Executive summary With the advent of innovative technologies and recent shifts in the consumers’ culture, more and more companies realize the importance of effective operations management. Due to the present day realities of intense competition in the pharmaceutical arena, the leading companies cannot afford to put emphasis on only one aspect of quality improvement. Underestimating the significance of any of the company’s many sectors may result in decrease in the company’s revenues and lack of customers’ trust in the brand. Taylor (1998) noted that in the case of private-sector companies, the mission of the operations function is usually expressed in terms of profits, growth and competitiveness; in public and voluntary organisations, it is often expressed in terms of providing value for money (p. 74). The mission of pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. requires their commitment to public health. The strategies of quality improvement and increasing benefits are inseparable and interrelated. In fact, Merck always emphasizes a quote from its founder, George Merck: “We try never to forget that medicine is for people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear”. With the aim of meeting the growing demands of present day pharmaceutical market, the companies should couple the R&D effort with strategically savvy marketing to develop and market products. Effective operations management requires integrative approach to development of various sectors of a firm. This paper discusses the comparative analysis of operations management strategies of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc., critical evaluation of their effectiveness, and recommendations for improving their operations focus. Introduction Effective operations management is important for the success of any organization. Operations management in the pharmaceutical sector focuses on carefully managing the processes to develop and market products and services. A great deal of focus is on efficiency and effectiveness of processes. At the present moment the issue of operations management is more topical than ever being at the center of all business modifications and Enterprise Resource Planning. Due to the recent shift in customer preference and advent of innovative technologies, the prompt response to these changes and continual improvement of quality became the primary goal of operations managers. The questions about quality are central to all stages of operations management. Slack et al (2010) noted that “it is they [operations managers] who must find the solutions to technological and environmental challenges, the pressures to be socially responsible, the increasing globalization of markets and the difficult-to-define areas of knowledge management” (p. 8). The main principles of Total Quality Management, such as customer satisfaction, employees’ involvement and continuous quality improvement, are areas of focus at these companies. Operations management is therefore critical to organizational success for these companies. There are various stages of operations management starting from the conception / designing of a product until it’s delivery to the market. Within the birth stage, where a product is conceptualized, most innovations take place. The second phase is that of growth.