Pharmaceutical Technologist - July 2008 - (Page 9)

Internal politics intensifies the politics as those in R&D may feel they are unrewarded for their work. It is crucial for those in senior management positions to look out for such rivalries and attempt to defuse disagreements before they get out of hand. In some cases, pharmaceutical companies turn to outsourcing because they know they can get the job done more efficiently than by expecting collaboration between individuals in certain departments. has the ability to identify this sort of underhanded tactic. In addition, general diplomacy around the workplace can defuse potentially troublesome situations before internal politics can arise. Keeping watch You may believe that the impact of internal politics has been overemphasized here, but a number of pharmaceutical companies are looking into these issues through the careful use of external consultants. Productivity has been dropping for a number of years and companies have found themselves being labelled as ‘lacking innovation’. One concern is that internal politics is interfering in the process of innovation as key decision points for drug development, as much as the decision-making for whether or not a compound will go forward, depend on the opinion of key individuals within the organization. Those seeking to reduce the impact of internal politics and rivalries believe that playing down personal attachment to views can benefit how these decisions are achieved. In many cases, more automated processes have been introduced to provide additional criteria so that decisions are not solely based on personal opinions. look at whether individuals involved are cooperating as effectively as they should be. Too often, troublesome individuals are allowed to disrupt processes by placing their own priorities before those of the project. Furthermore, those responsible at these stages should be called to account if a project is disrupted with no legitimate reason. Surviving As much as we may hate it, internal politics is here to stay and will exist in every organization. The problem is to decide how much it hinders our jobs and to what degree we can tolerate it without it affecting our positions. Those involved in internal politics are manipulators of situations and will look for opportunities to create misunderstandings between us and others. Before you get to work in any organization, look out for these types of individuals. There is no guaranteed protection against internal politics, and at some point you will cross the radars of these types of manipulators, but what can help is appearing to be an uninteresting target, in which case they will move on to someone else. Another way to improve your survival prospects is to ensure that you have face-to-face contact, or at least telephone contact, with a variety of people in your organization so that no one can undermine you through ‘misunderstandings’ by email; for example, an easy trick to undermine someone is by not copying them in on important email correspondence. However, personal verbal contact Productivity has been dropping for a number of years One concern is that internal politics is interfering in the process of innovation It is worth pointing out that differences in opinion should be expected within an organization and not be mistaken for internal politics. For example, the viewpoints of regulatory or legal affairs and quality assurance departments can often be misinterpreted as a personal attack on another department’s work, but this is not necessarily the case. The pharmaceutical industry is under great scrutiny and the consequences of not following regulations and guidelines can be severe. Therefore, viewpoints of regulatory or legal affairs and quality assurance departments, although often harsh, should be viewed from the point of protecting the company from accusations of not following regulations. Management’s role Much depends on senior management to ensure that internal politics do not hamper project progress. If there are bottlenecks in the R&D or commercial processes of a company then a reason should be sought. If there are no technical reasons as to why processes are slowing in this area of the company, senior managers would be wise to Spirit of innovation Drug development is a complex process and success requires cooperation between individuals with different sets of skills across the company. If these individuals are committed to their company’s success then it is in their interest to collaborate with each other and put personal differences aside. For those managing pharmaceutical companies, particular attention should be focused on improving communication between departments to avoid situations that might give rise to or exacerbate internal politics. Only in this way can a spirit of innovation be fostered and retained, and new talent attracted to the company. PT Practical tips ● ● ● ● Appear to be an uninteresting target — the manipulators will move on to someone else. Ensure you have face-to-face, or at least telephone, contact with a variety of people in your organization. Senior management should look out for rivalries between departments and attempt to defuse disagreements before they get out of hand. Differences of opinion should be expected within an organization and should not be mistaken for internal politics. www.ptemagazine.com 9 http://www.ptemagazine.com

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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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