ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AT UNILEVERIn 1872, two Dutchmen, Jurgens and Van Der Bergh had ventured into the margarine business. In 1927, they decided to merge to form two companies, Margarine Unie NV, based on Netherlands and Margarine Union Ltd, based in UK. Unilever was formed in 1930 from two companies. It was a full business merger, operating as a single business entity.DECENTRALIZED STRUCTURE OF UNILEVERBEFORE 1990sUnilever was organized on a decentralized basis. In Europe the company had 17 subsidiaries in the early 1990s, each focused on different national markets. Subsidiary company in each major national market was responsible for the production, marketing, sales and distribution of products in that market. Each was profit center and each was held accountable for its own performance. The structure allowed local managers to match product offerings.