Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Trade and Distribution, grade: 1.1 (A+), University of Manchester (Manchester School of Management), language: English, abstract: This paper addresses the classic case of the challenges Proctor and Gamble (P&G) faced in the 1970s and 1980s, both to its European organisational structure and to the imminent launch of its new Heavy Duty Liquid (HDL) Vizir.

It will be argued that the company¿s European structure will have a direct impact on a possible Vizir launch and on future product launches, using an in-depth analysis of both the current P&G situation at that time and feasible alternative strategies available to the organisation.

Chapter two will give a brief but concise overview of the P&G situation in the 1980s; chapter three will discuss three different approaches available to P&G in organising its European operations, and recommend the most suitable approach; chapter four will then examine the launch options for Vizir and present the most favourable strategy; finally, chapter five will summarise the findings and highlight the recommendations of this report, briefly considering possible implementations and evaluations of the suggested strategies.