dr amit shahi case It was June $2009$ in New Delhi, the capital of India. The heat was punishing and Dr$.$ Amita Joshi, the CEO

of Samuel Drugs Limited, the flagship company of the Houston Group, was in a top management meeting

with her team of two vice presidents and four functional general managers. As the discussion about the

decision on the distribution channel, media advertising and promotion for an exciting new product was

underway, Joshi received a phone call from her executive assistant informing her that Samuel Drugs had

virtually lost the bid on a major tender for drug supply to the Ministry of Health of the Indian government.

He also told her that, ironically enough, Eastern Pharmaceuticals Limited $($EPL$)-$ a $51$ per cent

subsidiary firm of the Houston Group $-$ had bagged a handsome order.

Joshi was surprised and shell$-$shocked at first. But as she recovered from the shock, she quickly realized

that this was the handiwork of Rajesh Mishra, head of marketing at Samuel Drugs and CEO of EPL. She

was very disturbed, faced with such a brazen act of breach of trust by Mishra. The loss of this order would

lead to a substantial gap between the anticipated and real performance of the company. The task before her

was to decide on a course of action that would suitably address this debacle. She cancelled the meeting

immediately and started recalling the series of events that had unfolded since she had taken over as the

CEO of Samuel Drugs. She knew she had to plan her next steps very carefully.

GOVERNMENT POLICY AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

The first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, felt that the drug industry needed to be in

the public sector since it was very susceptible to being abused. Consequently, various state entities were

incorporated in India with the main objective of creating self$-$sufficiency in the manufacture of essential

life$-$saving medicines, in order to free the country from dependence on imports and to provide medicines to

India's millions at affordable prices. SAMUEL DRUGS: A HISTORY

Samuel Drugs was founded by Samuel Houston, an ex$-$employee of a large state$-$owned drug

manufacturing organization. Houston was a youthful man when he joined the state$-$owned corporation in

$1959,$ and he climbed the career ladder very fast. He had an amazing grasp of the manufacturing process of

drugs and he introduced various innovative practices. A former colleague who was now a competitor once

mentioned in an award ceremony, "Samuel is a visionary leader. He has the potential to rise very fast in the

organization. One shouldn't be surprised to find him at the helm of the industry soon. He has some brilliant

ideas that the drug industry and the entire nation can benefit from."

In $1981,$ when private entrepreneurship in the drug industry was introduced, the government of Gujarat $($a

state in western India$)$ also decided to sell some of the non$-$functional units of state drug corporations.

More than half a dozen non$-$functional manufacturing facilities near the state capital, Ahmedabad, were put

up for auction. Houston had recently come into a large sum of money from the sale of some ancestral

property and he was evaluating the investment options for it$.$ The auction notice struck him as a golden

opportunity. He discovered that the outdated machinery would also come with the manufacturing facilities

and he was confident of his capacity to turn the units around. He discussed the matter with his like$-$minded

colleagues and friends, who were apprehensive at first but soon recognized the potential in the investment.

Houston convinced them to invest in a new organization, which he was going to found and lead.

Samuel Drugs Ltd$.$ started its operations on August $15,1982.$ Samuel Houston, who owned $70$ per cent of

the equity, assumed the position of chief executive officer, and many of his previous colleagues and

subordinates joined him in the new venture. He created an organizational culture that facilitated

professional autonomy. The division of responsibility was based on the competencies of people, and the

personalities of executives were matched with appropriate job content. However, the company's legacy as

a bureaucratic government organization also impacted the organizational culture. There was a high degree

of formalization and the decision$-$making process was unduly long.

Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Samuel Drugs grew to be the biggest player amongst the

MSMEs in $1994.$ The company played a major role in strategic national health programs, such as Family

Welfare and Population Control $($providing Mala$-$D & Mala$-$N$),$ in the fight against malaria $($providing

chloroquine$),$ and in the prevention of dehydration $($providing oral rehydration salts$)$