To this end, we are pursuing innovation-driven, organic growth. Targeted acquisitions capable of meaningfully complementing or boosting our strengths remain a growth option. By the end of , we aim to reduce our debt level to below 2 again. At the same time, strict financial discipline supports the rating of the Group.
"management by objectives (MBO)" in German
Our dividend policy reflects a sustainable earnings trend. Our Group strategy aims to resolutely continue the transformation of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, into a science and technology company and to position the company as a leading player in a changing market environment. To this end, we are closely aligning our businesses with the wishes and needs of customers and patients, not only through our products, but also best possible proximity. In Healthcare, the strategic direction is to become a global specialty innovator and we aim to maximize growth of existing franchises and to deliver pipeline with an average of one product launch or indication per year from We intend to keep our base business organically stable until In Life Science we deliver above-market organic growth by having a broad portfolio that addresses the needs of the scientific community, particularly in high-growth areas, for instance bioprocessing.
We achieve solid organic sales growth consistently, even during the integration. Our profitability is industry-leading, driven by our e-commerce platform and synergies from the rapid integration of Sigma-Aldrich into our Life Science business sector. In Performance Materials, we expect that our Semiconductor and Surface Solutions business units, which are developing well, will continue to mitigate the consequences of the fiercer competitive environment in our Liquid Crystals business in Going forward, we want to further enhance our degree of diversification.
In addition, new technologies are in the testing phase. China will remain one of the most strategically important markets for us globally. By focusing on growth contributions from China and driving innovation and digitalization across our business sectors, we are fostering the development and evolution of the Chinese innovation landscape. Our Healthcare business sector continues to aim for very strong growth and is improving the lives of millions of patients in China, in particular with medicines from our General Medicines franchise, for example to treat cardiovascular diseases, as well as our Fertility franchise.
Our Life Science and Performance Materials business sectors help Chinese companies and research institutes to become more competitive and efficient. Our growth strategy calls for people with diverse experience and backgrounds who work together on the basis of shared values to create innovation and respond flexibly to changing demands. Moreover, it is crucial to be perceived as an attractive employer in the market in order to continue to capture the interest of potential employees.
In addition, we were ranked fourth among biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide by Science magazine, a leading peer-reviewed international scientific publication. In the course of our transformation, our leaders play a key role. They are responsible for driving our strategy forward by building the right competencies, thereby enabling innovation.
We therefore place great importance on the continuous advanced training and further development of our leaders. This is essential for them to address the diverse needs of their team members and the changing requirements of the businesses and of digitalization. Based on employee feedback and external benchmarking, we are also continuously further developing our existing programs and processes. Developing and marketing innovative products and services are at the forefront of our Group strategy and all the business strategies.
Our objective is to foster innovations both within the businesses and between them as well as beyond existing businesses into areas in which we are not yet active. In particular, we want to capture the opportunities that digitalization offers in order to create value for patients, customers and business associates.
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To us, digitalization means the digital integration of our entire value chain, the digitalization of our products, services and communication interfaces to customers as well as the development of new digital business models. This is supported by state-of-the-art methods to collect and analyze vast amounts of data. Other examples include a supply chain project with our partner Palantir Technologies, where we are using advanced analytics to better forecast drug demand and to optimize our inventories. This could also play a part in the development of entirely new therapeutic options for patients in the future.
Later on it can be used in other areas of the company. Furthermore, we are working Group-wide to expand the physical and virtual infrastructure for technology-driven growth. The centerpiece is formed by our Innovation Center in Darmstadt. A modular Innovation Center was opened in April in Darmstadt as a prototype of the new Innovation Center that will be opened in spring The Innovation Center aims to develop entirely new businesses beyond the current scope, bringing together people, technologies, and skills from different areas under one roof.
This is expected to lead to new predictive and prescriptive approaches to treat and support patients in the therapeutic areas that we address. We want to offer innovation projects ideal conditions in the Innovation Center to grow into viable new businesses in an environment that provides both entrepreneurial freedom and dedicated support. The start-ups receive financial support, training and coaching as well as access to our experts from the businesses.
Since the program began in September , we have received more than 2, applications from over 70 countries and have mentored 30 start-ups. Our corporate venture capital fund invests globally in transformational ideas driven by strong entrepreneurs. We take an active role in our portfolio companies and team up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation into commercial success.
We have a significant focus on early-stage investing and company creation, including the formation of spin-offs to leverage our science and technology base. Our corporate venture capital fund currently has an active portfolio of 30 companies. Our Healthcare business sector comprises the three businesses Biopharma, Consumer Health and Allergopharma. The diversity and profound medical expertise we have in these businesses are core strengths and key differentiators in the market.
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Within each business, we specialize in key therapeutic areas and specific diseases. Global megatrends such as a growing world population and an increase in average life expectancy are driving the demand for our healthcare products. To meet these demands and respond appropriately to the dynamics of our healthcare markets, we have significantly transformed our Healthcare business sector in recent years. The ambition of our Healthcare business sector is to become a global specialty innovator, to operate in therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical need and to bring high value to patients and consumers.
Therefore, we invest heavily in research and development to discover new treatment options and improve existing ones. Together with our stakeholders and partners, we want to ensure that people can access the medicines they need to stay healthy and live longer. The first pillar of our strategy is to reinforce our global footprint by developing our tailored portfolio to address unmet medical needs in all regions worldwide. While developed markets such as the United States, Japan and Europe are key strategic markets for our specialty products, sales in growth markets such as China will be driven by both our biologics and broad general medicine and cardiometabolic care portfolios.
At the same time, it will be essential for us to continue to focus our efforts on growing in the United States in order to realize our ambition of becoming a truly global leader. The second pillar of our strategy is the focus on specialty medicine therapeutic areas. Here, we are concentrating our efforts on oncology, immuno-oncology, as well as neurology and immunology. Our aim is to turn cancer patients into cancer survivors by being at the forefront of changing the future of cancer care.
Further development programs for neurology and immunology include evobrutinib as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus as well as rheumatoid arthritis; atacicept as a potential treatment option for lupus patients with high disease activity; and sprifermin as a potential therapy for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Our aspiration is to develop high-quality, first-to-market and best-in-disease assets, and to build a portfolio in each of our therapeutic areas.
We have streamlined our pipeline and expanded our innovation capabilities with strong investigational drug candidates. In this context, strategic collaborations are an integral part of delivering on our commitment to transforming the lives of patients living with serious unmet medical needs. We recognize the value of collaboration in the research and development of breakthrough therapies, as well as in strengthening our current portfolio.
Here, we focus on balancing the right blend of internal capabilities and external partnerships, building strong collaborations with other leaders in industry, including Pfizer, Genea Biomedx and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. We are innovating beyond our pipeline projects with our Medical Devices and Services unit and our Fertility Technologies.
In addition to innovative therapeutic approaches, the way in which we engage with patients will be vital to achieving our objective of becoming a global specialty innovator. Our divestment of the Biosimilars business to Fresenius closed on August On September 5, we announced that we are preparing strategic options for our Consumer Health business, including a potential full or partial sale of the business as well as strategic partnerships. The Biosimilars divestment as well as the decision to examine strategic options for Consumer Health were both aligned with our strategy to focus on our pipeline of innovative medicines.
As a leader in the large and growing life science industry, our purpose is to solve the toughest problems in life science by collaborating with the global scientific community. We have a portfolio of more than , products, in order to support a broad customer base — including academia, pharma and biotech labs, pharma manufacturing, biotech manufacturing, clinical diagnostics, environmental testing, food and beverage and industrial. We have an industry leading e-commerce platform, www. The Sigma-Aldrich integration has been ahead of plan and we continue to be on track as we begin year three of the integration.
We will leverage best practices from both organizations, combine our sales force for one face to the customer, and continue to harmonize processes for employees and customers. We have tailored our strategy and will continue to manage our business based on scale and growth to optimize the overall performance and portfolio of our Life Science business sector. We have further streamlined our organizational structure to capture growth opportunities even more strongly. Research Solutions, Process Solutions and Applied Solutions, with each designed to increase agility and drive sustained entrepreneurship to better serve our customers.
We also announced a number of acquisitions in These include BioControl Systems to strengthen our leadership in biomonitoring, specifically in the food and beverage sector, as well as Grzybowski Scientific Inventions to boost capability in chemical synthesis, and Natrix Separations to advance in next-generation bioprocessing. Based on a broad assessment of the market, competitive landscape and key industry trends, in we identified several strategic initiatives in important growth areas.
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For example, in genome editing and novel modalities, we have built intellectual property in key areas, with patents granted in the European Union, Australia, Canada, and Singapore. The patents provide protection of our CRISPR technology, while giving scientists the ability to advance treatment options for the toughest medical challenges. In our Performance Materials business sector, we want to sustainably secure our market and technology leadership in display materials.
In addition, we want to leverage our expertise in liquid crystals beyond the application field of displays.
- "MBO" German translation.
- "management by objectives" German translation!
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- theranchhands.com dictionary :: objectives :: English-German translation.
- Management by objectives!
At the same time, we benefit from the trends in the semiconductor industry, continue to lead the market in pearlescent pigments, and share in the growth of the cosmetics industry. The principle of MBO is for employees to have a clear understanding of their roles and the responsibilities expected of them, so they can understand how their activities relate to the achievement of the organization's goals. MBO also places importance on fulfilling the personal goals of each employee. There are endless ways to exercise management by objectives.
One must simply find specific goals to aim for in an organization or business. Many noteworthy companies have used MBO.
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The management at the computer company Hewlett-Packard HP , has said that it considers the policy a huge component of its success. Some objectives are collective, and some can be goals for each individual worker. Both make the task at hand seem attainable and enable the workers to visualize what needs to be done and how.
In the MBO paradigm, managers determine the mission and the strategic goals of the enterprise. The goals set by top-level managers are based on an analysis of what can and should be accomplished by the organization within a specific period of time. The functions of these managers can be centralised by appointing a project manager who can monitor and control activities of the various departments.
Objectives need quantifying and monitoring. Reliable management information systems are needed to establish relevant objectives and monitor their "reach ratio" in an objective way. MBO has its detractors and attention notably among them W.
Edwards Deming , who argued that a lack of understanding of systems commonly results in the misapplication of objectives. Point 7 of Deming's key principles encourages managers to abandon objectives in favour of leadership because he felt that a leader with an understanding of systems was more likely to guide workers to an appropriate solution than the incentive of an objective.
Deming also pointed out that Drucker warned managers that a systemic view was required [16] and felt that Drucker's warning went largely unheeded by the practitioners of MBO. There are several limitations to the assumptive base underlying the impact of managing by objectives, [ citation needed ] including:. That context includes everything from the availability and quality of resources, to relative buy-in by leadership and stake-holders. When this approach is not properly set, agreed and managed by organizations, self-centered employees might be prone to distort results, falsely representing achievement of targets that were set in a short-term, narrow fashion.
In this case, managing by objectives would be counterproductive. Management by Objectives is still practiced today, with a focus on planning and development aiding various organizations. While the practice is used today, it may go by different names — the letters "MBO" have lost their formality, and future planning is a more standard practice.