Suggestions for turnaround

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I need assistance with the following.

For your final group project, consider the Unilever company. Using the guidelines established in Chapter 15 of your text, produce a "Strategic Audit" for the Unilever company. As you produce your Strategic Audit, make sure to include all eight sections.

IFAS, EFAS, and SFAS tables are to be presented in Excel format, separate from the rest of the assignment that is to be written in a word file. As reminder two files are to be submitted: One Excel file (counting for three pages) and one word file (up to seven pages double spaced.

You will be graded on your knowledge of the software, on your ability to communicate in writing and present your arguments, and on your knowledge of math in building the tables. You will also be graded on your ability to analyze social, political, and financial data, on your ability to present and justify a set of solutions, and finally on your critical thinking and problem solving abilities in justifying your set of strategies

Instructor Comments:
I need to emphasize the need for a conversational style, paragraph-oriented paper...DO NOT use the outline and write short statements, rather use the outline as a guide... I need to see an EFAS, IFAS, and SFAS (in one separate Excel file)...the actual tables just like Unit 2, as well as some financial ratio analysis discussion. I would like you to cover 3-4 ratios of your choice. You might do a ratio search on google or yahoo...I want to know why you chose the ratios you are discussing, what they mean, etc.
Introduction
Unilever [NYSE: UL, UN] is one of the world's largest consumer products companies (Unilever, 2007). Unilever faces external forces such as social trends, industry environment, and economic factors. The company claims to add vitality to life by meeting everyday consumer needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care products. Globally, consumers make a total of 150 daily decisions to purchase products by Unilever (Unilever, 2007). The company has a portfolio of brands they claim to make people, feel good, look good, and get more out of life (Unilever, 2007 and Solley, 2004). The company adapts to the issues that arise from the external environment and has utilized this as an opportunity for global growth.

Environmental Factors

An external audit focuses on identifying and evaluating trends and events beyond the control of a single firm, such as increased foreign competition, Internet and mobile revolution. It reveals key opportunities and threats facing an organization, so managers can formulate strategies to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid or reduce the impact of threats. Here we will analyze the effect of various environmental factors and to see what trends are like to affect the industry in which it is operating in a Brief manner.

External Factor Analysis Summary:

Economic Forces:
One has monitor the economic trends like GDP trends, Interest rates, Money supply, Inflation rates, Unemployment levels, Disposable income. Opening up through WTO, free trade blocs and other agreements between countries. It has resulted in opening up of business to the world. Unilever is pervasive and present everywhere in every corner of the world. But for Unilever currently, the developed markets are matured and hence less growing but in other parts of world there is growth especially in Asian countries.
Globalization
Globalization means operating in the world economy as a single economy. Globalization is a compulsion now. A convergence of expectations is happening globally. And as barriers fall further, technology advances rapidly, customers talk more to each other on the back of a robust telecom network, the ranks of the Universal Customers will only swell. Thus it will bring good growth for UniLever due to liberalization in many parts of globe.

(Wikipedia)

Political &Legal regulations
I f the political situation is unstable then the environment is unfavorable for the business. Similarly higher Government debt, Budget deficit or surplus is also unfavorable.
The more the transparency the better it is for the business.
(Battilossi & Cassis, 2002)

Societal and Cultural Factors
Health is a big issue and consumer expectations are on the rise. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is linked to the rising incidence of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke. In addition, health care costs are escalating. This social force places pressure on food and beverage companies to reevaluate the nutrition of their brands. According to Pearce and Robinson (2004), social forces are dynamic, with constant change. Unilever recognized the paradigm shift where consumers want healthier products.
Unilever adapted to social this shift by implementing a vitality program for all food and beverage brand which satisfying consumer desires to the upcoming trends in the marketplace (Sudhaman, 2006). 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" (Unilever, 2007). The vitality program includes redevelopment of the products to include a logo from the "Eat Smart" label program. The logos are designed to signify nutrition to shoppers which means cash to marketers (Reyes, 2007). Unilever, as well as Kraft and Pepsi, are in the process of redeveloping food and beverage products to meet the logo requirements (Reyes, 2007). Unilever has recently changed the mission statement to reflect its efforts on bringing vitality to life The company has a global vision to win the battle in creating leading category positions through great brands. Hungry for sales, the company is launching its own logo program this month, labeling various products with visual treatments saying "Eat Smart" and "Drink Smart" (Reyes, 2007).
For Unilever, adding nutrition logos to products have proven successful. In addition to the "Eat Smart" logos, the company recently experienced attention to the Slim-Fast and Hellmann's brand through Oprah Winfrey. Both brands bear an additional logo for "Best Life Diet," a program sponsored by Bob Greene (Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer) (Reyes, 2007).
Demographic factors
Demographic factors such as population size and distribution, age distribution, education levels etc.

Technological Forces

There has been tremendous impact of e-Business on the typical businesses. The information is exchanged much more quickly than any other thing which is helping the organizations to make more quick and accurate decisions. E business has removed geographical and time restrictions for the organizations. Thus they are more connected and knowledge seeking to improve the processes, quality, technology and overall customer delight. Due to e business there is much more ...