Pest on Unilever

All organizations will encounter strategic challenges over their duration of years in business. These challenges will come at all different levels across the company. Knowing that these challenges have happened in the past and will happen in the future, it is important to see how an organization will react to overcome the challenges.

Unilever Global is a company dedicated to producing quality and nutritionally balanced foods to indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and everyday household care products. They also produce world-leading brands which include Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s and Omo, alongside trusted local names such as Blue Band, Pureit and Suave. Furthermore, Unilever Global is one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods companies with products sold in over 190 countries. Arguably, more than 2 billion consumers worldwide use a Unilever product on any given day. According to its website, the vision of Unilever is “to make sustainable living commonplace place, working to create a better future every day,

HSBC holding plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The business of HSBC includes personal financial services (retail banking), commercial banking, global banking and markets (investment banking), and private banking. HSBC holding was founded in 1991 by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The bank’s first branches were original opened in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865.

Human behavior is sensitive to and strongly influenced by its environment. When the economy starts recession, manufactures would shrink the volume of production, investor will invest less and people will spend less money on new products, and as the result, which would causes the economy become worse. And on the other hand, good economy leads people to buy more.

A recession occurs when a country’s real GDP begins to shrink. Even a milder economic slowdown in which GDP continues to grow, but very slowly can create unemployment and dislocation. GDP and employment are positively correlated. As GDP rises

The current study presents an approach to the external forces that are affecting the organisation, highlighting the impact of economic factors and scarcity of resources, such as water that challenge the company to become more competitive. Also, the analysis considers the market factor regarding changes in

Unilever, founded in 1929, is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its headquarters are in London, England and in Rotterdam, Netherlands as well. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company as of 2012. It is also one of the oldest multinational companies in the world, its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. And these products are available in 190 countries.

1. Economic Environment – An organisation needs to consider what money is available to spend and this will depend on the current climate at the

Part 8 - A recession is typically defined as at least two consecutive quarters of economic decline in GDP. When this happens, unemployment tends to rise, personal income may drop, and the price of goods and services become volatile. Most agree that it is impossible to eliminate recession in a capitalistic economy, since it is so cyclic. Recessions may trim weak business and allow stronger ones to survive by employing techniques that improve quality and service. Recession does not mean depression; it simply means that there are peaks and valleys within the overall economic system. Now that economies are more global though, these dips have a far more reaching set of consequences. In most firms, however, recession may result in some lay-offs, but it also may mean greater attention to sustainability, cost-cutting, and a more lean and strategic approach to the individual product or service (Moffatt, 2009).

When the Unilever is concerned, it has initially started its operations in England in early

A business organization cannot survive in its industry if it does not keep an eye on what is happening in its internal and external business environment. The analysis of business sector or environment acquaints an organization with the issues, challenges, and external factors that have a direct or indirect impact on its business operations and profitability. On the basis of this analysis, the organization can formulate its future strategies and compete in the industry in a more effective and vigilant manner (Cadle, Paul & Turner 2010).

When an economy is healthy, there generally are low unemployment rates and wage increases, as businesses demand labor to meet the growing economy. As mentioned above, more Americans are returning to the workforce, as there is a demand for labor in the economy. In a struggling economy, it brings about lower profits for companies, resulting in lower stock prices. On the other hand, the GDP can have the direct opposite effects. If the GDP growth rate increases to fast, it may cause the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to diminish inflation, thus making goods and services more expensive. Also, if the GDP slows down too much, it can lead to a recession, and once again effect businesses by decreasing their revenues, hiring rate, and consumer spending. Indisputably, a lower unemployment rate can boost the economy in different ways. A lower unemployment rate results in more jobs created and an increase in goods and services produced. For this reason, lower unemployment rates directly correspond with furthering the GDP and the

Exchange rates will affect the cost of raw materials, transportation of goods, and labor costs.

A recession would cause the production possibilities frontier to shift inward. This would depict a decrease in the economic growth, because a recession is a time when the economy of a country is not advancing, but declining. There isn’t much trade during a recession and there is a decline in the activity between different industries. This would cause the need/want of particular goods and services to decrease. This would decrease the amount of production for that good, or service, because there would be less consumption of the product.

There are many ways to dissect an organization's performance as well as their opportunities. Since one organization can operate in a vacuum, they are subject to many external factors. Many organizations constantly monitor the competitive landscape however these are not the only external factors that should be considered. For example, if an organization gains market share against another organization, this might not be as important as an impending recession that is about to emerge or a new set of regulations that will affect the entire industry. There is much more to examine an organization that looking at the competitive landscape.