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ETHICON Thrives in a Total Rewards Environment
Laura Thanasse: Given that you're part of such a large conglomerate, how does ETHICON achieve that small company environment described on the J&J recruiting Web site?
Dennis Longstreet: ETHICON is one of the 20 key J&J franchises or worldwide businesses. We are responsible for our own research and development (R&SD), manufacturing, sales and marketing and profitability. A global management board, made up of ETHlCON company worldwide presidents and worldwide functional heads, reports to me. And while this structure contributes to the "small company environment" you reference, as a part of the J&J family, we are governed by a set of principles called our credo. All of senior management understands that markets differ, businesses differ and companies differ. What holds our global business together is abiding by the same integrity-based set of principles set forth in the Johnson & Johnson credo.
Our credo dictates that our first and foremost responsibility is to our customers (doctors, nurses, consumers). Second, we focus on our employees. We make sure they are treated with dignity and respect, and given opportunities to maximize their potential. Third, we are responsible to the communities in which we live and work - being good corporate citizens - and finally, the shareholder. We believe that if we meet our responsibilities to customers, employees and the community, then the shareholders of Johnson & Johnson will realize a fair return. It has been a sound formula for success, since the history of J&J has been one of steady growth and great return.
ETHICON is an important contributor to creating shareholder value for J&J and has been a key business for J&J over the last 40 years. It continues to be the largest medical device business for J&J and a world market leader in most of the markets in which we compete. But like all of our J&J counterparts, we're managed under that credo framework.
Laura: I like the way you describe it as "being part of a family." You have an overall sense of values that ties you together, but you may have different jobs or different roles.
Dennis: Right. When I was involved in the pharmaceutical business for J&J, we had a different customer, an office-based health...