Upjohn Pharmacy Case

1. There are many different cultures in the world in which we live today, and it is important for any organisation planning to globalise their firm to know and understand the cultural differences that occur between nations. This theory is specifically important when it comes to two firms operating in different countries decide to merge to become one, as is the case with Upjohn and Pharmacia. The differences that became apparent during this merger were important as they affected the way business was conducted, in a negative way.

One of the major differences between America, Sweden, and Italy are the diverse beliefs that they each have about the best way for business to be conducted. The American representatives from Upjohn Pharmaceuticals believed that they would be able to head over to Sweden and approach the merger with a �command and control’ style, which implies that they went over there and automatically believed that their way was the best way and that they were in charge of the transaction, hence adopting a forceful and less considerate business tactic. This is almost completely opposite to the way that the Swedes and the Italians like to function, as their approach to the business environment is far more passive, and relationship oriented, it was therefore unlikely for the American businessmen to be successful in their methodology. This particular difference with relation to the typical business attitudes that all parties in this case bring to the table would have, and in fact did affect the way in which business was conducted. The Americans representing Upjohn automatically created a rift in the relationship with the Swedish and Italians from Pharmacia, due to the cavalier mind-set that they brought with them to Sweden, and this major difference between the cultures could easily have been avoided with a little bit of research.

The differences in cultures between Sweden and Italy had already become apparent in 1993, when Pharmacia merged with an Italian pharmaceutical company, however the inclusion of the American company into a corporate culture which had only so recently been developed and accepted by employees of the companies involved in the original merger created further cultural confusion. “Communication problems, beyond the obvious language differences, became a real barrier to honest dialogue”. This quote, coming from one of the American representatives of Upjohn goes to prove that there was an obvious problem with the interaction between managers of the three countries involved in the deal. He then went on to say, “you go there thinking your going to streamline the place, and you just leave having added five pounds from some wonderful meals”. This verifies the Americans went in thinking they were going to get the deal signed and head back home a couple of days later, where as in reality what actually happened was that due to the fact that both the Swedes and the Italians are both relationship oriented countries, their idea was to wine and dine the American managers, in a bid to build rapport. Their hope was that this would ultimately lead to successful business dealings, however this proved to just frustrate to Americans involved in completing the merger.

These are just two of many cultural differences between the three countries, and there are several other differences, some small some quite large and obvious, but all significant when it comes to a company looking to move to the overseas market for business. As you can see with a little bit of research prior to the merger taking place from all parties involved, all of this cultural confusion could have been avoided, and if it was, a much smoother transaction would have taken place.

2. A stereotype is “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group”. (No Author, 2006). There are many stereotypes held about individuals and the culture of America, Sweden and Italy. Some of the characteristics of each of these countries, with regard to business culture come out in the Upjohn and Pharmacia merger case, and I found that the characteristics described did in fact match the stereotypes of each of the respective countries.

America is a country that is renowned for many stereotypes, and some of these stereotypes have actually been displayed by the representatives from Upjohn pharmaceuticals in the Upjohn Pharmacia case. One of the biggest stereotypes that can be associated with America is their “time is money” attitude. “Due to the fast paced tempo of life and work in the United States, they tend to be perceived as impatient, rushed and even pushy”. (Wederspahn, 2006) This stereotype is extremely noticeable as a characteristic of the American executives from Upjohn, as they believed that they were going to go in all guns blazing and seal the deal quickly, when in fact that wasn’t the case and it wasn’t the way things worked.

Another stereotype that can be associated with the American business culture is their individualism. This refers to their belief that, “if you want something done, then do it yourself”, and it is quite different to the stereotype of both the Swedish and Italian cultures which are both more group orientated. This stereotype again came out as a characteristic in the case as the Americans believed that their way of doing things was best and there was no room for others’ opinions. This particular characteristic led the Swedish and Italian managers to believe that the Americans were self-centred, and poor team players.

One of the stereotypes of the Swedish business culture is the way that “they are reserved, silent and serious”. (No Author, 2004) This stereotype becomes visible as a characteristic in the case as it shows that the Americans become the dominant members of the relationship, and the Swedish seem to rarely impose their way of doing business. The Swedish therefore let their frustrations with the Americans build silently until it got to the point that the business relationship became ruptured.

There is a general stereotype about the Italian business culture that “they are lazy and like to holiday more than work”. (Hoeltzel, 2005). This is true in some respects, as they do like their holidays and will stuck to any public holiday systems that they have in place, however they are definitely not lazy in the way they go about doing

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