Johnson and Johnson Case Study
Question One: What are the environmental pressures facing Johnson & Johnson today? There are a number of environmental pressures faced by Johnson and Johnson; I have chosen to identify those that are most relevant to the case study. ... Both the specific and general environments are divided into components that will be used as follows: The Specific Environment: Customers: Tastes and preferences change rapidly within Johnson & Johnson’s customer base. ... Brand is important to consumers, and if Johnson & Johnson is not seen favourably in anyway, either through a product being compromised, through tampering or the production/testing means, or an issue of public disgrace of a member of the company. Consumers can be discouraged and turn to another alternative brand, and as a result may choose not to purchase another product that has been produced by Johnson & Johnson. Suppliers: The suppliers of both the materials to be refined into products, and the innovations that will become products of Johnson & Johnson cannot easily be renegotiated and/or switched, as if there was a lack of either of those supplies, the company could find it difficult to further their advancement in the pharmaceutical industry competitively. ... For the suppliers of the materials to be used in Johnson & Johnson products, they could easily raise prices (within a reasonable range) and still be able to sell their product without Johnson & Johnson becoming disgruntled. If the pharmaceutical innovation companies choose to undertake ventures with Johnson & Johnson’s competitors, this could greatly affect their competitive advantage by loosing out on what could potentially be a revolutionary product. Rather than allow this to happen, Johnson & Johnson would benefit from keeping potential companies onside, and also keeping a favourable profile in various industry circles. Competitors: Johnson & Johnson have several competitors, which compete on various levels, mainly due to geographical location. ... It was outlined in the Fortune article mentioned in the case study that Johnson & Johnson’s who is ranked the sixth most admired company in the United States. ... It was also noted that several other larger pharmaceutical firms were very close behind Johnson & Johnson in the rankings. (Schermer 1996:77-79) These figures show that while Johnson & Johnson are considered of very highly as a firm, they are not competitively ranked in a manner that makes them marginally better or worse, those either side of them.