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Inside the global giants
We hear a lot about the power of big multinationals and the inexorable spread of globalisation, which has made them even more influential. But how much do we really know about the way big business works? How does a company's culture affect its profile and involvement in the community outside the factory door? How does a company balance its global financial interests with the concerns of the community - and the country in which it's working? (…)
Unilever is the world's biggest food and soap company. It works its way into the lives of millions of people in 150 countries round the world, with brands like Omo washing powder, Lipton tea, Dove soap, and Magnum ice-cream.
But this multinational operates with a distinctive approach. Unlike some other corporations such as Coca Cola and McDonalds, it's built its success largely by adapting its products to local conditions, rather than making a virtue of their uniformity. It calls itself the "multi-local multinational".
In Ghana, for example, that means producing tiny packs of Frytol cooking oil and Close-up toothpaste, simply because that is all most consumers can afford. The company's distribution network, built up over many years, is also adapted to this economy where many people have no savings. Goods are effectively given to street traders on one week's credit, and the payment is collected a week later when the trader has accumulated some cash from his or her customers.
By carefully cultivating the custom of some of the poorest people in the world, as well as richer consumers in developed countries, Unilever has become a fantastically wealthy company. For the first nine months of 2002, its profits exceeded 3 billion euros. (…)
The company spent 57 million euros on community programmes in 2001, from a turnover of just over 52 billion euros. (…)
Like many companies in the modern world of business, Unilever understands the value of being seen to benefit the communities where it works. Unlike some of those companies, however, it's been doing this for a very long time.
BBC World Service (Specials): Inside the Global Giants
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