Introduction
Corporate social relations is a concept which many organizations use to give back to the society after considering the interest of the society regarding the organizations activities impact on its suppliers, employees, stakeholders, customers and the environment. This kind of responsibility extends far beyond the organizations objectives to adhere to the legislation that governs the organization. It entails the organization taking an extra mile a head and voluntarily creating initiatives which are aimed at improve and enhancing the quality of life for the staff as well as for the society and environment (Owen, pg ix).
Case Study: Genentech Biotech Company
Genentech has embraced the outcome of good corporate relations for a period of few years now but according to its Chief executive these few years operations coupled with a good corporate social relations has had a big impact to the overall performance and on the image of the company. The company believes that having a good social relations scheme integrated into its vision dubbed “Horizon 2010,” has really made the organization to turn out to be one of the chief oncology companies in the United States of America. It has managed to come up with a top cream immunological franchise and became a master and leader in biomedical field.
The company brought on board the concept of social relations when one Mrs. Stutts become the head of communications after she recognized that the company did not have a good way of representing itself to the audiences and this led her to initiate the “Horizon 2010.” Vision which she wanted the company to use as a road map to a achieving what it initial had been unable to achieve. As the company’s relations team adopted this plan and started to use it there was obvious success that started to be seen which then forced the company’s chief executive officer, Mr. Levinson Arthur to integrate the action into the entire company system. When the media approached the CEO later after the company had adopted “Horizon 2010” into the system, The CEO told the reporters that, Corporate relations was an important function in Genentech and it had made the company to seek all avenues of growth and it was working well for the company when it comes to testing of new drugs before they were licensed.
Genentech’s Value of social relations
The company has a strong value it attaches to social relations and all the executives of the company recommends it to be one of the concept which is outstanding in the realization of the company’s future vision since the cooperate social relation concept always comes to play whenever a new drug is introduced. The company which has more focus on education and awareness of diseases, and employs the use of media to enable it to that then it has no otherwise than to create a good relationship with the society. One other challenge the company faces that good social relations has helped in addressing, is the adhering to the drug administration laws which states that, a drug manufacturing company can not advertise and sell its drug products before it seeks for approval from the pharmacy department hence the Genentech’s communications head believes that such a challenge can only be solved through a good public communication initiative, so as to enable the clients to develop a higher demand and interest for the company’s products.
Vision “Horizon 2010” for Genentech’s has also enabled the customer and cooperate relations teams to become an effective advisers to the senior management teams of the company. The management of Genentech’s believes in having an effective strategy which can then be integrated and communicated to all the departments of the company including to the trusted stakeholders, the company has developed a culture where by even the management also contribute physically in the achieving of the company’s goals and by having such a culture demonstrated by the executives has really enhanced the public relations and brought double achievements to the company.
Genentech has contracted a company called Ketchum which helps Genentech to build its image and reputation by carrying out researches which will give recommendations on how Genentech can develop or improve the existing public relations plans. The company gives back to the society by sensitizing and educating people about the diseases which are treated by the company’s product and not just teaching them about the drugs, and the company believes through such an initiative it makes it easier for the medical doctors to do their work with ease.
The company helps patients and physicians to understand how their products work and understand all the dimensions of the treatment course of the products. The company also involves itself in working with several patient advocacy groups for example the breast Cancer Coalition and biotechnology & healthcare association. In such forums the company facilitates and enables the experts and patients to give their perspectives and stories through the media. The company believes that through such initiatives they are able to give more information to the people in order to let them understand the various options available at their disposal which they can choose from in order to treat their problems; the company says that such an initiative makes them quite unique from the other drug companies.
The company confessed that the above mentioned social relation initiatives have really worked well for them, since patients have always joined the advocacy groups when they realize that they have a disease, and since the direct beneficiaries of the company are the patients, these patients will usually prefer to use the company’s products to heal their diseases. These patients also develop an attachment to Genentech and they always attend the company’s events and conferences and they meet with their doctors and with other patients and people from the media and the staff members of the company.
Conclusion
There is involvement of all the company’s staff in its activities and events and the company usually goes out of its normal schedule to organize retreats and prize giving days, which brings together the staff members, executives, doctors, patients and other stakeholders. This helps the company to foster oneness and initiate a feeling of company ownership into people (Cynthia, pg 12). This is the reason why the company values the concept of social responsibility which is very important to the growth of the company while maintaining a good reputation and company’s public image.
Work Cited
Cynthia, W. A. Comparative perspectives: Corporate social responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Owen, D., and Ronald, H., Company reporting and corporate responsibility. USA: Prentice Hall, 1987.