Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 1

CASE STUDY: THE MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF UNILEVER

BASED ON BUSINESS PRIORITIES

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 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 2

Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever

Introduction

In advancing the quality of processes based on organisational management and the

success of an organisation, it is crucial to consider the relevance of constant upgrades and

consistent management capability. This is an aspect that Vlajčić et al. (2019), in their study based

mainly on the implications of cultural intelligence and knowledge transfer in international

companies, noted that most of these companies have been considered providers of knowledge

and technology to their branches and, more recently, as the authors point out, trends have been

consistently increasing demanding for adaption and further consistent consideration of growth.

Among the key aspects the authors pointed out to have an implication for companies is the skills,

capabilities, and consistent knowledge growth in managers. As such, this leads to the

consideration of the implications that management development has on companies. As defined

by Kourtesopoulou and Kriemadis (2021), management development is an aspect that considers

the process of improvement and change considered in an organisation, specifically targeting

managers to improve their skills. This skills improvement targets the efficacy of an organisation

through the potential considered to have an implication in the future of a company. Among the

many companies considered to be the key pioneers of management, development is Unilever

which is a company that has always considered the role of management development through

consistent change courtesy of the structure of the company. The research thus considers the

utilisation of the case of Unilever and its international approach to management development to

explicitly explain and justify not only the relevance but also the significance and consistent

change observed in management development at Unilever.

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Literature Review

Change and relevance in companies

Management is defined as the degree of supervision that exists between the rank and file

and the organisation’s top executives (Lim et al., 2017). Organisational performance relies on

competent managers, who must have specialised knowledge, skills, and abilities to manage

organisational goals and engage employees (Griffin et al., 2016). Management development is a

systematic approach to creating successful managers. Managers have the essential responsibility

of transforming leadership and shareholder goals into legal and effective operations to achieve

these goals (Stahl et al., 2020). As a result, managers become facilitators and problem solvers.

Among the many important factors contributing to managerial advancement is the change, which

is considered the most important among other significant aspects of management

development (Mishra & Tikoria, 2021). In his research, Vito (2016) found that one of the most

important elements of managerial development is the ability to manage change, including

succession planning. A well-planned change implementation approach anticipates stakeholder

interactions and helps implementation team members to adapt their actions and arguments to

meet stakeholder reactions.

Aims of Management Development

As noted before, there is a significant role played by management development and

change. This means that through organisations considering the relevance of change, there needs

to be further consideration of how the environment consistently changes. Through management

development, organisations have different aims, and it is also crucial to consider the company’s

goals and how they affect the choice in management development. In their research, Tallman et

al. (2018) necessitated that in advancing to global operations, companies, in most instances,
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 4

always target achieving competitiveness given the competitive operations in the global market.

As such, as necessitated by the future-oriented goals, organisations need to focus on different

perspectives that are future-oriented and target promoting the efficacy of their operations.

Megheirkouni (2018) noted that this is through management development which has two primary

goals involving the efficacy of its managers and the potential of its managers in the future

operations. This, as Bhatnagar et al. (2020) frames it, targets the internal strengths of human

resources with the approach focusing on the present and futuristic goals.

Management Development Systems

As has previously been noted to have a significant influence based on global operations

to attract efficacy in future practices and current managerial aspects, management development

systems have an influence through characteristics that can be noted in different organisations.

These characteristics are geared towards a win-win concept that Nangoli et al. (2020) state

focuses on addressing the relationship between managers and their employers. There are three

defining principles noted by Werner (2021) that have an implication for the characteristics of

management development systems in organisations. These include development, human

resource, and management. According to Ju (2019), the human resource aspect mainly considers

the increment of knowledge, skills, and capabilities in employees within a company. On the

other hand, development based on management development is perceived as the process

involving knowledge gaining and consistent change in managerial skills and capabilities hence

making the skills utilisable both currently and in the future. Lastly is the aspect of management,

which, as defined by Nicholas (2018), is a process that involves the coordination of

organisational activities through overseeing the human capital in a company hence efficacy in

productivity.
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 5

Success Associated with Management Development

Management development being a broad concept and considered widely by different

companies, is an aspect that has a considerable implication on the success of companies. Not

forgetting the key aims which can be developed further to the success of companies based on

future-oriented businesses and competitiveness and further internal management stability, there

are other key aspects identified by Swensen et al. (2016) and Shum et al. (2018), including

program design that advances management based on people, results, leadership, and competency;

expectancy based on learning journey; self-focus and implications of management development

in personal and organisational benefits; management assessment objectives; flexibility in the

working processes; accountability through effective metrics and growth; and organisation as well

as personal manager growth. Regardless, authors such as Abzari and Teimouri (2009) noted that

success in management development is always hard to measure. This necessitates organisations

always to consider competency and consistency given the continuous change in practices in

management development and alignment with metrics utilised in companies to measure their

strategic goals in their operations.

Performance Development Planning

When considering management development, it is also necessary to point out the

significance played by performance development planning. Baster and Hofisi (2020) defined a

performance development plan as a tool that is considered to improve the performance of

employees. Lye et al. (2021) and Arpa (2018) also stated that a performance development plan

always has an implication of helping managers and employees identify areas needing

improvement, setting goals, measure the progress of a program, and further outlining the strategy

that is considered in outlining the strategy used by an organisation in achieving objectives. As

 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 6

such, organisations targeting utilising management development, as necessitated by Mbangeleli

and Ojugbele (2021), need to consider the significance of performance development planning

and how it can be incorporated in ensuring success in the considered management development

strategies.

Analysis

When targeting management development, it is also considerable to note that most

companies are always strategic and further consider the significance of the performance. This is

based on the future perspective and furthers the company’s current state. As such, from the

framework developed by Ismael and Khourshed (2013) that is based on strategic management

development, as shown in figure 1 below, there are crucial aspects that need to be considered

step-wisely, specifically focusing on Unilever. In the conceptual analysis by Ismael and

Khourshed (2013), the authors implemented both management development and performance

development planning. In analysing from the start, Unilever started by analysing the key features

in the company based on management and considered a structure in management that was

relevant to its operations, mainly focusing on trends in the company and its employees (Reitsma,

2001). This followed scenario and strategic development based on aims, mainly future leadership

of the business and full potential in individuals within the company. This aimed at growth in

performance and people and the value of customers, considered critical success factors (Reitsma,

2001; Ismael & Khourshed, 2013). In figure 1, steps E to H mainly focuses on the PDP, which

Reitsma (2001) noted that Unilever considered mainly in target setting, performance review, skill

and competence development plan, and company career planning. Step L to K mainly focuses on

the last aspect of the PDP by Reitsma (2001), which focuses on the actions considered by the

company featuring management development. This proves the multiple application and
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 7

incorporation of management development over the years the company has been in operation. As

acknowledged by Thorpe (2016), Unilever has been a successful company that has effectively

utilised management development to sustain the business internationally.

Figure 1: Plan for applying Strategic Performance Management Development Cycle (Ismael &
Khourshed, 2013, p.3).

Methodology

In addressing the key target of the research, which focuses on a case study that focuses on

interventions and outcomes, the research considered the collection of data from multiple research

done by different researchers and the outcomes that were gained based on the consideration of

the management development in Unilever. As such, no qualitative data was collected as this was

based on qualitative aspects focusing on outcomes and interventions and collecting the key

insights of the research from literature. The collected data is based mainly on literature by

different authors and further the consideration of reports from the company noting the significant

growth and improvement based on the utilisation of management development and further other
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 8

aspects of performance development planning. As previously acknowledged, given that the

research mainly focuses on text data rather than quantitative data, the presentation will be

highlighted through a critical discussion of the data from multiple sources.

Results and Discussion

Table 1: Results.

From the results summarised in table 1 above, four studies were noted to significantly

influence the understanding of the processes involved in management development, highlighted

significantly by Manzoor (2016) and further the relevance of management development and
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 9

process cycle with considerations of constant evaluation noted by different authors. From the

analysis, as quoted from a study by Manzoor (2016, p.3);

“Unilever has a similar training system in place that helps them find those potential future

leaders. They have a structured and organised form of training system that is conducive

to employees’ growth needs as well as the organisation’s progressive needs. As a result, a

good training system has allowed Unilever to brand itself as an organisation that every

graduate wants to work for.”

This proves the necessity of management development in Unilever. Additionally,

focusing on a study by Humphries-Kil (2019), the author noted that in training and development

specifically focusing on the globalisation of the company, there is a consideration of the

relevance of global culture; Manzoor (2016) noting that this features local leadership

development in a bid to address future leadership in the organisation. Humphries-Kil (2019)

added further that the organisation considers the value of employees’ culture, interests, and

values, thus enabling sufficient growth and training, hence the company’s success. This, to

Manzoor (2016), fosters employee satisfaction and thus success in work output. Ionescu-Somers

and Brassey (2019) also noted the global aspect of human resource, which have enabled the

organisation always to feature futuristic goals. This can be noted in the 2020 leadership goals

outlined further by the author. Lastly is a study by Enoch (2016), who noted that of all the

strategies considerations, the organisation targets to change the efficacy of leadership and the

global perspective of the company hence competitiveness and change management.

Conclusion

Conclusively, from the analysis of literature and further the analysis of the case,

management development has been noted to be a key aspect in the efficacy of operations of
 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 10

companies, especially those operating globally. Significant insights on the role of strategically

training managers in organisations developed key insights in knowledge and further the

appreciation of effective incorporation of performance development planning hence making

management development more effective. Unilever being a case considered, there has been

numerous steps and success noted in the company over the years, and this has been noted to have

been documented by different authors. Thus, it is recommended that companies always consider

the relevance of management development with the incorporation of personal development

planning as a booster for effective development training and skills development.

Reflection

Generally, from the research, there have been several aspects that have had a personal

influence. The first focuses on professional development, where through the research, I have

gained insights into the relevance of different processes in organisations. This includes the

relevance of process development planning which has, as noted, an influence on the quality of

management development. It has been noted to play a role in promoting aligning training needs

and goals with organisational objectives. The research has also aided in advancing personal

research skills, which is crucial in management.

Lastly, from the analysis of the situation with the benefit of hindsight, the research would

have been different given that the research challenge would have been evaded. Additionally,

considering the influence of understanding the context just immediately it happened, then it

would have been effective in reducing the strain in understanding the situation over the timeline

it happened and analytically applying the concepts understood in management.

 Case Study: Management Development Strategy of Unilever 11

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