Organizational Culture and Change in Pharma International Company

Before establishing an organization, one has to set out a plan under which the initiation process of the organization will take place. A well-set out plan for the establishment of an organization will enhance a fast and productive operation of the organization, and therefore, it must contain certain elements. Among the elements that the plan needs to include is the product(s) and service(s) it will be offering to the consumers, a motto, a mission, and a vision for the organization, the target market, the employee requirements, the management requirements, the internal and external environment, source of capital and resources, and the industry. It takes a lot of brainwork and finances to incorporate all of these requirements for an organization to startup. Depending on the financial situation of the individual who comes up with the idea, the organization can be run by one individual (sole proprietor) or it can be managed by several people (partners) who contribute towards the funding of the organization. After meeting all the requirements required for running the operation services of the organization, it is always important to take note of the fact that change will always remain inevitable; and so, as the services are offered a number of things will have to be adopted and others will have to be done away with. The changes which the organization goes through during a certain period of time to achieve a desired goal form part of a transformation process (Spector, 2013). The aim of this paper is to discuss an organization (Pharma International Company) in the Middle East which has gone through a transformation process within the last one or two years.

Summary of the Organization

Pharma International Company (PIC) is a prominent biopharmaceutical corporation which is dedicated to manufacture, develop, and commercialize branded generic medications of high quality. The medications sold by the company are aimed at improving peoples health outcomes, the cost of care, and taking care of the wellbeing of the patients from the Middle East across to Africa. Since the establishment of the company in 1994, the company has cultivated a blooming culture of innovation which has been demonstrated amply by the exclusiveness of the companys product portfolio. The product portfolio of PIC entails products exceeding 200 cutting across primal therapeutic classes which include the Respiratory system, Anti-infectives, Cardio-vascular conditions, Nervous system, and Lifestyle conditions. PIC remains an outstanding flourishing company in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq. The company has ensured its market presence in other parts of the world by establishing over 25 market segments; this effect has been experienced in Africa, the Levant, the GCC, and other parts of Eastern Europe. The culture at PIC has grown to be dynamic and unique as the company employs people with different traits who are nurtured to foster the success of the company in its day-to-day activities (PicPharma). Everyone at PIC is therefore committed to making sure that the activities of the company run smoothly by utmost participation at whatever position they stand in the organization. PIC is among other companies that have specialized in the pharmaceutical preparation companies (industry) to manufacture drugs and other pharmaceutical products for healthcare.

Why a change was needed:

Just like any other organization or company in the market, PIC also has its competitors who include companies like, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Allergan plc., AbbVie Inc., Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Tabuk International, and Agios Pharmaceuticals (Abro, Khurshid, & Aamir, 2016). With the stiff competition from the external environment, PIC has been forced to initiate and enforce several key changes to beat its competitors and maintain a competitive advantage over them. PIC realized that in order for it to maximize its sales, then, it had to prioritize on the marketability of its product though it will have to adopt certain new changes in order for this to be accomplished.

The change that was undertaken:

Market expansion and emerging markets have called for a transformation process at Pharma International Company during the year 2015; this has been due to the stiff competition from competing companies and business entities (AlShathry, 2016). The production capacity had to be increased so as to meet the standard requirements for supplying to a broad market size. Previously, PIC had a handful number of markets to which its products and services were sold at; this made the company to realize dismal income to face off its competitors on the global market table. A complete infrastructure transformational called for an idea about the technology sector (Vision 2030). The number of employees was also increased to measure up to the workload that the organization was supposed to undertake. The management was also scrutinized for efficiency in the company and proper running of services (Belias & Koustelios). Diversification in the products which were manufactured at PIC was another initiative to increase the sales of the company. New marketing strategies were devised to ensure strong customer-seller relationship which entailed the services of salespersons (Ding, Eliashberg, & Stremersch, 2016).

The outcomes of the change:

The employees had to pace up with the changes for their company to continue blossoming amidst the Pharmaceutical preparation companies. PIC also had to find new fast, efficient, and effective ways of reaching out to its market by devising new transport and infrastructural means; this included use of faster transport means like airplanes across international borders for urgently needed products. The current world has turned into a Global Village where everything has been automated by the augmenting technological advancements (Manz, Ross, & Grande, 2014). Faster communication means which had been a challenge had to be dealt with as a way of enhancing faster network and accessibility of the relevant parties of the company together with the consumers. Marketing of the products and services manufactured by PIC through social media forums was another way of attracting customers since a large percentage of consumers have access to the platforms. Marketing through social media attracts more customers (patients) than one could ever imagine which increases the sales of the company (Collier, 2014). The management of the company signed up contracts with several firms to help in handling various sectors of the company which had been presumed less-functional. Among the firms which were contacted was Etisalat which is the biggest telecommunication company in the Arabian world. Increasing the number of employees had an impact on the production capacity of the company at first due to lack of familiarization but as time went by the employees interaction grew more strong leading to the high productivity of the company (AlShathry, 2016). The human resource management had a lot of issues to deal with during the transformation process starting with the scrutiny of the companys management all the way down to the employees and consumers (Belias &Koustelios, 2014). The market expansion saw through PIC establishing contracts with other leading pharmaceutical companies that have remained outstanding at the top of the industry; companies from first-class economies like the United States. Increasing and diversifying on the type of products which the PIC manufactured attracted more customers due to the fact that the company had realized across-borders recognition. New innovative ideas as is the culture of the company had to be welcomed and the investors funded any idea that came along for the production of a new product (Spector, 2013). PIC developed a brochure which it provided to its target market as a way of marketing its product and services and with the curious nature of man this was seen to attract a lot of people who wanted to give the products and services a try. With all the effected changes in place, PIC has been recording increased revenues worth making it to now stand as a leading biopharmaceutical production company in the Middle East, drawing close to reach the international status. The market expansion also has led to the acquisition of new cultures from other countries where the markets have been opened up. For a firm to splendidly sell its products and services to a new market, it has to learn and be able to adapt to the ways of living of that particular market which it has targeted. Having employees from all over the world made it easier for PIC sales to be fostered as the company had information about the needs and requirements of the market. Emerging markets are essential for a healthy business corporation as it increases the sales reducing on the stagnation of markets and the economy (Rapid Growth in Biopharma).

References

Abro, M. M. Q., Khurshid, M. A., & Aamir, A. (2016). Corporate social responsibility practices: The case of Saudi Aramco. Journal of Competitiveness Studies, 24(1), 79-90.

AlShathry, O. (2016). Business process management: A maturity assessment of Saudi Arabian organizations. Business Process Management Journal, 22(3), 507-521.

Belias, D., & Koustelios, A. (2014). The impact of leadership and change management strategy on organizational culture. European Scientific Journal, 10(7), 452-470.

Collier, R. (2014). Patient engagement or social media marketing?.

Ding, M., Eliashberg, J., & Stremersch, S. (2016). INNOVATION AND MARKETING IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY. SPRINGER-VERLAG NEW YORK.

http://picpharma.comhttp://vision2030.gov.sa/sites/default/files/NTP_En.pdfhttps://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/rapid-growth-in-biopharmaManz, C., Ross, J. S., & Grande, D. (2014). Marketing to physicians in a digital world. The New England journal of medicine, 371(20), 1857.

Spector, B. (2013). Implementing Organizational Change: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ISBN-13: 9780132729840

vision2030.gov.sa/download/file/fid/417