Merck Sharp & Dohme Company: Analysis Report

Introduction

Preface

This is an international company which is known as Merck &Co., in the United States which operates in 120 countries with 31 factories and began its operation in 1891. its headed by 11 board of directors, it’s a pharmaceutical company which manufactures and markets both human and animal drugs and descries its self as global research-driven with its mission being to provide quality products to its customers, provide the employees with the best opportunities and to give its shareholder good returns. Some of its brand names include vytorin, zocor, maxalt and vioxx.

Human resource planning involves a careful approach of the human resources in a firm since people are the most valuable resources and therefore there is paramount essence to ensure that the appropriate people are accorded their right job whilst making the correct decisions since planning is a forward-thinking issue about courses of action to take in the future.

Human resource planning in MSD Company

Merck &Co inc or MSD company uses the human resource planning manager to meet the demand of the company of labour, this is because the labour of the human resource is of paramount importance to any organization. The firm faces some problems during the recession of 1980 to 1982 which forced the firm to lay off some of the workers and even the manager.

The human resource planning of this company has some written down objectives which ensures that the firm’s employment levels are stable even when the demand for its products is variable and this ensures that there is no exaggerated cost of laying off the employees when the demand of there products get low, it also ensures that the trained personnel is retained through being motivated by good compensation and progressive promotion and lastly they are also there are no problems of succession in the management since they train their personnel to fit in those post depending with their qualification and performance.

How the hr planning of msd relate to other personell processes

The firm human resource planning is mutually related to other departments especially on matters relating to the selection of employees to ensure that the employed workers fit the vacant position to enable the growth of the company, I ensure that as a human resource base it meets the labour market in terms of the package whilst ensuring all the departments are neither understaffed nor overstaffed.

The HR planning is also responsible for the job appraisal of all the workers in the MSD company, this is essential in guarantying that there is the continuous development of the employees through training coupled with proper job orientation to ensure the right job start. Job appraisal is carried out at regular intervals to ensure that the employees with untapped potential are acknowledged and at the same time it present information for promotion and better pay

The firm also ensures that the demand for the human resource at a specific point of time is met on time whilst ensuring that there isn’t any pilled up human resource in place since this cost the firm more. The firm prefers to have in place non-human resources at its disposal like raw materials and work in progress. A more concrete reason for this is that the stock of human resource is likely to be upset and bored more so there may be a shortage of labour in the market and therefore putting some out of work for the stock is not generally tolerable in the social order.

Personnel training in msd and motivation

MSD Company ensures that for each employee, the jobs are specified, described and provide continuous training to develop the individuals within the systems in the firm. Training is done to reduce mistakes, accidents, increase motivation, increase productivity, geared to prepare the employees for their development and promotion. The training can be informal or formal external training for better efficiency. The advancement of technology has called for the firm to train its workers on various computer programmes to fit in for the newly arising challenges in the firm. Cost-benefit analysis of these activities has reflected that these investments are worth for this kind of firms which are growing

To facilitate advanced motivation, a better package that is in line with the market rate is paid tied with excellent allowances.

Promotion for the workers including the receptionist takes place through a detailed plan which begins by observation of the employees, questionnaire, filling of diaries about the daily performance and interviews.

Promotion of these employees must be implemented carefully beginning with approving of the promotion plan in financial terms and monitoring of the strategy. Monitoring of the promotion involves assessment of the progress, analysis of any problem which may arise, decision making and taking of the corrective action. Implementation is carried out with a keen analysis of the public relation resulting from the promotion and initiating the financial arrangement.

Forecasting in demand for human resources

One of the major responsibilities of human resources planning is to forecast the demand and supply of the human resources within the firm, hence in MSD Company; this is carefully monitored along with the movement of people from one position to another to ensure that there are no vacant positions which may affect the firm unnecessarily. The firm, therefore, needs to determine the supply of labour within the firm, how the labour can be promoted from one department to another and therefore how the managers and other junior personnel can be promoted to senior positions. The firm also monitors the external demand of labour by another competing firm so as to know the future trends in terms of the availability and the varying costs of the human resources.

To guarantee that human resource forecasting is carried out accurately, short term planning is crucial because of the uncertainties which exist due to long term planning. This is because, in the short term, the firm can forecast the trends unlike in the long run when there may unforeseen change in the government policies and the changes in the labour unions constitutions on the labour supply and cost.

Human Resources in the pharmaceutical firm (MSD CO)

Several changes have taken place in the labour market of the UK in reference to the pharmaceutical companies. These changes are a result of the advancement of technology and the changes in the availability of skilled labour. The table below shows analyses of the year on year demand across various job categories in the country.

The major reason for the above demand for jobs is due to the growth of the pharmaceutical industries in the free market and the increasing competition with the firms in the industry. More so firms are becoming global entities hence the need for this qualified personnel.

The high skilled jobs and that require manufacturing capability with sound research as in IT and fields where scientific innovation is still required are needed in the pharmaceutical firm. Forbidding cost of employees, rising average wages, low employee morals, lesser time periods spent in work, lack of basic skills are some of the major reasons cited by employers for the talent crunch.

According to Peter Wright, associate professor at the University, “It is clear from this research that small firms employ a significant proportion of the workforce and account for most new jobs but, on the flip side, their failure rates are much higher. This means that Government support to small firms is inherently risky, but if the Government could identify why so many of these firms fail it could have a significant impact on net job creation.”

The following principles underpin the delivery of a raised ambition by the firm

Shared responsibility; Employers, individuals and the Government must increase action and investment. Employers and individuals should contribute most where they derive the greatest private returns. Government investment must focus on market failures, ensuring a basic platform of skills for all, targeting help where it is needed most

Focus on economically valuable skills. Skill developments must provide real returns for individuals, employers and society. Wherever possible, skills should be portable to deliver mobility in the labour market for individuals and employers

Talent in the British Pharmaceutical Sector

Britain has long established itself as a leading centre for excellence in pharmacology and healthcare. The availability of scientific talent is a major factor in the implementation of the programme in these sectors. Ever since 1961, it has been observed that Britain’s share of intellectual knowledge in this sphere has been falling. The lack of talented manpower is one of the reasons that have been attributed to this fall. The dwindling number of doctors and nurses in the country has been an indicator of this. But the fall has affected more than just the hospitals. The entire segment of British industry has had to suffer due to this shortfall of talent. Dependence on doctors and nurses from abroad has somehow covered the large gap of demand and supply of healthcare workers in the UK. However this study has gone further to explore the pharmacy sector in the UK since they form a major component of the nation’s healthcare delivery mechanisms.

Career breaks are taken by UK’s Pharmacists

It has been noted by various researchers that most career breaks by pharmacists are taken by women. On average, female pharmacists take a break of seven years to raise a family.

Managing Career breaks

Many companies lose access to talent because their employees take frequent breaks. The breaks are most often elongated or stretched because either the employer or the employee has any idea of how to prosper. Proactive measures have to be taken to curb this loss of talent. The following steps can ensure that the talent loss will be bridged:

• Provide official breaks
• Higher education while on the job
• Provide for part-time employment
• Measures to retrain an employee while re-entering the workplace
• Promote job sharing practices at workplace

Managing the talent moving between vertical

Barriers between the different sectors of the pharmacy profession are gradually fading away offering benefits to patients and other organizations, including primary care groups, interested in improving working arrangements. Institutions such as the Northern Ireland Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training (NICPPET) and The Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education (CPPE) now offer joint training, so the separate branches of the profession can learn together and interact across the walls that existed in the past. Pharmacists with experience in more than one sector can offer real benefits to employers and enhance their own work experience. Hence such cross-training practices should be implemented by more universities.

These developments should bring about a situation where moving between different branches of the profession is easier. Manpower shortages are encouraging employers to think more laterally about the way vacancies are filled.

Conclusion

Human resource planning is an important function of the management which must ensure that the human and non-human resources in a firm are properly managed to make sure that the firm’s objectives are achieved in both the short run and long run. It ensures that the human resources are armed with the rightful skill to perform their right obligation. Lack of proper planning leads to wrong decisions being taken and not attaining the objectives of the firm

References

1. Bell, Burriel-Llombart and Jones, Bank of England Working Paper 280, (2005), a quality adjusted labor input series for the United Kingdom (1975-2002)
2. Blanden and Gregg, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2, 245-263, (2004), Family income and educational attainment: A review of approaches and evidence for Britain
3. Department of Work and Pensions, (2006), the impact of free movement of workers from Central and Eastern Europe on the UK labor market
4. Leitch Review of skills, (2005), Skills in the UK: The long-term challenge
5. Institute for Employment Studies, (2006), Employer training pilots: Final evaluation report
6. Lau and Vase, Office for National Statistics (2002), Accounting growth: capital, skills and output
7. Small Business Service, (2006), Small Business Service proposals for the 2006
8. Pre Budget Report
9. Merck & Co. Wikipendia, the free encyclopedia. Web.