Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008 - (Page 8)

Morpheus The destructive force within Pharmaceutical companies attempting to develop and bring a new product to market face many challenges and one of these is the squabbling of employees involved in internal politics. Morpheus O ne of the most annoying realities of working in the pharmaceutical industry (although it exists elsewhere) is office politics. In a highly advanced, technological environment, isn’t it strange how people can still behave in a petty, underhanded manner with others? The larger the organization the worse the internal politics can be, with some people even having a blanket opinion about other departments because of their dislike for a particular person working there. There are elements of certain people’s behaviour that are reminiscent of being in gangs at school, with people resorting to gossip, rumours and general misinformation to achieve their end result. Those involved in internal politics destroy any harmony within the company because of a misguided sense of what they want for themselves in the organization. Rather than believing that by the company benefiting as a whole they will also benefit, they only see opportunities where they will be singled out for praise and attention. They then seek to create these situations at the expense of others and, unfortunately, they will often find willing allies to help them. Frequently, the identity of the worst offenders is often known, but very little action is taken. Age-old rivalry In a pharmaceutical organization, a rivalry frequently exists between those in R&D and those on the commercial side. R&D often believe they are the soul of the organization because they come up with the ideas that become products, whereas commercial departments believe they are more important as they are the ones that transform academic ideas from R&D into products that sell and bring revenue into the company. Internal politics between these two arms of the company has the capacity to kill a project and scupper a product launch. The fact that those on the commercial side are often commission-based usually 8 JULY 2008 PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGIST Stockbyte/Getty Images

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008

Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008 Contents Industry Highlights Morpheus Market Watch Overcoming the Barriers The Tide of Change Eight Steps to Improved Water Efficiency Q&A

Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008

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