Gill Markham is the managing director of Lifestyle plc, an international business with interests in several major areas of the world. The company has its headquarters in Lancaster in the North West of England, with regional offices at Ashford in Kent, Bristol and Norwich. She heads a board of directors that includes a finance director, marketing and sales director, production manager, human resources manager and a research and development director.

Each of these directors has a responsibility for a team of people based in the four key regions the company operates in - Europe, The Americas, The Middle East and Asia. Each of these teams in turn has a structure that encompasses finance managers, sales and marketing managers, human resources and production managers. The span of control for each of the management functions currently averages 1:20 and the chain of command has clearly defined roles for each member of the team concerned.

Image: One of Lifestyle plc's products are 'over the counter' medicines. Copyright: Julie Elliott

The company has three main strategic objectives. These are:

1. Increasing sales growth in all key regions
2. Improving profit margins on its key brands
3. Expanding the product portfolio

The products the company produce and sell are varied: it has a number of so-called 'over the counter' medicines for treating indigestion, constipation, heartburn and sinus congestion. The company also manufactures a range of skin care products based on various animal and vegetable oils, produced in a factory located in Wales. In addition, the company has a growing market share in the production of surgical instruments - clamps, scalpels, scissors, needles, forceps and so on, which it manufactures from a site in Pakistan.

The company feels there are possibilities to expand into newer areas of its related market, particularly in micro-surgery, but it is also looking to make an entry into the DIY tools market using its technical knowledge of tool making.

Gill Markham has had to pull the company up by the boot strings - it had faced a number of years of decline, as it relied on products that had started to enter the decline stage. The staff, of which there are 2,000, have an age profile where 45% of staff are 40 years and older, many of whom have been with the company for a number of years.

Because of this, promotion within the company is difficult and there have been signs of frustration, particularly amongst younger members of the company. The changes brought in by Gill, the difficulties of reacting to the changing market place, the different cultural requirements they need to be sensitive to and the increasing competition in many of their markets by non-branded supermarket own labels has further contributed to the feeling of unrest.