Introduction
Roche Diagnostics Oman is one of the leading medical institutions in Oman. It offers a wide range of diagnostic services. The company has made impressive progress in penetrating the local market by offering a wide range of services to its clients (Beck & Cowan, 2014). Despite the high quality services that the firm offers, it has to deal with stiff competition from the rival companies offering similar services.
The leadership of this firm should understand the market needs, emerging trends, and challenges then come up with a proper plan of achieving success and consistent growth. Dawlabani (2013) explains that the level of success of a firm often depend on the type of leadership that it embraces. The ability of the manager to influence a firm’s employees to embrace a given course directly influences success of such a firm. Using the Seven Leadership Mindset Theory and other market analysis tools, this paper will assess the internal environment of this company and the market within which it operates.
Assessing Organisational Characteristics Based on Theory, Research, and Science
When analysing a firm, Zhu (2017) suggests that one of the factors that one has to consider is its structures and systems because they define the path that it takes towards achieving its strategic goals and objectives. Analysing systems and structures at Roche Diagnostics Oman using the Seven Leadership Mindset Theory will help in determining the capacity of this firm to deal with various challenges that it may encounter while at the same time taking advantage of the opportunities that the market presents. The systems and structures can be classified into three classes of life support mode, human elements, and socio-economic elements.
Life Support Mode
Strategic value system 1: Life support mode
The life support system is one of the most important structures in an organisation. In this context, the focus is on the basic survival systems and structures put in place by the management to ensure that the firm can operate effectively in the market. It involves having the right number of employees with skills needed to undertake different tasks at different departments of the firm. It also involves providing basic needs for the employees to facilitate their work. Yasir and Kamal (2018) argue that the management should always take relevant measures to create an enabling environment for its workers. Roche Diagnostic Oman understands that its ability to survive in the market relies on its capacity to deal with various market threats, especially the issue of stiff competition.
Strategic value system 2: family tradition
Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche founded Hoffmann-La Roche, the parent Company of Roche Diagnostic Oman, in 1896 (Audretsch, Link & Walshok, 2015). Having started as a family-owned company, the firm has maintained values and traditions passed down by its founders. The family bond and communal values are still cherished by this firm. In Oman, the top leadership of the company has embraced the family customs and traditions.
The regional product specialist has been working with this company for the last 50 years. He highly values harmony and the need to respect the authority within the firm. Although the company has adopted hierarchical model of management, the country manager has created an environment where junior officers can contact his office when they have genuine concerns that need his attention.
Strategic value system 3: industrial power
The industrial power is the third system under this category that helps in defining the ability of a firm to achieve market success. According to Zumitzavan and Michie (2015), the dominance of a firm and its ability to exert itself as a leader in the industry is crucial. It must be capable of managing market threats and other forces that may affect its normal operations. The top management of this firm has put measures to ensure that it achieves industrial power in the country despite the increasing competition in the market. The company has created corporate social responsibility unit within the marketing department to ensure that the firm gives back to the society on a regular basis. The strategy is meant to endear local customers to the company. It is one of the structures developed to help the company remain dominant in the market.
Human Elements
Strategic value system 4: formal management
This strategic value system emphasizes the need for the management to embrace formal management principles. Although the leadership of this firm cherishes the concept of communalism, it cannot avoid strict principles that define the relationships within the firm, expectations that managers have of their employees, rules and regulations that have to be followed, and obedience. Roche Diagnostic Oman has embraced the concept of total quality management to ensure that products offered to its clients are of the best value.
Strategic value system 5: strategic enterprise
Strategic enterprise is another value that this firm holds in high regard. The management of this firm has been using various strategies to motivate employees to achieve the desired results. It uses an improved concept of carrot/stick where top performers are rewarded and the underperforming employees are taken through some form of training to improve their skills. The approach is meant to improve performance of individual employee within the firm as a way of achieving financial success.
Socio-Economic Elements
Strategic value system 6: social network
A social network is one of the most important systems of socio-economic element. As Hughes (2014) notes, a manager should not forget that he or she is dealing with human beings. People have emotions that can be influenced by various factors within the firm. Depending on how these emotions are influenced, employees can underperform or excel at work. The management of this firm has created systems to ensure that social needs of workers are met as a strategy to motivate them in different departments where they work.
Strategic value system 7: systemic flow
The last structure under this theory is the systemic flow. Azanza, Moriano, and Molero (2013) observe that a firm can be a reformer, a disruptor, or an integrator depending on its position in the market. Roche Diagnostic Oman is a disruptor. This foreign firm keen on spreading its operations to the rest of the world has been focused on redefine the approach that firms take in the healthcare sector. The effectiveness of its strategies has forced many rival firms to follow its footsteps. Currently, many institutions offering health-related services emphasize the need to diagnose patients to determine what they are suffering from instead of giving medication based on what the doctor thinks the patient suffers from based on symptoms presented.
Present Leadership Value Systems and Structures in Roche Diagnostic Oman
The seven structures and systems discussed above define the leadership value system and structure that the firm embraces. One of the most important values that this company holds is professionalism. Campbell and Göritz (2014) argue that firms offering health services cannot afford to make mistakes because the impact may mean life or death of the client. The top leadership of the firm has always emphasized the need for every stakeholder to be responsible whenever he or she is assigned any role within the firm. Roche Diagnostics has also embraced the concept of sustainable leadership that promotes diversity.
Advanced technologies in the field of transport and communication have made it easy for people to move and offer their services in different parts of the world (Baxter 2015). The company is keen on hiring highly talented individuals from all over the world to ensure that it offers the best service in the country. Factors such as age, gender, country of birth, or religion are not used as factors that define employability of an individual as long as he or she has the right skills needed in this firm.
Differences to the Market Rivals
Beckman Coulter Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and Siemens Healthineers are the main competitors of this firm both in the local and global market. They all offer healthcare services. However, each has its unique mode of operations depending on various factors. Abbot Laboratories offers a wide range of products in the United States, from generic pharmaceuticals and medical devices to diagnostics and nutritional products (Carvalho 2015).
However, its operation in other parts of the world is not as diversified as it is in the United States. In Oman, the firm mainly offers medical devices and generic pharmaceuticals. It means that its products can easily be differentiated from that of Roche Diagnostics Oman. Beckman Coulter Inc. specialized in the production of biomedical laboratory instruments, which makes it another direct competitor of Roche Diagnostics Oman (Gao, Chai & Liu 2018).
However, Beckman has not considered having specialists in this country, which means that Roche has a strategic advantage over this firm. Siemens also offer the same products, but just like Abbot, its primary focus is to sell its instruments to medical laboratories and research centres around the world.
The Extent to Which the Differences are Positive Points of Differentiation
The differences are positive points of differentiation. According to Hana (2015), when operating in a highly competitive environment, it is always important to find ways of differentiating a firm’s products with that of the rival companies. Other than the brand, the Roche Diagnostics Oman has developed various initiatives to help promote its products in the country. It has employed specialists in the country to help clients understand how to use various diagnostic instruments that they purchase. The open-door policy that the firm uses when engaging its employees promotes workers to engage customers to understand their changing needs and ways in which this firm can improve their experience.
Critical Analysis of Organisational Sector
The section above focused in the analysis of the firm and the leadership structure it has embraced in the market. In this section, the focus is to provide a critical evaluation of the sector within which the firm operates. The in vitro diagnostics (IVD) is a medical sector that focuses on the production and sale of diagnostic instruments and consumables for hospitals and research institutions (Huemann 2016).
The segment has become critical in the medical sector because of the emergence of complex diseases such as HIV/Aids, Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and many other health complications that affect internal organs. The sector has experienced massive growth in various parts of the world as the demand for these services increase (Harrison 2017). The section will focus on the evolution of the sector, differences that exist between Roche Diagnostics and other rivals in the sector, and if the difference may be viewed positively as a point of differentiation or negatively as a sign of weaknesses in this firm.
Evolution of the Sector
The in vitro diagnostics market has evolved over the past several years because of the need to offer quality medical services across the world. As technology in the field of medicine continue to advance, traditional methods of diagnosis have become less reliable and less popular (Sostrin 2013). Medical institutions and research centres are moving from these traditional methods to sophisticated technology-based methods of diagnosis.
The new methods makes it possible for a medical officer to have a clear view of internal organs, to determine specific organs and internal border parts affected by a given disease, the level of progress, and the best approach that can be taken to offer treatment. The use of these advanced tools has become a necessity even in the developing nations. It is important to analyse factors that have led to the massive growth of this health sector.
The in vitro diagnostics has experienced a significantly high rate of growth over the recent past. According to the Grand View Research (2018, p. 1), “Rise in obesity, unhealthy dietary habits, sedentary lifestyle, and high consumption of tobacco and alcohol are some of the factors responsible for high incidence of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other disorders.” Advanced technologies have reduced physical activities among children and adults. In the past, children had to engage in outdoor games, which were physically demanding. However, computer games are becoming more popular, a situation that has led to reduced activity among minors.
Adults also enjoy improved systems at work, which are not physically demanding. The outcome of the reduced physical activity is increased cases of obesity. Kloppenborg (2015) believes that obesity is one of the leading causes of diseases such as heart problems and high blood pressure. As the number of those who embrace sedimentary lifestyle increases, many people find themselves dealing with weight problems.
High consumption of alcohol and tobacco is another problem that is becoming increasingly common in the global society. Although efforts have been made to discourage smoking of cigarettes and taking of alcohol, the problem is becoming more common than it was in the past. Kogon, Blakemore and Wood (2015) argue that many people start abusing substance at tender ages because of peer pressure and the desire to be accepted within a given social class.
They then become so addicted to the life of alcoholism and substance abuse that their health gets affected. Tobacco is believed to be one of the leading causes of throat and lung cancer. On the other hand, excessive consumption of alcohol may have devastating health problems on liver and other organs. The more people continue to abuse substance, the higher the demand for these diagnostic instruments will be in the world.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is another problem that has led to the increasing relevance of the diagnostic instruments. Although the problem is not prevalent in Oman and developed states of North America and Europe, Africa and parts of Asia have been significantly affected by the increased infection rates (Huhtala, Tolvanen, Mauno & Feldt 2015). Health experts have insisted in the need to maintain regular check-ups to help in early detection in case one is infected. Early detection makes it easy to deal with the condition using antiretroviral drugs to ensure that the virus does not progress to advanced stages.
Early detection and management of the virus also limits chances that the virus can be spread to other healthy people. Although the problem is not rampant in Oman, it is still necessary to have the diagnostic kits. People often travel to other countries where the problem is common. It means that the country is not immune to the problem. These factors have contributed to an increase in the market size for in vitro diagnostics. Figure 1 shows the growth of the market in the United States.
The figure above shows that demand for instruments, reagents, and services are growing almost in the same proportion. The market for the reagents is the largest, followed by the instruments, and then the services. The current trends mean that the demand for these services will continue to grow. As shown in figure 1 above, the size of this market in 2025 will be more than double what it was in 2014. The trend in the United States is replicated in various other parts of the world.
The firm has evolved to take advantage of the emerging opportunities. Roche is currently dealing with different hospitals, private and governmental institutions. In the last financial year, it was established that 50% of the business in Oman is tender based.
The Difference to Roche Diagnostics’ Competitors
Companies in this market are keen on gaining competitive edge over rivals as a way of expanding their growth. One of the main differences between Roche Diagnostics Oman and some of its local rivals is in the mode of operation. Roche Diagnostics Oman reports directly to the top management unit in Oman. The parent firm has its own staff in Oman that operates under direct guidance of the firm’s chief executive.
The Oman branch has to follow the business model of the parent firm, the vision, and strategic goals set by the top management. However, most of the rival firms, especially Bachman Coulter and Siemens use agents. As Nicholas and Steyn (2017) note, agents tend to have some degree of independence. They do not have to work under the strict business model of the parent company. It is important to note that Abbot recently redefined its operations in Oman and it is considering employing its officers to oversee its operations in the local market.
The Extent to Which the Differences are Positive Points of Differentiation
The difference between the competitors and this firm is a major positive point of differentiation that Roche Diagnostics Oman can take advantage in the market. One of the main positive points is that Roche Diagnostics has full control of the operations in Oman. It can determine the market trends and come up with appropriate model of operations without having to negotiate with agents. The model also means that the firm enjoys profits made in the market. It is important to note that although the model gives this firm a competitive edge over its rivals, it has some disadvantages that the management should be ready to address. One of the disadvantages is that it may be costly to hire employees in this market. The firm will also have to bear all losses made in its operations.
Analysis of Continued Growth and Success of the Organisation
Roche Diagnostics Oman will need to take specific measures to ensure that it maintains growth in the market. Given fact that local rivals offer similar products, it will need to find a way of offering greater value to its clients. As Pauleen and Wang (2017) note, when offering similar products as that of rivals, a firm will need to do something different from what the competitors are doing to gain loyalty of customers. Roche’s leadership analysis conducted in the previous assessment through the Mind-set Audit shown in the appendix 1 below is an indication of the firm’s commitment towards continued growth.
Changes in the Sector and What a Successful Firm Can Do to Embrace Them
The sector is experiencing changes that successful firms should understand to determine the approach needed to achieve success. One of the main changes is the increasing relevance of sophisticated diagnostic instruments in small medical facilities. In the past, these instruments were only available in large private hospitals and government referral hospitals (Pica 2015). However, the trend is changing as the industry become highly competitive. Small healthcare institutions are also finding it necessary to have these instruments as a way of improving service delivery to customers. The facts that sophisticated diagnostic kits are becoming popular among small clinics, the manufacturers need to come up with affordable products.
Another major change is the emerging trend of self-testing kits. HIV is still so shrouded in mystery and stigma that many people fear going to healthcare institutions to be tested to help them know their status (Sheldon & Daniele 2017).
A new trend is emerging where self-testing kits are provided to them so that they can determine their status without having to go to hospitals. Successful firms will need to understand how to respond to these trends to achieve success in the market. A successful manufacturer of these testing kits needs to redefine its production of these goods with the knowledge that the end-users lack medical knowledge (Harrison & Wicks 2013). The kit should be simple to use and with clear instruction on what should be done and what to expect.
The Extent to Which the Firm is at the Forefront of the Transformation
Roche Diagnostics has been at the forefront in promoting the transformation witnessed in this industry. It has made various initiatives to ensure that its products are affordable to a wide range of customers. The initiative is meant to promote delivery of healthcare products both in the developed and developing economies (Tan & Perleth 2015). Although Roche has not considered producing self-testing HIV kits, the firm has taken a leading role in the fight against diabetes as discussed in the previous assessment.
Challenges and Problems
Challenges exist in the market that this firm has to deal with for it to achieve success in its operations. In this section, the focus is to discuss these challenges and the approach that this firm can take to deal with them.
Main Issues that Roche Faces in the Local Market
The main challenge that Roche Diagnostics Oman faces in the local market is competition. As mentioned above, the top competitors of this company include Beckman Coulter Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and Siemens Healthineers. These firms offer similar products to that of Roche, which makes it necessary for this firm to find unique ways of gaining competitive edge in the market. Another problem is the changing trends in the market. These changes may force the company to develop new products in line with preferences of clients.
Recommended Key Actions the Firm Needs to Take to Achieve Sustainable Success
The management of Roche needs to take appropriate actions to overcome challenges mentioned previously for it to realise sustainable success in the market. The firm will need to manage market competition by coming up with superior products that meet customer needs both locally and in the international market. This firm should find ways of lowering its cost of production to enable it price its products competitively (Wang & Rafiq 2014).
The company should also promote its brand through advertisement in mass and social media. Dealing with the problem of changing trends will require this firm to embrace research and development. It should be at the forefront in understanding emerging customer needs and developing new products that meet them.
Conclusion
Roche Diagnostic Oman is a branch of Hoffmann-La Roche, a multinational healthcare firm that offers a wide range of products. In Oman, the company made a direct market entry as a way of expanding its operations. The firm faces stiff competition from various competitors such as Abbot, Beckman Coulter, and Siemens. The ability of this firm to achieve success in the market depends in its leadership strategies. The management of this company must understand opportunities and threats in the local market and use its strengths to achieve competitive edge over its rivals. It should understand the changing trends in the market and develop strategies on how to manage them.
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