Procter & Gamble (P&G) is America’s biggest maker of household products, with at least 250 brands in six main categories: laundry and cleaning (detergents), paper goods (toilet paper), beauty care (cosmetics, shampoos), food and beverages (coffee, snacks), feminine care (sanitary towels) and health care (toothpaste, medicine).

P&G’s famous brands include Ariel, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Fabreze, Sunny Delight, and Oil of Olaz. About half of P&G's sales come from its top ten brands.P&G also makes pet food and PUR water filters and produces the soap operas Guiding Light and As the World Turns [1]. Finally, P&G produces chemicals. Today, P&G markets its products to more than five billion consumers in 130 countries. The company has on-the-ground operations in over 70 countries around the world, and employs more than 106,000 people. Last year’s (2000) turnover equalled $37 billion [£25,6 billion].

Culture Change ‘Organization 2005 also aims at changing P&G's culture from a conservative, slow-moving, bureaucratic behemoth to that of a modern, fast-moving, Internet-savvy organisation. P&G wants to make faster and better decisions, cut red tape, wring costs out of systems and procedures, fuel innovation, set more aggressive sales goals and nearly double its revenue. The catalyst for all this change is IT.’In addition, P&G wants to abandon its legacy of secrecy. ‘Its new spirit of openness is most evident on the Internet. A year ago, it was a stodgy, nondescript site where no one other than investors or job seekers had any reason to go to. Today, you see a consumer-friendly portal with loads of information about P&G products.’So far, Organization 2005 has had little to show. However, P&G stresses the company will pick the fruits of the ambitious restructuring plan in the near future. "This restructuring," former CEO Millen explained, "will ensure that P&G is well placed to address the issues facing manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers at the outset of the 21st century. Examples of these issues are the internationalisation and consolidation of retailing, consumer loyalty and retention, category management, the potential effects of the Euro currency and dramatic advances in information technology."