Wellcome Israel Case Study

Wellcome Israel Case Study (A)

Issues

Ofra Sherman (Sherman) is in a predicament foreign to anything she has ever encountered. With the acquisition between Wellcome and Glaxo, she is striving to determine whether or not to succumb to a new cultural environment, due to the upcoming merger, or to begin sending resumes to find new work. Her decision to stay or leave has caused her great anxiety primarily because of the commitment she has demonstrated to Wellcome, and because of the loyalty she has to her team of employees. In order to determine whether or not to remain with the upcoming changes on June 1, she must decide whether or not to speak to the general manager of Glaxo to understand what the firm is interested in doing with their department.

In order to develop an effective strategy moving forward, it is important to understand how Sherman has handled the various changes within Wellcome to date, as well as the managerial atmosphere of trust she has instituted thus far. This analysis will supply a foundation of influential options to create reliable, relevant, and product decisions in creating an environment capable of effective change.

Issue Analysis

Change Stages

It seems natural for a person in Sherman’s circumstances to be in and out of shock. Currently, her last five years of time and efforts within her managerial position are in jeopardy or are being placed at a standstill. In addition, it is no wonder that it has been difficult to know how to act considering a conflicting argument between a former leader and current leader within Promedico on how to act for the best interests of the marketing department.

Confusion and ambiguity may have been a trending pattern within both Wellcome and Promedico as seen in the lack of concrete organizational structure with items such as reporting lines. Employees identified Sherman as someone with incredible autonomy. Her display of independence could be a defensive retreat due to the unstable appearance of her working environment where she was unable to delineate her allegiance due to being in the middle of two companies with an undefined relationship.

Sherman displays and uncanny ability to execute her role as the manager of Wellcome Israel, despite the fluctuating degrees of change and responsibility. In the midst of change, the ability Sherman has to earn the trust and respect from her team is admirable. She is not only a manager to the 14 people she leads, but also a friend. This is due to her efforts to effectively communicate and empower the employees. Her exertions seem a result of a pattern being reciprocated—where the more energy she puts into the growth and development of her department, the more energy, comfort, and assertiveness she develops to take proactive risks for herself and for her team.

Managerial Atmosphere

Communicating the vision for the marketing department—given the abruptness of an unpredictable situation, is the most important role for Sherman. She has been remarkable in being quick to access the needs of the team given the circumstances. One of her strongest attributes has been her discipline to filter the message she delivers to her department. It has been her advantage not to engage employees in the conflicting messages of Sherman’s various managers. Involving employees in this dialogue could destroy moral. However, it may be in the best interest of the department to allow for people to vent their frustrations before she decides whether or not to approach Glaxo management. It will be important to understand where members of her team are as recipients of change; in order to gaining the mental framework and synergy to prepare for a departmental change.  Once the environment has been created for people to be capable of transitioning, Sherman’s talent of motivation will be ripe for execution.

Recommendations

Creating the Capability for Change

Sherman has already begun rethinking positive steps toward change. She has collected many critical insights to provide her with the energy and options of how to move forward in the change process. She must now gather her department employees for a meeting to council together. She should encourage the department to ask questions and should seek to understand the degrees of frustration that have surfaced in their work and family lives as a result of the unplanned event. Because there is a culture of trust and respect established, team -members are likely to be open to explaining their perspective on the situation, dialogue back-and-forth in order to identify current and potential options, and to explore risks. The success of the meeting will be directly correlated to the atmosphere Sherman and employees have created together, where sharing and collaboration is a natural occurrence. However, it will be important for Sherman to be the mediator of the discussion in order to ensure that in the end of their meeting people have felt listened-to and validated, options have been entertained sufficiently, and a mutual understanding of action is obtained.

How to Act

 After meeting with her team, Sherman should make time to consider both the advantages and disadvantages of carrying the team into the transition or searching for employment elsewhere. She must consider the overall mood at the end of the meeting, specific points of action the group would adopt given best and worst case scenarios, and how this change would be good personally and for the individuals of the group.

Upon collecting the most influential advantages and disadvantages moving forward, Sherman should contact Glaxo management and inform them of her desire to understand the vision for the company acquisition. She should then prepare for a meeting, acknowledging that the points of discussion that surfaced when counseling with her team may help to persuade management to retain the marketing department. She should also e-mail a list of items and minutes she would like to review. Also, in her preparations, she should consider the tremendous growth she would undertake during and after the merger. Realizing the amount of growth and accomplishment that will take place personally will stimulate an increased level of security and capability given abrupt and ambiguous circumstances in the future.