International Business Strategy - Astra Zeneca

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
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Company Overview
Astra Zeneca is one of the best Anglo Swedish global Pharmaceutical and
Biopharmaceutical Company which is known for having its headquarters in Cambridge which is
located in United Kingdom. The business organization is mainly led by various types of
innovative designs, technological innovative devices, it is also known for delivering various
types of electronic devices to other companies in order to proceed with the check up and serve
millions of patients worldwide (AstraZeneca Annual Report 2019).
The company and business organization was found out in the year 1999 by the merger
companies of Swedish Astra AB and the Bitish Zeneca Group which as on the present date of
April 2018 had a market capital of $90.07 billion. Regarding the product portfolio it can be said
that it consists of medicines which are used for curing cancer, cardio vascular diseases,
respiratory diseases and various types of infection and vaccines (AstraZeneca Annual Report
2019). The mission of the company is to turn various types of business ideas in to life changing
machines which is dedicated to improve the life of the patient thus benefiting society.
Critical Analysis of Astra Zeneca’s External Environment with PESTLE
analysis
Political factors paly a very significant role in determining the factors which can be
implemented by the company to get a long term benefit. The company is functioning in the
health care sector therefore it can be said that it is exposed to different types of political
environment across various types of countries. Therefore in order to achieve success in the health
care sector it should thus try to diversify the risks according to the political environment. The
following are the factors which can help the company to regain the political factors in order to

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operate smoothly. The company faces issue with the antitrust laws related with the health care,
the company also faces various types of pricing regulations from the government. There are
countries which impose high tax rates and as well as minimum amount of wage and overtime
policies.
The Economic factors are the macro environment factors that mainly include the
factors such as inflation rate, savings rate, interest rate, foreign exchange rate, and the economic
cycle of the company. However it can be said that the company should try to analyze the
economic system the country is known for operating with and determine the exchange rate
offered by the country for trade preferences. However the company still faces issues with the
skill level of the workforce involved in the countries, the education level of the country and labor
cost and productivity based on the economic conditions.
Social Factors which mainly includes the culture of the society in which they are
working with. According to the author (Nelson, Marrie and Culpeppe 2019) shared beliefs,
attitude and willingness of the population greatly affect the performance of the company in the
particular area. Few of the social factors which are known for affecting the company as a whole
are the demographics, skill level of the person, the class structure, hierarchy and power structure
in the society. The educational level in the society and the attitude of the people to the company
(Conesa, T., 2015).
Technological Factors are known for affecting the company as because it is fast
disrupting various types of business across the globe. According to the author Marulkar (2017)
the technological factors has been really fast in transforming the business. The technological
factors which are known for affecting the company are the recent technological development in
the health care industry, the impact on cost structure after implementing the technological

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devices. It also creates an impact on the value chain of the company and the cost of the
medicines and services are likely to get affected (Marulkar 2017).
Environmental Factors tend to differ according to the different market trends which
later on impact in profit maximization of the company. Therefore the environmental factors
which are known impacting the business are the environmental and liabilities for example Texas
and the US has different policies and lawsuits in the case of environmental mishaps. The attitude
of the government in terms of supporting the company towards the achievement of attaining the
renewable energy sources among the competitors in the business. The waste management system
in the particular country and government related laws on the causes of environmental pollutions.
Legal factors which are known for affecting the company are the anti- trust laws in te
health care management and overall country in which they are operating with. The employee
discrimination laws, the copy right and patient application laws. The company also faced issues
with the data protection laws in the country which include the health and safety of the
employees, the employment laws and consumer protection laws on Electronic commerce
(O'mahony, Edman and Kajanus 2018).
The Strategic issues which needs to be achieved for the business in short term are lack
of skills and in depth knowledge among the employees who are working in different area of the
company as a whole. Also the company needs to address the lowered condition in the production
of various type of equipment which are manufactured under the company. Along with these the
company should also try to achieve the product quality problems which has been identified in the
present date (AB, 2016).

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The Strategic issues which needs to be achieved for the business in medium term are
revising the health and safety policies which are issued by the company to arrange a service
contract. The company also needs to address the quality control programs which has been one of
the most important concern for Astra Zeneca in the present date (Snell, and Yemen, 2017).
The Strategic issues which needs to be achieved for the business in long term business
are the competitive structure of the company in the social level, economic level, political and
environmental level. The company should thus try to address these by developing various types
of strategies in order to be sustainable in the long run of the company by implementing various
types of strategic measures (Dertinger, Bielasa and Doherty 2019).
AstraZeneca’s major opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses
analysis
Strengths of the company mainly includes the highest level of customer satisfaction
where the company is fully dedicated in providing its customers with relationship management
(Conesa, 2015). It also has a successful record of product innovation throughout the years with
successful execution in new projects every six months. The company has a strong distribution
network over the globe with all the products and services offered. It has a strong brand portfolio
where according to the author Bauer, (2016) the strong brand portfolio help the organization to
expand in any location with its product categories. It has its highly successful marketing
strategies which mainly include the Go with the market strategies for all its products.
Weakness of the company mainly include the gap in the product ranges offered to the
customers in the market. There is a lack of choice and a huge gap between the high priced and
low priced products offered by the company Bechtold, Fastnacht and Lennon, 2018). The

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marketing of the products are also one of the greatest weakness as because it faces huge amount
of problem with the marketing sector of the company. The brand has to create a good value
positioning in order to market its products as a whole. Also it has been reported that the company
does not have a proper financial planning system which does not help the company to efficiently
work with available resources and manage them.
Opportunities for the company mainly includes the availability of the new
technologies in practice to different types of pricing strategies in the business to operate easily
with the competitors. Also in the date the decrease in the cost of transportation will really help
the business to trade out the products to other countries where they are remotely performing with
the services. The company can also derive new customers from the online channel as because
most of the competitors are investing in the online platform to get a boosted up amount of
customers. Also due to low GDP in the developing countries the government is allowing
business to proceed which is a good opportunity to grab (Rascol and Shaw, 2018).
Threats which are faced by the company is with the growing strength of local
distributors and much demanding payment margins. The faster development of new technologies
over the years from the competitors is a serious threat faced by the company. Also the shortage
of skilled labor is a big issues with the company in present date.
Strategies AstraZeneca can draw upon in addressing the strategic issues are like
providing employee training courses, equipment servicing measures and quality fix training will
be able to boost the employees and help company by managing the short term goal. These
strategies set a stage to solve the longer term comprehensive problems.

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The strategies for the medium term are like implementing various types of policies
and measures in order to create health and safety awareness. It will strengthen the quality control
measures of the company.
Long term strategies will be like developing business strategies undermining the
political, environmental, technological and social factors affecting the company.

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References
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