Diversity Program at Amgen

The American workplace is composed of workers from different backgrounds and cultures with different expectations of what the employment experience should hold for them. Workers come not only from various parts of the country, but various parts of the world, and today's international markets mean that even small American companies can do business with companies in many different nations. As a result of this increased diversity, companies are struggling with ways to reconcile the different needs of employees with the needs of the organization. Diversity programs are one consequence of this struggle, and diversity programs have met with varying degrees of success depending on how they are developed and implemented. This research explores the diversity program at a biotechnology company and considers how the lessons from that company might be applied to other organizations.

Amgen, Incorporated is based in Thousand Oaks, California and is a global biotechnology company which develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals based on advanced cellular and molecular biology. Two human therapeutic products, NEUPOGENr and EPOGENr form the core of the company's operations, which totaled more than $1.6 billion in revenues in 1994 (Brownlee, 1995, p. 47). NEUPOGENr selectively stimulates the production of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) and is marketed in the United States, the European Union (EU), Canada and Australia for use i

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nationals and host-country locals; provide global staff with leadership training; and, merge corporate culture with local culture (Sunoo, 1996, p. 39). Amgen has created a global mindset within its corporate culture in part because its products are sold throughout the world and have been since the company was initially formed. This international marketing strategy has resulted in the company maintaining a sense that just as its products have a global orientation, the company itself must also maintain such an orientation. In the beginning, Amgen sent an American manager to research a location when considering a new distribution site. That manager would use maps and printed data to make his analysis. Today, the company relies on local information from local representatives who are able to provide information on political implications of decisions which are not available from maps. Decisions about new international locations are now based on demographic information as well as on political considerations, and may well take into account the availability of collaborations with the local academic and medical communities (Sunoo, 1996, p. 39). Amgen has also moved away from exporting American managers to foreign countries for its in

Category: Business - D