Solved

Case Scenario 3: Compliance, Inc

question 61

Multiple Choice

Case Scenario 3: Compliance, Inc.
Compliance, Inc., (CI) conducts clinical human and animal trials for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Revenues are split evenly between early and late drug development services. In the area of early drug development, CI offerings include analytical, bioanalytical, antibody, clinical pharmacology (Phases I-IIa) , toxicology, and drug metabolism services. Late development services include central diagnostics, central lab, clinical development (Phases IIb- IIIa) , periapproval (Phases IIIb-IV) , and pharmacogenomics. The bulk of its business is conducted in Europe and the U.S. (10 and 17 subsidiaries, respectively) ; CI also has subsidiaries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. While now an independent public company, CI was once itself a subsidiary of Corning International. Corning built up CI through over 40 acquisitions, hoping to extend its strength in medical testing glassware into the medical services business. At the time Corning made its acquisitions, the clinical testing industry was geographically fragmented, owing largely to the fact that various parts of the world had their own strong local pharmaceutical companies and distinct regulatory environments. Perhaps for that reason Corning, and now CI, has retained the autonomous character of each country's businesses. However, globalization of the regulatory environment (both global and local standards) , globalization of the biotechnology firms (increasing the geographic scope of their operations) , and tremendous consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry (reducing the number of pharmaceutical industry participants to only a handful of major global companies) is causing CI to question its decentralized strategy.
-(Refer to Case Scenario 3) What type of international strategy is CI currently pursuing?

Definitions:

Functional Departmentation

The organization of a business into departments based on functions such as marketing, sales, and human resources, to enhance efficiency and specialization.

Organizational Hierarchy

Organizational hierarchy is a system in which roles and responsibilities are ranked in order from highest to lowest, determining the flow of decision-making and authority.

Cross-Functional Problems

Issues that arise from the interaction of different departments or disciplines within an organization, requiring collaborative solutions.

Coordination Methods

Techniques and approaches utilized to align and manage activities and efforts within an organization or among project members to achieve harmonized goals.