Global Talent Management in Novartis Essay Example

Introduction

Novartis a global renown pharmaceutical industry in the world is among one of the most popular drug companies globally. By late 2007, the company had over a hundred thousand employees in about 140 countries. This shows the reach that the company had achieved in the international business market. Under the leadership of Vasella, the company has managed to grow into a hundred percent healthcare industry.

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Challenges/ problems

The international expansion of the company's operations into other countries all over the world has brought in some challenges with it (McDougall, Shane, & Oviatt,1994). Management is one such challenge that has been experienced. With the expanding workforce base, it is hard to monitor the individual activities of every employee. With such unsupervised management in the workforce, the management at the top has been faced with the constant challenge on coming up with an effective workers evaluation method.

With the international recognition that Novartis has acquired, distribution chains have become stretched more than ever before. High demand has also led to the constant restructuring in the distribution chains (Ghauri, 2004). For workers in this sector, there has also been a trend that the management has observed. Some distributors have consistently been ranked at the bottom of the distribution chain implying that they are among the contributing factors to the sluggish development of the company's growth in the international scene.

Solutions

The management of an expanding business always presents a fair share of challenges along the way. It is necessary for the management board of the institution to implement measures and actions that could help alleviate the problem (Andersen, 1993). For Novartis, the international venture has likewise been observed to be ridden with various challenges. Some distributors have constantly ranked at the bottom of the assessment rankings indicating some lack of commitment to the job.

This is an act that directly affects the company by lowering the number of sales made hence lower profit margins achieved bearing in mind that the workers receive a fixed salary, commission, and other allowances. This shortcoming can get addressed in some ways to see to it that all the workers carry out their tasks as required (Bresman, Birkinshaw, & Nobel, 1999). First, distributors who consistently rank at the bottom can be put on a probational basis and get given some time to increase their sales records failure to which they may risk losing their jobs.

Considering that the business is operating at an international scale, there may be particular challenges that the distributors may face while working in unfamiliar foreign grounds. One such problem could be the language barrier (Friman et al. 2002). A distribution agent may be registering low sales owing to the communication barrier with the prospective clients to avert this, before allocating individuals to certain international countries for operation, the management should consider finding their agents in these countries as they understand the market scape better. The company could then reinforce the newly acquired distribution personnel with existent workers from the company and assess the performance of the venture.

Learning outcomes

From the Novartis case, one can learn about the various managerial challenges that come with business expansion not only internationally but also on the local scale. With the minimized supervision or any other operational barriers, it is possible to observe that upon development the profit margins may fail to meet the projected targets (Poulis, Poulis, & Plakoyiannaki, 2013). However, with the solution applied in the above case for Novartis, then one can ask some of these techniques to address the problem at hand.

Ana by Karma-One scarf-one hope

Quin Thong born and raised Malaysian is a perfect example of what entrepreneurial skills are and how an individual may apply them to their benefit and for the local and international communities as well. A self-made businesswoman now in the process of thought of employing global sales managers is quite a fete pf achievement. Quin has managed to reach the projected five years sale volume in just a small business operation period. Such success could get attributed to the positive working attitude and self-driven motivation that most private business owners possess.

Challenges/ problems

Although the scarves business appears to be doing just good, there are various underlying challenges that quin has come across or is expected to find along the way as her business grows (Rogerson-Revell, 2007). The societal impact has largely helped the growth of Ana by Karma in a significant way. For instance, the operational distributions were by volunteers her close societal members herself included. Given that these individuals were operating on a voluntary basis, there is no workforce incentive guarantee. The business gets operated on a highly unreliable workforce.

The business expansion in the neighboring international states was a challenge that Quin had to deal with (Darke, Shanks, & Broadbent, 1998). Given that her operators base was voluntary, she risked losing the grip of her newly acquired clients in the neighboring nations if either of them was to face any hindrances that would prevent them from offering their services. This was a significant risk that necessitated immediate attention.

Solutions

For the business to evolve sustainably, it is necessary for Quin to first invest in a permanent workforce given that the response from the business in the few months of operation has been positive. Spending in the employment of permanent workers would help a big deal in the establishment of better employee and employer relations and also set goals based on the vision of the enterprise.

It was a realistic idea for Thong to operate Ana by Karma on a full-time basis. Having already established the performance of the business in the first 18 months of operation, it was possible for her to determine that the enterprise was a profitable entity in which she could dedicate her time in (Piekkari, Welch, & Paavilainen, 2009). the business managed to attain high sales records in the neighboring nations a perfect indicator that with proper management and enough time investment, even higher sales margins could get realized

Learning outcomes

From Quin Thong's business venture, there are several lessons that one can take from her experience. Unlike other experiments where most individuals start with a struggle and eventually find their feet, from Quin's experience, one can also learn that with the proper business module, it is possible to run a successful venture that will take off from the very beginning. As an entrepreneur, one can also learn that they can utilize readily available help and resources before they can accumulate the necessary financial freedom to style the venture as per their wants.

Conclusion

In the business setting whether local or international, identifying the most optimal conditions for operation is necessary for the running of a profitable entity (Cravens, & Piercy, 2006). In the two cases identified above, the operators have managed to secure a marketplace for their products. Recognizing a market opportunity and seizing it is another crucial aspect of business operation (Pauwels, & Matthyssens, 2004). For international business practice, it is necessary for the operator to have a clear understanding of the prevailing market conditions in the desired country of venture and the demand of their product.

References

Andersen, O. (1993). On the internationalization process of firms: A critical analysis. Journal of international business studies, 24(2), 209-231.

Bresman, H., Birkinshaw, J., & Nobel, R. (1999). Knowledge transfer in international acquisitions. Journal of international business studies, 30(3), 439-462.

Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. (2006). Strategic marketing (Vol. 7). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Darke, P., Shanks, G., & Broadbent, M. (1998). Completing case study research: combining rigor, relevance, and pragmatism. Information systems journal, 8(4), 273-289.

Friman, M., Garling, T., Millett, B., Mattsson, J., & Johnston, R. (2002). An analysis of international business-to-business relationships based on the Commitment-Trust theory. Industrial marketing management, 31(5), 403-409.

Ghauri, P. (2004). Designing and conducting case studies in international business research. Handbook of qualitative research methods for international business, 109-124.

McDougall, P. P., Shane, S., & Oviatt, B. M. (1994). Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research. Journal of business venturing, 9(6), 469-487.

Pauwels, P., & Matthyssens, P. (2004). The architecture of multiple case study research in international business. Handbook of qualitative research methods for international trade, 125-143.

Piekkari, R., Welch, C., & Paavilainen, E. (2009). The case study as disciplinary convention: Evidence from international business journals. Organizational research methods, 12(3), 567-589.

Poulis, K., Poulis, E., & Plakoyiannaki, E. (2013). The role of context in case study selection: An international business perspective. International Business Review, 22(1), 304-314.

Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Using English for international business: A European case study. English for specific purposes, 26(1), 103-120.