A STRATEGIC AUDIT OF ABBOTT LABORATORIES
A strategic audit was performed on Abbott Laboratories. Background information is presented on the company before the findings of the analyses are presented. The analyses included in the strategic audit of the company over the company's external environment, the company's internal environment, the strategies pursued by the company, the company's organizational structure and control systems, the company's past performance, and predictions of the company's future performance.
Abbott Laboratories began as a home-based business started by Dr. Wallace Abbott near Chicago in 1888. From the beginning, Abbott gave marketing as much attention at was given to research and production. In the late-nineteenth century, that orientation earned Abbott the enmity of the American Medical Association ("Abbott Laboratories History", 2004). In the early-twenty-first century, pharmaceutical companies frequently appear to pay more attention to marketing than they do the research and production.
Abbott developed methods to synthesize anesthetics previously available only from Germany during the First World Was. Abbott enhanced its research capacities and its sales expertise in the 1920s through an acquisition strategy. The company began expanding internationally in the 1930s ("Abbott Laboratories History", 2004).
Abbott made a name for itself by providing vital pharmaceuticals to the United States government during the Second World War. During the post war years and through the 1970s, Abbott became a major player in consumer pharmaceuticals and food alternatives and supplements. During this time also the company suffered from quality problems and dangerous products that caused both regulatory and legal difficulties ("Abbott Laboratories History", 2004).
Abbott curtailed research during the 1980s, and began to market drugs in the United States that were produced outside the country. Research w...