Stryker Corporation Business Analysis

Stryker Corporation lineage epitomeIntroductionThe purpose of this project is to analyze an established c whollyer. The report volition provide brief background of the lodge and its acculturation, critical analysis of a venture and its fall upon mint, core business puzzle and business opportunities. The lecturer bequeath be able to see the analysis of the or so upstart entrepreneurial thing that community did and study issues indoors the organization. In coda there will be a ruleical critic from an entrepreneurial prospective provided that leads to the workable solutions for future. caller DescriptionStryker Corporation is a checkup exam technology business that develops and manu occurrenceures checkup implants, surgical technologies, emergency medical and patient subbroadcast handling equipment as well(p) as execution beds of the death penalized secure deal. They shuffling their best effort by cooperating with their customers to run effective healthcarg on method and bring healthy lives back to the patients. They do non just keep a product, alone they likewise provide service to overhaul population. Stryker is broadly based all round the humanity and is divided into numerous decentralize operational units, each performing as a detached entity Stryker Biotech, Stryker Canada, Stryker Communications, Stryker Craniomaxillofacial, Stryker Development, Stryker Endoscopy, Stryker Imaging, Stryker Japan, Stryker Latin America, Stryker MedSurg, Stryker Orthopaedics and Stryker Spine. Venture is built on sustain superpower, creating a long-term division in responsible manner to patients, suppliers and buyers, communities, corporate g all overnance and stakeholders. Its products, locations and service contributions atomic number 18 diverse hence there be different types of motions within medical business that fully outline their social responsible behavior.Stryker was founded by Dr. homer Stryker in 1941, an orthopedic doctor th at investigated and designed recently mechanisms. His inventions led Stryker to behind integrate into the business and starting to gain capital Stryker was at the train of a small but well-built friendship. wiz and only(a) invention after some other and Stryker capitalized much(prenominal) assets that gave a lift to expansion and in 1964 the name of the bon ton was changed to Stryker Corporation.Characteristics of the business opportunitiesIn the middle of 19th nose candy it was relatively clear to enter medical attention due to minimal amount of competition, hence nowadays analyzing Five Forces Approach it is b argonly impossible to do so, regarding the fact that rivalry among existing firms is too high. bon ton started operating in 1940s, so atomic number 53r the beginning of World War 2, in their pre-mature stage of teach Stryker has had a handsome boom in their demand. Dr. Homer Stryker was in the right bunk, at the right beat. C at one timerning ventures c learly defined opportunity, it can be stated that Stryker was neer eager to gain a pot, he was interested in change peoples lives, thus taking risks. It can be clearly seen from a reference made by Ronda Stryker, Dr.Homers granddaughter My grandpa was innovative and took risks. He was al counsels stressful to improve what he had and cared more nigh helping people than he cared about the money he made (Stryker, 2009).In the last century it was a great opportunity to start medical business that was watery developed and unexamined, taking into consideration the fact that you would be willing to unload a great deal of your capital on Research and development to progress. internality business model neighboring part describes Strykers core business model by using the business model canvas which clearly states the master(prenominal) points which should be included in a Business Model.Key Partners The primary(prenominal) partners of Stryker Corp. are main(prenominal)ly the employ ees since they are the ones selling the products. The union attaches a study importance to the close alliance between employees and clients. The main objectives for the employees is to understand the clients necessarily and to provide them with what they want, but in addition since the employee is so well related to the guest he is also the one cosmos innovative by suggesting new ideas in ramble to totally fulfill clients demand.The clients represent make out partners as well. They are mainly independent hospitals and surgery centers. Stryker Corp. works with these healthcare centers in baffle for them to help patients in the about streamlined way.Competitors are also among the key partners. in that location are study and smaller competitors. Of course Stryker Corp. has an payoff since it was one of the premier(prenominal) sustainrs in this industry and it is invariably chargeing on change tone of voice, service and innovation.Stryker Corp. has very healthy established network with its suppliers. phoner pays a lot of attention on maintaining these copulationships in post to go out smooth running of business.Key Activities The main activity of Stryker Corp. is gross gross sales of medical equipment such as hospital beds, operating room devices and medical devices. The social club has a very lovesome sales force since their employees work on commission, which passing actuates them to perform cave in. Stryker Corp. states that their sales approach is focusing on ad hominem relationships with someone finish inningrs.The community also attaches an importance on merchandise and Research and development activities, since the main aim of the business is to always be innovative and to do up with new products and communicate those products effectively to their customers. In order to do so, Stryker has participated in advertisement campaigns over the ultimo fewer years. Comp both also provides its customers with a very detai led website.A nonher key activity is maintaining close relationship between the employee and the customer that helps them hold back nigh of these customers and make sure that the world of healthcare is aware of what Stryker Corp. is providing.Key resources hither, once again, the main resource of the attach to is its employees. For Stryker Corp. it is all important(p) to hire people who conduct the same vision as to improve patients lives as well as clinical efficiency and effectiveness. The caller-out makes sure to provide them with a condom working environment, strong benefits, services compensation and personal growth opportunities. Stryker has authorized the Gallup workplace Award which ranks them at the tiptop working places on the world (Stryker, 2009).A nonher key resource for the company is its knowledge and innovation. Over the foregone year Stryker Corp. has spent a considerable amount into research and development in order to always come up with the latest techno logy and the most performing products.Other key resources are assets of the company, its technology, products and capital resources. One of the most important resources is the brand of the venture. All of the resources are regardd to rescue the value pro strength to the target group.Value Proposition Stryker Corp. focuses on having the highest type standards in order to offer the best products to its customers. The following are the factors that Stryker relies on product woodland, performance criteria and price.Company wants to offer the top products in the and also the service that goes with it. In order to do so, employees receive special training programs that help them understand clients wishings and demands and how to be able to fulfill them is the most efficient way.The design of products has to be made to overcome risks, enhance health and safety, but also to able the doctors to work closelyer and be more efficient. As mentioned above for Stryker Corp. value of its pro duct is one of the main factors they focus on.Customer Relationship Compared to other companies, Stryker Corp. has a very close relationship with their customers. This is done to understand them better and to be able to offer them what they are looking for. By having such a close relation clients tint special and they become loyal to the company. As the chief operating officer, Mr. Macmillan mentioned, We dont just make products, we make products and we provide services that help people (Stryker, 2009). In this industry the relation between customers and business is of a high importance, since together they can bring in more advanced products which will contribute in healthy lives of millions of people worldwide.Customer Segments Stryker Corp.s target foodstuff is known to be the medical professionals and healthcare providers that represent a very high scale demand. That is why the company is operating all around the world to stay the number one provider of medical and healthcare devices.Channels Stryker operates through twelve manufacturing and distributions divisions with over 15,000 employees in 120 countries. Stryker has a decentralised frame, with its headquarters in the U.S. and some(prenominal) offices around the world, which allows the company to make solider closes about products and strategies. There is a direct communication between the company, suppliers and customers to make sure to provide them with fast and efficient services.R change surfaceue Streams Stryker Corp.s main revenues are from its sales of medical devices. As mentioned before, the company is divided into several departments the one with the highest revenue being orthopedics. The company itself had sales of 6.7 billion dollars in 2008, with an annual sales growth of 21%. Stryker is traded on the NYSE, it is one of the fortune 400 companies in the world and top 50 Company in the Business Week.Cost Structure The main costs of Stryker Corp. are mainly allocated in the Research an d development segment. Company decided to invest mainly in this segment since it always wants to be the leading healthcare provider and it is highly important to keep up with the technology and to always try to improve the healthcare system. creative activity, risk-taking and pro-activity of the venture and its key peopleStryker Corp. is committed to the product quality and highly values innovation. Innovation is the essence of companys dedication to their clients. Research and development groups are working closely with the customers in order to understand their needs better and improve the products. The important part of innovation process is the feedback from people that is conducted periodically. The Stryker Global Technology spunk is a core division that is working to boost the innovation to reduce costs while increasing quality. The key person in this surface battleground is Ray Umber, Ph.D., business development manager at Stryker. He came up with several innovative ideas that led Stryker to the top place in authoritative industry segments and now he giving others an opportunity to learn from his give birth through training and practice (Stryker , 2009).From the time when the company was established it is taken for granted(predicate) that risk-taking is a big part of all trading operations. Initial risks are connected directly to the risky nature of the industry. One of the most recent examples of risk-taking was the decision to change the vision of the company after many an(prenominal) years of operating. There are also risks associated with decisions of straining the business through acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships.Over the time line of Stryker Corp. it is evident how pro-active the venture is. Acquisitions play a big role in companys expansion. Stryker Corp. strategically grows into related industries to increase its products offering and get advance to new resources and technologies. Over last year company acquired numerous ventures that are important investments for future achiever. This is also a high risk, since acquisitions require big amount of capital expenditures. Based on the pecuniary situation in the world due to the 2008 crisis, such decisions can be seen as risky. However, Stryker orients on long-term strategy where these acquisitions are important. Proactive programs are also taking place on the smaller level inside the company. Last year, Stryker Corp. presented the program Proactive Distributor Selling that gives managers the opportunity and capacity to better develop, manage, and bearing distributor relationships to maximize sales training results (n.a., 2009).Proactive approach is seen end-to-end all divisions of the company, from supply chains, manufacturing to sales. Company is adapting changes all the time with a purpose of improving operations and value of the business. The present CEO of Stryker Corp., Stephen MacMillan is a stark(a) example of a proactive loss leader. He leads the company through a change time, explains the understandings and future moves, motivates people to adapt and react to these changes.Traits and characteristics associated of the companys key peopleThere are three key people passim the floor of Stryker Corp. three CEOs who led the company to the conquest and who had different traits and characteristics, which makes them successful entrepreneurs. graduation person who deserves an acknowledgement is the first CEO, Dr. Homer Stryker. He was the one who started the company being driven by his passion and interest in improving patients care. He was a very innovative person, many of his ideas became standards in the industry of medical equipment nowadays. During his work as a surgeon he encountered few enigmas and embarrassingies that he saw as opportunities for improvement. One of the main reasons of his success and success of his product was the fact that he was doing what he liked, what he was passionate about. He believed that his inventions will change the medical practice in a better way. He knew how to look at his business from customers perspective, therefore his products were always a match of their needs. Due to his achievements Stryker Corp. grew and became an international producer of medical equipment and surgical products. second rum person is tush brown. His time as the CEO of a company was nonable by quite different achievements than his predecessor. John Brown was a risk-taker, he made decisions to decentralize the company after many years being centralized. He saw big future for Stryker Corp. and this misuse was necessary at the time. He was a good planner who knew how to motivate people by giving them empowerment and responsibilities. Under his management members of the sales team got possibilities to get involved into creation of innovative products due to their good knowledge of customers. His 20% forever rule led the company to the new heights. John Brown built up the competitiv e advantage for Stryker Corp. that salve serves the company. He had an ability to foresee, to manage company wisely, he kept the company going towards success.One of the key people in the company right away and the example of successful entrepreneur is Stephen MacMillan, the present CEO of Stryker Corp. He wants to move the company further and expand its operating field. He is passionate about raising the level and often exceeds his own ambitious goals. As well as John Brown he took a risky decision of changing the vision of the company. This is a unplumbed change that takes a lot of hard work to ensure success. For Stephen MacMillan, its all about coaching his team to stay ahead of the pack (Much, 2006). He has a great ability to motivate people, to manage companys resources wisely, plan everything one step ahead. He compels a positive image for Stryker Corp., gets involved in companys affairs and builds solid nature for himself and company as a whole.Companys culture, values, vision and missionStryker Corp. is the globose leader in medical technology industry with the long history of success and strongly established culture. Success of the venture lays in discipline, stamina, ability to disclose the opportunities in the market, move quickly and adapt to current changes.Furthermore, culture differs from company to company and it is usually established naturally. Every time when people come together with the shared purpose culture is created. Stryker Corp.s culture was changing throughout the aside, different set of values and incentives were created for employees, with aim to increase the overall financial performance of the company and bring back the benefits to patients, shareholders, community and its employees. Today they are focused on innovation, improving the quality of the products in order to build up confide and integrity.According to their mission statementWhat matters most to us and to our customers is quality innovation and cost. Those a re three areas how we are delivering for today and specify in future (Stryker, 2009). Companys strong financial and leadership position put the expectation for its products even higher and according to that company has to find the way to exceed customer expectations. Moreover, one of the core values and components in the Stryker Corp.s culture is sustainability. Organization believes in making differences by partnering with their customers and providing them effective healthcare system in order to improve health of their patients. It has built up strong believes and attitudes with their employees that present the essence for their future expansion. According to Striker Corp. they do not just make products our technologies, solutions and services are focused on improving the peoples life (Stryker, 2009). They strive to develop and manufacture products that could sustain the environment and its resources. With being sustainable in such a demanding and vigilant industry where the l acuna to make mistake is highly minimized, companys sustainable commitment and responsibility is move on the highest level. One of the key values is being Social trustworthy Corporation in everything what business does. Venture acts as corporate citizen with strong commitment to the patient care by producing the safe products, high quality instrumentation and implants, seeking to minimize the negative effect on the environment, load-bearing(a) the humanitarian missions and improving quality of life for patients. Building up the trust with customers and patients is everything what social responsibility is. Moreover, vision statement that presents the power tool to retain people with unvarying shared values was changing in the past with Stryker Corp. as well.Today Stryker Corp. emphasizes on ethics and their vision is producing products which improve the lives of patients, providing employees with a challenging and rewarding work environment, supporting the communities in which we operate, and generating exceptional returns for our shareholders (Stryker , 2009). Stryker Corp. is not just profit oriented as it used to be before. instanter the essential part of its success is the fact that company became more efficient and sociable responsible. Stryker is everything what entrepreneurship is. It was found by Dr. Homer Stryker and his innovative idea that enabled Stryker to be become what it is today, the leader in medical technology. Stryker Corp. involves sense of innovation and constant risk taking that is associated on the daily basis since it is operating in a very sensible environment.Evaluation of failuresStryker Corp. is a strong worshipper in ethics and bringing the special spirit within its people to compete, make changes and win over the long term. Because of their strong reputation in such sensitive industry, where one mistake or product shortcoming could leave undesired consequences on their image and brand, failures are not tolerated. winning th e case of Surgical Navigation System, where there was a valid opportunity that a product could cause health problems or even create consequences leading to death, Stryker Corp. recalled the product and stopped its usage. This gave the company bad publicity, but it responded fast by pulling out all products from the market and arranging improve for all of them. Very important fact is that in this case Stryker Corp. put on its responsibility and closely cooperated with public, special control agencies and auditors. After this company became even more cautious and increased safety and security measurements in order to minimize the risks and prevent negative impacts that can accrue their performance in a demanding and competitive market.Recent entrepreneurial thingApart from the fundamental change of the companys vision that was discussed earlier, one of the main changes, which happened within Stryker Corp. in 2009, was that the Stryker legend, John W. Brown, retired from the board of directors. As mentioned previously he was one of the biggest influences towards the growth of the company. With his solitude the company decided to hire two more directors to replace his position in the board.One of the new members, Mr. Howard Lance is a former chairman, professorship and CEO of Harris Corporation, which based its operations mainly on telecommunications. The reason for this enlisting was to use his experience and knowledge within the Hong Kong market, where he has lived and worked since Strykers 2010 goal was to expand in the Chinese market.The second gentleman, Mr. Srikant Datar is a former professor of Harvard Business School, who already brings new perspectives towards the team, especially towards the emerging markets. However, mainly his responsibility will lie in bringing new entrepreneurial ideas towards the bio-tech field of the company.The reason this recruitment is the most entrepreneurial thing the company did in the past year is because it will brin g a new perspective and help the company grow stronger in the years ahead.Since the company is currently approach consequences of the economic crisis something entrepreneurial had to be organized in order for the company to differentiate from the competition and persuade to their goal of being number one in the medical industry.Idea of hiring a former telecommunication CEO might not seem much related to the medical industry, but from an entrepreneurial side of view it brings new ideas and risks, which will lead the company towards growth.Major problem in the ventureThe major problem area not for Stryker Corp. only, but also for majority of organizations around the world, is the crisis. Looking at previous years, Stryker has always had a significant growth rate, even in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, however, it changed. Stryker only managed a growth rate of 0.1% in sales and 4% in earnings per share. As Mr. MacMillan states in the 2009 annual report, Clearly, this is not the kind of rev enue and earnings growth our shareholders have historically evaluate from us, and we will never be satisfied with delivering results like these (Stryker, 2009), indicating that these numbers are not up to the satisfaction level in order to accommodate their goals. On the other hand he also states that 2009 felt more like a boxing match. We went toe-to-toe with a volatile global economy, rolled with some marketplace punches, moved quickly and battled back (Stryker, 2009). Here he is describing how tough the year was for the company in terms of keeping it up to the level expected by the shareholders.The crisis itself is the major problem. But within the crisis, sub-problems are found such as the fact that it leaves the market place in an unstable condition, where customers are afraid to buy products. The most familiar solution is to produce more effectively and lower the costs. Stryker Corp. did just that. The problem was that the quality decreased. The FDA (Food Drug Administrat ion) has through the years become stricter in rule the medical industry and this affected Stryker Corp. by receiving three warning garner upon their quality on products. The complaints mainly address their biotech and hip implant sector. Company was also accused for falsified hospital documentation, which is not just a quality problem, but becomes a PR problem. Competition is also a major indicator in the problem of reducing your costs. The medical industry is highly competitive industry, especially when it comes to innovations that increase quality and safety. Innovations, on the other hand, require big capital expenditures. To stay competitive Stryker Corp. had to further invest in this sector. The last problem in the year 2009 is that Stryker Corp. has some elements of a decentralized company (recent organization is hybrid between centralized and decentralized structure), which makes it difficult to carry out the same plan towards fighting the crisis in all operating countries. Possible solution and evaluationThe next step in the problem analysis is to identify possible solutions towards the problem in order to achieve better results in 2010. The suggestions are listed belowKeep the operations as they are, since the market will grow by itself in 2010. subjoin expenses on improving the qualityDecrease production costs in order to decrease priceFully centralize the company localize more in innovations to improve competitive advantageHire a consultant, who can ensure the quality of the products being producedIncrease PR outgo to increase the companys imageIn order to find best-match solution, all of them need to be evaluated. The first point can be good, if their market analyst is correct. On the other hand, the market is unpredictable in most cases, therefore, the company would undertake a risk by following this statement of growth. Thus, first option is not a valid solution to the problem. Second possible solution based on the fact that quality was the ma jor sub-problem that arose from the crisis and it is resilient to ensure both PR and customer loyalty. Therefore, this option should be considered. Next alternative outlines a theory that is a essential do to any companys future success. Decreasing production cost should always be a big part in order to achieve economies of scale, but change magnitude that should not be a reason for decreasing the price, because once the ceding back will come to an end, the company will benefit more from not having changed the price. Solution number 4 is an absolute no-go solution. A major change such a centralizing the company in the quantify of crisis will just bring more trouble and confusion accordingly there is already. In addition, if the communication is strong, the decision making towards changes in the market will be perceived much faster in a decentralized company or hybrid. Alternative number 5 is believably not the best solution in this case. In the times of crisis there is no nee d to further increase spending on innovations and most likely that competitors will not do it either since every company is trying to manage their expenses wisely. However, it does not mean that innovation segment must be neglected since it is one of the key elements in this industry. The most reasonable solution is number 6 in terms of sustaining the quality of the products produced and redistributed. It is always helpful to have someone from outside the company to give opinions upon the products and elementary operations. Last alternative would also not contribute towards the major dispute of fighting the crisis, since it would mean more expenditure, which indirectly contributes to growth.To finalize upon the options analyzed above, the tribute for Stryker Corp. would be to hire a consultant and incessantly try to decrease costs. The consultant would ensure higher quality and ultimately increase in companys image since fewer customers would have complaints upon the products. I n addition, with consultants help, reduced number or no warning letters from the FDA can be achieved. In order to come back to the growth expected by shareholders, our recommendation is to straightly decrease costs and thereby achieve economies of scale.ConclusionStryker Corp. is a major company in the worlds medical device industry and not an individual business anymore, as it is seen from entrepreneurial perspective. However, its key people and their activities are remarkable from this point of view. This venture has an organized structure, clear goals and objectives that drive company towards continuous growth. Based on evaluation of core business model and major problems that Stryker Corp. has today, there are still many business opportunities that can be undertaken and recommendations provided will contribute in the future success.