Personal Branding Paper

Personal Branding Paper

Vickie Young Malone

University of Phoenix

MKT/421 Marketing

Instruction- Nicholas Sherwin 

July 1, 2015

Introduction

I currently work as a Commodity Buyer for Smith & Nephew, Inc., which is one of the top six orthopedic companies in the United States.  I can truly say I work for a company and have a position that I absolutely love.  My entire professional career has been with one company, and I’m entering into my thirty year with the organization.  I started out as a temporary employee at the tender age of seventeen (straight out of high school) and was able to secure myself a full-time position in the organization by accepting an entry-level job in the housekeeping area.  During my stay at Smith & Nephew, I have worked in many different areas of the business, all of which prepared me for my present position as a negotiator in our Procurement department.  My current role has been instrumental in building the type of skill set that has allowed me to establish strong connections within the organization as well as develop a networking system outside the organization which has directly and indirectly allowed me to make connections and build lasting, favorable relationships with people and businesses within my field.

When thinking about other organizations I would like to be a part of this is somewhat difficult for me one because I have no desire to leave  my current role or company, and two at forty eight I cannot imagine starting over unless I was put in a position (company downsizing) where I did not have a choice.  If I had to make this choice the top three contenders would be Johnson & Johnson, Stryker Corporation, and Wight Medical Group.

Johnson & Johnson

The orthopedic market is saturated with impressive organization that could be possible candidates that would be a perfect match for my ability and or quality.  One such company would be Johnson & Johnson.  Currently, J&J dominates the orthopedics market.  The thing that makes this organization so attractive is that they have a clearly outlined innovation business model.   Unlike other companies in their individual market, the J&J business model has a footprint in other areas outside of medical devices.  J&J has a presence in consumer healthcare and pharmaceutical.  The company has approximately 250 companies in 60 countries, which make growth opportunities endless within the organization.  (Johnson & Jonson, 2015) Another attractive feature for the J&J organization is that they were recently voted as the happiest companies to work for in America by CareerBliss which honors organizations that are devoted to building great work environment for their employees. (Brooks, 2014)

Stryker Corporation

The second company that would be appealing is Stryker Corporation.  Stryker is a fortune 500 medical technologies organization based out of Michigan, which specializes in joint replacement and trauma surgery.  The Stryker company will be introducing new technology (MAKO system) which is a robotic arm used in orthopedic surgery.  This modern technology could be the driving force that thrust Stryker into leading position in the orthopedic market.  My knowledge of the medical device field could be an asset to the company and would also help me advance my career.

Wright Medical Company

The elements that makes Wright Medical so appealing to me is that they are underdogs in their industry, they have had many marketing disasters; the company is familiar, and they are in my hometown. Wright Medical was started by a former Smith & Nephew Inc. employee who is my current employer. Therefore, the business model of the company is a spin-off of the current business structure I’m under; thus, I understand the company’s vision.  The Director of the Procurement department at Wright Medical is my former boss, and he has continued to recruit my services.  Expert in the industry does not give Wright Medical any chance at becoming leaders in this industry, and I think it’s a big mistake.  Wright Medical has become the leader of surgical solutions for the foot and ankle market, and continues to gain market shares.  I think my expertise in the procurement department, and my networking connection of indirect and direct medical suppliers would be a tremendous asset to the company simply because most of their marketing calamities have been a direct result of their supplier base.  Being a part of the company’s comeback in the medical device industry would offer a big boost to my professional career, and it’s for this reason I would love being a part of their team.