The Management of Change in the Pharmaceutical Industry - Research Paper Example

 The Management of Change in the Pharmaceutical Industry 1. Scope, aims and objectives of the project: 1.1 Background to situation of change The increase of competition in the international market has led to the change of firms’ strategic priorities. Instead of focusing on the standardization of their position, firms try to develop competitive advantage in order to strengthen their position towards their rivals. The specific phenomenon is clear in all industries. In the pharmaceutical industry similar trends appear. According to Lerer and Piper (2003, 201) ‘digital technologies have offered new opportunities to pharmaceutical firms’; it is further explained that using these technologies pharmaceutical firms have been able to cooperate more effectively with patients and physicians. Moreover, Bakeev (2010) notes that the continuous improvement of knowledge management in the pharmaceutical industry would allow the industry’s firms to become more effective in supporting patients and health care professionals. Online tools have a series of advantages, including the increased potentials of firms involved in managing knowledge. At the same time, the costs of representatives in the pharmaceutical industry are quite high; a research developed in 2007 showed that ‘in 2006 the pharmaceutical firms spent approximately $150,000 for each representative in primary care and $330,000 for each representative in specialty drug’ (Bak and Stair 2011, p.137). The use of online tools would help pharmaceutical firms to resolve a series of operational problems and to decrease the costs of representatives, a practice followed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as explained below. 1.2 Diagnosis of change The implementation of change in pharmaceutical firms is unavoidable, in the context described earlier. Pharmaceutical firms have to change their existing practices, especially the consultation provided to health care professionals and the patients. Current study would help to diagnose all aspects of change and to suggest the measures required for the success of the relevant plans. The aims of the study can be described as follows: a) to check the level at which online tools are used in the pharmaceutical industry, b) to identify the benefits and weaknesses of these tools, as reported by the industry’s firms, c) to check the effects of online tools on the operations of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., d) to identify the strategies used by the above organization for implementing change, as related to these tools, and to evaluate these strategies’ requirements, implications and risks, and e) to identify the potential long term benefits and consequences of online tools in the pharmaceutical industry. 1.3 Implementation of change Under the pressures of the rapid development of technology globally, especially in regard to the involvement of WWW in organizational activities, the pharmaceutical industry had to face the following dilemma: should its operations be transformed meeting the global trends in regard to the use of online tools in prescribing and informing customers on the drugs’ use and implications? This issue is made clear in the case of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In 2010 the firm launched Prescribe Responsibly, ‘an online system for supporting appropriate treatment of pain’ (Johnson & Johnson 2011). In August of 2011, the firm updated the specific system adding new tools and features so that the support provided to health care professionals to be increased (Johnson & Johnson 2011). This initiative has resulted because of the failures and the delays that the company had to face in regard to the support provided to the physicians for handling pain. 2. Literature review The efforts of continuous improvement of operations are often related to the appearance of Taylorism, a trend that changed the manufacturing processes in the automotive industry in USA and which, later, affected the operational strategies of many firms internationally (Jacobs and Yudken 2003, p.32). The initiatives of organizations in regard to the continuous improvement of technology involved in their activities are part of this trend. On the other hand, Khosrowpour (2000) note that organizational change cannot be successfully developed unless the interventions through which plans of change are implemented are carefully planned. From the same point of view, Bradley and McDonald (2011) note that an organization that has adopted online tools and features, such as the social networking tools, operates differently from the other firms of its industry, meaning the firms that have not adopted such practices and tools. It is assumed that organizational restructuring may be required for organizations that choose to employ online tools in their daily operations. Moreover, Kanter and Fine (2010) note that social media and other online tools result, necessarily, to organizational change, which needs to be handled carefully so that risks involved, are minimized. 3. Methods Two different research methods will be employed in this study. At a first level, case studies will be reviewed in order to check the similar practices of other organizations that operate in the pharmaceutical industry; in other words, qualitative research will be primarily used for exploring the issues discussed in this paper. The findings of the qualitative research will be critically analyzed and discussed referring also the literature published in the particular field. The qualitative research will be followed by quantitative research for the following reason: it is possible that the findings of the qualitative research, review of case studies, do not manage to address all issues involved in this study. The simultaneous use of qualitative and quantitative research would resolve this problem. The quantitative research developed for this study would be organized as follows: a questionnaire will be sent through the Internet, i.e. using the online message features, to the firm’s employees. Each question will be followed by potential answers, so that participants will be able to choose the most preferred answer. The questionnaire will be returned, completed, in about a week; the participation to the survey is not obligatory; however, employees would be informed that the survey is related to one of their firm’s key strategic choices, meaning that their view would be valuable for evaluating the benefits and the challenges of this effort, both in the short and the long term. The findings will be critically discussed, meaning that no econometric analysis will be used. Rather, the findings will be analyzed by referring to the findings of the qualitative research; graphs would be produced for showing the potential contradictions or similarities in findings. 4. Timing Mileposts Milestone Description Due date Remarks 1 Stage 1: Proposal written and submitted Week 4 day 7 Any changes on the proposal’s structure and content will be discussed with the supervisor 2 Stage 2: Collection of data and information Week 5 day 7 Efforts will be made so that this stage is completed early so that the writing of the paper to begin. 3 Stage 3: Analysis and interpretation of collected data/information Week 6 day 7 The stages 3 and 4 will be developed simultaneously and will take 2 weeks, week 6 and week 7, at the end of which the final report will be submitted 4 Stage 4: Writing up drafts & revisions Week 7 day 7 The writing of the paper will take up to the end of the week 7, when the final paper will be submitted 5 Stage 5: Final report submitted Week 7 Day 7 The final paper needs to be ready earlier as possible before the end of the week 7, so that corrections, if necessary, are made. 5. Bibliography Bak, O., Stair, N. (2011) Impact of E-Business Technologies on Public and Private Organizations: Industry Comparisons and Perspectives. Hershey: IGI Global Bakeev, K. (2010) Process Analytical Technology: Spectroscopic Tools and Implementation Strategies for the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Bradley, A., McDonald, M. (2011) The Social Organization: How to Use Social Media to Tap the Collective Genius of Your Customers and Employees. Harvard Business Press. Jacobs, D., Yudken, J. (2003) The Internet, organizational change, and labor: the challenge of virtualization. London: Routledge. Johnson & Johnson (2011) Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Launches Online Tools On PrescribeResponsibly.com. Retrieved in March 26, 2012 from http://www.jnj.com/connect/news/all/janssen-pharmaceuticals-inc-launches-online-tools-on-prescriberesponsibly-com Jue, A., Marr, J., Kassotakis, M. (2009) Social media at work: how networking tools propel organizational performance. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Kanter, B., Fine, A. (2010) The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Khosrowpour, M. (2000) Managing web-enabled technologies in organizations: a global perspective. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI) Lerer, L., Piper, M. (2003) Digital strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan. Read More