The business strategy from employee perspective : A qualitative study of using the business strategy as a control tool at a parallel import company of pharmaceuticals

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how the business strategy is communicated by the senior management and interpreted by the employees at a parallel distribution company of pharmaceuticals. These knowledge intense organizations are characterized by complex and ambiguous work tasks. Traditional management control theories are based on the assumption that managers should create rules, order and norms to control their employees. But in complex organizations it is difficult for the senior management to understand the entire work flow and different form of control mechanisms are requested. Recent studies have shown that vertical directions often are questioned and translated by the employees at the horizontal level within complex organizations. This is a fairly new way of looking at management control and moreresearch is required, which this thesis aims at providing. The business strategy is often created by the senior management to control and direct the employeebehaviour, and internal communication is often used to implement the strategy at the horizontal level. Drawing from this it is interesting to focus on the business strategy from employee perspective, to analyse how the employees questions and translates the business strategy to fit their work. The thesis has a qualitative and deductive approach. 14 interviews are conducted. One with the senior manager and 13 with the employees at the horizontal level. The findings suggest that different form of knowledge work require different form of control mechanisms. Some employees interpretedthe strategy the same way the senior management did and some questioned and translated the strategy to be more suitable for their own work. The pharmacists questioned the strategy while the sale force worked according to it. The findings also suggest that in order for the strategy to act as a control tool the content is important and needs to reflect the employees work.