Required information

$3.$ Johnson & Johnson

Skip to question

Johnson & Johnson

This activity is important because as more companies turn to the global marketplace, they are faced with issues of diversity. The world continues to grow smaller in terms of economic opportunities and companies must recognize that diverse cultures must be appreciated and understood in order for global business to succeed.

The goal of this activity is to demonstrate how diversity affects customer service. As a customer service professional, you must be able to recognize the impact of cultural values and know how to provide quality service to diverse customer groups.

Read the case and answer the questions that follow.

Johnson & Johnson $($J&J$)$ was founded in New Brunswick, New Jersey $($where it is currently headquartered$),$ in $1886$ by three Johnson brothers to produce antiseptic wound medications. The company later began developing products such as baby products, sanitary napkins for women, dental care products, bandages, and other wound dressings. In $1924,$ J&J expanded to an international platform by opening an operation in England. By the middle of the twentieth century, J&J had expanded into pharmaceuticals and had become a household name with products such as baby shampoo, Tylenol, AcuVue disposable contact lenses, and coronary stents leading its extraordinary product and distribution growth worldwide.

Today, J&J employs more than $130,000$ employees in $275$ companies operated in over $60$ different countries. Their corporate family includes:

The world$$s sixth$-$largest biologics company

The world$$s sixth$-$largest consumer health company

The world$$s eighth$-$largest pharmaceuticals company

Since its founding, J&J has been a leader in the areas of healthcare, wellness, medicine, and health education. The company$$s ethical commitment to customers, employees, communities, and stockholders is outlined in the J&J credo and has been the driving force behind its success for over $100$ years. The four main tenets of its credo are summarized here:

$$We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services.$$ Part of this commitment is ensuring that products are of a high quality and reasonable price and that they are delivered to customers promptly and accurately while providing a fair profit for suppliers.

$$We are responsible to our employees, the men and women who work with us throughout the world.$$ J&J believes in treating employees as individuals and with dignity and based on their own merit. Part of this is fair compensation in a safe working environment where people feel secure in their jobs and that their opinions matter. Additionally, employees should have equal opportunity and be managed in a just, ethical manner. All of this should be done in a manner that allows employees the opportunity to also fulfill their family obligations.

$$We are responsible to the communities in which we live and work and to the world community as well.$$ Part of the J&J philosophy is to be a good citizen of its communities and the world by supporting charities and paying their fair share of taxes. It encourages civic involvement and health and education programs while doing their part to protect the environment and natural resources.

$$Our final responsibility is to our stockholders. Business must make a sound profit.$$ Ultimately, J&J has a responsibility to stockholders to make a fair profit. All efforts related to new research, implementation of new processes, and purchases of assets and facilities are done in a mindful manner. These efforts help maintain revenue reserves for emergencies while providing a fair return on investment for shareholders.

Even though J&J has experienced serious challenges and threats in the past $($e$.$g$.,$ Tylenol poisoning in $1982),$ the company$$s proactive approach to business has allowed it to recover and thrive where other organizations have floundered. By taking a visionary approach to product and service development and continually working to maintain customer respect and trust, J&J is able to move forward and expand even in dire economic times.

Update

Claiming the spot two years in a row, Johnson & Johnson was nominated to the annual Fortune Change the World List in $2017.$ This list includes the $50$ top companies that have had a $$positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.$$ For Johnson & Johnson, this includes the company$$s work with Mitra which is a mobile$-$message program that can be used to send vital health details to expectant and new mothers living in low$-$income communities in India.

Johnson & Johnson works in cooperation with the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action to achieve its shared goal of $$helping the roughly $150$ mothers and $3,500$ children under the age of $5$ who die each day in India from pregnancy complications or early