CTL's are the backbone of Merck

[Anonymous]

They steer the ship.

They coach the troops.

They provide wisdom and astute observations.

We need more of them, maybe one per rep.

They provide daily insights with conference calls.

Might they really be giant squids? I get that most are just trying to salvage their jobs however, there are the few that believe the crap they spew. The complete douche bags that utter nonsense in a futile attempt to make themselves important. What other industry employs a band of managers at 150K annually to babysit its tenured sales force in a ratio of 7:1.

If merck decided to reduce the CTL head by 50% they would save millions and it would have zero impact on sales. Most all systems are automated today and the sales force has a average tenure of over 14 years.

Let's turn our attention next to Merck's marketing department. They wisdom they have displayed over the last few years is mind boggling. The launch of Juvisync, Liptruzet, Dulera blunders and using regular metformin instead of XR to launch it------just to name a few. I guess Merck considers these highly compensated folks real talent that they must hang on to.

 

[Anonymous]

I completely agree. The CTL position has long outlived it's usefulness and there are just too many of them out there. I do think some are solid...but 75% of them stink. I say we cut the dead weight. Consolidate the teams to report to a one up CTL in each modest sized city and perhaps split the large cities such as LA and NY into a scenario that makes sense based on sheer size of geography and population and # of institutions. This should still yield a 50% cut and would save the company a lot of money.

With that being said there are still too many reps - especially on the pill side. We could easily get rid of 30-40% of reps and still run like a top.

Maybe this won't matter since the entire sales force will be employed by inventive anyway?

 

[Anonymous]

They steer the ship.

They coach the troops.

They provide wisdom and astute observations.

We need more of them, maybe one per rep.

They provide daily insights with conference calls.

Might they really be giant squids? I get that most are just trying to salvage their jobs however, there are the few that believe the crap they spew. The complete douche bags that utter nonsense in a futile attempt to make themselves important. What other industry employs a band of managers at 150K annually to babysit its tenured sales force in a ratio of 7:1.

If merck decided to reduce the CTL head by 50% they would save millions and it would have zero impact on sales. Most all systems are automated today and the sales force has a average tenure of over 14 years.

Let's turn our attention next to Merck's marketing department. They wisdom they have displayed over the last few years is mind boggling. The launch of Juvisync, Liptruzet, Dulera blunders and using regular metformin instead of XR to launch it------just to name a few. I guess Merck considers these highly compensated folks real talent that they must hang on to.

It will never happen…It should happen but it won't…not by 50% or any other number….In a sane rational industry, there would be very few CTLs…but in the bizarre, corrupt world of Big Pharma, for some reason which I will never understand, the senior executives wish to bestow ridiculously compensated work for life to this band of cretins…

The only thing I can figure, (once again, trying to think rationally) is that the execs, like the cover the CTLs provide, and they need these "useful" idiots to harass and push out reps to skirt the laws…

it is just a travesty that these people are still employed in such a ridiculous and un-needed job...

 

[Anonymous]

.....The only thing I can figure, (once again, trying to think rationally) is that the execs, like the cover the CTLs provide, and they need these "useful" idiots to harass and push out reps to skirt the laws…

it is just a travesty that these people are still employed in such a ridiculous and un-needed job...

First of all, you are totally correct, and have captured the essense of the "Why". The CTLs are the "muscle" for the Executives. Their main reason for existing and for surviving the multiple rounds of layoffs is intimidation and enforcement of Merck's "culture" on behalf of the EC. Actually, "culture" is sort of an oxymoron. It's more like "un-culture". They are there to provide the PIPs and liquidation of those deemed expendable. This perpetuates the farce of "profitability" through successive rounds of cost-cutting...Wall Street will keep getting duped...UNTIL we get to that rapidly approaching tipping point where there is literally nothing else left to cut.

Secondly, this applies to all of Merck's Middle Management, not just CTLs. Today's Merck (and the Merck of the past 7-8 years) is essentially a Corporate version of the Cosa Nostra. KF and BOD are the Godfathers, senior management are the Capos, and CTLs (or the equivalent middle manangers in MRL and MMD) are the Soldiers. This mafia scheme will continue until such time that the size of Merck's labor force is shrunk to the bare minimum that the Executive leadership sees fit. At that point, the Capos and the Soldiers will also become expendable. Once there is nothing left to cut, the skeletal remnants will be sold off piece-meal. The Executives will have sold off their remaining shares long before that point, and will make a clean getaway before the stock collapses. They always do. Whoever cannot see the above scheme in the making is willfully blind and ignorant.

 

[Anonymous]

Merck is a inept jellyfish so I guess CTLs are the backbone

 

[Anonymous]

CTLs exist today for the sole purpose of making reps want to leave Merck. Period.

 

[Anonymous]

First of all, you are totally correct, and have captured the essense of the "Why". The CTLs are the "muscle" for the Executives. Their main reason for existing and for surviving the multiple rounds of layoffs is intimidation and enforcement of Merck's "culture" on behalf of the EC. Actually, "culture" is sort of an oxymoron. It's more like "un-culture". They are there to provide the PIPs and liquidation of those deemed expendable. This perpetuates the farce of "profitability" through successive rounds of cost-cutting...Wall Street will keep getting duped...UNTIL we get to that rapidly approaching tipping point where there is literally nothing else left to cut.

Secondly, this applies to all of Merck's Middle Management, not just CTLs. Today's Merck (and the Merck of the past 7-8 years) is essentially a Corporate version of the Cosa Nostra. KF and BOD are the Godfathers, senior management are the Capos, and CTLs (or the equivalent middle manangers in MRL and MMD) are the Soldiers. This mafia scheme will continue until such time that the size of Merck's labor force is shrunk to the bare minimum that the Executive leadership sees fit. At that point, the Capos and the Soldiers will also become expendable. Once there is nothing left to cut, the skeletal remnants will be sold off piece-meal. The Executives will have sold off their remaining shares long before that point, and will make a clean getaway before the stock collapses. They always do. Whoever cannot see the above scheme in the making is willfully blind and ignorant.

good posting and very true…if you search CP you will find other posts that refer to the present day Merck as basically an organized crime family.

 

[Anonymous]

More like the part below the backbone!

 

[Anonymous]

It will never happen…It should happen but it won't…not by 50% or any other number….In a sane rational industry, there would be very few CTLs…but in the bizarre, corrupt world of Big Pharma, for some reason which I will never understand, the senior executives wish to bestow ridiculously compensated work for life to this band of cretins…

The only thing I can figure, (once again, trying to think rationally) is that the execs, like the cover the CTLs provide, and they need these "useful" idiots to harass and push out reps to skirt the laws…

it is just a travesty that these people are still employed in such a ridiculous and un-needed job...

If we didn't have the CTLs we would believe the marketing materials are valuable and use them. We need them to coach us how to speak off label without getting caught. We need them to teach us how to violate the expenses policy by covering for another rep. We need them to show us how to point to sections for reprints that in not in our PI without getting noticed. We need the to show us how to get around the rules because if we don't we will get a poor performance evaluation and lose part of our bonus or end up in the group that gets cut.

 

[Anonymous]

First of all, you are totally correct, and have captured the essense of the "Why". The CTLs are the "muscle" for the Executives. Their main reason for existing and for surviving the multiple rounds of layoffs is intimidation and enforcement of Merck's "culture" on behalf of the EC. Actually, "culture" is sort of an oxymoron. It's more like "un-culture". They are there to provide the PIPs and liquidation of those deemed expendable. This perpetuates the farce of "profitability" through successive rounds of cost-cutting...Wall Street will keep getting duped...UNTIL we get to that rapidly approaching tipping point where there is literally nothing else left to cut.

Secondly, this applies to all of Merck's Middle Management, not just CTLs. Today's Merck (and the Merck of the past 7-8 years) is essentially a Corporate version of the Cosa Nostra. KF and BOD are the Godfathers, senior management are the Capos, and CTLs (or the equivalent middle manangers in MRL and MMD) are the Soldiers. This mafia scheme will continue until such time that the size of Merck's labor force is shrunk to the bare minimum that the Executive leadership sees fit. At that point, the Capos and the Soldiers will also become expendable. Once there is nothing left to cut, the skeletal remnants will be sold off piece-meal. The Executives will have sold off their remaining shares long before that point, and will make a clean getaway before the stock collapses. They always do. Whoever cannot see the above scheme in the making is willfully blind and ignorant.

Wall St always applauds cuts (especially laying offs), but you're right, sooner or later there will be nothing/nobody left to cut. Then what would would there be for Wall St to applaud? It certainly wouldn't be the growth of the business (which is a good thing) because the business cant be growing if reasons to drastically cut costs still exist.

The scenario you described is very plausible, it's already happened elsewhere. IBM is a classic example of it.