Schering-Plough Case Study

Question 1: What Kinds of Problems was Schering-Plough Experiencing with its Global Strategy and Structure? (100-150 Words)

The major shortcomings that threatened the profitability of the Schering- Plough Company stemmed from ineffective global strategy and structure that had been implemented by the previous management. In its global strategy, the firm had developed a multi-domestic approach to planning the global value chain activities. In this approach, the various international branches were divided into regions, and each regional group was tasked with production, advertisement, and marketing the products produced in that particular quarter. As a result, managers at the corporates headquarter were unable to acquire accurate information about each region to enhance quick, practical, and informed decision making. Moreover, the Headquarter was unable to control the quality of the drugs produced by the processing plants located in foreign nations. As a result, the firm was faced with demands from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a complete overhaul of its global manufacturing plants in an attempt to increase and protect drug quality.

Question 2: How did Schering Plough Change its Global Structure to solve these Problems? (100-150 Words)

To curb these issues, the newly recruited CEO, Fred Hassan, abolished the established regional groups. He slashed the number of managerial levels in the firms global management hierarchy. This shrewd step eliminated all the layers between the country managers and himself. The heads of the international divisions were required to report to him or one of his senior executives directly. Owing to this, the CEO was able to evaluate the performance of each international branch and acquire first-hand information from the managers, thus facilitating quick decision making. Moreover, the strategy played a central role in helping the firm to standardize the quality of the product and monitor the sales volume across the world. Additionally, the new CEO expanded the range of products sold globally. To achieve this, he acquired a Dutch pharmaceutical company that specialized in the production of animal vaccines. The acquired firm was a viable target since it was ranked among the leading companies in the region and had five main drugs that were in the late trials, including a new drug for treating schizophrenia. The above-stated strategies have propelled Schering-Plough to its former glory of economic profitability.

Nike Case Study

Question 1: How did Nike Change the way it made Decisions and Introduce New Products? (100-150 Words)

To change its decision-making process and overcome the past errors, Nike was forced to segment the production units into groups. In this strategy, each team of designers was tasked with the responsibility of designing shoes in specialized niche markets rather than having Nike designers grouped in one design department. This strategy enabled the firm to demolish the old company-wide mindset that had resulted in decision-making errors that threatened the profitability of the company. The division of the market into segments played a central role in increasing the firms diversity. Moreover, the strategy enhanced the decision making ability of the company since each market niche has experts who are attuned to the changing customer needs in their respective market segment.

Question 2: In what Ways could Nike use the Change Techniques discussed in this Chapter to Find Ways to Improve Its Effectiveness and Competitive Advantage? (100-150 Words)

To increase the effectiveness of the change strategy, Nike should continuously enroll uniquely talented individuals and acquire specialized firms to create a forward-thinking team of designers. The company should also strive to retain key functional leaders and meet the ever-changing consumer needs at different market niches. Moreover, to ensure long-term success, Nike should generate a feasible business model hypotheses. The hypotheses should be based on the teams analysis of the various market segments as dictated by the consumer demands. Moreover, this strategy should contain a guideline on how the firm should institute change of product features, increase target consumers base, and finally determine the most efficient and appropriate pricing and distribution channels.