Future Now Medicine Company’s Problems and Solutions Essay

Executive Summary

• To: The Board of Directors (Future Now Medicine Company).
• From: The CEO (Future Now Medicine Company).
• Subject: The Safety of Clingin and Employee Policy Adherence
• Date: Sunday, March 11^th, 2012.

Problem: To find out whether Clingin is safe and if employees understand and adhere to the company policies.

Alternatives:

1. Regulatory Agency intervention.
2. Status Quo.
3. Organize policy awareness training and team building activities.
4. Give the affected individuals time to recover from work-related stress.
5. Formulate a clear communication protocol within the company.

Facts considered:

1. The company lacks a clear communication protocol.
2. The image of the company and Clingin is at stake.
3. Employees show deficiencies in the carrying out of company policies.

Recommended Solutions:

The primary problem calls for immediate action. On the other hand, taking care of satellite problems is paramount. Contacting the government’s regulatory agency to validate the safety of Clingin, formulating a clear communication protocol, and organizing training to enhance the understanding of company policies are the recommended alternatives.

Assumptions

The current problem affecting the image of Clingin seems to have been caused by the poor communication protocol. The situation would have been prevented if the employee had sought clarification from other authorities if he felt that Mr. Kusch (the vice president) delayed in addressing his concerns. In addition, other teams of the company indulge in other malpractices that might eventually affect the whole company.

• The company lacks a clear communication protocol: the employee who reported to the media that Clingin is unsafe did not follow the required protocol. Mr. Kusch (the vice president) delayed in addressing the concerns of the employee who sought clarification about the safety of Clingin.
• The image of Clingin appears to have been tainted because of a misconception of its safety: this can be illustrated by the news in the mass media and a drop by 15% in the sale of the drug.
• The employees show deficiencies in the carrying out of company policies: the production team misleads the public about the efficacy of some brands by indicating false information on the product labels. Litigation team often alleged patent infringement on generic companies to prevent them from producing lower-cost versions of FN’s drugs. This is a breach of company policies.
• The marketing and Litigation teams seem to be misappropriating company money: the marketing team often treated doctors with lavish meals in order to persuade them to prescribe FN products.

Ingram et al. (2007) argue that employees should be familiar with the company’s structure, policies, and key personnel. It is also essential to work as a team with key company personnel. In addition, Griffin and Moorhead (2011) indicate that communication influences interpersonal processes and behavior in organizations.

Statement of the Problem

Primary Problem

Is Clingin safe? What contributed to its tainted image? There is an urgent need to find out whether Clingin is safe and if employees understand and adhere to the company policies.

Secondary/satellite Problems

The negative publicity of Clingin in the mass media resulted from an allegation raised by one of the company’s employees. The employee came across the side effects of Clingin while performing research on another medicine. The employee sought clarification from his supervisor. The supervisor informed him that Clingin had undergone the required clinical tests, which distanced it from the alleged side effects. Dissatisfied with his supervisor’s answer, the employee sought the indulgence of the company’s vice president Mr. Kusch. Mr. Kusch showed reluctance in addressing this concern forcing the employee to report the incident to the media.

This scenario forms the basis for the primary problem. The negative publicity of Clingin arose from that controversy. On the other, the production teams seem to be feeding the public with wrong information about the efficacy of some brands. The marketing and Litigation teams seem to be misappropriating the company’s money on irrelevant expenditures. Thus, satellite problems are:

• Misappropriation of company funds
• Poor communication protocols in the company
• Poor understanding of the company’s policies by the employees.

Therefore, the primary problem (negative publicity of Clingin) illustrates the need to solve underlying satellite problems that contributed to the primary problem. Sypher (1997) points out that satellite problems might be the basis of the primary problem. Thus, case analysts should be in a position to recognize the satellite problems n the cases they are analyzing. This will enable them to come up with practical solutions that address the satellite problems.

Implications

On the Organization

The company will suffer significant losses if the current primary and satellite problems persist.

• The company will become destabilized: poor communication protocols in the company may lead to other challenges. The executive and the rest of the employees will not be in a position to work as a team in case communication within the company breaks down. In addition, individuals might take actions before seeking the indulgence of management, and create more problems like the one brought about by Clingin.
• Company Reputation: in the pharmaceutical world, the reputation of a company matters a lot. The image of the company has a direct effect on the purchase of the company’s brands by consumers. A tainted image of the company and its product (Clingin) will deflect the people’s trust in the company. Consequently, the company will lose economically. The sales of the affected product will go down. The removal of Clingin from the market will see the company’s innovation and effort go to waste. It takes many years to conduct research and come up with a new brand.
• This may also lead to conflicts within the organization. Consequently, the working relationship between colleagues will be compromised, a phenomenon that will affect the productivity of all employees. This scenario can lead to the sacking or quitting of some employees. Thus, the workforce of the company will be compromised.

On the Personnel

• Tensions might arise between employees leading to a hostile working environment. Individuals might be at risk of making uninformed decisions that might harm the entire company. The employee who reported Clingin’s side effects might face disciplinary actions. The vice president might also face disciplinary actions because he did not address the issue on time. The Production, Marketing, and litigation teams may face disciplinary action for violating company policies.
• The employee who reported the alleged side effects of Clingin might be victimized by his colleagues for having tainted the image of the company.

Alternatives

Griffin et al. (2008) argue that the proposed alternatives should offer immediate solutions and create a channel for future solutions. They include:

1. Regulatory Agency intervention.
2. Status Quo.
3. Organize policy awareness training and team building activities.
4. Give the affected individuals time to recover from work-related stress.
5. Formulate a clear communication protocol within the company.

Status Quo

Status Quo refers to the current state of the situation. It means that if measures are not put in place to address the prevailing problems, then FN will encounter even more serious problems. The image of the company will be tainted, and the company will be affected economically.

This option should be avoided at all costs, or else, the company will plunge into even more serious problems. The company’s image is at stake following the negative publicity of its number one product (Clingin). Consequently, Clingin will lose its spot in the market, leading to a reduction in the company’s profits. The company will continue encountering policy non-adherence related problems.

Regulatory Agency intervention

Request the government’s pharmaceutical quality assurance team to carry out tests on Clingin and assure the public that the drug is safe. It should be done immediately and within the shortest time possible. After salvaging the image of Clingin, the marketing team should intensify the marketing of Clingin in order to restore its lost glory.

This should be the foremost alternative. The option of indulging the participation of a regulatory body from the government aims at restoring trust in the affected brand and the company. Obviously, after a series of negative publicity in the mass media, the image of the brand and the company was tainted. Since the government acts as a central player, most people have got trust in it. Therefore, selecting a government agency to validate the safety of Clingin will encourage those who might have disowned Clingin. Once the government verifies that the drug is safe, then the company can embark on intense marketing to revive its publicity.

Organize policy awareness and team building activities

Ensuring that the employees understand and adhere to company policies will act as a prophylactic measure. Holding seminars and organizing team building activities will create harmony in the company.

This option should be taken both as a short term and long term alternative. This approach will resolve the underlying cause of the primary problem and prevent future problems that may stem from employee policy non-adherence.

Give the affected individuals time to recover from work-related stress

The vice president and the stigmatized employee who brought about the Clingin saga will need time to rest. They will be able to come back after two months of rest. They will have had enough time to calm down after the intense debate in the mass media and at the workplace.

This approach is aimed at protecting the rights of the affected individuals. Moreover, it will instill a sense of responsibility in them. This will ensure that in the future, the stigmatized employee will seek alternative options before taking matters into his hands. The Vice president will appreciate the worthiness of acting on time.

Formulate a clear communication protocol within the company

Creating a communication protocol will lead to an organized reporting system that will prevent cases of misrepresentation. This will ensure that the information that goes to the media is accurate.

This approach is also prophylactic. It will prevent future cases of misrepresentation. This will ensure the smooth running of the company. In addition, it will create a sense of accountability in the employees.

Recommended Solutions

The primary problem calls for immediate action. On the other hand, taking care of satellite problems is paramount. Thus, contacting the government’s regulatory agency to validate the safety of Clingin, formulating a clear communication protocol, and organizing training to enhance the understanding of company policies are the recommended solutions. These alternatives are essential because they will ensure that the image of the company and Clingin is restored. In addition, there will be no miscommunication in the company. Employees will understand company policies, and this will prevent policy non-adherence related complications.

Implementation

The implementation of the proposed alternatives will occur in three categories; immediate, short term, and long term. Those to be implemented immediately will require the endorsement of the top management team. The other short term and long term goals will involve other employees in the decision making process. The employees will be required to decide when and where seminars and team building activities should be held. Involving employees in decision making will enable them to gain confidence in the company and the top management (Kingdon & Turkington 2003). Employees will feel appreciated, and this will lead to establishing loyalty among company employees. Molding loyal employees may take time. Company’s that have loyal employees end up succeeding because more of the time is diverted to production and less time wasted on solving issues. Organizing team building activities and allowing employees to take part in decision making will enable the company to concentrate on the core activities.

Immediate (within three months)

Regulatory Agency intervention:

This should be the foremost concern because Clingin is the leading brand of the company. In case Clinging is removed from the market, the company’s profits will reduce drastically. Thus, restoring its image will prevent the looming economic disaster. Carrying out toxicological tests might take more than the expected time. However, this exercise should be carried within the first three months.

Formulating a concise communication protocol:

This should also be affected as soon as possible. Note; this should not be misinterpreted that they will be fired. The two individuals will be given time to calm down after being victimized for instigating the whole saga. The two individuals will then come back after two months to continue with their duties.

Short term (within six months)

Holding team building activities:

This alternative is extremely beneficial. It will be aiming at restoring teamwork and togetherness amongst the employees. This endeavor will also give the employees confidence in their leaders and the company as a whole.

Holding seminars to enable employees to familiarize with the policies of the company:

This endeavor will ensure that employees understand the company’s policies and communication protocol. The employees will be able to appreciate the need to understand company policies. They will also be notified of possible disciplinary measures to be taken in case any of them will not adhere to the set regulations. This approach will fall within both long term and short term periods. This is due to the fact that continued interaction and learning will enhance the understanding of company policies. In addition, it will offer a perfect opportunity for the management to gauge how employees respond to company policies.

Intense marketing of the affected product:

This approach will come after the government has cleared Clingin of any side effects. The approach will also be both a short term and long term endeavor. This approach will ensure that Clingin regains its top spot in the pharmaceutical industry.

Long term (after six months)

Holding seminars and team building activities:

These activities will be conducted periodically to measure compliance.

Intense marketing of the affected product:

Ensuring that Clingin remains at the top will be the ultimate goal.

Setting up of benchmarks that measure how employees adhere to company policies.

References

Griffin, R. et al. (2008). Introduction to Business Management. Ottawa: Custom Publishing Pearson.

Griffin, W. and Moorhead, D. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.

Ingram, S.et al. (2007). Professional Selling: A Trust Based Approach. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.

Kingdon, D. and Turkington, D. (2003). The Case Study Guide To Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Psychosis. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Sypher, B. (1997). Case Studies in an Organizational Communication: Pespectives on Contemporary Work Life. New York: Guilford Press.