Internal Analysis & Recommendations: Executive Management

Internal Analysis and Recommendations Name Institution Internal Analysis and Recommendations Executive Management The executive management of the company is quite competent and often showcases its brilliance. Led by CEO Kenneth C. Frazier since 2011, the company has been on a mission to become a leader in the pharmaceutical industry. Any company seeking or in search of long-term business success must ensure that it embraces good corporate governance. Merck’s executive management embraces good corporate governance. From the company’s website, the company notes that it devotes “considerable time and resources to making sure that: * Our policies reflect our values and business goals. * We have an effective corporate governance structure; and * We are operating in a way that is open, honest, and transparent.” The above have points have over the years been challenged, and the company has been exposed because of falling short of its promise. However, Frazier, the company’s CEO has been taking the lead and guiding the company towards a path which is free of controversy and one that also embraces integrity and its responsibility to the industry and its customers. For example, Frazier resigned “from the president’s American Manufacturing Council in protest of President Donald Trump’s response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia” CITATION Sar17 \l 1033 (Whitten, 2017). From this gesture, Merck’s CEO was leading the company in showing the world that the company does not simply care about the sales but also minds the people. In another article, Frazier is said to be a one of a kind CEO. “Since becoming CEO, in 2011, he has earned praise for stabilizing Merck – no easy feat in an industry convulsed by change. He has restored R&Ds prominence at the company and overseen promising launches, such as the cancer drug Keytruda” CITATION Adi18 \l 1033 (Ignatius, 2018). Therefore, the company’s executive management is indeed visionary and does look like it will lead the company towards a greater future. Issue Analysis (Summary and Opinion) One the issues facing Merck is its reliance on sophisticated software and applications. It is true that the world is embracing technology and companies are also making suitable technological changes. However, with every new invention, there is always a downside, and Merck did experience the downside of its reliance on computing infrastructure. According to a 2018 report, Merck “experienced a network cyber-attack that led to the disruption of its worldwide operations, including manufacturing, research and sales operations” CITATION Uni18 \l 1033 (Commission, 2018). The 2017 attack as highlighted above did indeed greatly impact how the company runs its operations. For a company in the Pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing, research, and sales operations are some of the key if not the key operations. Therefore, having such vulnerability could indeed lead to major losses in the future or major disruptions whose magnitude could be bigger than the one experienced in 2016. Investing in new technology is indeed encouraged especially for a company of Merck’s stature. However, it is essential to ensure that the necessary measures are in place to help safeg...