Nestlé organisation

Structure

Nestlé is a highly decentralised organisation which means the lower level managers are eligible to give
significant share in the company’s development and even make some fast and important decisions.
However, they acknowledge that ‘operational efficiencies, as well as the group-wide need for
alignment and people development, may also set limits to decentralisation’ (The Nestlé Management
and Leadership Principles) meaning there is only a certain extent to which decentralisation in this
company is possible.

Company’s external environment is complex and uncertain and geographical location is dispersed in
more than 80 countries in five continents with over 265,000 employees (Our Global Organization).That
makes it hard to keep an eye on all departments from Headquarters only. Solution for that is the
decentralised power that has been brought to lower level employees.

It is stated in Nestlé’s Management and Leadership Principles that they encourage employees to
practice open communication and active co-operation in order to contribute to the company and
personal development.

Nestlé also belongs to organic organisation type that is characterised as highly adaptive and flexible.
In Nestlé employees do not require high number of rules nor high direct supervision. That is achieved
by having highly skilled and trained professionals as a part of Nestlé’s team, where even lower level
managers are empowered to make their own decisions, due to the complex and unpredictable external
environment in which Nestlé is in.

Nestlé is a people’s company because they care about their employees and their opinions (The Nestlé
Spirit). Teamwork is an important element as Nestlé has acknowledged, and their employees are the
most important asset that the company has.

Nestlé Management and Leadership Principles

‘We treat each other with respect and dignity and expect everyone to promote a sense of personal
responsibility,’ is what it says in the Company’s Corporate Business Principles.

Nestlé managers from all levels are strongly committed to the company and are more interested in
constant development of the company than applying formal authority. To achieve this goal, Nestlé is
looking for people with high involvement and is trying to create a common mindset that would lead the
employees towards the same goal.
As the decentralised organisational structure gives essential responsibility in a manager’s hands, it is
crucial to hire people who in addition to professional and practical skills posses such characteristics as
followed:

• Personal commitment and courage, which refers to the capacity and the willingness to take
initiatives and risks as well as to maintain composure under pressure.
• Ability to motivate and to develop people.
• Curiosity and open-mindedness as well as a high level of interest in other cultures and life-
styles, including commitment to continuous learning and improving, as well as to sharing
knowledge and ideas freely with others.
• Willingness to accept change and the ability to manage it.
• Adaptability of thought and deed, keeping in mind the complexity of the environment.
• Credibility as a result of coherent action, leadership and achievement.
• International experience and understanding of other cultures. (The Nestlé Management and
Leadership Principles)

As the Head of Talent & Organisation Development, Edward Marsh, says:

‘Leadership at Nestlé is about a long-term commitment to growing the business while growing
people, and our leadership development efforts continue to stress the importance of learning
from real, often international, experience, supported in more innovative ways aligned to
people's changing aspirations and personal circumstances.’

Nestlé is a very flexible organization with few management levels and a broad span of control which
make the company more efficient. The explicit management and responsibility levels with straight
focus on goals are vital and there is always a manager accountable for his team.
I can’t really find any specific info from Nestlé that would state their management style and leadership
approach. Maybe you have seen anything about that?

Nestlé’s organisational culture

Every person has a unique set of features that all together build his personality. With a company it is
no different, only difference is the personality is called culture.

Nestlé is a company that cares about people, both inside and outside the company. That is proved by
embracing cultural and social diversity and eliminating discrimination on the basis of nationality, origin,
religion, race, gender or age. Furthermore, Nestlé is encouraging all employees to embrace the Nestlé
way of working, the Nestlé culture. That all stands besides Nestlé’s general aim that is justice, honesty
and care for people.
Apart from its commitment to safety and quality and its respect for diversity, Nestlé is committed to a
number of cultural values, which originally come from Swiss culture and keep developing due to the
changes of organisation itself.
These values are:

• Commitment to a strong work ethic, integrity, honesty and quality.

• Personal relations based on trust and mutual respect, which implies open and frank
communication.
• A personalised and direct way of dealing with each other with high level of tolerance.
• Being realistic and basing decisions on facts.
• Openness and curiosity for new trends in technology, changes in consumer habits, new
business ideas and opportunities, while maintaining respect for basic human values, attitudes
and behaviour.
• Pride in contributing to the reputation and the performance of the Company that goes further
than fashion and short-sighted gain.
• Loyalty to and identification with the Company. (The Nestlé Management and Leadership
Principles, 2009)

Nestlé’s employees

Nestlé has acknowledged that its people are the most important reason why the company is what it is.
To keep it up in the same level and help to evolve, it is important to have employees satisfied by giving
new opportunities to develop their knowledge, achieve promotion and receive competitive salary.

Nestlé employs more than 283,000 people all around the world with nearly a half of them working in
developing countries. Employees are striving to reach the set of Nestlé’s Corporate Business
Principles which include 10 regulations of the United Nation Global Compact, making sure that the
company grasp, support and represent the core values of Nestlé by means of human rights, labour
standards and work environment.

For that reason, health and safety in working environment are the two superior conditions to which
Nestlé is paying its utmost attention. Further on, the company’s salaries are competitive towards
comparable businesses and working hours are suitable with the local laws.

As Nestlé is a company that cares for people, there is no child or forced labour, nor involuntary prison
labour.

Moreover, Nestlé believes in life-long education and learning takes an integral part of company’s
culture. Employees are encouraged to upgrade their skills and develop accordingly to the dynamic
world in order to enrich the company and the employees themselves, making them more autonomous
and confident and more appropriate for new positions within the company (People Development
Review).

On account of Nestlé’s decentralised nature all across the world, one will get 'on the job' training given
by Nestlé people, not solely professional trainers, and the knowledge and tools necessary to act in
response to local needs. The multinational environment broadens one’s horizons and offers the skills
and opportunities to move between different areas of the company.

Nestlé lives by a principle that each employee should have the opportunity to develop to the maximum
of his or her potential (People Development Review).

Nestlé’s social responsibility and ambition

‘Creating Shared Value is a fundamental part of Nestlé's way of doing business that focuses
on specific areas of the Company's core business activities – namely water, nutrition, and
rural development – where value can best be created both for society and shareholders.’
(Creating Shared Value)

Creating Shared Value is a proof of Nestlé’s aim to create value for society instead of only its
shareholders. The way how Nestlé works is based on sustainability of the environment. However,
Creating Shared Value is more than that.

Nestlé searches for regions where shareholders’ and society’s interests can be met and satisfied. In
result, investments of skills and finances are made in those areas with the highest potential of
joint value. Research shows that these areas are: Nutrition, Water and Rural Development.
Supporting activities are highly essential to Nestlé business strategy and vital to the well-being of
the people in the countries where Nestlé operates (Creating Shared Value at Nestlé).

This leads to the main Nestlé’s ambition ‘to bring the best and most relevant products to people,
wherever they are, whatever their need, throughout their lives’(Nestlé Worldwide) and to be
recognised as the leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company.
Bibliography

Nestlé Worldwide. Retrieved on June 3, 2011, from

http://www.nestle.com.my/AboutUs/Nestle_Worldwide/Pages/nestle_worldwide.aspx

The Nestlé Spirit. Retrieved on June3, 2011, from

http://www.careers.nestle.com/life/The_Nestle_Spirit.htm

Our Global Organization. Retrieved on June 3, 2011, from

http://www.careers.nestle.com/meet/Our_global_organisation.htm

Creating Shared Value at Nestlé. Retrieved on June 3, 2011, from

http://www.nestle.com/CSV/Pages/CSV.aspx

The Nestlé People Development Review. 2003. Retrieved on June 3, 2011, from
http://www.nestle.com/Common/NestleDocuments/Documents/Library/Documents/People/People-
Development-Review-EN.pdf

The Nestlé Management and Leadership Principles. 2009. Retrieved on June 3, 2011, from
http://www.nestle.com/Common/NestleDocuments/Documents/Library/Documents/People/Manageme
nt-Leadership-Principles-EN.pdf

Nestlé Corporate Business Principles. 2004. Retrieved on June 4, 2011, from

http://www.nestle.pl/download/Corporate_Busines_GB.pdf