Identify the mission, objectives and responsibilities of an organization within its environment Investigate the economic, social and global environment in which organizations operate Evaluate the impact of macroeconomic policy measures and influence of the global economy on selected organization and stakeholders in your country
I OVERVIEW OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN VIETNAM Vietnam is a developing country with a lot of opportunities and challenges in the process of reaching industrialization and modernization Nowadays, Vietnam is striving for the sake of rich people and powerful nation This elevated target partially depends on the importance contribution of operating results of Vietnamese enterprises especially multinational companies (MNCs) In the light of this awareness, the government and the entire political system of Vietnam always create most favourable condition for these companies to prosper to enrich themselves and society Therefore, the operation of MNCs in Vietnam is developing more and more with the useful help of the government One of the most typical MNCs in Vietnam nowadays is Unilever which is the concern of many Vietnamese people Unilever appeared in Vietnam in 1995 with their investment of more than USD 120 millions including two companies: Unilever Vietnam JV company and Unilever Vietnam company Ltd With their beautiful mission that is to add vitality to life, Unilever Vietnam brings a new chapter for the Vietnam economy as well as the quality of Vietnamese people’s life The people are more and more familiar with brands of Unilever Vietnam as their key tools in their life Some of those brands are Omo, sunlight, Sunsilk, Clear, Close-up, P/S and Knorr Today, Unilever Vietnam’s factory is running in Cu Chi in Ho Chi Minh city with their employment scale about more than 1,500 directly and 6000 people indirectly They are proud of organizing social programs which are really meaningful As a result, in April 2005, Unilever Vietnam got the second rank labour medal by the president of Vietnam for its excellent business performance and contribution to socio-economic development of Vietnam 10 II MISSION, UNILEVER VALUES AND KEY OBJECTIVES AND THE INFLUENCE OF OF ITS STAKEHOLDERS MISSION OF UNILEVER With its mission is to add vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life, Unilever leaves a special impression in consumers which any companies dream about Picture Mission of Unilever Nowadays, people are more and more concerned about the values of life that focus on not only physical health but also their daily needs and personal satisfactions Knowing this trend, Unilever concentrate on what people want and appreciate Actually this is a good signal for Unilever to continue their strategy best Vitality is considered as nutrition, hygiene which provides energy and excitedness for people to know that each day is the greatest day Therefore, Unilever’s products are really interested by most of children, housewives and people who are having a job because the products bring them comfort and strong enough to activities and be willing to face difficulties ahead That is the most wonderful effectiveness of this mission However, look at the overview, the mission of Unilever focuses more on intangible goals in order to improve the cost of living of people They forget besides making consumers’ 10 belief, another important factor making perfect development of a business is its products’ convenience and popularity With the mission only to add vitality to life, Unilever only can be a reliable address of people who are well off and their unique interest is to use products and services with high quality that ensure their physical and mental health On the other hand, a significant number of unemployed, poor people and students whose first worry with a product or service is its price People all want to consume good quality products but no one can deny that not all people have enough conditions to realize that Also, no matter how much these people want to use Unilever’s products, they couldn’t afford to that Therefore, with this mistake, Unilever misses a good number of customers whom Unilever should also have taken notice of To solve this, Unilever should be more interested in tangible goals so that Unilever is not a dream of many people but become a good friend of everyone, every family in the world Overall, Unilever has its own position to consumers and it is developing more and more, but the important thing is Unilever has to fulfill the needs of more and more people so that whenever being asked about Unilever, everyone says ‘that is the best company I have known’ VALUE OF UNILEVER In a fast changing market, values play an important part in the innovation of a company, especially a multi-national company like Unilever To develop more and more, Unilever follows its own value ‘We aim to be a trusted corporate citizen wherever we operate in the world, respected for the values and standards by which we behave’ Picture Value of Unilever 10 Unilever has carried out its values by their dedication to the quality of life of their consumers as a trusted corporate citizen The more they are trusted, the greater the opportunity to prosper They approach to provide unique and best brands associated with their mission that is to make people feel good and look good With its diversity of 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and foods products, Unilever could be totally proud of their products which can help people everywhere in the most convenient conditions Nowadays, consumers not only want their favorite brands to support specific social causes but they are also interested in brands that resonate with their hopes and concerns as citizens, as well as their desires and needs Therefore, they have reached two billion consumers worldwide to use a Unilever product on any day As far as valuation is concerned, Unilever is confident to provide its famous product line such as washing-powder, tooth-brush, soaps, and tea that always leave good impressions on customers By inspiring people take small daily actions that can add up to a big difference to the world, Unilever prove their real value which relates to making perfection in people’s life which is a dream of many people OBJECTIVES OF UNILEVER To finish its roles, this is primary objective of Unilever ‘the highest standards of corporate behavior towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch and the environment on which we have an impact’ Picture Objectives of Unilever Unilever adopted their highest standards of corporate behavior towards their employees, consumers, the society and the world which they live by expressing their working with 10 integrity They realize this by treating their employees with open and fair working styles For example, in Saudi Arabia, while people deter women from working outside the home on cultural grounds, Unilever’s local managers have guaranteed that women are entitled to work for their company under the permission of the authorities Besides they also want to make good environment which creates comfort and inspiration for their employees to get best results Although there are eight executive directors of Unilever from six different nationalities and their 200 leaders also represent more than 40 nationalities, Unilever can still create an environment where each individual can bring his or her whole self to work For Unilever, their diverse workforce can not only help them understand their consumers’ needs and desires better and give them more creative and competitive advantages but also make them more resilient, responsive and adaptive to change Their aim is to help their employees get positive impact through many ways such as their brands, relationship between their staff, voluntary contributions and other activities that contribute to develop their organizational culture and fasten relationships inside as well as outside the company As a result, it is specific enough to understand but not measurable enough to get strategies in detail in order to reach it in a particular time Therefore, it does not meet the requirements of SMART technique, its reality and achievement is not high Another primary objective of Unilever that need to be concerned is to ‘double the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact’ To accomplish this objective, Unilever gave four main strategies as follow: - Winning with brands and innovation: Superior products Picture Superior product of Unilever 10 Unilever would like to give people a great experience when they use their brands so they will invest in improving products quality and making stronger functional diams Besides they are also interested in designing, packaging, marketing and advertising to make their brands more persuasively and reliably Widespread appeal Unilever desires to provide a broad range of choice that could meet their customers’ needs about both product quality and the price points - Winning in the market place Unilever aim to win in the market place by laeding market development with three ways: More users (increasing market penetration) More usage (increasing consumption) More benefits (getting consumers to buy higher value products) Besides, Unilever also have intention of winning with winning customers and being an execution powerhouse - Winning through continuous improvement There are many techniques Unilever uses to reach this objective: Fast and flexible and increasingly competitive Making use of global scale The best return on brand and customer investment 10 Picture Black tea: Russian earl grey - Winning with people Developing a team fit for growth A place to succeed With this strategy, Unilever aims to get the trust from their customers and manage larger scale With such specific strategies and plans, this objective of Unilever gets requirements of SMART technique so it is really positive and realistic to these THE INFLUENCE OF STAKEHOLDERS There are three main types of stakeholders which are divided by internal stakeholders, connected stakeholders and external stakeholders Each stakeholder will play a particular role in an organization and below is the function and influence of six stakeholders of Unilever TYPES Internal Stakeholders Connected Stakeholders External Stakeholders STAKEHOLDERS Management STAKEHOLDER MAPPING KEY KEEP KEEP MINIMAL PLAYERS SATISFIED INFORMED EFFORT / / Employees Shareholders / Customers / Central Government / Professional Group / Table The influence of stakeholders 10 4a Management Management is considered as key players for many reasons They are people who make business strategies for the company so they must have high interest in the company to have enough information about their company supporting their strategies they must Also, the operation of the company is under their strategies, so they have high influence in their company Paul Polman, the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, is responsible for sharpening the strategy, improving execution in the market place, sharpening the emphasis on innovation and injecting a new sense of energy and urgency into the Group Therefore, he plays an important part in the development of the company and has a great influence on the group with his interest and ideas as well as strategies he promotes 4b Employees Employees play an important role in the operation of a company especially Unilever This company is really interested in their employees by many different ways Firstly, Unilever proposes to make a various working environment so that their employees feel trusted, respected with their tasks and responsible for the performance and reputation of the company On the other hand, Unilever also carries out many motivation poplicies with convenient promotion based on sole basis of the qualifications and abilities required They are committed to safe and healthy working conditions for their employees They also respect the individual freedom of their staff without using any forms of obligation or compulsoriness by maintaining good communication with their staff With their care, the employees are always regarded as keep informed members of the company 4c Shareholders 10 Shareholders keep satisfied members who have low interest but high influence in the company because they are investors who only want to get back their capital in the company without any hard supervisors with the operation of the company On the other hand, Unilever must always offer timely, regular and reliable information on their activities, structure, financial situation and performance to all shareholders 4d Consumers Like shareholders, consumers play an extremely important part in impact on unilever To reach its own objectives as well as strategies, Unilever has to take great notice of the needs of consumers to provide branded products and services which offer value in terms of price and quality and safe for their intended use Besides, to touch more and more consumers, Unilever ought to advertise and promote their products with logical and understandable methods 4e Central government The government has low interest but high influence in Unilever through many aspects The first thing is that wherever Unilever operate, they must obey laws and rules there They suffer from the influence of tax policies, resources allocation policies and even the force from governments Another thing is that they can also make use of opportunities to develop and promote their company In particular, Unilever can widen their long-term view for going further in Vietnam with intergration of Vietnam into WTO in 2007, Unilever has got more and more competitive environment to discover their strengths 4f Professional Group American chamber of commerce in Vietnam is one of the most typical professional groups in Vietnam that has high interest in Unilever This organization is greatly interested in Unilever’s activities with a lot of information they get from Unilever as their concern They have a special concern about Unilever’s products, social programs and achievements 10 III THE EXTENT TO WHICH UNILEVER ACHIEVES THE OBJECTIVES OF THREE STAKEHOLDERS Each company has its strategies and policies to meet the objectives of its stakeholders Following that, to meet their objective, Unilever should know clearly about their objectives so that they will evaluate what they achieve and what they have not yet achieved, and then they will have plans and strategies to realize them Below are the objectives of three stakeholders of Unilever including employees, customers and central government: TYPES STAKEHOLDERS OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED/ NOT ACHIEVED Internal Employees Stakeholders Good working environment Personal vitality (Insurance) Connected Customers Stakeholders Achieved Achieved Good income (salary) Achieved Satisfaction in products’ Achieved diversity Satisfaction in products’ quality Achieved Not achieved Added-value products External Stakeholders Central Government Follow government laws and regulation Achieved Achieved Follow legal proceedings 10 Vietnam will not have to pay attention to this policy In addition, there are also tax for some goods and service as below Type of Goods or Services / Tax rate % 1.2a Goods 1.2a.1 Tobacco products a) filtered cigarettes produced mainly from imported raw materials 65% b) cigarettes without filters and cigars 25% 1.2a.2 Spirits a) over 40 degrees proof 75% b) from 20 to 40 degrees proof 30% c) under 20 degrees proof and fruit spirits 20% d) medicinal spirits 15% 1.2a.3 Beer a) bottled beer, canned beer and fresh beer 75% b) draught beer 30% 1.2a.4 Automobiles a) up to seats 80% b) between and 15 seats 50% c) between 16 and 24 seats 25% 1.2a.5 Gasoline of various kinds, naphtha, reformed components and other compounds for mixing gasoline 10% 1.2a.6 Air-conditioners with a capacity of 90,000 BTU or less 15% 1.2a.7 Playing cards 40% 1.2a.8 Votive paper and votive objects 70% 10 1.2b Services 1.2b.1 Discotheque, massage parlours and karaoke bars 30% 1.2b.2 Casino and reward games, including jackpot, slot and other similar machines 25% 1.2b.3 Betting business 25% 1.2b.4 Golf business, including sale of membership cards and golf game tickets 10% 1.2b.5 Lottery business 15% Business License Tax Business License Tax is a tax on the business capital of business establishments The tax payment deadline is at the end of the first month of operations (for the new business establishments) and as at 31 January of each calendar year for business establishments already in operations Business License Tax rate (annually) depends on the registered capital, as follows: Over VND10 billion VND3,000,000 From VND5 billion to VND10 billion VND2,000,000 From VND2 billion to VND5 billion VND1,500,000 Less than VND2 billion VND1,000,000 With the capital over VND 60 billion, every year Unilever Vietnam will have o pay VND million for its business license tax With the tax that Unilever Vietnam has to pay, it will cost a quite large amount of money, which leads to a fixed amount of money that Unilever always has to pay annually By paying tax on time, Unilever Vietnam not only proves that they obey policies and regulations of Vietnam but they also complete their ethnical responsibility as a multinational in Vietnam Besides, foreign employees of Unilever Vietnam who has to pay personal tax should be also proud of their completion to their personal responsibility as a person who is staying in Vietnam Also, paying personal 10 tax can help them feel fair with other and this makes them as an official citizen of Vietnam MONEYTARY POLICY OF VIETNAM AND ITS IMPACT ON UNILEVER AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS Monetary policy is any approach undertaken by the central bank to influence the level of economic activity The primary objective of the central bank in many countries is control of inflation and supervision of the banking system However, operations of the central bank will affect other aspects of the economy as well, such as real GDP level, unemployment, and the exchange rate In Vietnam, the State Bank has maintained a relatively restrained overall monetary policy over the past decade This has been successful in reducing the triple digit inflation rates in the late 1980’s to the relatively comfortable rates that prevail today The State Bank has also implemented a number of financial sector reforms including gradual interest rate liberalization As the process of financial and banking reform continues in Viet Nam, the conduct of monetary policy will evolve as well, leading to a better allocation of financial resources, and improved overall effectiveness of monetary policy Given the context of economic recession prevention, macroeconomic stabilization, investment and consumption stimulation, inflation controlling, foreign exchange rate stabilization and export strengthening, the government applied the loosened monetary policy with caution and flexibility to support the liquidity and create conditions for credit institutions to expand their credit effectively Policy measures are, as follows: Providing interest rate subsidies: Firms and individuals in business and manufacturing have gotten interest rate assistance of 4% per annum for the shortterm loan contracts Since April 2009, this package has been expanded to medium and long-term loan contracts and simultaneously supported for loans to purchase 10 machineries, equipments, materials for agricultural productions and for constructing houses in rural areas Adjusting and maintaining the interest rate at rational level since February 2009 in order to reduce the lending interest rate level and to strengthen the mobilization sources to meet the credit expansion of the economy; thereby, the prime interest rate in VND was adjusted from 8.5% to 7% per annum, refinancing rate and discount rate were also reduced from 9.5% to 7% per year and from 7.5% to 5% per year, respectively Since December 2009, all the aforementioned interest rates have readjusted 1% additional to response the new conditions of the economy Reducing the compulsory reserve ratio for savings in VND from 5% to 3% (less than 12 month term) effective in March 2009; from 2% to 1% (12 month and longer term) in January 2009 Simultaneously, interest rate of compulsory treasury decreased from 8.5% to 1.2% per year; Managing the open market operations flexibly, focusing on offering valuable papers with suitable term and interest rate in order to control the availability of capital of credit institutions, increase the capital supply and support for institutions to ensure the liquidity and stablize the interest rate in the inter-bank market Executing the foreign currency swap with commercial banks in order to support capital in VND, reduce the imbalance between capital source and uses in both VND and foreign currency in commercial banks, and supplement foreign currency for commercial banks to intervene the foreign exchange market when necessary Widening the exchange rate margin for USD/VND from +3% to +5% on 14 th March 2009 and controlling the average inter-bank interest rate in accordance with the market signal and the objectives of export stimulation and import limitations Implementing synchronously credit controlling measures, including restructuring debt payment terms, adjusting interest rate of signed contracts to the current interest rate, adjusting loan structure, giving capital priority to production, 10 exports, closely controlling capital for non-production areas, such as real estate, consumption, etc Table 29 below illustrates the evolution of the inflation rate since 1986 and the distinct different patterns of inflation in Vietnam before and after 1995 Because of experience from hyperinflation in the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, in the years 1986 to 1988, the Vietnam’s annual inflation rate was above 300% and following that was a reduction of the inflation rate to below 20% in 1992 and close to 10% in 1995 The period after 1995 was characterized by modest inflation and even slight deflation in the years 1999 and 2000 In more recent years, inflation has picked up again, with annual inflation rates of 9.5% in 2004 and 8.4% in 2005 Table 29 Inflation rate of Vietnam from 1986 to 2004 Since 1996 there is the seeming lack of a relationship between the inflation rate and growth of money and credit to the economy as shown in table 29 On the other hand, the average annual money growth during this period was 31%, while the average inflation rate was 3.7% 10 Table 30 Inflation and money growth In contrast, money supply and inflation appear to be disconnected for most of the period (table 30) The role of monetary factors in explaining the recent rise in prices in Vietnam is questioned and authorities appear to favor the hypothesis that the increases in the inflation rate, especially in 2004, have been induced by supply shocks such as avian flu outbreaks and bad weather These shocks primarily affected food prices and international commodity prices In particular, in the first nine months of 2004, staple food prices increased by 12.5% and other food prices by 16.8%, compared to an overall inflation of 8.6% and non-food inflation of only 3.7% Meanwhile, the implementation of loosened monetary policy had also brought many satisfactory results Total payment means increased by 28.7% and total credit for the economy increased by 37.7% compared to 2008 As a result, many enterprises had more favorable conditions to access capital with low interest rate; thereby, reducing the production costs, maintaining and expanding their production and business, creating more jobs for labor After all, this report would focus most on interest rate (bank interest rates) Interest rates have been gradually liberalized since the mid-1990s Previously, the SBV set deposit as well as lending rates and, since October 1992, ceilings for lending rates and floors for deposit rates Interest rates for foreign currency loans were liberalized in July 2001 and 10 lending rates for loans in domestic currency in June 2002 Since 2002, commercial banks in Vietnam have been able to legally set lending rates as well as deposit rates according to market conditions The liberalization of lending rates for domestic currency loans, however, did not lead to a noticeable increase in lending rates in Vietnam, as can be seen in table 31 Interest rates started to increase slightly in 2004 in reaction to rising inflation rates, increasing dollar rates and, more recently in 2005, as a result of tightening monetary policy and increasing demand for loans But the increases in interest rates have been relatively limited The lack of a response of interest rates to the liberalization of lending rates can partly be explained by the fact that at the time when interest rates were liberalized, three quarters of total loans were provided by SOCBs, which have a history of providing loans without taking credit risks fully into account Table 31 Interest rates of Vietnam central bank from 1996 to 2005 The Vietnam economy with a population of 85.8 Million (Est Apr 2009) ranks 44th in the world with a GDP PPP of 240 billion and GDP PPP per capita of 2,942 vs 45,934 (United States) according to the IMF in 2009 With its currency the Vietnamese Dong (VND), 10 bank deposits held for a fixed term in Vietnam are called term deposits According to CIA.gov its inflation was 23.1% in 2008 and 7% in 2009 Table 32 Top Deposit Accounts in Vietnam Fixed Deposit OCB Orient Commercial Bank Term Deposit Agribank Year Fixed Term Deposit Account Details Currency Rate p.a./APR Rate is for 12 months and paid at maturity VND 14.00% Jul, 2011 VND 14.00% Jun, 2011 VND 13.17% This interest rate is applicable for this product is for a 12 month / year term with a minimum balance of VND 1,000,000 These interest rates are applicable for a 12 month / year term and require HSBC Vietnam minimum deposit of VND10,000,000 Year Time The rate varies according to the following amounts deposited below Deposit with Interest received monthly < VND1bio Jul, 2011 13.17% >= VND1bio and < VND2bio 13.17% 10 Fixed Deposit Account Details Currency Rate p.a./APR >= VND2bio and < VND3bio 13.17% >= VND3bio 13.17% According to the table above, it is clear that the interest rate base of state banks is higher than other bank in particular it is HSBC (a foreign bank from Hongkong) This is a challenge for state banks because after evaluating this, companies or business such as Unilever will concern about their benefit they could get from the uneven of the interest rate between state banks, private banks and foreign banks Comparing to the interest rate of banks in 2010, the interest rate in 2011 increased to 14 percent from 12 percent and this also makes difficulties for companies like Unilever in borrowing money for their investment or projects because they will have to pay more for the interest rate that will reduce their profits In addition, the increase in interest rate will decrease the number of companies or enterprise to borrow money from banks because they will have to consider about their cost and profit from this On the other hand, increasing interest rate will make decrease in consumer and investment spending This means reduction in investment of company in which Unilever dose not stay out of this trend Following that the unemployment also increases because the capacity of entrepreneurs to support their work with the higher requirement in interest rate However, the rate increase may help restore confidence in the Vietnamese stock index, which has lost almost 60 percent this year and is the world's worst performer Also this will make decrease in inflation in which it is said that the Vietnamese economy and the dong are under pressure from inflation running at more than 25 percent and soaring imports that have tripled the trade deficit this year to $14.4 billion 10 GLOBALIZATION AND THE INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS ON VIETNAMECONOMY AND UNILEVER AND STAKEHOLDERS Economic "globalization" is a historical process, the result of human innovation and technological progress It refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders The term sometimes also refers to the movement of people (labor) and knowledge (technology) across international borders There are also broader cultural, political, and environmental dimensions of globalization The term "globalization" began to be used more commonly in the 1980s, reflecting technological advances that made it easier and quicker to complete international transactions—both trade and financial flows It refers to an extension beyond national borders of the same market forces that have operated for centuries at all levels of human economic activity—village markets, urban industries, or financial centers Globalization is assessed as the main reason for the severe effects of recent financial crisis in developing countries However, globalization neither causes financial crises nor makes them more severe and, they are not at all new events According to Professor Kindleberger, these crises are thoroughly unoriginal, even though during the past 300 years in each crisis politicians and the media have made hyperbolic statements about every event A core element of globalization is the expansion of world trade through the elimination or reduction of trade barriers, such as import tariffs Greater imports offer consumers a wider variety of goods at lower prices, while providing strong incentives for domestic industries to remain competitive Exports, often a source of economic growth for developing nations, stimulate job creation as industries sell beyond their borders More generally, trade enhances national competitiveness by driving workers to focus on those vocations where they, and their country, have a competitive advantage Trade promotes economic resilience and flexibility, as higher imports help to offset adverse domestic 10 supply shocks Greater openness can also stimulate foreign investment, which would be a source of employment for the local workforce and could bring along new technologies— thus promoting higher productivity Picture 11 International trade The global financial crisis is already causing a considerable slowdown in most developed countries Governments around the world are trying to contain the crisis, but many suggest the worst is not yet over Stock markets are down more than 40% from their recent highs Investment banks have collapsed, rescue packages are drawn up involving more than a trillion US dollars, and interest rates have been cut around the world in what looks like a coordinated response Leading indicators of global economic activity, such as shipping rates, are declining at alarming rates When the financial crisis in the U.S unfolded with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the demise of Wall Street, Japan and Europe basically did nothing beyond hoping that the storm would simply pass The initial European reaction was to blame U.S “turbo capitalism” vs a more balanced approach of universal banking and tighter financial control in Europe Japan, on the other hand, did not even get scared enough to blame 10 anybody After its own experience with a finance/real estate driven bubble and crisis, policymakers and companies felt comparatively comfortable in the knowledge that Japan’s finance had already taken the medicine the U.S is now about to swallow, and that Japan’s painful decade-long internal restructuring might have insulated her companies from external trouble Comparing with the U.S S&L crisis or Japan’s financial crisis of the 90s, the direct impact of a financial crisis would have been less contained to the originating country, with some staged spillovers into the economies of partner countries, including related rescues of financial institutions On basis of this experience, the European Central Bank’s early reaction to provide ample liquidity when things started to look shaky last year, as well as the UK’s early move to nationalize a troubled bank, looked prudent Japan, again, seemed well protected; knowing that the BOJ would probably be the best prepared and most professional when it comes to flooding her market with liquidity when need arises (after all, zero-interest-rate and quantitative-easing policy had just ended a few years ago) Many Japanese companies, including major banks, even saw the bursting of the current financial bubble as a welcome chance to turn into vultures and press ahead with their plans of (strategic) overseas expansion However, such financial globalization is only one side; the financial crisis that began in August 2007 and intensified in the fall of 2008 pushed the global economy into a severe downturn that some have called the Great Recession World trade collapsed at a pace unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s The decline in trade and the protectionist instincts that invariably come to the fore in difficult economic times have raised concerns that today’s crisis may lead to deglobalization—a reversal of the globalization that has characterized the past three decades Expecting lower trade and exports, industrial production had already been cut quite a bit, but the huge “domestic” European market was thought to be safe This was a wrong assumption, as it turns out – European consumers are balking at the cashier and are not buying anymore They were already hit by high consumer prices that evolved with the steep increases of oil and producer prices 10 during the buildup of the U.S.-fueled global liquidity and production bubble Now, as the financial crisis adds to insecurity, these households are reacting immediately and bringing Europe’s economy to a halt; long before a trade-related spillover of the U.S crisis would have hit Similarly, in Japan corporations are facing a fast and severe deterioration of their business environment It is not only exports to the U.S that are faltering With Europe heading towards recession and a looming financial crisis almost simultaneously with the U.S., overseas demand takes a big hit, which is bad enough in an economy that has been flat or shrinking on the domestic side for almost a decade The real danger now looms in Japan’s (in the meantime) most important East Asian markets Fast growing, developing countries and corporations depend on healthy export markets and on cheap, readily available credit and finance And both are simultaneously under threat now The global financial crisis influenced remarkably on Vietnam economy Following that, the international prices of commodities were on a declining trend since the third quarter of 2008, export orders for garments and other industrial products collapsed in the fourth quarter of 2008, and a slowdown in manufacturing became noticeable The impact was apparent in the first quarter of 2009, when GDP increased only by 3.1 percent from a year earlier, or percentage points below the average first-quarter growth for the last few years However, positive signs of recovery have been emerging as a result of the government efforts to support economic activity The government announced its stimulus package which included various measures, from an interest rate subsidy, to tax breaks, and to additional capital spending As a result, GDP grew by 4.5 percent in the second quarter and 5.8 percent in the third, raising real GDP growth to 4.6 percent year-on-year for January-September While manufacturing sector is still facing tough challenges because of falling demand, the construction sector is a leading factor of the recovery, with value-added in the sector projected to reach a double-digit growth rate for the whole year Domestic consumption is also an important factor of the recovery process, with retail sales increasing 9.3 percent in real terms during January-August from a year earlier Even though the World Bank’s 10 forecasts a growth rate of 5.5 percent for 2009 as a whole, or more than percentage points below the trend, we believe that Vietnam’s economy navigated the crisis relatively well compared to other countries in the region Besides, this global financial crisis also made a big impact on Unilever Vietnam and its stakeholders This crisis leads to the crisis in consuming habits of Vietnamese people which is an important factor for manufacturing and selling products of Unilever Vietnam Because of this, the amount of sales of Unilever Vietnam decreased and this also made decrease in revenue and profits of the company The negative change in the revenue of the company also made a bad influence on its stakeholders with their income and lifestyle The difficulties in money problems are easy to make them confused or angry, which are reasons for troubles in making right decisions As a result, difficulties happened continuously and made serious damages in both mental and physical factors of the stakeholders as well as the physical and economic damages of the Unilever Vietnam Company CONCLUSION With a long history in Vietnam, Unilever has become a familiar image in the products that Vietnamese people rely on By their vision, mission and objectives which are applied in all the locations that Unilever presents, Unilever makes a complete agreement in the way it operates Besides, the convenience in the extent of Unilever to achieve the objectives of its stakeholders also makes it become the first choice for talented and ambitious people Also, Unilever is a good environment for people to develop themselves for future promotion and better quality of life Moreover, Unilever completed its responsibilities excellently with meaningful achievements, which leaves a good and long- 10 term impression on consumers with the company This is a fundamental reason for the loyalty of consumers and a useful mean of promotion for the corporate image Existed in Vietnam since 1995, Unilever got over its opportunities and difficulties from ups and downs of Vietnam, especially Vietnam’s policies to adjust the changes in the economy and development of other countries in the world Although Vietnam is still a developing country, it is going on its objective for an industrial nation in 2020 To realize this objective, Vietnam will have to deal with many troubles and it really needs enthusiastic cooperation from domestic as well as international companies and entrepreneurs Unilever is also a company that has a great contribution in many important activities and campaigns of Vietnam; it is also influenced by all the changes in the structures and development of Vietnam 10 ... 2 010 was that Paul Walsh purchased 1, 000 PLC ordinary shares on February 2 010 and Charles Golden purchased 1, 000 NV New York shares on 22 February 2 010 PUBLIC RELATIONS AND CORPORATE IMAGE 5 .1. .. Appointed at 2009 AGMs Table 10 Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration in 2009 (a) NV shares are ordinary €0 .16 shares and PLC shares are ordinary 31 9p shares Table 11 Non-Executive Directors’... 30% is based on individual business and leadership, including corporate social responsibility, targets 10 For 2009 the target bonus for the Chief Executive Officer was 11 3% of salary and the maximum