Johnson & Johnson (A): Philosophy & Culture
We believe the consistency of our overall performance as a corporation is due
to our unique form of decentralized management, our adherence to the ethical
principles embodied in our Credo, and our emphasis on managing the business for
the long term.
Statement of Strategic Direction
Our culture is really it. That’s what brought us together when the Tylenol
tragedies hit. Without it, we would not have been able to manage the crisis as
effectively as we did.
James E. Burke, Chairman & CEO
In 1983, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful
health care companies. Over a 20-year period, sales had grown at a compound annual rate of 14%,
and earnings per share (EPS) at 17%. (During the 1970s, J&J’s EPS growth rate was approximately
double the average for the Fortune 100 largest industrial companies.) By 1982, J&J’s worldwide
revenues exceeded $5.7 billion and net income $473 million, placing it 55th in sales and 28th in net
income on the Fortune 500 list of industrial companies. The underlying operations employed over
77,000 people based in 50 countries and sold products in 149 nations (see Exhibit 1 for financial data).
The company had also acquired a reputation for management excellence. A Fortune survey of
industry executives to rank the management excellence of the 200 largest U.S. corporations placed J&J
third overall and first among health care companies. This case describes the distinctive philosophy
J&J espoused and the managerial systems and practices employed to put it into operation.
Company Background
J&J began with Robert Wood Johnson, an apothecary by training. At age 31 Johnson attended
a seminar offered by Sir Joseph Lister, a noted English surgeon, who propounded the theory of
“antisepsis.” The year was 1876 and post-operative mortality rates were as high as 90%. The
following account typified accepted surgical procedures at that time: “Unclean cotton, collected from
sweepings on the floors of textile mills, was used for surgical dressings; surgeons operated in street
clothes and wore a blood-spattered frock coat like a badge of honor.”
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