Takeda Pharmaceutical Limited
Visit the website of the UK Companies House where you can download the UK subsidiary’s full accounts (i.e. annual reports) under the “filing history” tab, and select the box of “accounts”). Below is the link to UK Companies House website
https://beta(dot)companieshouse(dot)gov(dot)uk/company/
(All you need to do is to cut and paste the link into Google to search for the UK Companies House website. When you are at the UK Companies House website, you will be able to find the assigned subsidiary. Make sure that you use exactly the assigned subsidiary name when you enter it into the box under heading “search the register”)
Parent firm: Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan)
Subsidiary: Takeda UK Limited - registered number (company number) 03362860
Answer the following five questions. Your answers need to be consistent across the questions, so once you have identified a strategy in question 1, please do not change this in subsequent answers otherwise you will be penalised. Present and explain suitable diagrams for questions 1, 2 and 3.
1. This question is related to the parent firm in the home country. In which cell of the integration/ responsiveness (I/R) theoretical framework will you place the strategy of the parent firm? Explain clearly why it is placed in a particular cell, and support your answer with one specific well-explained example for the I dimension and one specific well-explained example for the R dimension.
2. What is the appropriate organisational structure for the parent firm consistent with the strategy which you identify in Question 1? Explain clearly the characteristics of this organizational structure and provide examples to support the characteristics that you describe. Present a diagram of the firm’s organizational structure in business reality and briefly explain it.
3. Use Rugman & D’Cruz’s flagship framework to discuss the parent firm’s flagship relationships which may exist with its network partners. Support your answer with one specific well-explained example for each type of business partners in the flagship network.
4. This question is related to the subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Briefly describe the business activities of the subsidiary. Explain clearly what and how the subsidiary has implemented the I/R strategy of the parent firm which you identify in question 1. Support your answer with one specific well-explained example for the I dimension and one specific well-explained example for the R dimension of the I/R strategy at the subsidiary level.
5.This question is related to the subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Critically analyse all the major financing sources of your subsidiary for each year of the five-year period (2015-2019) and present a table of supporting data. Examine and make plausible arguments whether or not the parent firm has used various mechanisms to potentially manipulate profits (profit shifting) in the subsidiary in this five-year period. Support your answer with specific well-explained evidence, data and facts.
Introduction: briefly introduce the company background information. You may explain the main objectives of this essay, the main arguments/findings, and the limitations of this study, etc.
Main body: you need to cover all the issues in the format of answers-to-questions. There is no need to rewrite the questions in your submitted work. You only need to indicate your question number (e.g. Question 1, etc.). This will give you more space to present your answers. You may briefly introduce the concepts and frameworks but do not spend much energy on them. You are expected to demonstrate that you are capable of applying these concepts and frameworks to critically analyse the international business strategy and organizational structure of the parent firm and the management of the foreign subsidiary in the United Kingdom which you are studying. A good piece of work for this module should focus on a persuasive analysis and argument, based on the hard data, facts and examples which you find. In addition, you are expected to present consistent and interactive arguments of the issues, e.g. hard data and thorough explanation could support your analysis on the strategy and the structure of the firm
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL LIMITED
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Introduction
International business is a complex structure for multinational enterprises (MNEs). MNEs would experience challenges of different marketplaces and ensure vital networking to sustain operational synergy in financial results (Rugman, Verbeke and Nguyen 2011). Takeda Pharmaceutical Limited (Takeda) is a multinational pharmaceutical manufacturing company operating in four regions, namely Japan, the United States of America (USA), Europe & Canada (EUCAN), and Growth & Emerging Markets (GEM). The EUCAN region caters to the United Kingdom (UK) market, while GEM monitors the commercial presence of subsidiaries in the Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries. Takeda owns subsidiaries in each region, engaged in independent activities and operational functions. However, subsidiaries are responsible for implementing the values and vision communicated by the parent company (Takeda, 2021). This paper will investigate the international presence, networking efficacy, and financial performance of Takeda (parent) and Takeda UK (TUK; subsidiary) by applying different theories and frameworks devised for international business.
Discussion
Response to Question 1
The integration-responsiveness (I-R) framework explores the types of internationalization strategies that organizations could adopt to penetrate overseas markets. I-R framework has four quadrants that reflect the integration of characteristics existing in the international market, followed by the responsiveness of the parent company in the form of operational interventions and resource allocation provided from the home country. Theoretically, the I-R framework is a resource-based interpretation that measures the strategy adopted by parent organizations for entering a hostile market environment (Rugman and Verbeke, 2004). According to the I-R framework, Takeda follows a global strategy in the UK, with high global integration and local responsiveness.
The transnational strategy allows the organizations to remain flexible. Such organizations would standardize operations based on feasibility while simultaneously utilizing opportunities to adopt international market characteristics (Collinson, Narula and Rugman, 2020). Takeda reflects high global integration in operations. The parent company provides a balanced autonomy to TUK for managing operations in the British market. For instance, Takeda collaborated with representatives in the UK to distribute vaccines for Ebola, cholera, and malaria internationally. Takeda provided flexibility to international representatives for distributing products under global vision (Takeda, 2021a).
Nonetheless, Takeda reflects high local responsiveness from the parent company in the international operations. For instance, representatives from the British market use global approaches to distribute vaccines manufactured by Takeda with flexibility. However, the representatives followed a single-minded vision of the company, namely "helping patients at priority regardless of the ethnic and cultural affiliation" (Takeda, 2021a). The flexibility to adopt global market characteristics and intervention of standardized vision of the company makes Takeda a transnational organization. TUK operates with high integration and responsiveness in the British market, maintaining a strategic balance between centralization and parent company and subsidiary flexibility.
Response to Question 2
The geographic organizational structure is appropriate for Takeda while implementing the transnational strategy for penetrating international markets. Figure 1 below reflects the geographical structure for Takeda that aligns with the transnational strategy of the company.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Geographic Organizational Structure - Takeda Pharmaceutical Ltd
The geographical structure sets the parent company in the leading position. The penetrated regions centralize to report the parent company while operating in different market environments. The regional divisions are flexible to operate according to different market practices. However, each region would follow the vision and values pre-defined by the parent company (Aldasoro, Hardy and Jager, 2020). Takeda follows the geographical structure by implementing the single vision among the subsidiaries. For instance, the British representatives use flexible market practices to distribute vaccines. However, the parent company from Japan pre-defined the reporting and organizational values.
Secondly, the geographic organizational structure ensures that each subsidiary is operating with independent product lines and operational strategies, which complement the centralized values of the parent company. Subsidiaries are listed as separate entities and focus on different market conditions independently. However, the parent company would remain in the authorized position and could alter the functions when required (Aldasoro, Hardy and Jager, 2020). For instance, the TUK has a separate executive team comprising a representative director and Chief Executive Officer. The subsidiary also comprises of Representative Director for Japan General Affairs (Takeda, 2021b). TUK is separately listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). However, the subsidiary would consolidate the reporting for the parent company, which operates as a distinct and centralized entity. The parent company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and reports to Group Investors with consolidated subsidiaries' performance during each fiscal year (Takeda, 2021c). The geographical structure allows Takeda to measure subsidiary performances in different regions effectively.
Response to Question 3
Rugman and D'Cruz proposed an alternative framework, Porter's Five Forces framework. The flagship model represents the networking and relationship of firms with suppliers, customers, competitors, and consumers. The flagship model focuses on building strategic relationships with international businesses in a hostile market environment (Forsgren and Holm, 2021).
* Key Suppliers – Takeda performs sustainable procurement from more than 90,000 suppliers in 70 countries. The suppliers specialize in supplying raw materials for manufacturing biomedical products under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) guidelines defined by Takeda. Takeda shares a transparent and fair relationship with the key suppliers (Takeda, 2021d).
* Other Suppliers – This category includes suppliers for supporting functions of the organization. For instance, Takeda collaborates with SAP for procuring business software and solutions to digitalize ...