Alcon must learn from such innovative stands, and incorporate these ideas into its own medical offerings in its surgical, pharmaceutical, and vision care products. By bringing the R&D components of all satellite organizations into one entity, it will be able to make use of some of the innovative thinking present at CIBA. However, it must be careful to ensure that this is genuinely a learning effort, and ensure that Alcon does not stifle the values that made CIBA so strong since its founding in the 1980s.

Problem #3: Mix insider insight with outside observation

Generating synergy also requires homogeneous 'tracking' tools to ensure that the different components of the newly merged entity are being judged by the same standards. Currently, management of the company is unified at its regional and national levels, although sales and marketing departments are segmented based upon the specific designation (CIBA or Alcon) of different departments (Chavers & Mota 2010). Some clear benefits can be derived from this structure, given that sales and...

But balancing the need to keep track of overall metrics may be challenging, unless management of all financial data is consolidated under Alcon, to ensure a consistent approach of the company towards costs even while preserving regional integrity of sales and marketing campaigns.