits posi-tioning of the laundry soap as being used as bath soap as well which captured a lot of market share of Wheel soap however not majorly affecting their washing powder sales. There are some foreign detergents which has a niche market for the upper tier customers like Breeze. These are exclusively sold at the supermarkets and selected specialty stores. Being the market leader Wheel has considerable dominance over the suppliers as well as the market competition.

Unilever is the biggest fast moving consumer goods company in Bangladesh and one of their key strengths are their channel management. The policies and the support given by Unilever ensure that most of the suppliers and retailers are keen on keeping Unilever’s product on their shelf. The laundry market has low investment thus easy to enter and exit with a high profit margin makes it attractive to investors. However Unilever Bangladesh Ltd serves the lower tier and upper tier customers with its two established brands Wheel and Surf which makes it difficult for the new entrants to survive effectively in the market.

3.2.2 Unilever Bangladesh Limited

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Unilever Bangladesh limited has been present in Bangladesh for the last 40 years as the leading fast moving consumer goods company. Its main operations can be classified into home care, personal care and food industry where they have been effectively leading the market as market leaders accommodating the needs of all class of people. The company has a Soap Manufacturing factory and a Personal Products Factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a tea packaging operation in Chittagong and three manufacturing units in Dhaka, which are owned and run by third parties exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh. In addition there is a new factory for their foods category for Knorr, where the product is manufactured for the local market.

2.3.1 Unilever Bangladesh Ownership Structure

Figure 2.1: Unilever Bangladesh Ownership Structure

The Unilever Bangladesh Limited is a subsidiary of the Unilever Group which owns 60.75% of the shares and the government of Bangladesh owns around 39.25% of the shares. The profits earned are sent back to Unilever PLC as royalties for operating in Bangladesh.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited Organogram

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39%61%

61% Unilever 39% Government of the People’s

Republic Bangladesh.

Figure 2.2: Unilever Bangladesh Organogram

Unilever Bangladesh Limited comprises of mainly six departments: Brands & Develop-ment, Supply Chain, Human Resource, Finance, IT and Customer Development. Brands & 61% 39% Unilever Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Managing Di-rector Brands & Development Supply Chain Human Resources Finance IT Customer De-velopment. Brands & Development department is mainly responsible for managing the different brands portfolio of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, launch management and ad-vertising & promotion activities. This is regarded as the core function of Unilever glob-ally while the other departments are regarded as support functions to champion joint busi-ness partnering.

Customer development is responsible for channel management and sales management throughout Bangladesh. Supply Chain is mainly the manufacturing department of Unilever. Finance is responsible for the fund management and profitability growth of the business. Human Resource is responsible for the recruiting, training and developing the employees. Lastly IT is responsible for ensuring the smooth processing of the Enterprise Business Solutions implemented to run the business.

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Managing Director

Brands & Development

Supply Chain

IT & Customer

Development.

Human Resources &

Finance

Unilever Bangladesh Product Classification Overview

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Product Categories Brands

Home and Per-sonal Care

Home Care Fabric Wash WheelRinSurf Excel

Other Home CareHome Care

Glycerin {by-product}Vim

Personal Care

Skin Care Pond’sVaselineFair & LovelyDove

Skin Cleansing Pond’sVaselineDoveLuxLifebuoy

Hair Care ClearSunsilkDove

Oral Care Close UpPepsodent

Deodorant & Fragrance

Axe Rexona

Foods Tea Brooke Bond Taaza

Savory KnorrWater Pureit

The above figure shows the detailed classification of Unilever products which are mainly divided into two parts: Home and Personal Care and Foods. The major two parts are broken down into categories and brands under the different categories.

The top brands of Unilever Bangladesh are as follows: • LUX • Vaseline • Axe • Rexona • Vim • Sunsilk • Dove • Surf • Wheel • Ponds • Pepsodent • Closeup • Fair & Lovely • Brooke Bond Taaza • Knorr • Clear • Lifebuoy

Unilever is majorly involved in B2C business and are market leaders in their Home and Personal Care category; however they do B2B business by selling off their by-product glycerol or glycerin from soap manufacturing to the pharmaceutical companies of Bangladesh.

3.2.3 Information

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In order to conduct this research project and fulfill the research objectives the following informa-tion will be required:

Information about Unilever Bangladesh Limited. Information about the facility provided by UBL. Information about the job characteristics. General information about the employees of UBL. General information about motivation concepts. Information about the expectation of the employees’ of UBL.

3.2.4 Methodology

A Research may be conducted either exploratory or conclusive. Based upon the research topic and environment scenario I have decided to conduct exploratory research. To conduct the re-search I have collected two types of data.

Primary Data and

Secondary Data.

A sample survey was conducted to collect primary data using two pre-designed survey instru-ments from concerned groups following an appropriate sample design.

3.2.5 Data Collection Process

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In order to collect the aforesaid information and data followings have used as the potential

sources:

a) Primary Source:

Primary data have been collected by interview form-

Students

Business man

Service holder

House wife

Other people

Questioner Survey

b) Secondary Source:

Internet

Library sources.

i. Survey Process:

Through face-to-face interview the survey process will be done.

3.2.4 Data Processing & Analysis

After collecting all the required data, question area has been coded and data processing has been done according to the employees’ personal information, experience, preference, satisfaction level etc. for analyzing purpose. MS Word had been used to prepare graphical representation and the graphs have been interpreted accordingly.

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4.1.1 Key Learning Points

The major learning point in internship is to get a taste of the real corporate culture and how well can I adapt to it. This experience has taught me to effectively work out of my comfort zone face challenges in the day to day office life. My work required me to communicate with each and ev-ery one in the Finance Department which not only gave me a clear idea about the finance depart-ment but also taught me how to communicate with people to gain necessary information.

Last but not the least I consider this internship as a means of unleashing my potentials and pre-paring myself for what is to come in the next part of my life. This has been an immense journey of self-development and most importantly learning.

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4.1.2 Recommendations

Although there are many barriers, which will create a great problem for the UBL to hold current

market, but still there are some opportunities for them to become an international player in

Bangladeshi market.

In Bangladesh there are many international and local companies those who are doing

business and they are making a huge profit.

Hartal are not happens frequently. So, it is not a great problem.

As they will be the new company in this market so they will have to invest more money

for promotional sector and this will inform the customers about them.

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4.1.3 Limitation

The interpretation and discussion in this report are subject to limitations due to several factors. One of the major limitation was due to the shortage of time it was not possible to conduct a de-tailed study for an accurate outcome. It was virtually impossible to delve deep into the major challenges and reasons for the brand migration and to actually understand the implication of the migration within a time span of two months. Unilever Bangladesh maintains strict policy on in-formation sharing and confidentiality, thus a lot of the information could not be included in this report to protect confidentiality. Another major limitation was that I wasn’t placed in the Brands department but on the Finance department so it was impossible to observe the brand operation daily rather the information was collected solely through interviews and external research data. Thus the information collected and analyzed are subject to biasness. Lastly due to the lack of ex-perience to formulate a professional analysis it was challenging and the outcome is not based on expert opinion.

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4.1.4 Framework

NAME ID WORK SIGNATURE

Nodia Minsha 11102372 Chapter-3,5

Masuma Akter 11102361 Chapter-4

Md.Ariful Islam 11102371 Chapter-1

Abu Saleh Al-Nasim 11102366 Chapter-2

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4.1.5 Conclusion

From the analysis of internal communication of UBL, we have identified that the products in-

dustry is growing industry but their main weakness is insufficient potential activities. A gap in

the market because, they don’t make on the basis of customer demand. Now a day’s customer

wants different category service. From strategic marketing point of view, we see that UBL is tak-

ing corrective steps in almost all the way. In very few sides UBL has lacking. Based upon these

facts recommended strategies would assist in the growth of Unilever in among the fierce compe-

tition in the Product industry.

5.1References

1. Bibliography

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www.google.com

www.unilever.com.bd

Brand History. (2004). Retrieved August 08, 2011, from Knorr Website: http://www.knorr.com/

(2009). Sustainable Development Overview 2009. Scanplus.

Knorr Soup @7. (2010). Retrieved August 14, 2011, from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KnorrSoup?sk=info

(2010). Unilever Annual Reports and Accounts 2010. St Ives Westerham Press Ltd.

(2011). Retrieved August 10, 2011, from Unilever Food Solutions: http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.com/

(2011). Retrieved August 08, 2011, from Unilever Bangladesh Website: http://www.unilever.com.bd/

(2011). Retrieved August 14, 2011, from Unilever Global Website: http://www.unilever.com/

Best Brand Award 2010. (2011, May). Bangladesh Brand Forum, pp. 1, 5-6.

5.2 Appendix:

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Figure 7.2: Unilever Top Global Brands (Source: Unilever Annual Report)

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Figure 4.7: Strength of Unilever’s Channel of Distribution –

Different Retail Outlets used by

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd

5.2.1QUESTIONNAIRES

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1) Would you tell me three brand name of UBL?

Ans: (A)……………………

(B) ………………..

(C)……………………

2) Which brand do you use?

Ans: (A)………………………

(B)………………………

3) Why do you use this Brand product?

Ans: (A) Batter Service

(B) Reasonable Price rate

(C) Both of better quality and Reasonable Price

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Personal Information

Name: _________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________

Gender: (1) Male (2) Female

Occupation: (1) Business (2) Service (3) House wife (4) Student (5) Other

Age: (1) 18- 25 years (2) 26-35 years (3) 36-45 years (4) above 45 years

4) Why you do not use other Brand product?

Ans: (A) Poor service

(B) High Price rate

(C) Low Price

(D)Poor facility

5) How long do you use UBL Product?

Ans: (A) 1-2 years

(B)3years

(C) 4 years

(D) More than 5 years

6) Are you satisfied about your product?

Ans: (A) Fully satisfy

(B) Medium Satisfy

(C) Less Satisfy

7) Which product do you like most?

Ans: (A)Lux

(B) Axe

(C) If other ……………………..…

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10) Do you have any suggestion about UBL product?

Ans:(A) Yes

(B) No

(C) If yes .........................................................

11) Which product is more selling in your shop?

Ans: (A) Lux

(B) Fair & Lovely

(C) Sunsilk

(D) If other …………………………

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