COOPER PHARMACEUTICALS INC CASE STUDY

SOLUTION
This assignment provides the solution to Cooper Pharmaceuticals Inc Case Study. Issues discussed are: the
recruitment and human resources (HR) policies that CPI practised, the role of the customer in reference to the sales
representative and the company, and a course of action that is suggested for CPI to undertake in this scenario.
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ABSTRACT
This paper undertakes an analysis of a case study of Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc (CPI). The aim of the paper is to
address the problem described by the scenario in context of respective theory, and offer recommendations that would
help resolve the situation in an effective and professional manner.
CPI is a major manufacturer of prescription drugs for the medical and dental practices in the United States (US).
Competing with several large firms, the organizational structuring of the firm consists of detailers (sales force), district
managers, zone managers and the senior management, like the sales vice president and president of the company.
The case study is a focused account of the employment history of Bob Marsh, a detailer who worked for the
organization for over 10 years. The analysis being conducted aims to understand the events surrounding the policies
at CPI, as well as the factors that led to the action being taken against Marsh and its underlying reasoning.
PROBLEM
Bob Marsh was let go from CPI after 12 years of service with the company. The decision was taken collectively by the
district and zone managers, who further communicated it up the organizational hierarchy with their reasoning. The
primary factor that was used to take the decision was the performance appraisals conducted over the last year, which
showed a lack of improvement in Bob Marshs performance, as well as lack of action on the proposal that had been
identified to undertake personal development.
The decision was delivered to Marsh in a private sitting, where he displayed an understanding to the path that had led
to this stage. However, soon after the meeting, Marsh lodged a complaint of unfair treatment by the management in
relation to his dismissal. Furthermore, many clients in his sales area forwarded complaints seeking clarification on
why Marsh had been let go, as he was considered by them to be efficient and effective. This prompted the senior
management of CPI to undertake a thorough investigation of the entire scenario and surrounding circumstances that
resulted in the termination decision.
DISCUSSION
The cut-throat world of pharmaceutical manufacturing is based on the effectiveness of the staff involved, especially
the ones who deal with the clients on a face-to-face level. This makes the sales force one of the most valuable assets
of the industry, and in many ways justifies the higher median salary levels that are offered to the individuals in such
positions. Additionally, the salary is divided into two components; the fixed base pay and the bonus paid out as
commission on the sales targets achieved. Perks and benefits added on top make the sale force a rewarding career,
despite the demands that it makes from an individual.
CPIs workforce was made up of high-calibre individuals. This is because their selection process ensured that the
sales force, known as detailers, were pharmacy school graduates with experience in the retail pharmacy industry.
Apart from initial training on the products and sales techniques, all other forms of training were done on-the-job, as
the major component of the work involved dealing with clients, and organizing work and product portfolio to provide a
professional presentation for increased sales of current products, or growth in sales of new products.
Bob Marshs employment with CPI was nothing unusual as his credentials and past experience more than matched
the necessary minimum requirements. One aspect that could be viewed is that he in many ways surpassed the basic
needs of the organization for the detailer position, having not only the years of pharmacy experience but also US
naval pilot officer experience. While the latter may not have a direct relation with the pharmacy industry, generic skills
like team work, responsibility, leadership, and the ability to work in high-pressure environments were transferrable to
the pharmaceutical industry.
Another aspect to consider with Marshs employment by CPI is that he made the decision to undertake the work after
having reviewed the organization and its practices as an observer for almost a year. This meant an understanding of
the core values that CPI stood for, and the initiative to work with the organization and abide by its rules and
regulations. Furthermore, this could be regarded as an affinity towards the organization and the mental preparation to
meet the challenges he would face in undertaking the new role and responsibilities as a detailer for CPI.
Marsh was hired after having met with the person who would be his immediate supervisor, John Meredith. Meredith
was the district manager for Marshs hometown area, which was stated as the preferred starting point of his career
with CPI, although Marsh was flexible to any movement to another district or overseas. With his strong skills and
understanding of the industry, Meredith considered Marsh to be a strong applicant and expected him to do well at CPI
in the future. Hence, the decision to recruit him as a detailer with his hometown areas as his target market was
reached rather quickly by the management.
Here is where an argument arises. Was assigning Marsh to his hometown as his primary sales territory the best
option for CPI, in terms of training and development as a detailer? One view would be that with the understanding of
the local market, and strong relations with the physicians and hospitals of the territory, Marsh would be able to easily
make the necessary calls on clients and complete sales target. Additionally, he would not have to undertake any
relocation, thereby, giving more job satisfaction and trust into the principles of CPI and its vision of keeping
employees satisfied. However, would it have been more suitable to start Marsh off in an unfamiliar territory, which
would be more challenging and a better learning environment similar to those presented to other detailers.
As the work required an amalgamation of different skills in organization and time management, along with sales and
customer service, Marsh exhibited to fulfil most in a rather casual way. With his work base being his own hometown,
he was known to several practitioners, and therefore did not need to make the same effort in pursuing sales as a
normal detailer would, if they were in an unfamiliar market. So, the location gave Marsh enough leverage to give him
the chance to not put in as much effort in the learning and honing of the skill set, as would be required by CPI
standards at appraisal time for any regular detailer.
Another aspect that needs to be carefully examined is the changes in line managers that Marsh went through. As with
employment in any industry, constant changes can lead to deviation from the goals that have been set at the start, or
changes in goals which could make the employee rather uncomfortable and unable to perform to the best of their
abilities.
In Marshs case, there were 6 district managers over 12 years of service. While the initial performance assessment
showed that Marsh was able to undertake his role with satisfactory results, there were certain weaknesses that
needed to be addressed. These primarily related to the norms of the industry that CPI practised as an organization
and the values and processes it followed in order to create an efficient and effective system.
So while Marsh was still below the requirement when it came to the processes and organization that CPI expected of
its detailers, he was able to fulfil the sales target and create a strong association with the clientele. This meant that at
no time during his career at CPI did Marsh fail to meet up to the targets set by management for sales of products. In
fact, there was growth in the territory that Marsh was responsible for, and relations with the physicians and hospitals
were optimal for CPI to have no customer relation concerns.
The strong bond that Marsh had formed was highlighted in all his appraisals signalling that he was a valuable part of
the CPI team, and had managed to ensure that the professionalism that identify the organization was not tarnished in
any way. However, there were factors which presented a few contradictory values. For one, his lack of organization
with his samples bag and presentation showed that Marsh was a little too much at ease with his work. One reason for
this is the same as discussed earlier; Marshs territory being his hometown meant that he had personal relations with
a vast number of the clientele. This meant that even during his official responsibilities, he could use personal insight
to gain access and perform his duties. However, his line managers noticed that while the end-results were positive,
the image portrayed by Marsh was not one that CPI could allow of its detailers.
Over the 12 year period of employment, Marsh was placed on probation twice. This was to get him to comply with
requirements set by the district managers, especially in terms of aligning his processes to the format set by CPI. Later
reviews showed that Marsh was able to come out of the process with success, although his dismissal after the
second probation period may be considered otherwise.
At the end, his termination from CPI could be put down to the hybrid of management failure as well as Marshs
inability to conform to the expectations that the organization had in terms of additional factors for detailers. What this
means is that while the primary role of detailers was fulfilled by Marsh with exceptional results, referring to the sales
target and growth, there was a lack of commitment of other issues like presentation and personal development in
terms of organization, reporting and time management, which failed to meet the standards set by CPI management.
It could be argued here that the management failure was not implementing a clear outline of targets for Marsh to
complete, and identifying the importance of sales responsibilities versus reporting duties. After all, the compensation
structure used by CPI took into consideration the performance appraisal report for movement in base salary levels,
while the sales target were used to ascertain bonus payments. This meant a stronger incentive to retain sales level,
or increase them, than the perusal of attaining increment in salary after each review.
This could be seen as a failure of management to clearly disseminate the information on review processed and the
expectations it had from detailers to Marsh. At the same time, it was negligent for Marsh to assume his role being
solely of a salesman, and disregard company policy or instructions of his line managers, given at each review.
The subsequent dismissal of Marsh and resulting reaction from the clientele created a strange scenario for CPI.
While the organization believed that it had followed its processes in a professional and diligent manner, the
customers saw the removal of a cooperative and proactive detailer as quite strange. Even a personal visit by the
management to a concerned client could not bring a sense of conviction in the decision that had been taken.
A reason for this could be the aspect that the client saw, versus what the organization wanted. For the clientele,
Marsh was a model detailer who had established a positive relationship with the physicians and hospitals in his
assigned territory, and was known to them in a personal capacity, being a local. This meant that clients had a
stronger affinity for him, and were completely satisfied with his skills and abilities. At the same time, reasoning given
by CPI for his dismissal was not good enough to warrant understanding from them, since they felt that he did perform
quite up-to-the mark of what the industry really needed; someone who maintained a strong bond with the clients and
achieved set targets.
CPI had a different vision; they needed detailers to be more than sales persons. There was a need to conform to
processes and procedures which ensured access to data and helped in understanding the role the organization was
playing on a larger scale. This feature was as important to the organization as achieving set targets for sales
purposes.
The move to undertake a thorough investigation into the incident by the management highlights CPIs regard for its
customers and their thinking. It highlights two factors; one, the interest the company has in assessing its
management procedures in order to avoid a mistake for the future, and two, the understanding that its business relies
on the customer being happy with the organization and the respective individual representing the organization.
When assessed overall, Marshs performance did not demonstrate any degree of ineffectiveness. After all, he got
positive responses on all his reviews in 12 years, in regards to his ability to understand the customers and be
welcomed into the clinics / hospitals with ease. His ability to meet targets was also noted, with the understanding that
he was developing as a dependable detailer. However, he was overlooked for promotion in light of his inability to
assimilate the organizational processes that CPI regarded as key to the business structure. This meant that his line
managers ended up being younger than him, with a need for Marsh to deliver more than what he was already
contributing.
CONCLUSION
To conclude the discussion on this case study, we assess three questions that have arisen: the recruitment and
human resources (HR) policies that CPI practised, the role of the customer in reference to the sales representative
and the company, and a course of action that is suggested for CPI to undertake in this scenario.
CPI practiced established requirements for recruitment, as the sales force was regarded a vital asset for the
organization. Seen as the driving force, the detailers enjoyed a relatively sound compensation packaged, that
included a basic salary, bonus, and other perks and benefits that enabled them to perform their duties diligently. The
annual bonus was linked with the company performance, thereby extending a sense of belonging to the organization,
and ensuring that the entire workforce acted as one since a mistake on any individual side could have effects on all.
While the organization had a strong history of inward career growth for its sales team, there was very little turnover.
This was due to a general level of contentment among the workers, as well as a strong association of loyalty that CPI
regarded well.
The performance appraisal was done on two factors: the sales targets and the relationship with customers. For both
these factors, Marsh was considered at satisfactory or above level. However, despite having served CPI for 12 years,
he had not moved into management and was drawing a salary much higher when compared to the rest of the sales
force. Hence, the argument could be presented that despite certain failings witnessed by the management, Marsh
had been able to complete what was considered his primary responsibilities with great success.
The matter of a customers linkage with an organization is tricky. Does the customer belong to the company or the
sales representative who serves the clients needs and ensures a satisfactory delivery of products and services? If
one is to view this matter as a diagram, we can make out that the sales representative is the face of the organization
that the customer recognises. Since it is the sales person who has a more active involvement with the customer,
there is stronger affinity of the client with the sales representative, and recognition of the company through the
actions of the sales person.
In the case under analysis, Marsh was the one who established contact and maintained rapport with the clients. He
was the face that highlighted the products and services that CPI stood for, and thus, had the respect and following of
the clientele. While management made occasional trips to the field with Marsh, these were primarily to assess his
performance, rather than create a secondary linkage with the client. Hence, it is little wonder that the clients were
concerned with the actions of CPI when Marsh was dismissed.
There is also a certain degree of comfort that plays a role in such relationships. The client feels closer to the sales
representative who they have been dealing with, and are comfortable with their presence. In Marshs case, being a
local resident of the territory doubled that effect. Hence, the establishment of a relationship with a new individual, one
likely to be from out of the locality, might have caused further agitation among the clientele, prompting the collective
action to question CPIs decision.
In terms of a recommended course of action for CPI, the appropriate method would be to reinstate Bob Marsh. This is
due to several reasons, but the most important ones are:
His strong bond with the clientele means that the risk of losing any valued customers could be negated
His ability to meet sales target means that the company was not affected financially by his actions
His loyalty to the organization with 12 years of service should be considered as a guarantee of his commitment to the
growth of the organization
Ideally, CPI should investigate into development of the skills that are lacking, but arrange agreement with Marsh on
the terms that it feels are more closely matched to the success of the organization and the betterment of the
individual.