Case Study: Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

CASE STUDY:
Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

1. What is the culture of Merck Sharp & Dohme? What implications does it have for leadership
and transformation?
In this case, there is a clear picture of the culture which was the part of organization before the
arrival of Antonio Mosquera. The case depicts the story of MSD a pharmaceutical firm, which
was facing no major issues from the side of the culture however, change was required.
Initially, the culture of MSD was very rigid with a more centralized authoritarian system. There
was no freedom of speech, which indicated that people were not allowed to share their feedback
and ideas. There was one way communication in the organization, which meant that it was a top
to down approach which is also termed as vertical approach of communication in which “orders
“ are dictated to the subordinates, and the subordinates or the middle managers are not given
much importance. The company had no open communication system where employees could
discuss regarding work related problems and to share their experience. People had the attitude of
not sharing everything with everyone, thus they were reluctant to share any information.
Moreover, the middle managers had less knowledge regarding their job since they were
promoted from sales executives to this position in a short period of time, therefore they did not
have the skills required for a manager. The orders used to be dictated from the
top management and the managers only followed those sets of instructions over the period of
time without evaluating the outcomes. The hiring system or the human resource management
was almost zero, as people were hired from personal contacts and thus, having such employees
who had similar ideas. All the decision making authority remained in the hands of the board of
directors .The operations used to be separately treated from relationships, as a result creating
hindrance in sharing. The following part depicts the process of change
Mosquera was handling the issue of internship very efficiently. He didn’t deviate from his
policies that he was trying to instill the company’s structure. He gathered the managers who were
most probably related to the issues and would had been affected by them. In order to ask them
for their opinions in this matter, all the managers were provided with a free environment to
propose their opinion on the intern issues without any hesitation. This reflects Mosqueras’s
assessment strategy and his approach regarding the issue as he was trying to make the entire
decision to be fair and transparent and under the ethical framework of the Merck Sharp &
Dohme. He was trying to practice, what he was perching to his employees in order to establish
the company’s foundation based on the transparency and ethics.
2. Evaluate the leadership of Antonio Mosquera. Was he effective? Why or why not?
Considering the good things happen after he became a director, and I can say he is. Well, in fact.
the company had under Mosquera’s instructions for more than a year and most of the managers
chosen by him are admired by his integrity and determination to make a change on the
company’s ethics. As he joined the company in 1995, he quickly analyzed the areas of changes.
The main hindrance to accept the change was the employees ’mindset as they were reluctant to
change. Antonio wanted team spirit and wanted the employees to share everything with everyone
however, they were reluctant change, hence they initially resisted the change, which led them to
being fired. Due to the changes brought about by Antonio, the employee turnover increased.
After the changes that were in process, the biggest loss was the exit of two top department
directors who had been with the company for a long time. It could be said that this initiative
affected the departments, but not for long.
3. What specific advice would you give to executives of Merck Sharp & Dohme to effectively
transform the organization?
Well, knowing their organizational ways, strategies or structure amazes me very well especially
when Antonio Mosquera changed the rigid culture of MSD and turn it into a well-defined
organization that time, but the only thing I could advice is the leader or executive must ought
to be additional indulgent to his staff in order for the human power to be productive, there must
have a superior communication and collaboration among them, especially when it comes to
decision-making and producing perspectives on capitalized openings. And also, whatever rules
are given, the leader must first comply it so that everyone will follow. In terms of hiring people,
there must be a proper evaluation to follow in order to avoid biases. Indeed, having a strong and
good leader and an obedient employee is already an advantage for a competitive and objectives
oriented company.

Case Study: Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Case Study: Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Case Study: Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CASE STUDY:

Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc (A)

You might also like