Specialty Medical Chemicals (SMC) is a specialty chemical company serving the pharmaceutical industry. In the case study, the company was plagued by poor growth performance and brought in a new CEO, Carl Burke, to ostensibly rekindle growth. Upon studying the company, Burke ascertained that the real task which lay before him was not revamping growth, but more remedially shaking up the management team and getting the right people in the right jobs to lead the company toward growth.

Burke found that the growth sectors were biotechnical companies and generic pharmaceutical companies and that SMC needed to form new relationships to tap into these markets. Furthermore, he found that the reps were not motivated to develop these new relationships because doing so would take time away from their existing accounts. A good idea here may have been to develop new branches of the company to strictly focus on the biotech and generic sectors (which Burke did end up doing).

In terms of the existing branches of the company, Burke decided that sales and manufacturing were top-notch and the product development, marketing and finance departments were also performing well. He felt that administration was weak in customer service and personnel. The head of each of these departments, with their weaknesses and strengths, comprised his core management team and the members that he would need to decide who stays and who goes in the new team.

Burke hired an outside management consultant, a PhD psychologist, to evaluate the management team and provide insight and recommendations. Among the problems they found was that each department was reluctant to comment on areas outside of their functional area and there was a “not my job or area of expertise” sort of attitude that hampered holistic functioning. Of note: Burke also commented that the review processes (of employee performance) were elaborate but essentially useless. The overarching input from the consultant told Burke that “you need to manage by setting the broad strategies and structures, putting the people in place that can do the job, and hold them to stand and deliver.” CEO Burke decided that the business should be reorganized into 3 new business units: pharmaceuticals, biotechs and generics.

Based upon the aptitude and personality results found by the consultant and summarized in the appendices of the case study my recommendations for filling each of the new management team positions is as follows:

• Install Robert Englehard as GM of Pharmaceuticals. Englehard is currently VP of Sales and is performing pretty well in this role. Pharmaceuticals is SMC’s core business right now and he has proven he can handle this task. There is a risk, however, based on Englehard’s personality, of losing him by not challenging him enough or giving him a new role.
  
• Install Michael Everett as GM of Biotech. His chemical and engineering background will help him succeed in this role.
  
• Recruit new talent for GM of Generics. The company desperately needs some new and fresh blood in the mix and this position is not readily fillable from in-house choices.
  
• Recruit new talent for head of Manufacturing. Jack Francis, current head of manufacturing is doing a pretty good job but does not seem to have the skills necessary to really help push the company to a new level.
  
• Keep current CFO, Roberta Janis, as head of Finance. She seems to have potential, and with some help and coaching, could really grow into a key player.
  
• Promote current personnel rep, George, to head Administration. Current head of Administration, David Rice, seems to not mesh well with the new direction of the company.
  

The more drastic changes, like in Manufacturing and Administration, would need to be done tactfully so as to minimize impacts on the company’s morale.