Answers for the question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Answers for the question - Assignment Example GSK wants a diverse portfolio, where it does not only focus on one specialty and product, but is open to different sources of research, services, and ideas. It also wants access to Sirtris’ unique entrepreneurial culture and distinctive scientific advantages. In other words, GSK wants to stay big but become nimbler by dividing its large bureaucracy into smaller scientific units. It has introduced several changes already to hasten its new product development process, but so far, its overall culture and design remain bureaucratic, at least for Sirtris which is a biotech firm and is used to less bureaucratic controls and processes. b) What challenges are facing the managers responsible for the integration process? That is, what must Slaoui be concerned about? Westphal is concerned that GSK’s bureaucratic design and culture is affecting Sirtris’ entrepreneurial culture and management system. In particular, his concerns are time management, people management, and othe r small, but important, issues (Weber 9). Time is essential to research work, but Westphal observed that GSK is eating most of his time through constant meetings with many people, who are not always critical to decision-making and other managerial processes. Westphal thinks that he should be doing more work, as well as his scientists, but the incessant meetings directly interfere with their research activities. Furthermore, people management is a key issue for Westphal. GSK has not provided him autonomy in making significant hiring, firing, and compensation decisions like he used to. Westphal wants to make these decisions that are crucial in keeping the entrepreneurial spirit of Sirtris. Finally, Westphal is concerned of small, but also important issues, such as media access, petty cash, and science publications. He wants some degree of autonomy on these issues because relying on GSK for these decisions only delays decision-making and can dampen the sense of control over these perti nent small tasks (Weber 9). Essentially, Westphal is wary that Sirtris is becoming more like GSK instead of the other way around. Slaoui generally has the same concern as Westphal, but more of macroeconomic in scope, because he wants an efficient and effective integration between Sirtris and GSK. Slaoui’s main concerns are employee retention, management integration, and DPU integration. He is concerned of employee retention, when scientists have different motivations, especially when biotech companies and big pharma companies attract different kinds of scientists. Biotech company employees are more focused on the science and tend to easily shift from one company to another as their interests change or if companies change, while big pharma scientists value stability and career progress (Weber 9). The right reward and management approach must appeal to these different motivations, but the right balance is tricky. Furthermore, Slaoui is unsure where to put Westphal and Dipp (Web er 9). He wants to retain them because of their valuable scientific and management capabilities, but he does not know if they are happy with