Eli Lilly and Company

After learning about all the different types of organizational communication in the workplace and throughout the semester, I searched to find a company that I thought embodied the supreme qualities of an ideal workplace. My searching brought me to a website called Eli Lilly and Company. After reading through their total compensation and benefits package and interviewing my uncle who works for the company, in my eyes Lilly gets a five-star rating.

The most appealing aspect to the Lilly Company is their human resources. They offer incredible packages to their employees. One of the first lines I saw when reading about their benefits was, “as a member of the Eil Lilly and Company you will make significant contributions that directly impact the lives of people all around the world…for your contribution, we strive to provide you with rewards that will make a difference in your life- both professionally and personally.” After reading an opening statement like that, how could you not want to immediately sign the contract?

Lilly has amazing benefits they offer their employees and an unbelievable human resource department. Lilly has great programs set up to allow their employees to reach their financial goals. Programs such as the Cash Compensation, encourage workers to believe in the company and work to their maximum potential because when the company is successful, they receive more money. Each year in the first quarter, eligible employees may receive a bonus based on the previous year’s sales growth and earning per share growth, as well as their individual performance and job level. It’s the company’s way of sharing its success with the employees who made the performance possible. These sort of benefits give the employee a sense of pride in the company because they can see first hard how their hard work is paying off. Another incentive Lilly offers their employees is a 401(k) plan. Their 401 (k) plan offers plenty of help in preparing for your retirement years. Lilly guarantees a match of 50 cents for each dollar contributed up to six percent of your monthly salary. The company’s matching contribution is invested in Lilly common stock. Lilly also offers life insurance where you receive free coverage for a death benefit equal to two times your annual base salary.

Not only is Lilly focused on increased worker production through incentives, but they allow opportunities for their employees to grow mentally. Lilly reimburses tuition for approved, job-or career- related courses successfully completed at accredited institutions. For approved non-job-related courses taken at an accredited institution, Lilly reimburses 50% of tuition. As far as Lilly is concerned, a happy employee is a productive employee. This concept follows Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Once their basic needs are satisfied, they can move toward achieving their full human potential (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). One of the main objectives to the human resources approach is setting up social conditions in the organization so that the goals of the individual merge with those of the organization, and Lilly strives to accomplish this (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87).

Not only does Lilly focus on the employee but they focus on what is important for the employee’s family as well. “Lilly recognizes that an employee worried about his or her kids is not only unhappy but also less productive” (Lilly benefits 4). They offer numerous services such as on-site child development centers, maternity, parenting, and dependent care leaves along with support groups and summer camps for children. Lilly also offers great vacation and holidays for their employees. During your first year at Lilly, you’ll earn eight hours of vacation for each month of service and this increases the longer you are at the company. “If designed correctly, the workplace becomes a site where individuals can realize their full potential and remain continually motivated to do so,” Lilly has worked hard to create this environment. (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 88).
The classical theory that best fits the Eli Lilly Company is a bureaucracy system. According to W. Richard Scott, organizational bureaucracy has the following characteristics, a fixed division of labor, a hierarchy of offices, a set of general rules that govern performances, a separation of personal life from work life, technical qualifications, and a career path for employees (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 77). The Lilly Company exemplifies all of these bureaucratic characteristics.

There is a fixed division of labor starting with the President, and CEO’s and working its way down to supervisors, managers and employees. Lilly has a set of rules and guidelines that all employees must sign and abide by. There is a clear separation of work and personal life. Lilly tries hard to promote family values and offer numerous opportunities for family bonding. Through their programs and family incentives, it proves the company’s loyalty to family and a personal life. Not only does Lilly promote education and training after you are hired for a position, but you have to be a highly qualified candidate to even apply for the job. Within the bureaucratic system you need a degree. Lilly offers numerous paths for employees to move up in their career. Incentives are offered for the pharmaceutical sales representatives to become the top seller. Employees are constantly moving throughout the different branches of the Lilly Company as they are offered better positions.

Eli Lilly and Company is a successful company because of how they train their employees. All of their pharmaceutical sales representatives are trained in their specialty. In organizational communication terms, this is considered the input. As they are trained, they are taking knowledge and information from their environment. Then there is throughput, which is the process of understanding the information. The employees process the information they were given, modify it and adapt it to their specific field. The final step is output, which is the distribution of the information to the world. The employees go out into the field and sell their product.

Along with their human resource department, Lilly works to create team projects in a democratic firm. With the establishment of these teams workers cooperatively engage in self-management because they feel personally invested in the company. Employees practice control over themselves.

After reading the articles, I think Eli Lilly and Company is an excellent corporation to work for because it offers their employees great benefits and they provide a pleasant environment for workers.

http://www.lilly.com/ www.lilly.com/careers