Of The Products Procter Gamble Market example essay topic

Founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble is the #1 U.S. makers of household products and a recognized leader in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a broad range of products including Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent, Ivory soap, Pampers diapers, and Dawn liquid detergent. Procter & Gamble has operations in over 70 countries and employs over 100,000 people worldwide and markets to nearly five billion customers in over 140 countries. Procter & Gamble's purpose or mission statement states exactly why Procter & Gamble is so driven in providing quality products and services to consumers all over the world. Procter & Gamble's purpose is as follows:" We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world's consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper web culture / purpose. j html".

Procter & Gamble's company culture, think globally, act globally, focuses on a variety of core values: leadership, ownership, integrity, passion for winning, and trust. Procter & Gamble works well with the national cultures of Italy and Japan because Procter & Gamble thrives on diversity. Everyone at Procter & Gamble is united through Procter & Gamble's values and goals. Procter & Gamble is such a giant in the household industry. The company sees diversity as advantage. Procter & Gamble's diversity covers a broad range of characteristics, such as race, sex, personal, religion, cultural heritage, etc.

Within the company, Procter & Gamble creates an advantage from their differences. Outside Procter & Gamble, the company is very sensitive to other national cultures because of their unique culture found within. Every company has its own unique culture. Most organizations don't deliberately try and create a culture. The culture of an organization is created unconsciously, based on the values of top management. Procter & Gamble's principles are derived from the company's Purpose and Values.

The core principles of the company are: o We Show Respect for All Individuals o The Interests of the Company and the Individual are Inseparable o We are Strategically Focused in Our Work Innovation is the Cornerstone of our Success We are Externally Focused We Value Personal Mastery We Seek to Be the Best Mutual Interdependency is a Way of Life web culture / core -values. jhtmlProcter & Gamble encourages employees to value each of their own cultural differences while accepting and learning about the importance of the cultural diversity in throughout the company. Dr. Geert Hofstede conducted a study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. He focuses on the five dimensions of cultural variability, commonly known as "Hofstede's Dimensions", or "Geert Hofstede Analysis". These dimensions include: o "Uncertainty Avoidance This dimension refers to how comfortable people feel towards ambiguity. Cultures which rank low, compared to other cultures, feel much more comfortable with the unknown. As a result, HIGH uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer formal rules and any uncertainty can express itself in higher anxiety than those form low uncertainty avoidance cultures. o Power Distance The extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

This represents inequality (more virus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some are more unequal than others. o Masculinity-Femininity This dimension tends to draw unwarranted criticism for its name alone. It basically refers expected gender roles in a culture. The cultures that scored towards what Hofstede referred to as 'masculine' tend to have very distinct expectations of male and female roles in society.

The more 'feminine' cultures have a greater ambiguity in what is expected of each gender. o Individualism-Collectivism Individualism on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after herself / him and his / her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts, and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: refers to the group, not to the state. o Long term versus Short term This fifth dimension was founded in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars. It can be said to deal with Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face. ' " web pages 1&2 web page 2 The grouping of scores obtained shows some of the roots of cultural differences.

There was a pattern among the common history countries that scores alike. For example, all Latin countries score relatively high on both power and uncertainty avoidance. "Latin countries (those today speaking a Romance language i.e. Spanish, Portuguese, French, or Italian) have inherited at least part of their civilization from the Roman empire. The Roman Empire in its days was characterized by the existence of a central authority in Rome, and a system of law applicable to citizens anywhere. This established in its citizens' the value complex which we still recognize today: centralization fostered large power distance and a stress on laws fostered strong uncertainty avoidance web".

When comparing Geert's analysis to the United States culture, it would be important to break down the geographic location of an area because the United States is a melting pot consisting of various beliefs, heritages, races, and backgrounds wrapped into one giant country. The Geert Hofstede analysis for the United States is as follows (web united states.'s html): o According to this chart the United States has Individualism as their highest dimension-91. o The high Individualism ranking for the United States indicates a society with more individualistic attitude and relatively loose bonds with others. The population is more self-reliant and looks out for themselves and their close family members. o The next highest ranking dimension for the United States is Masculinity with a ranking of 62 compared to the world average of 50. This is because many women are shifting away from the traditional female roles, and are moving toward the male role by becoming more assertive and competitive. o The United States had the lowest Long Term Orientation dimension. This means that the society tends to reflect an appreciation for cultural traditions. o The lowest ranking dimension for the United States is the power Distance, at 40, compared to the world average, 55. This is because there is a cooperative interaction across power levels and creates a more stable cultural environment. o The last Hofstede dimension is the Uncertainty Avoidance, with a ranking of 46, compared to the world average of 64.

This low score is indicative of a society that has fewer rules and does not attempt to control all outcomes and results. o Because the predominant religion in the United States is Christian, the United States has a strong belief in individuality. Individuals in these countries tend to form a larger number of looser relationships. Looking at the charts of Italy's Hofstede analysis, one can see that Italy has the highest of the Uncertainty Avoidance dimension, meaning that Italy has a great tolerance for variety of ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. This was similar to that of the United States. However, the country has over 50% of its population practicing Catholic religion. According to Hofstede Dimension study, countries with largely Catholicism as religion tend to be a highly rule orientated society that institutes laws, regulations, rules, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty within the population (web italy.'s html).

The Hofstede Analysis of Japan is quiet different than other Asian countries. However, when compared to the United States and Italy it is as follows: The graphs show that Japan is closely correlated with Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance Index, which is the same correlation as countries that have the Catholic religion. The Buddhist societies, such as Japan, have Hofstede Long Term Orientation as a dimension applied to such countries (web japan.'s html). Procter & Gamble's culture fits in appropriately to that of other countries because they hold on to their company's beliefs of individualism and growth. Management of Procter & Gamble should continue to be the creator and builder of brands that provide everyday product to people around the world. The challenge is because Procter & Gamble is so large would be to get those products to consumers all over the world as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Procter & Gamble has done an efficient job of creating brand loyalty in other countries. Pantone is seen on store shelves all over the globe, especially Europe. Procter & Gamble's managers should focus on delivering their strategies and eliminate organizational barriers. The company's long-term success should always be kept in mind. Procter & Gamble should also keep in mind that the diversity outside of the United States is more volatile than that inside of the United States. Inside of the United States, there is a little bit more room for error.

When focusing on a specific country that is not as religiously diverse, for example, (refer to graphs above) as the United States, Procter & Gamble must be cautious that one of their products will not offend another country. A SWOT analysis of Procter & Gamble would reveal a company with plenty of resources but also possible weaknesses in its corporate strategy. Procter 7 Gamble's strengths would definitely be in the product lines and the proven market techniques with which to sell its products. The weaknesses of Procter & Gamble may show that because the company is so large, there is little room for innovation. Some opportunities for Procter & Gamble could be selling its consumer products internationally, particularly to developing countries.

Procter & Gamble greatest threat is the company itself. Procter & Gamble isn't known for a specific product or product line, such as that of Johnson & Johnson, which is known for its bathroom products and medicine cabinet products. Procter & Gamble should focus more on international markets. Procter & Gamble doesn't sell a significant number of its products outside the United States.

The internet could also become a valuable resource for Procter & Gamble by increasing web sales and information. Procter & Gamble needs to institute changes that will help them become faster. A better public corporate image of Procter & Gamble could also raise awareness that Procter & Gamble is home to many household products, even those environmentally safe. The recent Dawn commercial is a great example. Dawn is used to clean off oil spill animal victims. The general public is not aware of many of the products Procter & Gamble market and produce.

Better advertising would be beneficial. Procter & Gamble uses their diversity successfully as a global company. The people that work for them are their greatest asset. Procter & Gamble believes tat it is important to develop and support a diverse workplace. Now the company needs to broaden its corporate culture outside of the United States more than it has in the past for continues future success.

Bibliography

1). web). web italy.'s html 3). web japan.'s html 4) web united states.'s html 5). web culture / core -values. j html 6). web culture / purpose. j html 7). web.