Unilever 是 Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods MNC,由 Unilever N.V.(Netherlands)與 Unilever PLC(UK)構成 dual-listed structure。原書記載公司約有 160,000 employees、100+ countries、2009 turnover €40bn,品牌橫跨foods、home care與personal care。
1990年代起,公司進行大規模reorganisation,聚焦core businesses並精簡brands;品牌數由約1,600降至2001年的900。組織也減少management layers,以single-point accountability提高decision speed。
MNC的人力資源管理同時面臨local responsiveness與global integration:各國labour market、culture與management expectations不同,但企業又需要一致的leadership pipeline、corporate culture與performance standards。
Expatriate assignment可用於control、knowledge transfer與management development,但成本高、family adjustment困難,assignment結束後還有repatriation/reverse culture shock問題。
原書指出 Unilever偏好由 host-country nationals管理foreign subsidiaries,屬polycentric orientation。Local managers通常先由experienced expatriates協助與training,再逐步承擔管理責任。只有約 10% dispatched employees真正被派去head a unit;通常是local manager不足或assignment本身具有career-development價值時才使用。
Unilever偏好internal talent development。原書指出約 95% top managers為home-grown talents。公司從graduate level開始培養管理人才,透過 UniTrain等programmes提供structured training、on-the-job learning與實際responsibility。
公司建立national/international workshops與 Unilever Academies,讓不同departments/countries的employees持續交流。新員工從第一天就設定personal-development targets,高potential employees會獲得跨層級management support。
Foreign assignments多為 3–4 years。其目的不只是head subsidiary,也包括培育未來leaders、transfer knowledge與建立cross-border relationships。Unilever明確重視回任:派駐者完成任務後應被reintegrated至原有business environment或其他合適職位。
UEN由有international experience的員工自願運作,分享local knowledge、practical advice與first-step support,降低新expatriates的adjustment cost。
Unilever案例顯示,global talent system不一定意味著ethnocentric staffing。公司以local managers為主,配合international assignments、management-development programmes與internal socialisation,使local knowledge與corporate integration並存。