In 2024, the managing director of a pharma company faced an ethical dilemma after being informed that a senior manager had falsified her resumé and manipulated the reference check process when she applied for her position three and a half years before. After first denying all allegations, the senior manager eventually confessed. However, her pregnancy may have complicated the situation for the company. Given that the company had planned to promote her, would firing her be appropriate? Dismissing her could jeopardize the company’s relationship with major customers and five orders totalling over $20 million. Under these circumstances, how can the company balance its core values with potential business impacts and sensitivity for the manager’s well-being?
In January 2022, Maha Research Labs Private Limited (MRL) needed to boost its sales force effectiveness (SFE). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MRL experienced losses in sales revenue and saw dwindling profits through 2020 and 2021. The pandemic had changed the sales ecosystem of the pharmaceutical industry, with many physicians and retailers now preferring online sales presentations. MRL’s managing director was concerned about the increased marketing and selling expenses that were affecting the company’s profitability, and he had identified gaps in the company’s sales process, performance, and SFE. The managing director proposed investing ₹40 million for the implementation of an SFE program, and he had one week to convince his team that this investment would create a smarter, more efficient sales force, restrain operating costs, and generate much-needed profitability for MRL.
In January 2020, Jai Prakash Chaubey, the managing director of Sarva Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (Sarva), needed to decide whether or not to accept a proposal from Gursim Pharmaceutical Limited (Gursim) to market some of Sarva’s products in Cambodia. Sarva had been performing well; however, the company’s profitability in Cambodia was minimal. Should Chaubey accept Gursim’s offer? Or should he hire a new country head who could drive the sales in the country and motivate the sales team for better results? Other options included restructuring Sarva’s product portfolio or shutting down the company’s marketing arm to focus solely on distribution. What strategies should he adopt to turn around his company's performance, strengthen its presence in Cambodia, and remain on course to achieve the company’s target for 2020?
In 2017, the director of Laurs & Bridz Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (an Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer) was working to expand the company throughout India and increase sales revenue by 2020. However, the director recognized two obstacles: the lack of employees and the absence of a dedicated human resources department. The company needed to create human resources systems and processes to manage a sales force. The director needed to quickly decide on the selection recruitment policies, consider the best recruitment sources for sales personnel, and determine the competencies of the company’s sales force, while factoring in the various aspects of sales-performance evaluation, the sales-training processes, and the timing of regular sales training periods. What strategy should the CEO use to set up the company's human resources department?