IBPS Exam Case Study - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1564 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? (GlaxoSmithKline) is one of the worlds largest drug companies and size can matter in this industry. This case explores the competitive benefits of larger size and how GSK is using them to tackle twin strategic challenges now facing the industry. Background Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "IBPS Exam Case Study" essay for you Create order Over the past 20 years, pharmaceuticals have become increasingly expensive to develop typically, costing around US$500 million, spread over several years, for one major drug. After development, these drugs need to be marketed to customers such as doctors,hospitals and government health services for example, several thousand specialist sales personnel may be required for such a task in the North American market alone. To support such activities, substantial cash resources are important. In addition, world ,alliances and other connections between manufacturers can also be highly beneficial: drug companies can use these to support areas where they are both weak geographically and have gaps in their product development programmes. From the size perspective, it helps to have substantial resources. But this does not explain why even large companies have chosen to become larger over the past five years. For example, the Swedish company Astra merged with the UK company Zeneca and the French company Rhone-Poulenc joined together with part of the German company Hoechst to form Aventis during 1998/99. Over this time, half the worlds largest drug companies announced either mergers or takeovers of fellow companies. Some strategists would argue that if all the companies become larger then no drug company has developed any competitive advantage over another. The benefit cannot simply be size alone. It is necessary to examine the individual competitive resources of each company to see what size delivers. To explore this, we need to look separately at the two merger candidates in the case in question Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. Competitive resources at Glaxo Wellcome During the period 1980-95, Glaxo (as it was called then) was highly dependent on its patented drug, Zantac, which is used for treating stomach ulcers. For example, in 1994 this one drug alone accounted for 44 per cent of the companys sales and 50 per cent of its profits. In the early 1990s, Zantac was the single biggest selling drug in the world and its ownership by Glaxo was a major strategic resource. But this substantial strength faced two threats. First, the patents would begin to expire in 1997 and allow any company to manufacture and market the drug, thus reducing the profit margins that Glaxo was able to charge. Secondly, a new rival drug, Losec, was introduced to health authorities in 1993-94 by the Swedish company Astra Pharmaceuticals. Losec was claimed to be even more effective than Zantac. Glaxo knew the seriousness of such a competitive threat because its own drug, Zantac, had wiped the floor with an earlier rival in the mid 1980s, namely Tagamet, from the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham. Faced with these twin threats, Glaxo needed a new resource strategy. Given the time lag in developing new drugs, Glaxo used its existing resource strength the profitability of Zantac to acquire two existing drug companies. Wellcome (UK) was bought in 1995 for US$13.5 billion. This delivered a whole new range of patented drugs into the Glaxo portfolio, including the anti-AIDS drug Retrovir and the anti-viral drug Zovirax. In addition, the US company Affymax was bought for US$533 million. The latter company was developing a range of genetic products whose benefits would be truly revolutionary, if successful. In addition to acquiring drugs from the two new companies, Glaox gained other resource benefits from these purchases. The acquisition allowed Glaxo to combine its RD team with that of Wellcome, saving 1800 jobs and the labour costs associated with this. In addition, 3000 jobs were lost in manufacturing by combining various plants and 2600 jobs were lost in marketing and administration. In total, around US$1 billion cost savings were achieved. But it was not all good news: the patents on the top-selling drug Zovirax were due to expire from 1997 onwards (patents have roughly a ten year life from first registration). Competitive resources of SmithKline Beecham It was the loss of profits from Tagamet mentioned above that forced its makers, the American company SmithKline, to seek a merger with the UK company Beecham in the late 1980s. Nevertheless, the new company had proceeded to develop many new, patented drugs over the succeeding ten years to the late 1990s. It had also exploited its range of branded medicines sold directly to the general public with higher profit margins than were available on many pharmaceuticals. By 1998, the company was particularly strong in anti-depressants, vaccines, antibiotics and diabetes medicines. Merger failure in 1998 and success in 2000 In 1998, Glaxo Wellcome explored merging the company with SmithKline Beecham. This would have transformed the resource capability of the two companies because they both had different areas of product strength in the drugs market, and the duplication of some facilities and services could have been eliminated. But the merger did not take place. The two companies clashed over two matters: the style of negotiation and the proposed new management structure. The cultures of the two companies were so different that the merger discussions themselves became difficult for example, they were so bad that participants never even had lunch together. In addition, there were differences between the two chief executives and other senior managers over their respective roles in the merged company. The result was that the merger never took place and the substantial resource benefits were never achieved. In the face of increased competition and the cost of drug development, the pressure to consolidate remained. What made the difference was that the some of the senior managers involved in the abortive talks in 1998 decided to retire, allowing the two companies to merge in year 2000. As a result, the combined company was able to employ an enhanced research budget of over US$4 billion in 2002. Annual cost savings of US$750 million were achieved: this was ahead of earlier expectations. It had a sales team in North America alone of over 7500 people. The two product ranges from the two companies complemented each other, with some minor overlap. The company had a global market share of over 7 per cent. This might appear small but the company dominated some segments of the world drug market. GSK turnover by geographical area 2004 USA 49% Europe 30% Rest of World 21% USA Europe Rest of World Twin Strategy challenges of the new millennium The increased size of the company delivered a diverse product range in terms of geographical spread and product portfolio. But the company faced two major strategic challenges in the new millennium: Some of its leading drugs would run out of patents protection, allowing generic varieties of the same drug to be made and sold much more cheaply. This was a major threat to companies like GSK that invested heavily in new drugs and then relied on a high profit margin stream to pay for the drug development costs. The generic drug companies were picking off major drugs as they came out of patent and marketing cheap, reliable, copies at much lower prices. The new company had only a limited supply of new patented drugs in its pipeline. All drugs have to go through a period of rigorous testing procedures over several years. Inevitably, there would be failures during the tests, so it was essential to have a good pipeline of new drugs. GSK turnover by product type 2004 27% 20% 14% 9% 7% 7% 5% 5% 6% Respiratory Central Nervous System Anti-Virals/HIV Anti-Bacterials Metabolic Vaccines Oncology and Emesis Cardiovascular and Urogenital Others When the GSK chief executive took over in 2000, he made a detailed study of the companys drug pipeline. He concluded: We had an empty cupboard. He therefore set about creating a new vibrant research and development regime in the company. He regarded this as being crucial to the long-term future of any major pharmaceutical company. It would counteract the effects of the generic drug companies and would ensure continued growth at GSK. He recognised that the danger for a large company like GSK was to make its research and development large and bureaucratic: the small bioengineering companies had been more successful in recent years. Hence, with his new research director, Tachi Yamada, he set up seven centres of excellence for drug discovery (CEDDs) in Europe and the USA. Size was getting in the way, explained Mr Yamada. In the bureaucracy, traditional biotechnology expertise was forgotten. Very few companies believed that they were failing in the 1990s. Most are just beginning to realize how bad it is. The GSK solution was to set up seven CEDD teams, each no more than 300 strong and multidisciplinary in make-up. Each team had its own library, research facilities, even its own financial director. The smaller structure means that there were fewer reporting layers so that ,research can be started and stopped more quickly. One of Mr. Yamadas colleagues explained Before we could be stuck for years with a project that was no viable becausethe visibility was not there..[Now] we can give a Go/No decision within six months .For many of our competitors, that takes two years. But the results of this massive re-organisation were not yet complete in early 2005. the companys turnover had continued to increase and it was making progress in terms ofnew product development: RD productivity metrics were showing success in terms of drug developments in the pipeline. However, as the chief executive, Mr Garnier stressed at that time We are not claiming victory yet.

Essay on Fate of the Passionate in Virgils Aeneid

Virgil’s The Aeneid, to this day, remains one of the most influential epics to ever grace the merciless limitations of manuscript, inspiring, in pop culture as well as literature, an onslaught of themes, mythology, values, and the general sense of what a hero must be-or do- in order to overcome the obstacles of the gods and man. Written somewhere between 29 and 19 BC, consisting of twelve books (although never completely finished), The Aeneid takes us through the turbulent journeys and prophesied triumphs of Aeneas, a warrior and man bound by piety and destiny. Like usual, in every great epic, there are many battles: heads gashed open and gore galore; however, to say that this†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately, but not unexpected, Creusa, being left behind in the rear, disappears; and, before he leaves, she reappears before Aeneas in spirit. It is only then that he realizes that she had been killed in their hasty withdraw: his first, or so the manuscript reveals to m e, loss of heart and love. Now, relating to Aeneas, and possibly to Virgil, I can’t help but feel the pain in Aeneas’s reflection on that particular scene: She spoke and faded into the insubstantial air, leaving me there in tears and longing to reply. Three times I tried to put my arms around her neck. Three times her phantom melted in my arms, as weightless as the wind, as light as the flight of sleep. (47) When I left to join the Army, four or five years ago, I felt the same way about leaving my love behind, my fiancà ©e, and judging by the words above, regardless of whether or not they are archaic, they hold my memory and pain of leaving; however, unlike Aeneas, my love didn’t die. She just abandoned me when it was time for me to leave, the ghost of her face lingering in my minds eye and the scent of her perfume forever embedded within my flesh. As Aeneas continues to explain his journey to Dido, describing his wanderings, he fails to mention Creusa any furt her, probably for two reasons: one, Virgil saw that the particular plot device had served itsShow MoreRelatedThe Aeneid is a poem written by the ancient Roman poet Virgil during the height of the Roman900 Words   |  4 PagesThe Aeneid is a poem written by the ancient Roman poet Virgil during the height of the Roman Augustan age. The poem highlights the resiliency, bravery, and selflessness of Aeneas, a Trojan hero who leads his people away from Troy and on a journey to eventually found Rome. In the Aeneid, Virgil asserts the importance of one’s commitment to duty, and this assertion reveals that ancient Romans valued and admired one’s commitment to duty above all other character traits. 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The first half of the book entails Aeneas m aking his way to Italy while the second half describes the battle between the Latins and the Trojans. Both of these endeavors require the hero of the story to have a motivated disposition. These motivations come in the form of depictions of Roman history. The two significantRead MoreEros : Female Souls Thriving And Crumbling1735 Words   |  7 PagesEros: Female Souls Thriving and Crumbling The term â€Å"Eros,† referring to passionate love in English, has long been the mainstream of themes in drama, literature, arts, and cinematic media. The fascinating power of love has been exhaustively publicized, and the pursuit of love is diffused in streets and lanes. 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Manufacturing Process free essay sample

Tool post spanner For making adjustments to the tools Chuck key Used for tightening or loosening the bolts on the chuck Parting tool To remove finished parts. Procedure †¢We took a mild steel round 25*80 mm long piece and set it in the chuck with the required length by the use of chuck key. †¢Then marked the job as per given measurements with the help of steel rule and calipers. †¢Did the steps and cut edges with the help of side cutting tool. †¢Repeated the procedure 1 to 4 for mild steel round 25*50mm †¢Went to drilling process, and made 10 mm of diameter for mild steel 25*80. Did the free and plane operations and finish the job as per given sketch. Calculations required The calculations are for both turning and drilling. We will write a custom essay sample on Manufacturing Process or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page turning N = speed in revolutions/minute (RPM) k = speed (V) and part diameter (Di ) V = needed cutting speed D1= is largest part diameter drilling Drill speed k is a Constant D is Diameter of the drill V is the cutting speed ? Pictures: Discussion Majorly the two processes that were involved in our experiment were turning and drilling. The machine used was a manual lathe machine. Overheating of the tool and the work piece proved to be the basis of many errors seen within the finished work piece. other problems during the processes were creating of long chips which had to be cut in order for the experiment to go on further. Breaking of the tool was also experienced. Conclusion The machine used was a manual lathe machine in which most of the processes had to be worked out and supervised by a trained professional . the major errors in this experiment are caused by the mistakes of the handler. The rotation of the work piece, which is handled by the supervisor, must be precise and constant; otherwise the problems which arrive are the breaking of the tool and the creation of long chips. to rectify this error the use of automated lathe machine can be done. In this day and age automated lathe machines are the way to go because manual lathe needs hours and hours of supervision and in the end the product is not even as accurate as a product that can be used by a consumer. A better coolant and a cooling method can also be used to reduce the heat which can lead to inaccuracy.

Marketing Mix Plan for Baskin Robbins free essay sample

Baskin Robbins Introduction Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, two brothers-in-law shared a dream to create an innovative ice cream store that would be a neighborhood gathering place for families. Burton Burt Baskin and  Irvine Irv Robbins  had a mutual love of old-fashioned ice cream and the desire to provide customers a variety of flavors made with ingredients of the highest quality in a fun, inviting atmosphere. They started out in separate ventures at the advice of Irv’s father. In 1945, Irv opened Snowbird Ice Cream in Glendale, California. His store featured 21 flavors and emphasized high-quality ice cream sold in a fun, personalized atmosphere. A year later, Burt opened Burtons Ice Cream Shop in Pasadena, CA. By 1948, they had six stores between them. This concept eventually grew into Baskin-Robbins. As the number of stores grew, Burt and Irv recognized that to maintain the high standards they set in the beginning, each store would require a manager who had an ownership interest in its overall operation. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Mix Plan for Baskin Robbins or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Even though they didnt realize it at the time, the two founders had pioneered the concept of franchising in the ice cream industry. It wasn’t until 1953 that the ice cream chain dropped the separate identities of Snowbird and Burtons and became Baskin-Robbins. A local advertising agency, Carson/Roberts, advised a uniform identity and image under the name Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream. Their recommendations included the 31 ® logo to represent a flavor for every day of the month, Cherry (pink) and Chocolate (brown) polka dots to be reminiscent of clowns, carnivals and fun and lastly, the use of cartoons to bring their flavors alive with personality to graphically highlight the name and delicious ingredients. With this over-arching branding, Baskin-Robbins iconic pink spoons were created with the belief that people should be able to try any of their many flavors without cost. In 1954, Baskin-Robbins put their product on the line against their competitors at the Los Angeles County Fair. That year they won their first Gold Medal and set the pattern for county and state fair participation, earning Gold Medals for Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream every year since that first contest. Marketing Mix PRODUCT Baskin Robbins has never used artificial flavorings; its extensive RD efforts have focused on developing a wide range of flavors by using natural ingredient. As a result, BR’s products smell distinctly different from other products, which has helped BR to differentiate its products from lower-quality ones (which typically use oil/fat and artificial flavorings) and consistently increase customer satisfaction. In addition, BR has introduced new products with fewer calories by using fruits to reflect recent trend. In addition to flavors produced by BR in US, there has been a large number of flavors produced by BR-Korea and sold out in different countries US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia and China. In this way, Baskin Robbins was able to satisfy the changes needed by the customers and developed new products to maintain its leadership in the ice cream market. As a result, its products have been continuously satisfying not only the domestic customers but also foreign customers. Baskin Robbins has made efforts to establish a world-class food safety system to improve the quality of its products and gain consumer confidence and preference for BR’s taste and brand. Since the beginning, BR has been offering chairs and tables for the customers who wish to enjoy their ice creams at the store. Baskin Robbins main aim is to serve the customers entertainment and enjoying of their ice creams and not just the best flavors of the ice creams. In Egypt BR has been working hard on serving customers at the best level to satisfy their needs and wants and build a strong relationship with their customers. The Packaging and design of the ice cream products have been up to date and it has its own outlook that customers have liked from the beginning and it is not similar to any other ice cream brand. BR has been quite successful in producing and serving large amounts of customers with different flavors and tastes of products all at one time, It puts a gr8 effort in providing the maximum variety possible for the customers wants and demands to be fulfilled. PRICE A product is only worth what customers are ready to pay for it. The price also needs to be competitive but not necessary to be the cheapest. It needs to include profit, as it is the only marketing mix element that generates revenue every other element represents costs. Prices change overtime and can be influenced by the inflation of the economy or by the changes in the prices of the competitor’s products. Baskin Robbins in Egypt can be offering discounts as a source of attraction to the customers and to maintain their position in comparison to their competitor’s. There are no any payment periods as long as the money is paid cash at the same time, but in case there is a large number of ordered made from any of the branches, credit terms can also be offered for the satisfaction of the customers. Baskin Robbins tries to charge and choose the affordable prices of their customers and at the same time the prices that could achieve for them the required profit. So eventually both stakeholders are served beneficially. PLACE The place where customers buy a product and the distributing of the product to that place must be convenient and appropriate to the customer. The product must be available at the right time at the right place in the right quantity, while keeping storage, inventory and distribution costs to an acceptable level. Baskin-Robbins  is a global chain of  ice cream from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in  Glendale, California. It claims to be the worlds largest ice cream franchise,[1]  with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are located in the United States. Baskin-Robbins sells ice cream in over 30 countries, including  Nepal,  Canada,  Japan,  Mexico, the  Dominican Republic,  Colombia,  Bahrain, the  United Kingdom,  Russia,  Egypt,  Saudi Arabia,  United Arab Emirates,  Australia,he  Philippines,  Thailand, Indonesia,  Malaysia,  China, South Korea,  India,  Ecuador,  Pakistan,  Panama. In Egypt Compared to the other countries the channels of distributions are fewer; BR in Egypt is working on more expansion of locations for the serving and delivering of their products more easily and effectively to the customers. Transportation and delivery is efficient and the inventory is available for Baskin Robbins continuous production. PROMOTION Promotion is the way a company communicates what it does and what it can offer to customers. The most familiar ways of promotion is advertisement of product this can be through magazines, media, sales promotion and special offers. Promotion must gain attention, by appealing, tell a consistent message and overall give the customer a reason to choose the company’s product over any other competitor’s product. Promotion does not mean communicating to your customers only. It is important to ensure that the internal stakeholders are aware of the values and attributes of the product. This means communicating to staff/ employees very well so that they can be acknowledged and share this with customers later. Baskin Robbins used advertisements as a source of promotion regardless to that it was well known even at the start. But for customers to get to know more about it and as result profits and sales would increase.