Work/Life Balance at Baxter

Baxter International may not be a household name, but if you’ve ever been in a hospital, you’ve probably seen their products. The company produces medical products that are used in IV (intravenous solutions), anesthesia, dialysis, and many blood disorders along with medical devices, biotechnology products and specialty pharmaceuticals. Employees at Baxter are justifiably proud of the lifesaving products they produce, but also take pride in the emphasis that Baxter takes in their ability to balance their careers and family responsibilities.

Work/life balance is part of the culture at Baxter. Managers and employees share responsibility in managing the daily demands of a career and family and are provided with a guidebook that encourages discussion and problem-solving strategies for work/life conflicts. They recognise that alternate work arrangements can be a way to meet employees’ needs for balance and flexibility, and that the employee should examine his/her own personal characteristics when considering a change in schedule. The company Web site includes a guide for determining if alternative work arrangements would be a good fit for the employee’s personality and career. Options like part-time work, job-sharing, compressed work week, and telecommuting are analyzed. If the employee feels that an altar- native work arrangement is appropriate, Baxter provides an online proposal kit for the employee to request a more flexible schedule.

Baxter has acquired several companies from other countries in recent years and is in the process of spreading family-friendly bene- fits such as alternative work arrangements, dependent care, counseling resources, adoption assistance, back-up/emergency child care, and lactation rooms to their non-United States subsidiaries.

The commitment to balance seems to permeate the culture all the way to the top. Harry Jansen Kraemer, a former C.E.O., attempted to balance his career and family by not accepting work- related calls after 6:00 P.M. He once refused to cancel a family camping trip after being informed that a Baxter product was implicated in several recent patient deaths. He admonished his staff to “do the right thing” in his absence.

Is this work/life balance at Baxter beneficial? That answer depends on how one defines beneficial. In spite of two major product failures since 2001, they have grown steadily to 45,000 employees in 200 facilities worldwide. Revenues, profits, and stock prices have all shown steady growth. Based on these performance measures, you could say that the emphasis on balance has been successful. In addition, by allowing employees to request alternative and flexible work arrangements such as job-sharing, compressed work- weeks, and telecommuting, Baxter has been able to attract and retain top-notch employees, who in turn have generated greater productivity for the company.

This assessment requires the student to prepare a 2500-word company case report on Work/Life Balance of an employee. Each student needs to investigate the situation of Work\Life Balance using secondary data from printed materials. The following information should be the contents of the Company Case report.

1. Overview of the Assignment and the objectives. (15 marks)

2. Critical analysis of how the issues on diversity in Baxter company affect the

organisation’s work/life balance. (15 marks)

3. Critical analysis of how Baxter company can develop a culture that support work/life balance. (15 marks)

4. Analyse critically the challenges and issues facing Baxter company regarding Work/life balance? (15 marks)

5. Critically evaluate the existed ethical considerations that may help the company to be more work/life balanced. (15 points)

6. Critically analyse how the work/life balance strategies can influence the employee retention in Baxter Company. (15 points)

7. Conclusion and Findings. (10 Marks)