DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
17-1. Are top executives of global companies likely to be home-country nationals?
In a truly global company, the person chosen to the top executive job should be the best
person for that job, irrespective of nationality, however, this question states “likely” and
17-2. In a company involved in global marketing, which activities should be centralized at
headquarters and which should be delegated to national or regional subsidiaries?
As noted, global marketing activities expose the company to greater environmental
diversity than domestic marketing activities. A geocentric orientation requires that control
17-3. “A matrix structure integrates four competencies on a worldwide scale.” Explain.
The matrix design is characterized by dual lines of reporting. Country subsidiaries
provide country knowledge; functional staff in the areas of marketing, production, and
17-4. In the automobile industry, how does “lean production” differ from the traditional
assembly-line approach?
Lean production tightly integrates the various elements of the value chain, including
product design, supply, distribution, manufacturing, accounting, marketing, and
management. Lean production enables all parties within the extended manufacturing
17-5. Identify some of the ways the global companies discussed in this text demonstrate their
commitment to CSR.
At many companies, a formal statement or code of ethics summarizes core ideologies,
Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz’s enlightened human resources policies
CASES
Cases: 17-1: Unilever
Overview: Unilever, the global food and consumer packaged goods powerhouse, markets a brand
portfolio that includes such well-known names as Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Hellmann’s, and
Lipton. The company has approximately 200,000 employees and annual sales of $57 billion.
These and other values reflect Unilever’s philosophy of “doing well by doing good”. Cescau’s
vision of “doing well by doing good” manifested itself in other ways, too. For example, he
guided the company’s detergent business toward using fewer chemicals and less water, plastic,
and packaging. In addition, he recognized that today’s “conscience consumers” look to a
company’s reputation when deciding which brands to purchase. Cescau also bet heavily on
emerging markets to jump-start sales growth. Brands managers have been instructed to innovate
by taking a “clean slate”
17-6. If a company such as Unilever has to make trade-offs between being a good corporate
citizen and making a profit, which should have the higher priority?
These questions are not mutually exclusive: In today’s global environment, being a good
corporate citizen is a means to making a profit. The leaders of global companies must
17-7. Assess Cescau’s response to the Greenpeace palm-oil protest. Was it appropriate? What
type of relationships should Unilever cultivate with Greenpeace and other NGOs in the future?
According to the case, “Cescau responded to the protest by calling for a moratorium on
rain forest destruction by Indonesian oil producers. The Unilever chief also pledged that
If there was a strategic decision in the works to prohibit buying palm oil from producers
17-8. Do you think that a streamlined management structure and emphasis on emerging markets
will enable new CEO Paul Polman to lead Unilever to improved performance?
When an organization assigns regional or worldwide product responsibility to its product
divisions, manufacturing standardization can result in significant savings. In the twenty-
By re-directing resources, and responsibilities away from established markets, Cescau has
laid the foundation for continued growth of the brands and the company in emerging
Considering that Europe’s population is approximately 400 million and the United States