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ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR – PROJECT SUBMISSION

A SPECIAL PROJECT ON
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

Submitted By:
Submitted To:
AMISH ROHATGI
Prof. Nityanand Jha
Semester 4
(Faculty of O.B)
Roll No. 6

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TABLE OF CONTENT

 Certificate of Declaration………………………………………………………………….3
 Research Methodology……………………………………………………………………4
 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….5
 Personality of CEo ……………………………………...6
 Organizational Behavior of HUL………………………………………………………...7
 Leadership…………………………………………………………………………………7
 Motivational level……………………………………………………………………..10
 Learning of employees …………………………………………………………13
 Organizational culture………………………………………………15
 Power and Politics ……………………………………………………….17
 Corporate responsibility ……………………………………………….20
 Letter by HINDUSTAN UNILEVER ……………………………………………21
 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….25
 References………………………………………………………………………………..26

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CERTIFICATE OF DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the project work entitled “HINDUSTAN UNILEVER” submitted to
Karnavati University, is record of an original work and not plagiarized except acknowledged in
the text and clearly mentioned where I have used the published work. We have provided the
source of such work and project was done by me under the supervision of Prof. Nityanand Jha,
Faculty Member, and Karnavati University (UWSL).

AMISH ROHATGI

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RESEARCH METHODOLGY

Research Title:

Apple

Area and Subject of study:

Consumer goods Industry

Scope and Limitation:

This research paper is an attempt to critically analyses and studies the organization behavior of
particular company.

Research Objective:

Main objective of this paper is to study the human behavior of Apple between them and the
organization, and the organization itself. 

Research Question:

This study was conducted with

1. How does leadership and teamwork of HUL make it victorious?


2. Whether and how does human behavior affect the organization’s success?
3. Whether HUL beat their competitors on basis of organizational behavior?
4. Whether techniques practiced by HUL give them a more opportunities?
5. What steps HUL take for his Employees in the Situation of COVID-19?

Hypothesis:

The above objectives can be realized by empirically testing the following hypothesis:

1. There is no distress in organization because of organizational behavior.


2. There is distress in organization because of organizational behavior.

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INTRODUCTION

Hindustan Unilever Limited is an India-based fast moving consumer goods company. The

Company has more than 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and food

products. It operates in various business segments. Soaps and Detergents include soaps,

detergent bars, detergent powders, detergent liquids and scourers. Personal Products include

products in the categories of oral care, skin care, hair care, deodorants, talcum powder, color

cosmetics and Ayush services. Beverages include tea and coffee. Foods include branded

staples,

(atta and salt), culinary products (tomato-based products, fruit-based products and soups). Ice

Creams include ice creams and frozen desserts. Others include chemicals and water business.

In

May 2009, the Company divested its entire shareholding in Shamnagar Estates Pvt. Ltd. and

consequently, Shamnagar Estates Pvt. Ltd. ceased to be a subsidiary of the Company effective

May 13, 2009.

1.1. Mission:

Unilever's mission is to “Add Vitality to life.” We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene,

and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

1.2. Over 100 years' link with India:

In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbour noticed crates full of Sunlight soap bars,

embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers". With it, began an era of

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marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim.

Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the market in 1937.

In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing

Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935).

Personality of CEO

Sanjiv Mehta is the Chairman and Managing Director of HUL since 30th June, 2018. He has

been leading Unilever’s business in India and South Asia since October 2013 as CEO and

Managing Director, HUL and Executive Vice President, Unilever, South Asia. Sanjiv was

appointed as President, Unilever, South Asia and member of the Unilever Leadership

Executive, effective May 2019.

Sanjiv has been with Unilever for 26 years and during the last 17 years has led businesses in

different parts of the world. He has been the Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever

Bangladesh Limited (2002-06), Chairman and CEO of Unilever Philippines Inc. (2007-08) and

Chairman of Unilever - North Africa & Middle East (2008 – September 2013).

Sanjiv chairs the FMCG Committee of FICCI as well as the national committee on MNCs of CII.

Sanjiv also chairs Xynteo's 'India 2022', a purpose-driven business coalition of top Indian and

MNC companies formed with an intention to solve some of the intractable environmental and

social issues, and is working to create a new model of growth.

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He co-chairs the Advisory Network to the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Sanjiv is a member of the India Advisory Board of Harvard Business School and is a Director on

the Board of The Indian School of Business. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of

Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Mumbai.

Sanjiv is a Chartered Accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has

also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR OF APPLE

Leadership
HUL’s top management realized that its ability to attract and nurture good talent would be
crucial to the success of Project Millennium. Over the years, HUL's leadership development
model, considered one of the best in the country, had groomed managers by providing a
wellrounded
view of the business through job rotation and various new assignments. The system was
designed to identify fast-trackers, who were called the Lever listers and groom them for handling
greater responsibilities. For every position, typically three people competed. One would
eventually make it, the second person would be offered an alternative slot, while the third would
simply fall out of the system.
This leadership development model served HUL well for many years. The company effectively
became a school for practicing managers. But in the late 1990s, as the business environment
underwent a sea change, cracks began to appear in the model. First, there was a reduction in
the

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number of positions due to the withdrawal of many brands under HUL’s power branding
strategy. The closure of non-core businesses, like seeds and the downsizing of the large
commercial department, due to outsourcing of a large number of backroom activities, also
eliminated many promotional opportunities.
Meanwhile, Unilever itself began to divest brands and businesses, reducing the need for
expensive expatriate talent. As a matter of fact, the supply of HUL's pipeline of talent grew
because of returning expatriates from the Unilever system.
With fewer slots available and supply increasing, internal competition also increased. During
good times, most managers got good performance ratings. But the system changed as growth
slowed down and competition increased. In the early 2000s, HUL instituted a forced rank
system
of evaluating people for all its businesses, further accentuating the insecurities inside the minds
of employees. Managers began to rely on short-term recourses to deliver quarterly profit and
sales numbers. If one brand team did well to grow through a short-term scheme, there was
immediate pressure on the others to follow the same.
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The process of identifying fast trackers began to cause disgruntlement among employees.
Initially, when HUL instituted the system of listers, it had focused more on performance.
However, over the years, apart from performance, the potential of the person had played a
bigger
role in identifying the fast trackers. This seemed to have introduced an element of subjectivity in
the process of identifying talent.
When Dadiseth rolled out Project Millennium, many young managers were identified to lead a
set of new growth initiatives. But these initiatives had moved Lever into entirely new areas,

which took a long time to be conceptualized and implemented. Under the Lever system, there
were clear work levels, which defined the nature of work and responsibilities. So, unless there
was a change in the nature of work, a manager could not be promoted to the next level.
Career progression was also slowing down at senior levels. Many of the management
committee
members, like the head of the foods division, Gunender Kapur had been expected to move to

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larger regional roles in Asia. But the continued non-performance of the foods business had
thrown a spanner in the works. That meant that category heads were unlikely to find a berth
soon, until someone at the top moved on. Many HUL managers had CEO aspirations. They
were
attracted by the opportunities opening up in the country in newly liberalized businesses like
telecom, healthcare and insurance. They moved when they felt they did not get any clear
signals
from the top management about what the future held for them.
In 2002, responding to these concerns, HUL switched to an open job posting (OJP) system. All
new jobs were advertised on the intranet. Any employee who met the criteria could apply. HUL
also started a new personal development plan (PDP), where each manager was evaluated on a
set
of 12 competencies. The superior was expected to discuss the assessment with each person.
In the early 2000s, HUL extended the reach of its products through a new channel, the HUL
Network to leverage the power of direct selling. The HUL Network was poised to enter various
categories. HUL enrolled over 1,00,000 consultants for the Network. The company targeted a
turnover of Rs. 500 crores and planned to have a million consultants working for it by 2007.
In addition, HUL proposed a revamp of its entire brand portfolio in the face of severe
competition from low-cost manufacturers and other multinational players. HUL planned to
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upgrade its soap, skin cream, shampoo and toothpaste products, and launch new variants.
Among
the major initiatives was a new variant of Fair & Lovely, to pre-empt Procter & Gamble’s (P&G)
proposed launch of ‘Oil of Olay’ in India, a relaunch of Clinic Plus shampoo and Close Up
toothpaste and a new Liril Orange Splash soap, in addition to Liril Lime Fresh and Liril Icy Cool
Mint.
Besides revamping its brand portfolio, HUL realized that the bulk of its future growth was likely
to come from rural areas. The company embarked upon Project Shakti, which enlisted
underprivileged rural women as direct-to-home distributors. Not only did this initiative provide
sustainable income opportunities, but it also extended HUL’s rural reach to another 100 million
consumers in over 100,000 villages.

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Motivation Level

It is always important to motivate employees so they remain optimistic and can perform better

under unfavorable conditions too. For encouraging their employee Hindustan Unilever conducts

different project and programs time to time. Some of them are as follows:

1. Project Millennium –

For HUL, the problem of slow growth had not appeared overnight. Aware of the fact that many

of the growth opportunities had been tapped, Chairman Keki Dadiseth launched Project

Millennium in the late 1990s. The famous management guru, C K Prahalad, was roped in as an

advisor. Teams of young, talented managers were formed to explore and suggest ways to

generate growth. Project millennium also aimed at promoting lateral thinking and innovation

instead of being dictated only by the rules and systems, HUL was famous for. At the heart of

Project Millennium was human resources.

As Dadiseth put it,

“Growth is created by the people of an organization. To win in the New Millennium, we must

continue to attract and excite the best talent in the country. Our people will be vested with

unparalled power to imagine, innovate and implement new ideas. Our business model will make

Levers not just a great company, but also a great employer.”

2. Sankalp –

Human resources director, HUL, said: “We strongly believe that employees have an in-built

desire to give back to the society. At HUL Sankalp, we provided employees a platform with

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multiple volunteering opportunities on various social issues. Many of these are in the cities

within easy reach. We also encouraged employees to involve their families and thus started the

self actualisation process.”

With a mission statement that says ‘add vitality to life’ and a corporate culture that believes in

rendering service to community, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) started on an employee self

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actualisation journey that involved its 14,000 employees across 40 locations on completion of

75

years in October 2007.

A year later the company has exceeded what then looked like an ambitious target of

contributing

27,375 hours or one hour per day of community service for the 75 years that the company has

been in India.

The self actualisation process was introduced under the HUL sankalp programme, which was

intended to help employees make a difference and was started in October 2007. HUL Sankalp

is a platform for employees to register, track and get associated with a cause or an NGO.

The programme has now gone beyond the cities to touch lives of people in the rural districts like

that of Wad/ Jawahar. Here HUL Mumbai employees travelled 130 km to create awareness on

hand wash and hygiene. Similarly, employees have also started involving their family members.

An employee of HUL, Crystelle Ellis along with her family clocked over 600 hours of voluntary

service at the Little Sisters of the Poor, an old age home in Kolkata. Their activities included

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cooking, cleaning, serving, washing, helping the invalid to groom themselves and move about

apart from helping with office work.

3. The Vitality Index –

HUL, a company known for its marketing innovations, had come up with a health idea—the

Vitality Index. The company has applied for a copyright for the index, which is not just a set of

numbers but a reflection of its employees’ health. Eventually, says Leena Nair, Executive

Director, HR, HUL, the health of HUL’s employees reflects in the health of its business. The

company has since exported the Vitality Index to the global Unilever family, to subsidiaries in

Africa, the Middle-East, Asia-Pacific, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Employers looking to incentivize their employees need not only consider gifts and monetary

rewards. There are so many other steps and ideas that they can initiate to strike a rapport with

their workforce.

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A case in point is Hindustan Unilever’s recent health initiative for its 15,000 strong team. The

program is reaping great rewards.

The health plan is ahead of the curve and hence is getting a favorable response from the

company employees. At the heart of the new HUL initiative is a vitality index - the measurement

of the personal vitality of every individual employee. It is based on four parameters - blood

pressure, blood cholesterol, the Body Mass Index (BMI), and blood sugar.

T Rajgopal, HUL vice-president (Medical and Occupational Health) stated that, “We are

providing employees the encouragement and the necessary tools to change unhealthy lifestyles

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before these transform into chronic diseases. We do it in a fun way that also allows them to

choose the path, which fits them best.”

Learning of Employees

Managers at Unilever formed learning groups that helped them strengthen their leadership

abilities by exchanging frank feedback and developing strong mutual trust. Arising from the

focus in driving a holistic capability program, over 300 training programs were delivered through

classrooms. World saw a significant amount of sharing of Unilever best practices in building

functional expertise through Global Learning Academies. Unilever introduced an “e-learning”

platform which offers a bouquet of 3000 courses on a self learning mode via computer and

internet. These programs can be accessed by a Unilever employee anywhere in the world, at

anytime.

The employees need to be given bigger and challenging roles to strengthen the environment for

personal growth. In HUL, employees change roles in every 2-2.5 years. Different learning

programs help the employee in developing multidimensional personality. Brief introductions of

these programs are given below:

Activity Description

Familiarization Get familiar with the company's Sales System, Branch Structure and Brand
Portfolio.
Sales Stint Experience a first hand contact with the trade to get a grip of market dynamics and
understand the role of an Area Sales Manager.

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Brand Management Imbibe the Unilever principles of Brand Management, understand the role of
a Brand Manager and develop brand strategy. International Stint Complete a project in your core
functional area in another country within a duration of 8 to 12 weeks.

The objective is to help you build relevant skills in your core functional area with a global
perspective and transfer your learning’s to an Indian context. Business Projects A cross-
functional team project which shall be worked out with every Business Management Committee
and evaluated by the Management Committee at the end of the stipulated 9 week period. Rural
Consumer StintIn addition to the primary aim of community service, the objective of the four
week stint at an NGO is to give you an understanding of the Rural Consumer. Business
Orientation Program An 11-day program that mainly consists of classroom sessions at our in
house Training Centers to provide a clearer understanding of key business processes and
practices. Factory Stint Get familiar with the production process, commercial function payments
and factory working capital control. Familiarization Get familiar with the company's Sales
System, Branch Structure and Brand Portfolio.
Sales Stint Experience a first hand contact with the trade to get a grip of market dynamics and
understand the role of an Area Sales Manager.
Brand Management Imbibe the Unilever principles of Brand Management, understand the role of
a Brand Manager and develop brand strategy.
International Stint Complete a project in your core functional area in another country within a
duration of 8 to 12 weeks. The objective is to help you build relevant skills in your core
functional area with a global perspective and transfer your learning’s to an Indian context.
Business Projects A cross-functional team project which shall be worked out with every
Business Management Committee and evaluated by the Management Committee at the end of
the stipulated 9 week period.
Rural Consumer StintIn addition to the primary aim of community service, the objective of the
four-week stint at an NGO is to give you an understanding of the Rural Consumer.
Business Orientation Program

An 11-day program that mainly consists of classroom sessions at our in-house Training Centers
to provide a clearer understanding of key business processes and practices.

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Factory Stint Get familiar with the production process, commercial function payments and
factory working capital control.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

All Unilever employees are expected to avoid personal activities and financial interests which

could conflict with their responsibilities to the company. Unilever employees must not seek gain

for themselves or others through misuse of their positions.

Compliance – Monitoring – Reporting

Compliance with these principles is an essential element in our business success. The Unilever

Board is responsible for ensuring these principles are communicated to, and understood and

observed by, all employees.

Day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the senior management of the regions and operating

companies. They are responsible for implementing these principles, if necessary through more

detailed guidance tailored to local needs. Assurance of compliance is given and monitored each

year. Compliance with the Code is subject to review by the Board supported by the Audit

Committee of the Board and the Corporate Risk Committee.

Any breaches of the Code are reported in accordance with the procedures specified by the Joint

Secretaries. The Board of Unilever never criticise management for any loss of business

Resulting from adherence to these principles and other mandatory policies and instructions.

The Board of Unilever expects employees to bring to their attention, or to that of senior

management, any breach or suspected breach of these principles. Provision is made for

employees to be able to report in confidence and no employee will suffer as a consequence of

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doing so.

As Marshall McLuhan said “the medium is the message”, which refers to symbolic meaning that

a medium carries, how the message is delivered to Unilever employees and suppliers matter.

Internal conflict can be avoided by employing informal, face-to-face communication1. However

formal communication is official tool to convey corporate message to all departments, reaching

out all employees. Thus, both formal and informal communications are necessary. The more

important thing besides formal/informal communication is to make sure that the medium allows

upward communication (employees speaking to the management and management listening).

Network Building with Alumni:

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has many firsts to its credit. Now, it adds one more. India’s largest

fast-moving consumer goods company has found a new way of keeping in touch with its

employees — present and former. And it has nothing to do with Facebook and LinkedIn, which

have already made social networking sites and community building popular.

HUL has built its own community site for networking with its alumni. “The website gives a

formal structure to do things that we were already doing — networking with other Leverites,”

said Gurdeep Singh, an independent director at Blue Star, who had joined the company as a

management trainee in 1966 and retired in 2006 as the director for human resources.

Overseas most large companies have alumni associations, either informal or through an

officially-sponsored effort. In India, HR departments of several companies have started eyeing

alumni associations as a useful means of networking.

HUL is no exception, but the portal takes the effort one step further. The alumni portal, a first for

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fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in India and also a first for Unilever, was

create around Diwali last year. The company realised that even though people had moved on,
their interest in the company remained.

So far, of the 1,500 people that the company contacted, 600 have already registered. Some 270
Of them are management board representatives from diverse sectors like telecom, IT and ITeS

service, retail, banking and, of course, FMCG.

POWER AND POLITICS

Unilever strives to be a trusted corporate citizen and, as an integral part of society, to fulfill our

responsibilities to the societies and communities in which we operate. Public Activities

Unilever companies are encouraged to promote and defend their legitimate business interests.

Unilever will co-operate with governments and other organisations, both directly and through

bodies such as trade associations, in the development of proposed legislation and other

regulations which may affect legitimate business interests. Unilever neither supports political

parties nor contributes to the funds of groups whose activities are calculated to promote party

interests.

Unilever does not give or receive, whether directly or indirectly, bribes or other improper

advantages for business or financial gain. No employee may offer, give or receive any gift or

payment which is, or may be construed as being, a bribe. Any demand for, or offer of, a bribe

must be rejected immediately and reported to management. Unilever accounting records and

supporting documents must accurately describe and reflect the nature of the underlying

transactions. No undisclosed or unrecorded account, fund or asset will be established or

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maintained.

Unilever’s Mercury Fever:

In March 2001, residents of Kodaikanal, a pretty hill retreat in Southern India, caught the Anglo-

Dutch multinational Unilever red-handed when they uncovered a dumpsite with toxic mercury
laced waste from a thermometer factory run by Unilever's Indian subsidiary Hindustan Lever.

The 7.4 ton stockpile1 of crushed mercury-containing glass was found in torn sacks, spilling onto

the ground in a busy scrap yard located near a school. Despite the visible evidence, Mr.
Subramaniam, Hindustan Lever's export marketing manager, dismissed charges of indiscriminate
dumping. "No hazardous wastes have left the factory site," he said.

The company claims that none of the 140 current workers, or any of the 250 or so ex-workers,

(many of who resigned in the past due to health reasons), are at all affected by mercury. Ten

workers below the age of 40 have died while employed at the plant. No investigations were

performed at the time of death. Ex-workers report kidney problems, chronic stomachaches,

blood vomiting, infertility, and women suffering a variety of gynaecological disorders. The
company

has neither conducted a comprehensive and scientific epidemiological study, nor published the
basis of its claims that no workers have ever been affected.

Immediately after the controversy became public in March 2001, Unilever also had its workers
unearth more than 40 tons of waste from unlined pits within the factory compound. Workers
engaged in the unearthing operation say that contrary to Unilever's claims that only "non
mercury

glass wastes had been buried," the waste unearthed had visible quantities of mercury. If

this is true, the fact that none of the workers engaged in unearthing the wastes wore any

protective clothing constitutes a serious violation of worker safety norms. Unilever claims that its

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environmental and worker safety standards are applied uniformly in all their facilities worldwide.

Responding to public pressure and the weight of the evidence, the company announced the

closure of the mercury thermometer factory in India, the largest in the world, on 21 June, 2001.

Unilever was made to clean up the toxic wastes at the scrap yard under supervision of the
community and the authorities under a protocol designed to US standards. A company statement
dated June 21 explained that: "Hindustan Lever Limited has retrieved, for secure storage at the
site, the 5.3 tonnes of mercury containing glass scrap currently stored on a scrap dealers premises
in Kodaikanal, which had been inadvertently removed from the factory in breach of established
procedures." Unilever's agreement to close the factory and to clean up the scrap yard is a clear
admission of Its guilt. That it will not accept people may have been exposed to the mercury as a
result of its bad practices is scandalous.

Hindustan Unilever and Child labour Allegation:

Hindustan Unilever Ltd., an Indian subsidiary of British-Dutch multinational

company Unilever, is making use of hazardous forms of child labor in cotton seed production in

India on a large scale. An estimated number of 25,000 children, mostly girls, work an average of

ten to thirteen hours a day for Hindustan Unilever. These children get no education, earn less

than 40 Eurocents (Rs. 20) a day and were exposed to poisonous pesticides like Endosulphan

during their work. The cottonseed companies do not employ the children themselves, but they

work through agents called seed organisers. The companies unilaterally fix a price for the

farmers that make it almost impossible for them to employ adults. A child earns 30% less than a

woman and 55% less than a man.

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Corporate Responsibility
In the earlier years, HUL continued to involve itself in social welfare initiatives across the
Country, both through charity and social investment around issues like education, health,
nutrition and initiatives for the economic upliftment of the underprivileged.
In addition to initiatives like Shakti, HUL has commenced a pilot in its tea business, in
partnership with an NGO (Partners in Change) to source tea directly from small producers and
thereby improve their livelihood.
The effort of the Company in improving water availability through soil conservation and water
harvesting methods has borne good results. In the Parkhed region (near Khamgaon factory),
HUL has been successful in demonstrating the effectiveness of the model which is now ready for
roll out. In Kharchond, Silvassa the area under irrigation has increased, thereby improving the
economic condition of the villagers in the region.
The Company believes that brands must be at the forefront of driving social change. The
extension of the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna programme to 43000 villages with a view to improve
hygiene standards and thereby reduce the risks of infant mortality through diarrhoea is a case in
point. HUL has formalized a brand imprint protocol, which will help every brand to assess the
opportunities for social contribution and integrate the same in the overall brand strategy.

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Letter by Hindustan Unilever

Hindustan Unilever commits Rs 100 crores to the nation in the fight against Coronavirus

In support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the nation to help tackle the COVID-19 outbreak,
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has committed Rs 100 crores to help in the fight against coronavirus.

In public interest, HUL is reducing the prices of Lifebuoy sanitizers, Lifebuoy Liquid handwash and
Domex floor cleaners by 15%. We are commencing production of these reduced-priced products
immediately and these will be available in the market in the next few weeks. HUL has also ramped up the
production of Lifebuoy sanitizers, Lifebuoy Handwash liquid and Domex Floor Cleaners and is
committed to scaling it up even further in the coming weeks.

HUL will donate two crore pieces of Lifebuoy soaps in the next few months to the sections of the society
which need it the most.

HUL will partner with medical institutions that are providing testing and care facilities to the affected
people and provide them free supplies of sanitation and hygiene products such as hand sanitizers, bar
soaps and floor cleaners. HUL will donate Rs 10 crores to upgrade the health care facilities in testing
centres and hospitals.

The Company is committed to creating large scale awareness about protective measures through mass
communication to drive home the message of social distancing and hygiene which is critical for us as a
nation to fight this virus.

HUL is taking all necessary measures to protect the interests of its employees, support staff, distributors
and partners during these difficult times.

Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL said, “In a crisis like this Companies have a big
role to play. We are working closely with the Governments and our partners to ensure that we overcome
this global health crisis together.

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Packaged consumer goods firm Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has directed its 4,000 office-based
employees in India to work from home, starting Tuesday, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

“All office-based employees globally should work from home," Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever said on Friday.
The information was uploaded on Unilever’s global website as the company, in the wake of the rise in
Covid-19 cases, announced action for all employees, including its research and development staff, sales
team and those who work at its corporate sites.

It also imposed restrictions on official travel and large official meetings. “Any air travel which is currently
booked, apart from return-bound flights, will be cancelled centrally by our travel booking partners," the
company said.

It has also advised employees suffering from related symptoms to not enter any of its global sites or work
locations. It has also imposed restrictions on meetings or conferences of more than 20 people. Unilever
has advised employees experiencing flu-like symptoms to go for self-isolation for 14 days.

An HUL spokesperson said production at its factories will continue, especially at a time when it is trying
to meet demand for personal hygiene products.

"At an unprecedented time like this there is a heightened need for products that help to prevent the spread
of germs. The daily necessity products such as soaps, sanitisers, floor cleaners, detergents, toilet cleaners,
etc is the need of the hour. Therefore, our factories will continue to function in accordance with the
guidelines and elevated safety and hygiene protocols," the spokesperson said.

HUL has 18,000 employees in India, according to a news report by The Times of India. For now, 4000
employees or those who are office-based employees have been directed to work from home, the news
report added.

For its field sales employees, Unilever has advised them to connect with customers “virtually wherever
possible and minimise the use of public transport if a customer visit is necessary".

HUL joins a growing list of companies that are stepping up measures to contain the spread of the highly
contagious virus by asking employees to work from home, and restrict official travel.

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CONCLUSION

HUL provides health insurances and hospitalization insurances for both the employees and their
families. One can also take up yoga class classes or make use of the meditation room on campus.

Quality Education for Kids  

HUL employees can enroll their kids at Aditya Birla School and ensure a quality education at
quite a nominal cost for their children. There is even an on-campus library that the employees
have access to. Furthermore, 'Pratibha' the company's scholarship scheme is open to the children
of the employee's for professional education both in India and abroad.

Career By Choice Program

This program is specifically designed for women on a career break and looking to come back
into active work. However, its open only to women with minimum two years of experience in the
fields of marketing, human resources, supply chain or research and development. The insight
behind the program is to help the women on a career break to make a gradual transition back to
the working world. And to aid in this transition, HUL has designed comprehensive programs that
allow for a great balance of one's personal and professional needs.

Hindustan Unilever offer there employees many opportunities to develop, grow and to perform
optimally. At Unilever, you can give yourself towards your career to suit your interests and
abilities. Meanwhile, work with great brands and talented people in an informal atmosphere to
generate sustainable growth.

Training And Development

HUL believe in their personal development is important, which is why we invest time and energy
to support you so that you can perform well and can develop your skills and knowledge. There
are several ways in which we support your growth and accelerate:

1. Your Performance & Development Planning (PDP) helps you make the most of your
time at Unilever. The process guides you in setting and achieving challenging goals that

23
impact the company. It helps you plan how to develop your leadership skills and
behaviors for your current role and for years afterward.

2. We offer a wide range of general skills in line with your development needs. Moreover,
we will offer you various opportunities to develop yourself personally and professionally
through professional training at the training academy of your discipline (eg. Finance,
Marketing).

3. Another way in which Unilever is supporting your growth by providing leadership


programs that are tailored to the stage where your career is at that moment. One is the
Unilever Manager Development Programme (UMDP). This is Unilever's new global
program for management development aimed at executives, managers and managers of
managers (WL 1-3). The UMDP is the essential program to support line managers in
developing their skills in the area of managing a team and in the area of leadership. The
program brings you the essential skills you need to be a successful manager at Unilever.

4. Employees who set ambitious goals and get that contribute to a strong operating and
promote our Standards of Leadership can obtain the offer to participate in a program for
high potentials. These programs are focused on developing employees on a broader level
and with more depth, in preparation for considerably more challenging features in the
future.

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http://www.financialexpress.com/news/hindustan-lever-to-exit-hybrid-seeds-jv-
in2005/103436/2

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=480

http://www.indianet.nl/cotseed.html

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/press-releases/unilever-admits-toxic-dumping-will-
cleanup-but-not-come-clean

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3587508,flstry-1.cms

http://spoonfeedin.blogspot.com/2008/08/business-interview-nitin-paranjpe.html

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_nitin-paranjpe-crowned-at-hul_1153505

http://samsmba.blogspot.com/2007/10/case-study-hindustan-unilever.html

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=338610&chkFlg=

http://www.thebetterindia.com/tags/hindustan-unilever-limited/

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lever-agingold-boys-network-
online/360110/

http://blog.giftex.in/corporate-gifting-benefits/a-great-way-of-incentivizing-employees-the-
hulway/

http://business.outlookindia.com/newolb/article.aspx?102386

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Cons_Products/Unilever_c
opying_ HULs_project_Shakti_globally/articleshow/3986738.cms

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-3473880,flstry-1.cms

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?opn=op&autono=330477

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