International Operation and Competition Study of GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Essay Example

International operation and competition study of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Contents Contents 2 0Introduction 4 1 Rational of Chosen industry and Company 5 1.2 Aims and Objectives 5 2.0 Competition Analysis 6 2.1 Porter’s Five Forces 7 2.2 PEST Analysis 9 2.3 Porter’s generic Strategy 11 3.0 Cross Cultural Management 12 3.1 Hoftede’s Five Dimension 13 Power Distance 14 Individualism 15 Masculinity 15 Uncertainty Avoidance 16 Long term Orientation 16 3.2 Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions Model 16 Universalism Vs Pluralism 17 Individualism Vs Collectivism 17 Specific Vs Diffuse 17 Affectivity Vs Neutrality 18 Inner Directed Vs Outer Directed 18 Achieved Status Vs Ascribed Status 19 Sequential Time Vs Synchronic Time 19 4.0 CSR of GlaxoSmithKline plc 19 4.1 Stakeholder Theory 20 4.2 Triple Bottom Line 21 Environmental 22 Social 22 Economic 22 5.0 Conclusion 23 SWOT Analysis 23 References 25 1.0 Introduction GlaxoSmithKline plc. (GSK) is one of the largest pharmaceutical businesses in the world. It is a British consumer healthcare multinational which deals with products like medicines, vaccines and other pharmaceutical range of products. The company is a global healthcare giant that has developed a wide range of medicines and brands. The products of GlaxoSmithKline are used by millions of customers across the globe. The business deals with three primary areas which are consumer healthcare, pharmaceuticals and vaccines. 1.1 Rational of Chosen industry and Company The global pharmaceutical industry is a highly developed industry which implements effective international marketing strategies. It is critical to increase the accessibility of the different pharmaceuticals and medicinal drugs manufactured by various countries across the world. Therefore, the international marketing processes followed by the companies in the global pharmaceutical industry and the analysis of the pharmaceutical industry are important aspects of the pharmaceutical industry landscape across the globe. The commercial success of the pharmaceutical company depends on reaching more number of customers and ensuring innovation of new medicines and other pharmaceuticals. Therefore the international marketing process of this giant company in the pharmaceutical industry is an interesting and challenging topic for studying. 1.2 Aims and Objectives The aim of the study is to evaluate and assess the competitive and operating situations of GlaxoSmithKline plc. This study includes identifying and analysing the various challenges faced by the pharmaceutical company in its international marketing and operational processes. The different types of barriers and opportunities in the external environment of the company and the potentials and capabilities of the company are studied. Also, the various strategies followed by GlaxoSmithKline plc. to increase a diversified business across the world and to maintain sustainable competitive advantage in the changing global scenario are identified and analysed. 1.3 The Aim of Doing this Report The report is prepared with the aim to understand the international competitiveness and the global challenges and opportunities in the marketing processes of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Therefore the analysis of the macro environmental factors and the competition levels is done by the use of various popular tools like Michael Porter’s five forces, PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Generic Strategy. These tools have been implemented to understand the global competitive levels in the pharmaceutical industry and the impacts of these factors on GlaxoSmithKline plc. The report would help to analyse the functioning of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. with respect to the changing trends and patterns in the evolving global pharmaceutical industry. 2.0 Competition Analysis A competitive analysis of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. is done to understand the operating situation and the macro environmental factors affecting the business on the global perspective. A proper analysis of the environment and the various external factors can be done by the use of tools like PESTEL analysis, Porter’s generic strategies and Michael Porter’s five forces (Avlonitis, 2001, p.89). The cross cultural management perspectives of GlaxoSmithKline are studied by the implementation of the Trompenaar’s seven dimension model and Hofstede five cultural dimensions models. Also, different stakeholder theories like the triple bottom line theory and the stakeholder theory are implemented to analyse the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities taken up by GlaxoSmithKline plc. The study is concluded with suitable interpretation of the analysed facts and a SWOT analysis is included to understand the internal and external factors related to the competitive strengths and opportunities for the business. 2.1 Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s Five Forces analysis is done to understand the different macro environmental factors affecting the business. The five forces analysis is done for GlaxoSmithKline Plc. with respect to the global pharmaceutical industry. Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers for the global business of GlaxoSmithKline is relatively low. This is because the company has already established itself as a major pharmaceutical and healthcare company in different countries across the globe. The buyers of this company are mainly the patients, doctors, hospitals, clinics, pharmacists and various other healthcare establishments (Teece, 1996, pp. 285-290). The company do not face any significant threat from the buyers as the products are such that the reliability of the brands acts as major drivers for customer loyalty. The trust of the consumers on the brand and the number of patents make GlaxoSmithKline Plc. a company which does not face high bargaining power of the buyers. Bargaining power of suppliers: The suppliers of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. include the different supply chain elements. The suppliers of the pharmaceutical industry are mainly the providers of raw materials, labour, the in clinic trials, investigators, study staff and other parties involved in production and distribution. The bargaining of suppliers for the global business of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. is immensely high as the company and its reputation are driven by the factors like the supply of raw materials and labour in proper quantities and at proper time which is completely dependent on the suppliers (Ernst & Young, 2013, p.4). Also, the sourcing process is critical as it decides the costs incurred in the business. Threat of new entrants: The pharmaceutical industry across the globe is characterised by high capital requirements and high investment in the research and development purposes (Lindborg, Stacy and Schach, 2010, pp. 203-214). Since the cost of entering into the pharmaceutical industry is high, the threat of new entrants in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is very low. There are many barriers to entry in the pharmaceutical industry. One of the main constraints for new companies to enter into this industry is the requirement of high investment in the research and innovation processes and the need for timely development of the products to stay ahead of the competitors (Hansen and Grabowski, 2003, p.151-156). The strict policies and regulations imposed by the governments of different countries and the Food and Drug Administration Authority act as another major barrier to entry for the new entrants in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry (Barrington, 2012, p.214). Patent expiry and the rights of patents owned by different big pharmaceutical companies prove to be other constraints for new companies to enter into the market. GlaxoSmithKline Plc. is an established company in this industry with strong brand reputation and has achieved a number of patents in their portfolio. Also, the company has an extensive base of loyal customers which makes the company have much competitive advantage in the global marketplace (Pisano, 1991, pp.237-238). It would be difficult for new forms to compete with GlaxoSmithKline Plc. due to its established image and customer base. Threat of substitutes: The business of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. operates need a high threat of substitute products. The generic brand pharmaceutical drugs are identified as the major substitute products for the pharmaceutical drugs manufactured by companies like GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (Smith, 1991, p.78). The complementary alternative medicines are latest developments in the health care industry which can act as substitutes for the products manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (Mintzberg, 1994, p.412). The complementary alternative medicines and the generic brand medicines are similar products from different companies which are provided to the customers under different names and at different prices. Rivalry among competitors: The pharmaceutical industry is a highly competitive and dynamic industry. The industry experiences a continuous competition for achieving more market share through innovations and patents by the different pharmaceutical companies (Adams and Brantner, 2006, pp.420-428). The competitive rivalry in this industry is high. GlaxoSmithKline Plc. has already positioned itself as a strong brand in the industry with a number of patents in the company and the company also use several strategic planning to maintain sustainable competitive advantage in the future as well. 2.2 PEST Analysis The implementation of the different marketing strategies of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. is majorly dependant on the different internal and external factors of the company hat shape up the macro environmental situation for the business (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006, p.90). The strategic analytical tool of PEST is used to understand the impact of the different external factors on the business of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Political factors: The political factors that are relevant to the international marketing of the company include the competitive regulations and the international trade regulations as imposed by the governments and other regulatory authorities (Corstjens, 1991, pp.24-26). The company is likely to be affected by the changing political regulations in countries like China. There is increasing political pressure and focus on the global healthcare industry due to the different regulatory policies imposed by the international authorities and governments of different countries. Therefore, GlaxoSmithKline is likely to be changing its marketing strategies to adhere to the regulatory policies and would ensure proper pricing strategies to reach to a wider base of customers while maintaining the business in keeping with the reforms and regulations in the global healthcare system (Cox, 2008, p.117). Economic factors: Though the economic crisis has affected the major industries across the world, yet the pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline have not been majorly affected by the economic crisis due to the necessity of pharmaceutical drugs among the consumers. But the economic pressured on then pricing strategies would cause companies like GlaxoSmithKline to implement effective pricing strategies. Other economic aspects of this industry are the trends of consolidation which indicate more number of mergers and alliances within the industry (Hicks, Breitzman, Olivastro and Hamilton, 2001, p.681). GlaxoSmithKline would also focus on different vertical and horizontal alliances to improve its global competitiveness. The economic factors affecting the business for GlaxoSmithKline Plc. include the high economic growth in developing countries like China. The marketing strategies of the company may also be negatively affected by the economic uncertainties in the global markets (Macher and Boerner, 2006, pp.845-846). Social: The social factors affecting the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry are the increasing number of health risks. The increasing number of aging population is also a factor that creates a range of opportunities as well as threats from the pharmaceutical industry (Kesic, 2006, p.45). The pharmaceutical companies can capitalize on the different opportunities presented by the changing social dimensions in different countries across the world. The rising expectations of the consumers from the pharmaceutical companies and the role of the trust of the consumers have become critical factors in deciding the effectiveness of a company in this industry (Kasapi and Mihioit, 2011, pp.73-85). GlaxoSmithKline also focuses extensively on innovation and customer satisfaction to deliver more value to the customers and extend the base of customers. The company also tries to make the pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and other products accessible for the consumers in different regions at proper prices. The changes in the customer demands, attitudes and lifestyles are the social factors which have major implications on the marketing processes of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (Arun and Tuner, 2009, p.114). Technological: The technological advancements and innovations are critical factors affecting the pharmaceutical industry. GlaxoSmithKline has identified the need for innovations and patents to maintain competitiveness in its global operations. The different technological factors that may affect the business are the new technologies and inventions in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. Patents and inventions are critical to maintain the competitiveness of the company (Brouwer and Kleinknecht, 1999, p.615-624). Therefore, GlaxoSmithKline invests heavily in the Research and Development processes to drive innovations in the company. Other major technological factors affecting the business are licensing issues, patents in drugs manufacturing processes and innovation breakthroughs (Masi, 2002, p.80). 2.3 Porter’s generic Strategy Porter’s generic strategies are used to analyse the effectiveness of a company (Kotler, 2002, p.14). GlaxoSmithKline can use the strategies of cost leadership and differentiation to maintain competitiveness. In the current global pharmaceutical industry, GlaxoSmithKline seems to benefit more from the differentiation strategy which helps the company to maintain profitability and market share in the highly concentrated pharmaceutical industry (Barney and Hesterly, 2006, p.14) GlaxoSmithKline focuses on innovation in product development and manufactures quality products which have high value for the customers. The consumer perception has been created such that they view the company to have sufficient capacity to produce the most needed pharmaceutical drugs. The differentiation strategy has helped GlaxoSmithKline to build consumer trust and loyalty wherein the customers like the pharmacists have the confidence that the company can supply a wide variety of pharmaceutical products and increase the stocks and the consumers have the belief that they can get high quality medicines for their health and treatment purposes (KPMG, 2011, pp.8-10). These factors help GlaxoSmithKline to operate with higher competitive advantage than its competitors in the industry (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009, p.60). The differentiation strategy facilitates the global business of GlaxoSmithKline because of the factors of easy accessibility by the consumers and the high end innovations done in the products manufactured by the company (Agrawal, 1999, p.180). 3.0 Cross Cultural Management Cross cultural management is becoming a challenge for many companies. Due to expanding international trade along with immigration flows means that more number of diverse workgroups are coming and working together in a team. Increasing competition has forced many companies to enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures which need cross-cultural teamwork to be highly innovative and productive. Thus cross cultural teamwork is a reality which every company must face. The same thing is faced by GlaxoSmithKline, when merger happened between SmithKilne Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome to form the company. The challenges they faced was to make the employees think that they represented GSK and not the individual companies. The products they offer in the markets serves people across different cultures and different countries. This part will look at the analysis of cross-cultural management activities of GlaxoSmithKline with respect to different theories like Trompenaar’s seven dimensions and Hofstede’s five dimensions model. Four countries have been chosen for analysis of the above model namely, UK, China, USA and Japan (Tjosvold, and Leung, 2003, p. 92). 3.1 Hoftede’s Five Dimension Hofstede identified five areas to identify the differences of culture. He named it five Dimensions of Culture. A dimension refers to the angel form which one can compare a culture with other cultures. The five dimensions are Power Distance, Masculinity verses Felinity, Individualism and Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Confucian Dynamism or Long Term Orientation. Figure 1: Hofstede Cultural Dimension. Comparison of United States and Japan Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/china.html. Figure 2: Hofstede Cultural Dimension. Comparison of China versus United Kingdom Power Distance Power distance refers to the way of whether power should be distributed equally in the families, at work or at school or that it shouldn’t be equal. It indicates the degree to which the less powerful members in an organisation accepts the power which is distributed unequally. It is seen that countries in UK score are very low. It is 26. The Power distance in Japan is 46, China is 74 and USA is 31. This shows that Power is least distributed in UK, USA and Japan. This indicates that the organisations are falter in nature and supervisors and employees are considered equals. But Power Distance in China is very high which indicates that there is presence of strong hierarchies with centralized power distribution. Thus it can be concluded that management of GSK faces difficulty in China as compared to other countries to maintain equality in the workplace for its workers (Primecz, Romani and Sackmann, 2011, p. 72). Thus Glaxo will lend their focus upon maintenance of equal distribution of power among the staffs in China while they will strategise the power within the hands of the few in UK. Individualism Individualism refers to strength which ties people to others in the community. The score of China in individualism is 16, for Japan it is 47, for UK it is 98 while for USA it is 100. This concludes that China and Japan has low Individualism. Thus GSK in Chain and Japan can emphasises on building their skills. The workers in these countries work for intrinsic regards and they place importance to harmony more than honesty. But for UK and USA, the workers place high valuation on their time, and they enjoy challenges with expectations of rewards for hard work. Thus GSK has achieved high performance in US and UK because of high degree of independence (Nunez, Mahdi and Popma, 2012, p. 46). Masculinity Masculinity refers to the values which society sticks to like the roles of females and males. The score of Masculinity for both UK and China is 68, while for US it is 63 and for Japan it is 100. This shows that in Japan, men are considered to be masculine and women feminine in the sense that there is a clear distinction between women’s and men’s work. While for other countries the roles of men and women are simply blurred. The work culture of GSK supports the role for both women and men. Thus management of GSK must try to overcome the workplace conflicts for employees belonging to different countries especially in Japan (Cool and Goddard, 2006, p. 213). Uncertainty Avoidance This factor refers to the degree of anxiety which society members feel during time of uncertainty or unknown situations. In this angle, the score of UK is 26, in China it is 21, for US it is 37 while for Japan it is 81. In countries like UK, China and U.S. there is a tolerance of opinions from anyone or of any new ideas and thus it allows freedom of expression. But countries like China are comfortable with ambiguity and more adaptable and entrepreneurial. Management of GSK tries to reduce uncertainty and they engage in decision making process which will overcome the future challenges and threats (Boden, 2008, p. 151). Long term Orientation This refers to the long standing values of the society in contrast to the short term ones. The score of U.S. is 21, for Japan it is 82, for UK it is 52 and for China it is 100. This shows that in US people likes to analyse new information so as to check its validity, while people of other countries have a pragmatic attitude. They believe that truth depends on context, time and situation. Thus it is difficult for management of GSK to run operations in US since employees likes to check and analyse new information and is not much practical in that sense (Paul, 2012, p. 71). 3.2 Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions Model Trompenaars used seven dimensions to differentiate the national cultures by building on Hofstede’s five dimensions. These include 1. Individualism versus collectivism, 2) Time orientation, 3) Particularise versus universalism, 4) Specific versus diffuse, 5) Neutral versus affective, 6) Relationship to nature and 7) Achievement versus ascription. This part discusses about the seven dimensions with respect to GSK. Universalism Vs Pluralism It is quite evident that there USA and UK follows Universalist cultures while countries like Japan and China follows pluralist cultures. This shows that organisations in USA and UK focus on rules more than relationships and deal for them is deal. But in Japan and China, focus is more on relationship than rules. But organisations like GK follow universalism in their workplace which makes it challenging for the management to manage the workforce in China and Japan (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2009, p. 56). Individualism Vs Collectivism In individualist culture, an individual is believed to be more important than a group. Here praise and reward is given for individual performance and people are given autonomy to make their own decisions and allowed to be creative in nature. But in collectivism reward and praise in given in groups and individual performance is not given public appreciation. In countries like USA and UK individualistic cultures is followed whereas in countries like Japan and China collectivism cultures is followed. Being a leading organisation of UK, it follows individualistic culture and thus has to integrate effectively across its offices in China and Japan (Beugré, 2007, p. 64). Specific Vs Diffuse This refers to the fact whether the degree of responsibility is assigned specifically or it is diffusely accepted. In diffuse cultures, individuals are more holistic in nature. They view that their various parts of their lives derives their meaning from the whole. This shows that the relationships are actually more important than individual parts. Here it is believed that having good connections with their partners is important for success in this field. But in specific culture, people believe that their lives are made up of individual parts and thus it is best to remain separate (Kapferer, 2008, p. 40). Thus it is important that personal and professional elements are kept separate. In counties like USA and UK, they follow specific culture while in China and Japan they follow diffuse cultures. But management of GSK follows specific cultures and thus there is cultural diversity with countries like Japan and China (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel and Roy, 2012, p. 162). Affectivity Vs Neutrality Neutral person believes that they control their emotions and instead let their actions influence others and not let other people know what they are feeling. But in emotional cultures, people let other people influence their decisions. Country like China is affective in nature while countries like Japan, UK and US are neutral in nature. GSK follows a neutrality culture across their organisation so as to achieve core competency and thus they must integrate it effectively in China (Handy, 2006, p. 92). Inner Directed Vs Outer Directed It refers to the degree to which individuals control their environment or in turn are controlled by it. Since the uncertainty index of China, US and UK is low as compared to Japan hence it can be seen that people of Japan inner directed. People of Japan believe that they have the right to dominate the nature if they make the right effort. So basically they are social in nature. But in other countries, people believe that they should live in harmony with the external environment so that they can achieve their goals. But it is seen that management of GSK practices Outer directed culture so as develop strategy effectively and change according to the external environment (Kotler and Kotler, 2012, p. 149). Achieved Status Vs Ascribed Status It is seen that countries like USA, UK and China are achievement culture oriented people. The worth of a people is evaluated on the basis of performances and actions and so they must prove their status time and again. But in Japan, the culture is ascribed one where people derive their status from wealth, age, birth and gender. In countries like this the status of a person is on the basis of who he is and not on what he did or does. GSK plc follows achievement oriented culture which is different from that of Japan (Stephenson and Bradley, 2009, p. 152). Sequential Time Vs Synchronic Time It is seen that UK, US and Japan maintains punctuality, discipline and high standards in workplace. But China maintains their traditional work culture in their organisations. Thus it is seen that workers of UK, US and Japan follows sequential time aspect while employees in China follows synchronic timer aspect. But management of GSK plc follows sequential time aspect in strategy development process to enhance quality control (Urip, 2010, p. 86). 4.0 CSR of GlaxoSmithKline plc CSR activities are important for any organisation for it to co exists with society from which it derives many of its resources. Corporate social responsibility has become an important aspect for organisations so as to maintain sustainability in the business operations. CSR is a process of contributing something to the society with the money earned from its profits. This part of the report will discuss about different theories of CSR like stakeholder theory and triple bottom line theory so as to analyze the corporate social responsibility of GSK plc in the global market place. 4.1 Stakeholder Theory Corporate Social responsibility of an organisation indicates the responsibility which an organisation has towards it environment protection. Companies are actually embedded in networks of stakeholder relationships. This relationship can range from partnership to conflict. To operate successfully in such a complex system of influences and interests, a company needs to carefully evaluate and assess these external forces and build up relationship with the stakeholders. Thus effective stakeholder management is critical to the long term success of a company. Such kind of strategy provides a clear overview of the firm foundations and societal expectations for a stronger, legitimate corporate social responsibility strategy (Jonker and Witte, 2006, p. 173). In its annual report, GSK provides a short description of the interaction and communication it does with various stakeholders. These include Employees, Healthcare professionals, Investors, Scientists, Non-Governmental Originations and UN agencies. GSK maintains consultations with its community neighbours so that it may be affected by the company’s activities. With regular interaction with the stakeholders, the company can keep themselves updates with the current and emerging issues and changing societal expectations. It provides them with the opportunity to voice their responsibility issues and also obtain important feedback from them so as to build trust within them. GSK provides training to the managers so as to communicate with their local stakeholders their approach for a transparent and responsible business (Coombs and Holladay, 2011, p. 131). There are many engagement ways through which they can keep the stakeholders engaged. Most of the engagement takes place during normal day to day interaction with the employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. But GSK also carries our more structured and formal engagement though consultations, meetings, and surveys and participation in debates and conferences. Engagement with international organisations, NGOs and policy makers helps them to better understand the issues which help in accessing the healthcare in a sustainable way (Werther and Chandler, 2006, p. 135). For example GSK in 2012, was part of UK’s Industry Government Forum on Access to Medicines, participated in World Health Assembly, and attended Partners Forum of UK Government’s Global Health Strategy. Such kind of engagement makes the stakeholder well informed about their CSR activities. GSK plc went into consultations with many non-governmental organisations, socially responsible investors and global public health groups so as to put a distinct mark in the society. They do regular meetings with the investors to discuss the responsible business strategy of GK. GSK did an employee survey, where 72% of their employee participated and gave insights into their views about strengths and weakness of GSK. 4.2 Triple Bottom Line The notion of Triple Bottom Line is becoming increasingly fashionable over the last few years. According to this model, the success or health of an organisation should be measured not only by traditional financial bottom line but it should also include environmental, social and ethical performance. According to TBL approach, there is an expanded spectrum of values and criteria used for measuring the success of an organisation, namely environmental, economic and social. Thus this approach takes into account social and environmental performance in addition to financial performance. This approach basically captures the essence of sustainable development by measuring the impact of the organisation’s activities on the world (Zu, 2008, p. 33). Environmental GSK places priority for environmental sustainability. The effects of water scarcity and climate change are making it hard for them to improve global healthcare. The national resources it relies on to produce their medicines are becoming more expensive and scarcer. GSK reduces their footprint by using the resources more efficiently than others. At the same time they reduce their costs so that they can create trust and build competitiveness in their business. In 2012, they have reduced their carbon footprint by 7% from 2010. Similarly they have reduced their water consumption by 14% in 2012 as compared to 2010. GSK has achieved total waste reduction by 40% in 2012 (GlaxoSmithKline, 2012, p. 6). Social GSK has made direct and indirect contribution to the economy and society in countries where they operate. They have given employment to around 100,000 employees and they contract goods and services on a large scale. GSK has spent close to £ 9 billion with it suppliers present in 73 countries. They contribute to the development of a country through effective tax payment. In 2012, GSK spent around £ 1.95 billion as taxation on their profits. This is a direct contribution for the well being of local communities. They also contributed over £ 200 million per annum in their global community programs. They have opened many academia, non-governmental organisations, research charities and companies (Bluestone, Heaton and Lewis, 2002, p. 11). Economic Due to downturn in economic environment, GSK has tailored their approach according to the needs of specific countries. They work closely with the governments so as to achieve optimum results for the healthcare professionals, patients, taxpayers and their industry. For example in UK, GSK promised to refund the part of National Health Service expenditure for Votrient in case it failed to show efficacy to a similar product. In France, GSK entered into agreement with economic committee so as to enable their patients to access their epilepsy treatment. According to the problem, GSK will reimburse the cost of the treatment if it is stopped within first four months. They adopted flexible pricing and payment plants for middle income countries. 5.0 Conclusion The pharmaceutical industry is a dynamic and concentrated industry where the need for effective operations and marketing strategies are necessary to maintain competitiveness. GlaxoSmithKline has implemented major strategies of development across its global operations to ensure that their research development processes and international sales and market share are increased. Also, the company has started to produce generic pharmaceutical products. This strategy of the pharmaceutical giant has facilitated the sale of medicines in the poor and underdeveloped countries. The diversification strategies of GlaxoSmithKline have been aimed at entering the emerging markets and access a wider range of unpatented drugs and more number of consumers in different parts of the globe. GlaxoSmithKline has established itself as a strong player in the global pharmaceutical industry and has implemented right strategies to ensure competitiveness and sustainability in the evolving global scenario. The SWOT analysis would be helpful in understanding the internal and external factors of the organization that affect the global competitiveness of the company. SWOT Analysis Strengths: The strengths of the company include the wide customer base, strong sales, and effective implementation of strategic, high efficiency of the research and development team, strong financials, supportive marketing infrastructure, high capital investment on development of products, leader in innovations in the pharmaceutical industry. Weaknesses: The weaknesses of GlaxoSmithKline the diverse geographical locations of the business which makes it difficult to manage the operations, increasing cost sharing, the co-marketing agreements which restrain the global presence of the company, Opportunities: The opportunities for the company are the increasing demands for generic pharmaceuticals, entry into the business of biologics and antibodies segment, expand the operations in the emerging markets, changes in the government policies and regulations in different countries which may facilitate the growth of the company. Threats: The threats for the company include the increasing expense related to drug trails, setting up of higher standards by the international pharmaceutical approval authorities, counterfeit drugs being sold in different markets, increasing expectation of the consumers, threat of the aging population, safety issues related to the products, patent expiry, ecological health threats and threat of competition. 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