Effectiveness of Internal Communication

A Case Study of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

IUBAT

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 Shifat Hossain Masuma Akter Md.Ariful Islam Abu Saleh Al-Nasim ID 11202045 11102361 11102371 11102366 PROGRAM BBA BBA BBA BBA EMAIL Shifat11202045@gmail.com masumabba61@gmail.com Ariful_islam329@yahoo.com Nasim2366@gmail.com CLASS ROLL 17 56 61 58

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 Structure 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 report will merit your approval. Sincerely Yours,

1.5 Acknowledgements

The analysis and thinking contained in this report represents the sum of the wisdom and experience of a large number of people who contributed their time to help me with the internship report. 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 providing 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 challenging 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 patiently answered my queries regarding my internship report. Lastly I would like to thank the authority of International University of Business Agriculture & Technology, Bangladesh for their kind cooperation.

2.1 Executive Summery

This Report is originally intended to provide guidance on the specification and calibration of explore 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 success 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.

2.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter: 1 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

Page

Chapter:2 The Report Introduction

2.1 List of Tables....6 2.2 List of Figures7 2.3 Introduction..8 2.4 Background Information...9 2.5 Problem Studied.......10 2.6 Objectives of the Study/Report....11

Chapter: 3 The Report Body 3.1 Review of the Report

3.1.1 History.12 3.1.2 Mission13-14 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

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 report, which would include an overview of the Products of the Companys was attached with elaboration of the project we were supposed to conduct during the study period.

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 percent of turnover; brands include. Wisk and All laundry detergents, Snuggle and Final Touch fabric softeners, and Sunlight dish detergents, and this area also include the company's line of institutional 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.

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 instability 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. Thats 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 students adapted to the workplace, which they would soon embark upon. Internship enables a student 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 report 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
Unilevers 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 centuryconsumers and their lives. But the spirit of this mission forms a thread that runs throughout 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 housework 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 before 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 associations 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 today. 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 nutrition, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.

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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 behind 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. Unilevers 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 which will enable them to meet these needs good, look good and get more out of life,

We work to create a better future every day.

and expand their busi-

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 actions that can add up to a big difference to the world.
ness.

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

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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 environment and the communities in which the company operates. The environment provides Unilever with raw materials and the ingredients necessary to make the products. Healthy, prosperous 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
Unilevers aim is to win share and grow volume profitably across categories and countries. Unilever has a strong portfolio of leading brands and market positions. Their outstanding presence in the emerging markets makes them well positioned to win where much of the worlds future growth will be0F1. Unilever achieves its growth priority using its compass strategy, which strategizes where it will win and how it will win. Unilevers 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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Winning with brands & innovation.

Deliver superior, products, design, branding and marketing. Bigger, better, faster innovations. Appeal to more consumers across needs & price points. Lead market development. Win with winning customers. Be an execution powerhouse. Lean, responsive and consumer led value chain Drive return on brand support Agile, cost competitive organization Organization and diverse talent pipeline ready to match our growth ambitions Performance culture which respects our values Leverage our operating framework for competitive advantage

Winning in the market place.

Winning through continuous improvement. Winning with people

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

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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 oligopoly 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 positioning 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 Unilevers 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.

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3.2.2 Unilever Bangladesh Limited

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

61% 39%

61% Unilever 39% Government of the Peoples Republic Bangladesh.

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.

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Unilever Bangladesh Limited Organogram

Brands & Development

Human Resources & Finance

Managing Director

Supply Chain

IT & Customer Development.

Figure 2.2: Unilever Bangladesh Organogram Unilever Bangladesh Limited comprises of mainly six departments: Brands & Development, Supply Chain, Human Resource, Finance, IT and Customer Development. Brands & 61% 39% Unilever Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Managing Director Brands & Development Supply Chain Human Resources Finance IT Customer Development. Brands & Development department is mainly responsible for managing the different brands portfolio of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, launch management and advertising & promotion activities. This is regarded as the core function of Unilever globally while the other departments are regarded as support functions to champion joint business 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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Unilever Bangladesh Product Classification Overview Product Categories Home and Per- Home Care sonal Care Brands Fabric Wash Wheel Rin Surf Excel Other Home Glycerin {byCare product} Home Care Vim Skin Care Ponds Vaseline Fair & Lovely Dove Skin Cleansing Ponds Vaseline Dove Lux Lifebuoy Hair Care Clear Sunsilk Dove Oral Care Close Up Pepsodent Deodorant Fragrance Tea Savory Water & Axe Rexona Brooke Taaza Knorr Pureit

Personal Care

Foods

Bond

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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.

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3.2.3 Information
In order to conduct this research project and fulfill the research objectives the following information 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 research 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 instruments from concerned groups following an appropriate sample design.

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3.2.5 Data Collection Process

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 every one in the Finance Department which not only gave me a clear idea about the finance department 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 preparing 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 detailed 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 information 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 wasnt 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 experience 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 Nodia Minsha Masuma Akter Md.Ariful Islam Abu Saleh Al-Nasim

ID 11102372 11102361 11102371 11102366

WORK Chapter-3,5 Chapter-4 Chapter-1 Chapter-2

SIGNATURE

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4.1.5 Conclusion
From the analysis of internal communication of UBL, we have identified that the products industry is growing industry but their main weakness is insufficient potential activities. A gap in the market because, they dont make on the basis of customer demand. Now a days customer wants different category service. From strategic marketing point of view, we see that UBL is taking 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 competition in the Product industry.

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5.1References
1. Bibliography 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.

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5.2 Appendix:

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

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Figure 4.7: Strength of Unilevers Channel of Distribution Different Retail Outlets used by Unilever Bangladesh Ltd

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5.2.1QUESTIONNAIRES

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 Status: (1) Upper (2) Upper Middle (3) Middle Middle (4) Lower Middle (5) Lower

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

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(C) Both of better quality and Reasonable Price 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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