Millennium Health Sciences (MHS) Report: Innovation and Strategy

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Millennium Health Sciences (MHS), an Australian company established in 1968, focusing on its internal and external structures, marketing strategies, and technological innovations. The report examines the company's two business units, Neutrino and Dermatech, highlighting the rigid internal structure, limited external expansion, and traditional marketing practices. It identifies the challenges posed by internal competition, lack of technological integration, and outdated marketing approaches. The report offers specific recommendations to foster innovation, including promoting young talent, encouraging feedback, expanding into international markets, integrating business units, and embracing technological advancements in R&D. The report concludes that the current work culture and environment of MHS need significant changes to overcome the negative impacts of internal conflicts and to capitalize on opportunities for growth and innovation.

MILLENNIUM HEALTH
SCIENCES (MHS)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
A. Internal Perspective and Changes impacting innovative capacity.........................................3
B. External Perspective and Changes impacting innovative capacity.......................................4
C. Marketing and consumer related perspectives and Changes impacting innovative capacity.4
D. Technological Perspective and processes and Changes Enhancing Innovative Capacity......5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Millennium Health Sciences (MHS) is an Australian Company set up in 1968 with the
innovative idea of developing dermatologically tested skin care products. At present, it has two
business units, 'Neutrino' and 'Dermatech'. This report highlights the present internal and external
structure of the company along with their various perspectives. It also illustrates various
innovative practices that can be introduced in the company. Further, the report states
technological innovations as well as the marketing perspectives and how practices can be made
innovative.
MAIN BODY
A. Internal Perspective and Changes impacting innovative capacity.
Millennium Health Sciences (MHS), at present is divided into two business units :-
'Neutrino' and 'Dermatech'. Neutrino carries out production of Vitamins and Dermatech
manufactures advance skin care products. The present internal structure of Millennium Health
Sciences involves a rigid set up where there is only one way communication i.e. from top to
bottom. At the top most level are the Board of Directors and CEO of MHS. Then there are two
General Managers each heading a Business Unit. GM's and the Senior Executive Team together
take important decisions which are then filtered down to lower levels of hierarchy. The intense
competition and rivalry that exists between the two business units regarding resources and
products within the company has limited the productivity of MHS (Keyes and Galea, 2016).
Majority of employees have degree in pharmacology or microbiology and their
promotion is done on the basis of the number of years they have worked in MHS and that also is
instigated through ranks i.e. one cannot skip between two positions. Due to this the average age
of a person at a senior position is 53 years.
Recommendations :- The present structure at MHS is an extremely rigid and traditional
one. The growth of the employees is very constricted demotivating its employees. MHS should
reinforce fresh and young talent focusing on their abilities rather than degree, in the company
which will bring new and innovative ideas when these young and talented minds are put to work.
The adoption of top to down communicant policy has also hindered the growth because the top
management is not accepting any feedbacks or suggestions and these practices makes an
organisation obsolete. So, the managers at MHS should encourage feedbacks and listen to ideas
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or suggestion that they have since they are the ones who are actually turning ideas and
instructions into reality.
B. External Perspective and Changes impacting innovative capacity.
MHS has always focused on expanding in Australia first and neglected any chances of
expansion in other parts of the world even when they have encountered opportunities for huge
profits. Although, China and Indonesia generate 30% of the profits, yet the marketing manager
has visited only twice in these countries. Also, MHS has been approached by various companies
for international set ups due to its huge success of some products in other markets especially in
Asian markets, which have failed in the Australian market.
Recommendations :- MHS should grab such opportunities for expansion and move out of
its comfort zone, experimenting in international markets. Also, the protected environment in
which it has fostered slowly has proven to be expensive and wastage of the opportunities. The
export management personnel should be developed whose sole purpose would be keeping eye on
the various opportunities presented in the international market and generate profits for the
company (Guetterman and et.al., 2015). Also, MHS instead of competing within itself should try
to change its mindset and present themselves as a united company so that the undue advantage
which the actual competitors have been taking of the company since a long time period can be
highlighted before the management and treated as a concern thus gaining an upper hand over
them. Also, MHS should encourage retention of its customers and try to personalize their
experience by increasing communication with them through feedbacks etc. and foster
relationship building thus increasing the goodwill of the company.
C. Marketing and consumer related perspectives and Changes impacting innovative capacity.
At present, MHS has a very stringent and traditional marketing practices where
marketing team does all the decision making on an independent basis where they neither involve
other departments in their propagandas formed nor do they take their objectives or purpose into
consideration. At MHS, scientists and doctors have a mentality that their job is only to
conceptualize or develop products (Brown and Rappert, 2017). Beyond that, it is the duty of the
marketing team regarding the expansion and sale of the product, their company's reputation etc.
Also, the activities of both the business units is such vehement that the customers don't even
know that both the companies Neutrino and Dermatech belong to the same holding company
MHS.
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Recommendations :- To improve such a stiff image that the company has created over
the time in the minds of the customers, MHS really needs to work upon its work ethics and the
environment. The rivalry which was initially promoted by the BOD's amongst the two business
units has created a riff between the two (Eddy, 2018). This was also seen when both the units
were duplicating the process involved in creation of new products based upon a seaweed. This
also led to wastage of the resources of the company twice. This unnecessary cost which was
incurred along with the restricted growth of the company should instigate provocation within the
management to formulate new and innovative work culture and integrate the operations of both
the business units together.
Also, relationship building and orientation programmes with consumers along with
various innovative marketing tactics like contests, prizes etc. will clear the ambiguity in the mind
of their consumers and also increase their hold on market.
D. Technological Perspective and processes and Changes Enhancing Innovative Capacity.
Currently, at MHS the technological innovation has not much developed. This lack of
advancement can be judged through the cost and time incurred in research and development of
the product Poseidon. Both the business units, Neutrino and Dermatech were experimenting with
the same seaweed for development of new product. Due to the staff being older, the procedures
involved in R&D are very traditional. This increases the cost as well as the time taken for the
production of new product even though the product is expected to generate huge amount of
profits (Black and et.al., 2017). Also, the separate R&D conducted by both the business units
shows lack of technological integration in the holding company MHS. The management of the
company should also work on improving this.
Recommendations :- MHS can encourage involvement of younger generation in the
process of research and development. This will benefit the organisation in multiple ways. The
younger generation being morn equipped and knowledgeable about the latest technology will
bring innovation in the company this reducing cost as well as time taken to produce the product.
And, the expertise of the senior management will help the company in innovation of products in
the right way which will ensure the success of the product thus generating profits. However, to
protect the company from competitors who might take undue advantage from the exploiting the
riff that exists between the two business units, company should introduce technological
revolution by integrating the different departments of MHS.
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CONCLUSION
As per the study conducted in the above report, it can be concluded that the current work culture
and environment of MHS has gone redundant. Also, the rift between the two business units of
the company is creating a negative impact of the company. Lastly, various innovative practices
and changes that can be brought into the organisation have been stated in the report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Black. M.M. and et.al., 2017. Early childhood development coming of age: science through the
life course. The Lancet. 389(10064). pp.77-90.
Brown, N. and Rappert, B., 2017. Contested futures: A sociology of prospective techno-science.
Routledge.
Eddy, M.B., 2018. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. BoD–Books on Demand.
Guetterman, T.C. and et.al., 2015. Integrating quantitative and qualitative results in health
science mixed methods research through joint displays. The Annals of Family Medicine.
13(6). pp.554-561.Online
Keyes, K.M. and Galea, S., 2016. Setting the agenda for a new discipline: population health
science. American journal of public health. 106(4). p.633.
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