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Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the largest consumer packaged goods company in the world. Its brands include household and personal care products such as Fairy, Braun, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Pampers, Ariel and Oral-B.
The company was formed in Cincinnati, when candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble went into business together. It now employs around 138,000 people in 80 countries worldwide, with its products sold in 180 countries. It is the fifth most profitable corporation in the world.
P&G's practice of sponsoring soap operas ran from the 1930s to 2010.
In the 1930s, P&G began to sponsor the original ‘soap operas’, a practice that continued for many decades. Its last serial ended in 2010.
P&G’s business areas include:
The company divested the last of its food and beverage brands in April 2011, with the sale of the iconic snack brand Pringles to Diamond Foods. P&G is focusing its energies on maintaining its prominence in the household and pharmaceutical markets. Its deal with Wrigley has allowed the company to expand its dental health brand, Crest, into the lucrative chewing gum market.
Better known for its brands, the company is looking to emerge from behind them and into public consciousness, with an advertising campaign designed to reveal the corporation as a whole. In line with this new push for transparency, the organisation has signed a ten-year agreement with the International Olympics Committee to sponsor London 2012. It is the 11th global sponsor of the games, and hopes to boost its image and market share as a result.
Salaries at Procter & Gamble typically start between £25,000 and £29,000. Bonuses come into effect after five years with the company.
Benefits vary between sectors and roles. All Procter & Gamble employees have access to pension and healthcare schemes. Additional perks include:
P&G claims that it owes much of its current success to the cultural rejuvenation it underwent at the turn of the century. Responding to accusations of being slow-moving and conservative, the organisation shifted focus to its customers and staff, as well as to the creative process. It explicitly set out its purpose, values and principles (PVP), which combine economic purpose with values regarding, among other things, employee care.
The company puts on regular stress management sessions, offers a number of location-free and home-working roles, particularly to the benefit of new parents, and allows up to 12 months’ family leave and a three-month sabbatical every seven years.
P&G gives to charities and has been involved in campaigns for safe drinking water in the developing world. Its ‘Live, Learn and Thrive’ initiative promotes good hygiene through various projects, which continues to save lives.
It also donates detergents to be used in combating oil spills, and employees volunteer their time to help use this to save sea birds.
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