The problems that Schering-Plough experienced with it global strategy and structure is that it took a multidomestic strategy that was over decentralized to the point that each of the heads of a international region had assumed total control of their operations (Jones, 2013, p. 237).
This left management at all levels within the corporate headquarters uniformed about the performance of each region. Leaving the corporation with major drug quality issues on their hands that the Food and Drug Administration was demanding that it overhaul is operations to increase and protect drug quality (Jones, 2013, p.
237).
Schering-Plough failed to manage how to disperse and designate obligation and power between supervisors at home and abroad so compelling control over an organization’s worldwide operations were maintained. The culture issues had risen at different location outside the United States. In one case European managers who ran their own marketing and research operations ignored a promising antibiotic known as Zyvox simply because it had been developed in Kalamazoo, Michigan and not in their country (Simmons, 2003, para. 10).
Corporate Headquarters allowed for the culture and shared values that control behavior to be developed by regional management with no institutional insight. These cultures become ingrained inside the employee behaviors allowing the organization to lose its competitive edge. The first thing that Schering-Plough did is bring in a new CEO to turn the company around. The newly assigned CEO Fred Hassan had to implement a global strategy with a global matrix structure that did not the separate the regional groups eliminating the layers between the different country mangers and him (Jones, 2013, p.
The Essay on Starbucks Global Strategy
De Wit and Meyer (1998) refer to market tendency towards homogeneous variety and tighter international linkages as globalization. The need for global strategy is outlined by the fact that companies are subject to global forces and consumer demands. As a consequence, firms are faced with a challenge of modifying their existent strategies to gain and sustain their competitive advantage in a rapidly ...
235).
The CEO has made the right kinds of integration, control mechanisms, and organizational culture to ensure that the overall new global structure has functioned effectively. The global strategy has allowed for a centralized decision-making with more control over functional activities. CEO has also implemented a mechanistic structure approach that has each of the international division report directly to him or a top-management team member (Jones, 2013, p238).
This offers adequate control and coordination and rapid response to unsatisfactory performance at an international division.
The new global structure has worked so well that the corporation has expanded its range of products in each international division, that sales and profits increased so much that by 2010 it becomes part of Merck a major competitor in the pharmaceutical business. The changes with the organizational strategy and culture play a major part in ever organization. Although not to the extreme of Schering-Plough the organization that I am employed has seen a lack in new strategy and culture change. This is due in part to the consistent rotation of the top-management that must rotate to other positions every three years.
This coupled with the age of the civilian workforce does not allow for the successful transfer of organizational knowledge and culture. Allowing for the work force to revert back to doing things the easy way as the organization continues to function but not effectively just enough to get by. The organization also has communication failures at all levels which has made the organization more of a reactionary workplace vice being proactive to issues, which seems to frustrate all employees. As the command continues to look for a strategy and a culture that all will accept and continue to adhere to no matter how is in command.
The Essay on What Affect On "Organization Culture"?
Metaphor is a fundamental force through which humans create meaning by using one element of experience to understand another. Metaphor becomes a tool for creating an understanding about what we now recognize as organization and management. Gareth Morgan suggests a way of thinking and a way of seeing organizations as multiple of metaphors e.g. organizations as a machine (mechanistic approach), ...
The lower level management must realize the important role the play in the success of the organization, so that structure and culture change can happen. In summary, as the new CEO was able to adjust the Schering-Plough global strategy and structure. The main issue was that the past corporate headquarters management failed to realize the importance of developing an organizational design and strategy that would be effective in the ever changing global environment. They soon lost the ability to coordinate functions with the regional leadership and lost the ability to develop and maintain their core competences (Jones, 2013, p. 207).
