Introduction
Unilever is a multi national company from Britain-Dutch and manufactures consumer goods. Unilever manufactures a variety of products including consumables (cooking oil, margarine), skin/hair care products (deodorants, mouth care products) and cleaning agents. The 2011 polls rated Unilever as the third largest producer of goods for consumption. It has companies in all the six continents and deports in almost all countries (Silber 46).
The company values environmental conservation and is committed to sustainable tea sourcing so as to conserve the East African Tea estates. This support is channeled through an international NGO called the Rainforest Alliance. The company has openly declared its support for PG Tips bags of tea sold in Europe. One can confidently say that Unilever has generously contributed to communities around the world by improving livelihood through investing in people and supporting initiatives through non governmental organizations which are aimed at environmental conservation (Kent 233).
Financial details of the company in the last three years are summarized in the table below;
Explain why you chose this company
Unilever Company was chosen as a case study for this paper because of its profitability which has increased steadily; an aspect which makes the company able to pay more dividends to shareholders. The company’s growth in profits demonstrates that it is keen on continued growth of shareholders’ wealth (Jules 1930).
Another reason for choosing Unilever is because of its values on environmental conservation. Sustainable environmental management is important for health living of the people. Most of the company’s raw material for consumable products comes from East Africa and the Congo forests. By conserving these ecosystems the company is guaranteed a steady supply of raw materials which sustains the company’s profitability (Shell 45).
Discuss how you would go about taking your company public using what you’ve learned from the background materials and from question 1.
Taking a company public requires that the company should demonstrate a long standing reputation of obedience to the rules and regulations of the stock exchange. The company should also demonstrate long standing reputation of growth in profitability (Diamond 762).
Finally, the company should demonstrate willingness to share its profits with shareholders of the company (Buck, 58).
What do you perceive you have learnt in Module 1 SLP? Which of the following learning objectives do you feel you have mastered?
Among other things, one learns from Module 1 SLP that a company’s profitability is important because it is the basis of business growth.
The main learning objective mastered in this module is the description of steps a firm must take before going public (Sobel 1975).
In summary, the company should maintain a long standing growth in profitability because it’s the main objective of an enterprise (Sloane 322).
Conclusion
Module 1 SLP is very important because it makes learners to sharpen their financial management skills by offering them with current information on success factors required for firms intending to go public, steps followed in going public and what companies should do to grow in profitability and build shareholder wealth.
Works Cited
Buck, James. The New York Stock Exchange: The First 200 Years, New York: Greenwich Group, 1992. Print.
Diamond, Peter. “The Role of a Stock Market in a General Equilibrium Model with Technological Uncertainty.” American Economic Review 57.4(1967): 759–776. Print.
Jules, Marechal. “Travail forcé pour l’huile de palme de Lord Leverhulme L’Histoire du Congo 1910–1945”. Editions Paula Bellings 42.3 (1992):348–368. Print.
Kent, Zachary. The Story of the New York Stock Exchange, New York: Scholastic Publishers, 1990. Print.
Shell, Adam. Technology squeezes out real, live traders, Washington: USA Today. 2007. Print.
Silber, Kenneth. “The Earliest Securities Markets.” Research magazine 32.2(1992): 44–47.print.
Sloane, Leonard. The Anatomy of the Floor, Washington: Doubleday, 1980. Print.
Sobel, Robert. “N.Y.S.E.: A History of the New York Stock Exchange.” Weybright and Talley 26.0 (1975):1935–1975.Print.