A
PROJECT REPORT ON
“Comparative Study Of Knowledge Management
Practices And Knowledge Sharing Culture In The
Pharma Industry.”
A
PROJECT REPORT ON
“Comparative Study Of Knowledge Management Practices
And Knowledge Sharing Culture In The Pharma Industry.”
In partial fulfillment of MBA course
Submitted by:
DWIJA M. OZA (MBA-HR, 2005-07 Batch)
Submitted to:
DR.EKTA SHARMA
AES POST GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
2
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms. Dwija Oza, student of AES Post Graduate Institute
of Business Management, Gujarat University Batch 2005-07 has
pleted her Grand Project titled “Comparative study of successfully com
knowledge management practices & knowledge sharing culture in
Pharmaceutic rma for the
partial fulfillment of the M.B.A. Part II.
---------------------------- ----------------------------
Director Project guide
Dr. A. H. Karlo Dr. Ekta Sharma
Date:
Place:
als Industry” under the guidance of Dr. Ekta Sha
3
Acknowledgement
his project work is a combined and shared contribution of all who directly or indirectly
pported me in the research work and I sincerely thank them all for their contribution
and support.
First of all I am highly obliged to Dr. Ekta Sharma who guided me for the project and
deria-Torrent Pharma Ltd;
nd MR.Rishikesh Rawal (GM-HR,Plant), Mr. M.S.Oza (sr.GM-HR) – Zydus cadila
healthcare ltd. for providing me the information and corporate support throughout the
roject.
k all thank all the respondents for giving
would also like to thank Mr. Hitanshu Vora and Mrs. Sangeeta at AESPGIBM for their
onstant support.
T
su
helped to put the things in right perspective.
My sincere thanks go to Mr. Jayesh Brahmbhat(AGM-HR) and Ms Vidya Bhupat -Intas
Pharma ltd, Mr. Anuj Shah- Astron Reaserch center;
Mr.Ramchandran(AGM-HR) and Ms. Miti Ran
A
p
I would also like to than me their valuable time
to respond the questionnaire.
I
c
4
Executive summary
owledge practices at different Pharma companies and assess the knowledge
sharing culture within. The study signifies the lack of formal KM practices
te the prospective success for such formal
system and strategy by building the base ground.
y.
ring culture is
sharing is significantly higher than the R&D however the case is reverse with
cororate.
knowledge sharing culture for the future.
Where the knowledge being the most important source of competitive
advantage for the Pharma industry, the study is conducted to identify the
kn
and the supportive systems. However the presence of knowledge sharing
culture at significant level indica
The study was basically conducted at 3 pharma companies and 135 employees
from different strata were included for stud
The study also check the hypothesis that is the knowledge sha
stronger at R&D center than corporate and plant in general. And the test very
well reject the hypothesis against the plant that means at plant the knowledge
The recommendations are also presented in the report as to how companies
can build upon the
5
Preface
“Kn
factor in pr
In the eco
Tangible a
intangible
Kno
owledge is being applied to knowledge itself. It is now fast becoming the one
oduction, sidelines both capital and labor.”--PETER DRUCKER.
nomic literature the assets are of two types: tangible and intangible assets.
ssets are those, which are visible and have the material existence. And the
asset is the “knowledge”.
wledge is the awareness, consciousness or familiarity gained through
experience
Kno
, exposure or learning.
wledge management is the process of capturing, organizing, restoring and
sharing the
KM
generates
resources. KM can be best understood in terms of a discipline rather than just an IT
solution. A on
is importa ndent on several
factors like the motivation of employees, company culture, top management support,
reward of knowledge sharing etc. therefore the factors motivating a successful KSC along
with technology should be given equal priority and thrust while outlining the strategies
for installing and implementing a successful and sustainable KM in a corporate structure.
Successful KM in any firm is means rather than just ends to increase its performance in
highly competitive business world compared to its competitors.
To conclude, firms based on the successful KM through sound knowledge sharing
culture can easily benefits of higher revenue growth, competitive advantage, marketing
advantage, employee development etc., in contrast to the firms having a sound KSC in
the present era of globalization and liberalization.
knowledge or information.
is a process, a movement, or a strategy through which the organization
the value from their intellectual property and knowledge of its human
nd hence creating a knowledge sharing culture (KSC) across the organizati
nt. The successful implementation of KM is highly depe
6
List Of content
Sr.No.
Particulars Page
N
o.
10
2 Introduction To Knowledge Management Principles 13 6
tion Cycle 18 9
es In The Two Variables 20 7 Drivers Of KM 22 8 KM Enablers 23
7
2
5
38
2 Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 39
Chapter-1
Introduction To Knowledge Management
9
1 Introduction
3 Knowledge V/S Information 1 4 The Informa 5 Approaches To KM 1 6 Knowledge Com
9 An Overview Of KM Process 24
10
Knowledge Creating Process
2
Chapter-2
About Pharma Industry
31
1 Indian Pharma Industry 3 2 Post 2005 Scenario 32
3
Significance Of KM In Pharma Industry
3
Chapter-3
Company Profile
37
1 Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
3
Zydus-Cadila Healthcare Ltd.
40
7
hapter-4 Research Methodology
41
Objective Of The Study Sources Of Data 43
43
Chap er-5
arma
s Cadila
ng
Chap er-6
eneral Observation 70
Chap er-7
Limitations Of The Study
Bibliography Ann xure
C
42 1 2
3 Methodology
t D
ata Analysis
46
1 General Comparison Of KSC 47 2 KCS Profile Of Intas Ph 57 3 KCS Profile Of Zydu 60 4 KCS Profile Of Torrent Pharma 64
5
Hypothesis Testi
67
t Recommendations
69
1 G
2 Recommendations
71
t C
onclusion
74
78
79
e 80
8
1. Introduction
anage what it knows. During the 1990s, a number of
siness principles gained attention as efforts "critical to your organization's success."
wever, unlike other opportunities for a competitive advantage, knowledge
management became a mode of operations for leading organizations. Now, more than 80
percent of major corporations have explicit knowledge management initiatives, and
global organizations now ha f practice. The Journal of
International Marketing estimated that spending on knowledge management was
approximately $1
Through capturing lessons learned, reusing designs, transferring best practices, and
enablin me a
widely atic
process of connecting people to people and people to the knowledge and information they
need to act effectively and create new knowledge.
We commonly see on executives' agendas the desire to increase responsiveness to
customers, identify cost redundancies, improve new product/service development,
improve the quality and productivity of work, and make better decisions. A response to
these challenges will require use of an organization's best knowledge assets by a whole
organization. That systematic capture, transfer, and use of internal and external know-
how is a vital part of any business strategy.
• With no common processes for sharing information among employees, partners,
and customers, limited information exchange will occur among suppliers and the
engineering, manufacturing, and service functions. Consequently, the organi-
zation will experience ineffective design reuse, and product launch mistakes will
be repeated.
No business can ignore the need to m
bu
Ho
ve hundreds of communities o
2 billion USD in 2003.
g collaboration and access to expertise, knowledge management has beco
adopted business practice and imperative. Knowledge management is a system
10
• If there is no company standard expertise locator or people finder, then the
inability to locate subject matter experts will result in lost opportunities, lost time,
past experiences and lessons learned, yet their
time-to-competence needs to be compressed.
owledge management. People want
information they can use and trust from a single point of access. Also, an often-
d acquired. Knowledge management can set
the framework for how learning fits into the overall picture of developing
Des
ena
and being incapable of applying the right resources to significant problems. And
with too many different systems, proposals, and pricing sheets, sales
representatives cannot have access to information they need when they need it.
This can prolong the sales cycle and lead to less-than-best sales solutions offered
to the client.
• With retirement and turnover, knowledge is walking out the door everyday. New
hires do not have the benefit of
• Mergers and acquisitions result in two bodies of knowledge and expertise and two
cultures that must assimilate quickly.
• Portals and e-business are drivers of kn
neglected point is that customers want access to your knowledge and to their
business transactions with you.
• Another driving factor is e-learning. Firms now must know where and how
knowledge is really being created an
employees and making them productive.
pite these pressing needs, knowledge is sticky. Without a systematic process and
blers, it will not move.
11
A knowledge management initiative enhances the performance. of the organization
people. The goal is not to share knowledge for its own sake, although that is a
e byproduct of the process. The goal is to enhance organizational performance by
ly designing and implementing tools, processes, systems, structures, and cultures
rove the identification, capture, validation, and transfer knowledge critical for
n-making.
and its
valuabl
explicit
to imp
decisio
12
2. Introduction to knowledge management principles
Knowledge management requires managers to work with complex and evolving
issues, but there are some enduring characteristics and principles of KM that are
important to know.
What is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge management is Capturing, organizing, and storing knowledge and
experiences of individual workers and groups within an organization and making this
information available to others in the organization.
KM is the distribution, access and retrieval of unstructured information about "human
experiences" between interdependent individuals or among members of a workgroup.
Knowledge management involves identifying a group of people who have a need to share
knowledge, developing technological support that enables knowledge sharing, and
creating a process for transferring and disseminating knowledge.
A widely accepted 'working definition' of knowledge management applied in
worldwide organizations is available from the:
"Knowledge Management caters to the critical issues of organizational adaptation,
survival, and competence in face of increasingly discontinuous environmental
change.... Essentially, it embodies organizational processes that seek synergistic
combination of data and information processing capacity of information
technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings."
In simpler terms, Knowledge Management seeks to make the best use of the knowledge
that is available to an organization, creating new knowledge in the process.
13
It and, and is helpful to make a clear distinction between knowledge on the one h
inf ation and data on the other. orm
Information can be considered as a message. It typically has a sender and a receiver.
Information is the sort of stuff that can, at least potentially, be saved onto a computer.
Data is a type of information that is structured, but has not been interpreted.
Knowledge that has a use or purpose. Whereas
info ledge exists in the heads of people.
Kno
It is
might be described as information
rmation can be placed onto a computer, know
wledge is information to which an intent has been attached.
Context Independence
Understanding
e
Wisdom
Data
• Dat
importa
trig
pro
Information
a
nt not to confu
can be facts
ger innovation
vides no sustain
Knowledg
Understanding
se the t
and fig
or im
able ba
Understanding
erms data, inf
ures present
prove efficie
sis for action
14
Understanding
ormation, and knowledge.
ed out of context. Although data can
ncy, it lacks inherent meaning and
.
• Information, on the other hand, is data presented in context so people might
make use of it. Information sources may include: patents, trademarks,
processes, manuals, drawings, reports, research, transaction data, and market
research.
• Knowledge as "information combined with experience, context,
interpretation, and reflection."- Thomas Davenport.
It is information in action that people can make use of, along with the rules
ext of its use. Valuable knowledge is embedded in language, stories,
, and tools.
Sources of knowledge can include your customers, products, and processes; rules of
thumb; skills and experiences; know-how; and pinpointing "how things work around
here."
3.
and cont
concepts, rules
15
Knowledge v/s Information
ge of Kno
The challen wledge Management is to determine what information within an
rganization qualifies as "valuable." All information is not knowledge, and all knowledge
is not valuable. The key is to find the worthwhile knowledge within a vast sea of
informa n
a) Knowledge Management is about people.
It is directl
and or
motivations. It is not a technology-based concept. Although technology can support a
Knowledge Management effort, it shouldn’t begin there.
It is inextricably tied to the strategic objectives of the organization. It uses only the
info tion that is the most meaningful, practical, and purposeful.
c) Knowledge Management is ever changing.
There is no such thing as an immutable law in Knowledge Management. Knowledge is
constantly tested, updated, revised, and sometimes even "obsolete" when it is no longer
practicable. It is a fluid, ongoing process.
d) Knowledge Management is value-added.
It draws upon pooled expertise, relationships, and alliances. Organizations can further the
two-way exchange of ideas by bringing in experts from the field to advice or educate
managers on recent trends and developments. Forums, councils, and boards can be
instrumental in creating common ground and organizational cohesiveness.
o
tio .
y linked to what people know, and how what they know can support business
ganizational objectives. It draws on human competency, intuition, ideas, and
b) Knowledge Management is orderly and goal-directed.
rma
16
e) Knowledge Management is visionary.
f) Knowledge Management is complementary.
It can be i uch as Total Quality
This vision is expressed in strategic business terms rather than technical terms, and in a
manner that generates enthusiasm, buy-in, and motivates managers to work together
towards reaching common goals.
ntegrated with other organizational learning initiatives s
Management (TQM). It is important for knowledge managers to show interim successes
along with progress made on more protracted efforts such as multiyear systems
developments infrastructure, or enterprise architecture projects.
17
5. Approaches to Knowledge Management
There is a broad range of thought on Knowledge Management with no unanimous
def ition currently or likely. The approaches vary by author and school. For example, in
Knowledge Management may be viewed from each of the following perspectives:
• Techno-centric: Focus on technologies, ideally those that enhance knowledge
sharing/growth, frequently any technology that does fancy stuff with information.
• Organizational: How does the organization need to be designed to facilitate
knowledge processes? Which organizations work best with what processes?
• Ecological: Seeing the interaction of people, identity, knowledge and
environmental factors as a co e system. mplex adaptiv
• Combinatory: Combining more than one of the above approaches where possible
without contradiction.
19
6. Knowledge comes in two basic varieties
• Explicit- formal/codified:
Explicit knowledge is easier to document and share, contributes to
efficiency, and easier to replicate. It comes in the form of books and
among the former are assets such as patents, trademarks, business plans,
marketing research and customer lists. As a general rule of thumb, explicit
seful
without the context provided by experience. Only 20 percent of what an
organization contains is explicit.
documents, formulas, project reports, contracts, process diagrams, lists of
lessons learned, case studies, white papers, policy manuals, etc. Included
knowledge consists of anything that can be documented, archived and
codified, often with the help of IT.. Explicit knowledge may not be u
• Tacit- informal/ un-codified:
That means that 80 percent of what an organization knows is tacit in that it
h interactions with employees and customers and through
the memories of past vendors. Management of tacit knowledge calls for
different processes from explicit knowledge management. This knowledge
is hard to catalog, highly experiential, difficult to communicate and
document in detail, ephemeral, and transitory. It is also the basis for
judgment and informed action. Tacit knowledge leads to competency and
a higher competitive advantage. Firms concerned about knowledge loss
fear that tacit knowledge has not been captured (made explicit) or
transferred so that others may benefit from it.
is harder to articulate, steal, and transfer. Tacit/Un-codified knowledge can
be found throug
20
Established organizations are typically swimming in enormous amounts of tacit and
explicit knowledge, only some of which is valuable and durable enough to offer future
competitive ad
is to determine
transferred. Th
tacit kn
vantage and justify the costs of retaining and transferring it. The challenge
exactly what and where that knowledge is and how it can be captured and
e approaches for explicit knowledge may be more mechanical; those for
owledge are more difficult to identify.
21
7. Drivers of knowledge management
There are a number of 'drivers', or motivations, leading organizations to undertaking a
knowledge management program.
Perhaps first among these is to gain the competitive advantage that comes with
improved or faster learning and new knowledge creation. Knowledge management
programs may lead to greater innovation, better customer experiences, consistency in
good practices and knowledge access across a global organization, as well as many other
benefits, and knowledge management programs may be driven with these goals in mind.
Considerations driving a knowledge management program might include:
• making available increased knowledge content in the development and provision
of products and services
• achieving shorter new product development cycles
• facilitating and managing organizational innovation
• leverage the expertise of people across the organization
• benefiting from 'network effects' as the number of productive connections
between employees in the organization increases and the quality of information
shared increases
• managing the proliferation of data and information in complex business
environments and allowing employees to rapidly access useful and relevant
knowledge resources and best practice guidelines
• facilitate organizational learning
• managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the
expertise and know-how possessed by key individuals) as individuals retire and
new workers are hired
22
8. Knowledge management enablers
A. Technology:
Historically, there have been a number of technologies 'enabling' or facilitating
knowledge management practices in the organization, including expert systems,
knowledge bases, various types of Information Management, software help desk tools,
document management systems and other IT systems supporting organizational
knowledge flows.
The advent of the Internet brought with it further enabling technologies, including e-
learning, web conferencing, collaborative software, content management systems,
corp rao te 'Yellow pages' directories, email lists, blogs, and other technologies. Each
enabling technology can expand the level of inquiry available to an employee, while
prov dii ng a platform to achieve specific goals or actions.
B. Knowledge sharing culture:
C uult re is a term that comprises of a set of rules, values, attitudes, and behavior of an
organization. Basically the organizations are group of individuals and communities who
share s values, norms, and rules to accomplish certain objectives. Each ome kind of shared
org izan ation has a very distinct culture which outlines how the members of the
organization relate to one another.
C u fully influence human behavior and is ult re is important because it can power
extremely difficult to change. It exerts its influence from numerous invisible ways- from
the kind of people who get hired, the formal and informal expectations made of human
resources, the focus of reward systems, the structural aspects of the organization etc.
which we will discuss in detail in the following chapters.
23
9. An overview of Knowledge Processes
The key l
•
al silos are likely to constrain effective knowledge sharing and
ome together to capture, create
and share relevant knowledge, in pursuit of business excellence. Such a team is
empowered to develop best practices, maintain the knowledge repositories, and
know edge management processes are:
Linking people to people in teams through formal / informal structures, for them to
effectively share knowledge.
A Community of Practice (CoP) is one such useful structure. In large
organizations with geographical spread, multiple business units, businesses,
organization
leveraging of collective knowledge of the enterprise. Communities of practice
(knowledge communities or teams) formed around core competencies of the
company help overcome this constraint.
A CoP is a team of people who are practitioners of a well-defined knowledge
domain (Packaging, engineering, sales etc.) who c
develop and deliver relevant training programs to build the capability in the
knowledge domain.
24
• Linking people to information / knowledge repositories / best practices -
Intranets with efficient search engines provide an effective way to connect
people to knowledge repositories with the capability for easy retrieval of
needed information.
25
10. The Knowledge-creating Process
Know d
transcends
also transc
interaction or between individuals and their environment. In
knowledge creation, micro and macro interact with each other and changes occur at both
the micro and the macro level: an individual (micro) influences and is influenced by the
environment (macro) with which he or she interacts.
The SECI process - the four modes of knowledge conversion
le ge creation is a continuous, self-transcending process by means of which one
the boundary of the old self into a new self by acquiring a new context, one
ends the boundary between self and other, as knowledge is created via the
s among individuals
An organization creates knowledge by means of the interactions between explicit
knowledge and tacit knowledge. We call the interaction between the two types of
knowledge 'knowledge conversion'. In the conversion process, tacit and explicit
knowledge expand in both quality and quantity (Nonaka, 1990, 1991 and 1994, and
Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).
The four modes of knowledge conversion are:
• Socialization: from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge
• Externalization: from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge
• ombination: from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge
• nternalization: from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge
C
I
26
Socialization
Socialization is the process of converting new tacit knowledge through shared
experiences. As tacit knowledge is difficult to formalize and often time- and space-
specific, it can be acquired only through shared experience, such as spending time
together or living in the same environment. Socialization may also occur in informal
social meetings outside the workplace, where tacit knowledge such as a worldview,
mental models and mutual trust can be created and shared. It also occurs beyond
organizational boundaries. Firms often acquire and take advantage of the tacit knowledge
mbedded in customers or suppliers by interacting with them.
xternalization
f this Another example is a quality control circle, which
the manufacturing process by articulating
e tacit knowledge accumulated on the shop floor from years on the job. The successful
con rs on the sequential use of
met h
Co b
This is the process of converting explicit knowledge into more complicated and
systematic sets of explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is collected from inside or
outside the organization and then combined, edited or processed to form new knowledge.
The new explicit knowledge is then disseminated among the members of the
organization.
e
E
The process of articulating tacit knowledge as explicit knowledge is Externalization.
When tacit knowledge is made explicit, knowledge is crystallized, thus allowing it to be
shared by others, and it becomes the basis of new knowledge in new product
development is an example o
allows employees to make improvements on
th
ve ion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge depends
ap or, analogy and models.
m ination
27
The process of embodying explicit knowledge as tacit knowledge is internalization. Via
in
, trainees can internalize the explicit knowledge in
their tacit knowledge base. Explicit knowledge can also be
lations or experiments that trigger learning by doing.
Creative use of computerized communication networks and large-scale databases can
facilitate this mode of knowledge conversion. When the comptroller of a company
collects information from throughout the organization and puts it together in a context to
make a financial report, that report is new knowledge in the sense that it is a synthesis of
information from many different sources in one context. The combination mode of
knowledge conversion can also include the 'breakdown' of concepts. Breaking down a
concept such as a corporate vision into operationalized business or product concepts also
creates systemic, explicit knowledge.
Internalization
ternalization, explicit knowledge created is shared throughout an organization and
converted into tacit knowledge by individuals.
Internalization is closely related to 'learning by doing'. Explicit knowledge, such as
product concepts or manufacturing procedures, has to be actualized in action and
practice. For example, training programmes can help trainees to understand an
organization and themselves. By reading documents or manuals about their jobs and the
organization and reflecting on them
such documents to enrich
embodied in simu
When knowledge is internalized to become part of individuals' tacit knowledge base in
the form of shared mental models or technical know-how, it becomes a valuable asset.
This tacit knowledge accumulated at the individual level can then set off a new spiral of
knowledge creation when it is shared with others in socialization.
28
11. Knowledge sharing culture in an organization
dividuals collectively and interactively
the light of their experience. Knowledge
regarded as an important strategy for developing a competitive
a
ning.
Today, knowledge sharing is widely acknowledged as indispensable for the sound
health of the enterprises in the light of rapid advancements in the information technology
across the world. The willingness to share is positively linked to growth and innovation,
increased customer satisfaction, and increased shareholder value and organizational
learning.
Knowledge sharing is set of behaviors that involve the exchange of information or
provision of assistance to others (Connelly & kelloway 2003) described the process of
knowledge sharing as the manner in which in
refine a thought, an idea, or suggestion in
sharing has been
dvantage for organizational knowledge can be stored and integrated to form the basis for
installing competence, capability or routine and thus, it can contribute to creating
competitive advantage.
While knowledge sharing couture is generally defined as “a kind of environment where
individuals are willing to disseminate information regardless of the size of the
organization or company.” In order to do so individuals must adhere to the norms, values,
attitudes and beliefs established by the organization or a company. It can be described as
the culture where the ideas can be freely challenged and knowledge gained from other
sources can be used. Knowledge sharing can occur through variety of media such as
conversation, meetings, processes, best practices, databases, and questio
29
Ideally, knowledge sharing should be a corporate value, which defines how work gets
one and how everyone thinks. In short, a culture of knowledge sharing is deeper than
superficial individual behaviors and captures th
organization
It is a known fact that before a cultural change such as knowledge sharing can be
ions, which
exist within an org. i.e. the friendliness among the members of the
corporation. In fact sociability makes work enjoyable, enhances spirit of
teamwork, promotes info sharing, and creates openness to new ideas and
information. After the brief introduction of the knowledge management principles and
knowledge sharing culture next chapter examines the Pharma Industry in India
d
e hearts and minds of the people within an
. There is wide agreement that most organizational cultures currently act as
barrier to knowledge sharing and need to change to become more supportive of it (Gupta
and Govindarajan, 2000). There are four key reasons why culture is seen as being at the
base of how well knowledge is shared (Delong and Fahey, 2000):
• Culture shapes people's assumptions about what knowledge is important.
• Culture determines the relationship between levels of knowledge, i.e., what
knowledge belongs to the organization and what to an individual.
• Culture creates a context for social interaction about knowledge, e.g., what is
sensitive, how much interaction or collaboration is desirable, which actions
and behaviors are rewarded and punished.
• Culture shapes the creation and adoption of new knowledge.
effected, the org. involved must be taken into consideration while outlining any
strategies for KSC. All culture tends to vary along two dimensions:
• Solidarity
• Sociability
These two dimensions capture much of what we know about organizational
culture. Solidarity refers to emotional and non-instrumental relat
30
1. INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY The Indian Pharmaceuticals sector has come a long way, being almost non-existing
ring 1970, to a prominent provider of health care products, meeting almost 95% of
untry’s pharmaceutical needs. The domestic pharmaceutical output has increased at a
CAGR) of 13.7% per annum. Currently the Indian pharma industry
valued at approximately $ 8.0 billion. Globally, the Indian industry ranks 4th in terms of
lume and 13th in terms of value. Indian pharmaceuticals industry has over 20,000 units.
Around 260 constitute the organi
The exports constitute alm of pharmaceuticals in India.
India’s phar
contr
The export revenue now contribut he total revenue for the top 3
pharma majors: Dr Reddy’s, Ranbaxy a rmulations and exports are largely
to developing nations in CIS, South E and Latin America. In the last 3
years generic exports to developed countries have picked up.
2. POST 2005 SCENARIO
du
co
compound growth rate (
is
vo
zed sector, while others exist in the small scale sector.
ost 40% of the total production
maceutical exports are to the tune of $3.5bn currently, of which formulations
ibute nearly 55% and the rest 45% comes from bulk drugs.
es almost half of t
nd Cipla. The fo
ast Asia, Africa,
By issuing the patent ordinance, India me WTO commitment to recognize foreign
product patents from January 1, 2005, the cul ination of a 10-year process. In this new
scenario, the Indian pharmaceutical manufactu rs won’t be able to manufacture patented
drugs.
To adapt to this new patent regime, the industry is exploring business models, different
from the existing traditional ones.
t a
m
re
32
New Business Models include:
• Co
• Contract Research
g to experts, it will be an
industry worth anywhere between $500 million to $1.5 billion by 2010. The global
l of $14.8bn for the Indian
Contract manufacturing
than their western counterparts. Many Indian companies have made their plants
cGMP compliant and India is also having the largest number of USFDA-approved
encies like USFDA, MCC etc. for their manufacturing
facilities.
ntract research (drug discovery and clinical trials)
• Contract manufacturing
• Co-marketing alliances
The focus of the Indian pharma companies is also shifting from process
improvisation to drug discovery and R&D. the Indian companies are setting up their own
R&D setups and are also collaborating with the research laboratories like CDRI, IICT etc.
In 2002, the industry for clinical trials in India was $ 70 million. This
market is growing at a rate of 20% per annum. Accordin
R&D spend is to the tune of $60 billion, of which the non-clinical segment accounts
for $21bn and the clinical segment accounts for $39bn. In terms of Indian prices,
this translates into $7bn (at 1/3rd of US/EU costs) and $7.8bn (at 1/5th of US/EU
costs) respectively. This constitutes a total potentia
pharma companies.
•
Many global pharmaceutical majors are looking to outsource manufacturing
from Indian companies, which enjoy much lower costs (both capital and recurring)
plants outside USA. The Pharma companies are going for compliance with
International regulatory ag
33
Indian companies are proving to be better at developing APIs than their competitors
rget markets and that too with non-infringing processes. Indian drugs are either
in to strategic alliances with large generic companies in the world of off-patent
les or entering in to contract manufacturing agreements with innovator companies
lying complex unde
from ta
entering
molecu
for supp r-patent molecules.
ishman Pharma, and Zydus cadila healthcare ltd,
orrent pharma ltd. etc. have been undertaking contract jobs for MNCs in the US and
Europe.Indian
their ad
Novarti
interme
market
suggest
2004.
Some of the companies like D
T
companies started undertaking contract manufacturing of APIs as part of
ditional revenue stream. Top MNCs like Pfizer, Merck, GSK, Sanofi Aventis,
s, Teva etc. are largely depending on Indian companies for many of their APIs and
diates.The Boston Consulting Group estimated that the contract manufacturing
for global companies in India would touch $900 million by 2010. Industry estimates
that the Indian companies bagged manufacturing contracts worth $75 million in
34
3. SIGNIFICANCE OF KM IN PHARMA INSDYSTRY
In present scenario Knowledge Management appears to be a facet of competitive
advantage for the Pharma industry with emerging new business models and the concept
of Knowledge process outsourcing. Because in the present competitive era, every
organization/industry is trying to tap the knowledge by documentising, and that its
human resources possesses.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the global need to service the knowledge based
functions is marching with well deserved confidence towards Indian Pharma industry.
Not because of the cost differential but also because we have huge bank of qualified
and educated people in our country.
Many countries are now looking at India for highly technical and knowledge related
task
s, giving birth to KPO (knowledge process outsourcing), which is a firm that
provides technical and functional services to global giants.As cost saving from it, is
much more as compared to the work being done in the home country. E.g. drafting and
filing of patent in US is quite expensive. And it is where Indian Pharma Company grabs
the opportunity.
There are many factors which clients review before they engage in contract
manufacturing in India, First, the nature of work done, then the various verticals that
the organization specializes in, and not to forget the kind of specialized manpower
and the knowledge available in the company. The crucial factor that in our favor is
that the since we have abundant skilled professionals, lead-time for performing the
task is comparatively lesser resulting in efficient and quick delivery.
35
In the pharma industry it is said that with Indian companies offering custom
nthesis services at a competitive price lower by as much as 30-50% than the global
costs and with clinical trials for as low as $25 million as compared to $300-350 million
ecks for talented workforce is the basis of success in the
harma industry. And that signifies the importance of presence of the knowledge
sy
elsewhere,” India could become the most preferred destination for outsourcing by
contract research and contract manufacturing” and the key to en-cash all these
opportunities lies within the concept of Knowledge management. The ability of an
organization to retain the knowledge and experience of its human resources, in the era
of high attritions and bottle-n
p
sharing culture within the organization, which this report tries to identify and assess as
one of its objectives.
36
Inatas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Founded by the visionary, Hasmukh Chudgar in 1976, Intas set off on its glorious journey
by establishing a small unit at Vatva, near Ahmedabad, to cater to the needs of the
chronic segments like Neurology and Psychiatry.
Gradually Intas spread its wings into the ma tream of the Pharma market by launching
divisions to cater to the needs of Global market. With established presence in the markets
of Southeast Asia and Africa, and evolving presence in the regulated markets of USA,
Europe and Latin America, I felt on the global pharma
horizon. astroenterologists, N
garnering over 1000 live registrations in more than 50 countries across the globe. The
year 2007 will pro ANDAs in t At
Intas,
novation is the way of life. Intas was amongst the first companies to introduce new
s in its formulations (like melt-in-mouth technology for
peridone, sustained release in Alprazolam, once daily dosage for Isosorbide 5-Mono
itrate and controlled release Sodium Valprolate).he pipeline.
ins
ntas is now making its presence
eurologists and Psychiatrists. Intas has already succeeded in
vide further impetus to its global business with 15+
In
drug delivery system
Dom
N
38
Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
The foundations for Torrent were laid when 'Trinity Laboratories' began operations under
est company among capital intensive
companies in terms of ROCE in a study
e its salience in other therapeutic areas as well. In the domestic market, the focus
is exclusively on ethical allopathic market and the higher end of the institutional market
velopment and New Drug
Delivery Systems/Value added generics, Thereby transforming discoveries into the
ighest quality therapeutic products. Opportunities for undertaking contract and
collaborative research are being actively pursued. There would be a distinct focus on out-
censing of its NCEs for development and global marketing.
the able guidance of Shri Mehta whose efforts are worthy of emulation. 'Trinity' was later
renamed as 'Torrent'. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited recorded a quantum leap in the
year 1994. It has also been rated India's ninth b
In the International operations arena, Torrent Pharma exports to more than 50 countries
around the world with over 1000 product registrations.
Torrent has to its credit, leading brands in various therapeutic segments. It is a dominant
player in the therapeutic areas of Cardiovascular (CV), Central Nervous System (CNS),
Gastro-Intestinal, Diabetology, Anti-infective and Pain Management. Efforts are on to
increas
in urban and semi-urban areas.
Torrent R & D Centre has a team of over 560 scientists, who continue to offer dedicated
services in the areas of Discovery Research, Generic Drug De
h
li
39
Zydus-Cadila healthcare Ltd.
care under the aegis of the
Zydus group. Zydus Cadila has a wide ranging presence in formulations, Active
l, biological, pain management and anti-infective
segments.
a Healthcare plant at Navi
umbai also commenced commercial production in 2001-02, taking the group's tally to
seven fully operational; state-of-the-art manufacturing plants spread over three states of
ujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
Founded in 1952, Mr. Ramanbhai patel started the company in partnership with Mr.
Indravadan Modi under the name of Cadila laboratories. By the early 1990s, Cadila was
ranked the third largest pharmaceutical company in India.(ORG -December 1991, 1992,
1993). in 1995, Cadila Laboratories emerged as Cadila Health
Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), diagnostics, health & dietetic foods, skin care and
animal healthcare.
A strong player in the domestic formulation sector, Zydus Cadila markets several need
based therapies through its core divisions: Zydus Cadila, Zydus Alidac, Zydus Medica,
Zydus Biogen and specialty divisions Zydus Neurosciences and Zydus Vaccicare.
The company has solidified its position by launching several new products in
cardiovascular, gastrointestina
The group exports branded formulations to 43 countries worldwide. To step up growth in
exports, Zydus Cadila has been focussing on introducing new molecules.
With the acquisition of German Remedies Limited and Banyan Chemicals, Zydus
Cadila's manufacturing premises now comprise 7 plants including its existing plants at
Moraiya in Ahmedabad and Ankleshwar. The Zydus Altan
M
G
40
1. Objective of the study
• To understand the concept of knowledge management and knowledge sharing
culture within the topic.
• To identify and study the knowledge management practices in the pharma
industry.
• To identify the presence of knowledge sharing culture.
• To assess the awareness of employees about the presence of knowledge sharing
culture.
• To compare the knowledg e knowledge sharing
culture in various Pharma companies
• To ana e
level of d
the plant and corporate house.
• To generalize the results for the Pharma industry as a whole.
e management practices and th
lyze the hypotheses that is there a significance difference between th
knowledge sharing culture in an R&D centers within the companies an
42
2. Sources of data
•
Data collected for the purpose of the study was from primary source as well as
secondary source
Secondary data:
s, presentations, Internet, and other possible resources.
•
Secondary data was collected from the journals, websites, organization’s
yearbook
Primary data:
ation:
1.General information of the knowledge management practices in the sample
Pharma companies was collected from interviewing the resource person.
2.The necessary data for KSC assessment was collected through questionnaires.
Primary data contained two types of inform
43
3. Research methodology
he
sampling techniques, the process of data collection and the instrument used for data
collection.
Research design
T research methodology gives an idea about the type of research design, the
The research design in this project was descri is qualitative in
nature. The project carried out
culture within the pharma companies. With the help of 9 dimensions hence the project
includes describing knowledge management practices and assessment of knowledge
sharing culture and thus it is a descriptive research design.
Questionnaire
ptive research design. It
involves identifying KM practices and knowledge sharing
The in tured
questionn ire. This questionnaire was filled up by employees of the pharma companies.
The ques
the attributes which are qualitative in nature. As culture is a subjective term.
strument used for the collection of the primary data was a struc
a
tionnaire had closed ended questions on a likert scale which helped in measuring
44
Sampling technique and sample size
The sampling technique used in this project was a non-probability sampling. A non-
pling technique in a non-probability sampling was that of a
pling. Convenience sampling attempts to obtain a sample of convenient
f the samples is left primarily to the resource person from HR in
• Intas pharma
pharma
• Zydus-cadila
• Corporate employees
• Plant employees
• R&D employees
.
As the questionnaire had Likert scale in it the scaling technique was on a 5 point
scale. 5 was considered as strongly agree (100%) and accordingly the dimensions of the
KSC were measured.
probability sampling relies on the personal judgment of the researcher rather than chance
to select samples. The sam
convenience sam
samples. The selection o
the organization.
The sample size was kept 135 for the project purpose.
Samples were taken from the three pharma companies. That is 45 respondents from
each
• Torrent
These 45 samples were further classified in three strata. that is 15 samples
selected from each strata
45
General comparison of KSC between the Pharma companies
No. Parameters Intas Zydus Torrent
1 Openness to share 3.92 3.64 3.84
2 Team structure 3.51 3.5 3.85
3 Reward 1 3.38 3.46 3.2
4 Innovation& crea 4 3.67 tivity 3.45 3.6
5 Top mgt support 4.01 3.86 4.01
6 Autonomy 3.78 3.28 3.57
7 T&D efforts 3.69 3.57 3.57
8 Bench marking and best practices 3.34 3.51 3.55
9 Tech. Infrastructure 3.6 3.37 3.59
Grand mean 3.55 3.56 3.71
Analysis:
The above table indicates the mean scores for different parameters of
the knowledge sharing culture with each of the 3-pharma companies. It is
indicative that the level of the KSC is higher in the Torrent as compare to
other two companies.
However the inferences can better be extracted by looking at the scores
for each parameter.
47
1. Openness to share:
openess to share
3.92
3.64
3.84 INTAS
ZYDUS
TORRENT
The s e highest mean score for openness to share
learning and sharing the knowledge that is required for individual and
tional growth.
The following company is Torrent with score of 3.84, which is not
sig
frastructure will not give optimum results.
cores indicate that th
is at Intas at 3.92. That indicates that people by enlarge are receptive to
organiza
nificantly lesser. However, Zydus requires to foster the culture of
openness which an essential element before practicing the Knowledge
management as until and unless people feel the need for sharing of info;
all technological in
48
2. Team structure:
Existancce of Team structure
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
Series1
The existence of team structure is highest with Torrent, which is a good sign
indicative for the success of KM efforts. Highly effective have the characteristic of
extensive flow of information. Which suffice the objective of any KM efforts. The
two flow of info.
Zydus and Intas are lagging behind at this particular aspect
however these particular score are indicating the employees’ perception
about the systems and processes that a collegial type of leadership can
definitely encourage the team structure within the organization.
49
3. Rewarding the innovation and knowledge sharing efforts:
Rewarding innovation
INTAS
ZYDUS
TORRENT
INTASZYDUSTORRENT
for self-esteem under Maslow’s need hierarchy theory that
imat
rewarding
for knowledge sharing etc.
Zydus again is lagging in this practice. Any positive step at this aspect will
irectly positively impact the first dimension that is openness to share.
Best way to bring about any successful change in how people behave or support
the culture change is to link it with the monetary or non-monetary reward. Reward
satisfies the need
ult ely positively reinforces the desired behavior. Intas has leading scores at this
dimension, which indicates that, the management and leadership within the
organization is actively trying to foster the knowledge sharing culture.
The close follower is Torrent at 3.38 mean score which indicates that the higher
scores at openness to share are probably a positive result of this practice of
d
50
4. Encouraging Innovation and Creativity:
Encouraging Innovation
3.45 3.64 3.67
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
score. Overall
scores are not satisfactory and all companies are nearly similar at.
This is a perception of employees as to how much the innovation and creativity
are encouraged in the routine way of getting things done. Constant Innovation is the
key to sustainable competitive advantage for any Pharma company. It is necessary to
create a climate that encourages innovation and learning without the fear of
punishment for failure. Hence this dimension should anyway get a high
51
5. Top management support:
Top management suppport
3.75
3.8
3.85
3.9
3.95
4
4.05
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
Series1
Any kind of culture change requires a strong support and affiliation from the top
anagement. As their behavior and action speaks louder than any other interventions.
strategic issues.
he drive out of such hesitation is necessary for the knowledge sharing and let the
company to take the advantage of its human resources.
m
Torrent and Zydus considerably score high (4 approx.) on this parameter but the ideal
score should be the complete 5 that they are moving towards. Intas is slightly lagging.
And there may be any of the two reasons behind.
• There may be fear of leakage of the company’s confidential information,
which causes the flow of important information to the competitor.
• Top management is unwilling to disclose organizational
T
52
6. Autonomy:
33.13.23.33.43.53.63.73.8
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
Autonomy
Autonomy refers to the freedom to act and make decisions. This particular
parameter can better be studied in KM concept in connection with top management
support and encouragement to innovate and the existence of team structure within the
organization. The score suggests that the all three companies are at different stage in
this aspect
The To n
respectivel een the
compan s
rre t is leading at 3.78 mean score, and then comes Zydus and Intas following
y. Though the scores are not satisfactory the difference is clear betw
ie though being in the same industry with similar organizational structures.
53
7. Training and development efforts:
3.5
3.55
3.6
3.65
3.7
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
T & D Efforts
This aspect tries to measure how much the training is given importance and
whether people share the insights of training with peer member and all. The scores
are average for all companies that suggest the HR department to take active initiatives
in developing the knowledge sharing and a learning culture.
54
8. Bench-marking and best practices:
Benchmarking & Best practices
3.34
3.51
3.55
INTAS
ZYDUS
TORRENT
The idea here is to have quantitative and qualitative information about how work
gets done at other company and where do we stand in comparison with. And this
dimension is rated lowest in comparison with all other 8, which gets an attention as in
KM the bench marking the processes and practices is an essential feature. The low
cores can be as a result of either lack of awareness on the employees’ part or the lack
ent from the management side.
s
of encouragem
55
9. Technological Infrastructure:
11.5
22.5
33.5
44.5
5
INTAS ZYDUS TORRENT
Technology Infrastructure
One of the essentials for the Knowledge management practices, scores nearly 3.5
for all 3 companies. Difference is not significant but the low scores indicate any of
the two causes:
• Lack of information system
• Lack of awareness of the employees that makes the system unable to get the
optimum results out of.
Both the cases are worth attention however which particular reason is contributing
the lower scores will be more visible at the KSC profile for each company.
56
KSC profile of Intas Pharmaceutical Ltd.
No. Parameters Plant Corporate Research Center
1 Openness to share 3.83 3.84 4.13
2 Team structure 3.44 3.17 3.92
3 Reward 3.5 3 3.88
4 Innovation & creativity 3.45 3.2 3.71
5 Top mgt support 3.5 3.5 4.57
6 Autonomy 3.17 3.3 3.38
7 T&D efforts 3.55 3.37 3.79
8 Bench marking and best practices 2.67 3.6 3.74
9 Tech. Infrastructure 3.55 3.23 4.02
Grand mean 3.41 3.36 3.90
57
KM practices at Intas Pharma:
• Though not under the label of KM practices. Intas has informal systems
and practices available that can be put under the KM label. It very well
the importance of its H d
research etc. in the Pharma industry.
• et, intranet and ERP system within the organiz
flow of information.
• A full fledge library and free Internet surfing is provided at research center
update their kno e.
• At plant level employees are regularly provided with skill-based training
o shown the video clips of how the manuf ng act are
at global Pharma companies is s bench ing
activity, which is appreciable.
have CKO (chief knowledge officer)
on towards Knowledge m e
o la e m of
importance of knowledge and any commitment towards, which is not the
case with other two companies.
understands uman resources, Innovation an
There is an Intern
ensure the free
ation to
to enable the scientists to wledg
and are als acturi ivities
carried out . This ort of mark
• However the organization does not
appointed to lead the organizati
anagem nt.
• The company vision, and philosophies als cks th ention
58
KSC Assessment of Intas Pharma:
•
R&
(me
crea cture (mean=3.92). These are the
imensions where the R&D scores are high with a significant margin. This
effo rganization and hence gives the due
importance to, as compare to the plant and corporate activities.
• The n but it should not lead
negligence of other two functions
• Pla
not
(mean=2.69) are worth attention in the era where contract manufacturing is
Pha
•
leve
kno autonomy (mean=3.3), technological
Infrastructure (mean=3.29), and innovation & creativity (mean=3.2)
The data indicates the level of knowledge sharing is significantly higher at
D center. And the highlighting factors are top management support
an=4.57), technological infrastructure (mean=4.02), Innovation and
tivity (mean=3.71) and team stru
d
infers that the top management very well understands the importance of R&D
rts, for the competitiveness of the o
above inference is positive side of the organizatio
to
nt scores are overalls at average i.e. between indifferent to agree side but
satisfactory. However the lowest score at benchmarking practices
becoming a competitive advantage and major source of business for the Indian
rma Companies.
Though the corporate functions are supportive and not the main front, the low
l of KSC is worth attention. Areas of improvements are rewarding
wledge haring (mean=3),
59
KSC profile of Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd.
No. ch Parameters Plant CorporateResear
Center
1 Openness to share 3.79 3.62 3.50
2 Team structure 3.63 3.30 3.59
3 3 3 Reward 3.63
4 Innovation& creativity 3.84 3.32 3.75
5 4.19 3.73 4.13 Top mgt support
6 Autonomy 3.63 3.33 3.75
7 T&D efforts 4.05 3.41 3.25
8 Bench marking and best practices 4 2.89 3.63
9 e 3.72 3.14 3.23 Tech. Infrastructur
Grand mean 3.83 3.30 3.54
60
KM Practices at Zydus Cadila:
• Though not under the label of KM practices. Intas has informal system
able that can be put under the c
understands the importance of its Human resources, Innovation and research
stry.
• ention the importance of the human intelligence
within its HR philosophy and its mission statements.
• the verge of introduction -ERP m, a
the importance of free and consta ormat ithin
organization to be effective.
• as “Zydan” hich fla he la
organizational news updates, achievements etc.
• However the organization does not have CKO (chief knowledge officer)
appointed to lead the organization towards Knowledge management.
s and
well practices avail KM s ope. It very
etc. in the Pharma indu
The organization does m and
knowledge
The company is on of SAP syste s it
understands nt inf ion w the
It has its quarterly magazine named w shes t test
61
KSC Assessment of Zydus Cadila:
are, top management support (mean=4.19), T&D
efforts (mean=4.05), benchmarking and best practices (mean=4). That
mployees to
increase their effectiveness and efficiency, and bench marking and best
practices are being studied and implemented for necessary change which
is a positive side of the organization.
• However the low mean score at R&D are not an appreciable indication.
There is high top management support (mean=4.13) but low-level scores
and creativity.
• Corporate has the minimum KSC scores. The contributing factors can be
rocesses
(mean=2.89). Though the corporate function is support function but need
to be neglected.
• The score at Zydus has a different composition. The plant mean scores are
significantly higher than the corporate an R&D.
• The highlighting factors
shows that manufacturing, being a main front activity is given
considerable attention it terms of training and developing e
of T&D efforts (mean=3.25), openness to share (mean=3.5) and existence
of reward system to encourage the innovation
lack of innovation and creativity (mean=3.32), low level of autonomy
(mean=3.33), and bench marking the practices and p
62
• The above all inferences suggests that at Zydus the efficiency and
productivity are given more importance than the creativity and innovation
however this may or may not be the actual case but the employee
perception captured at the research indicates so.
63
KSC profile of Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
No. Parameters Plant Corporate Research
Center
1 Openness to share 3.95 3.6 3.98
2 Team structure 3.79 3.73 4.02
3 Reward 3.83 3.3 3
4 Innovation& creativity 3.95 3.47 3.59
5 Top mgt support 4.33 3.5 4.19
6 Autonomy 3.84 3.6 3.88
7 T&D efforts 3.92 3.37 3.8
8 Bench marking and best practices 3.9 3.5 3.25
9 Tech. Infrastructure 3.87 3.46 3.44
Grand mean 3.93 3.50 3.68
64
KM Practices at Torrent Pharma:
As such there are no such formal KM practices carried out at Torrent, but high scores
indicating the presence of knowledge sharing culture is the result o
ities carried out names howev he s
• Torrent has ERP-SAP system with KM module that ensures the easy and constant
flo rganization wide.
• It has discussion forum and Brain storming f n the et whe le
post th They disc
current events on such forums too.
• It has its own magazine that flashes organization news, individual and
organizational achievements etc.
• There is no library at corporate or at plant but the R&D center has such facilities
backed by a cyber area where the scientists can surf and get the latest knowledge
up
• The site of Torrent also contains a page about its intellectual capital that infers
that the organization understands the importance of knowledge and gives
importance though indirectly.
• However the organization does not have CKO (chief knowledge officer)
appointed to lead the organization towards Knowledge management formally.
f following
. activ under different er are t KM activitie
w of information o
orum o
uss the con
intran
temporary issues and
re peop
eir queries and are replied.
dates.
65
KSC Assessment of Torrent Pharma:
Like Zydus the Torrent scores are also high for plant than the R&D and corporate.
ean=3.9),
and openness to share (mean=3.95). This indicates that the plant activities are
given emphasis by the management and may be as a result the company has
•
the top management (mean=4.19), and
autonomy (mean=3.88). This is a positive sign but management needs to
satisfactory level of KSC but lacks the formal
KM practices.
•
, innovation and creativity and low training and development are at low
level but are significantly higher than industry average. That the company can
•
• The highlighting dimensions are High top management support (mean=4.33),
T&D efforts (mean=3.92), benchmarking the practices and processes (m
succeed to create high openness to share among the employees which is very
positive side of the company.
At research center there is high openness to share (mean=3.98), existence of team
structure (mean=4.02), support from
encourage the knowledge related activities more extensively. As the above score
for R&D indicates that the there is
Corporate scores are on average but can also be given the due importance to.
Openness
further improve upon.
66
Test of the Hypothesis:
The study ideally suggests that the knowledge sharing should ideally be higher among the
T&D e
Test aqnalysis with the equal variances.
H0: the
plant em
H1: the level of knowledge sharing at R&D is significantly higher than the plant.
T- sVarian
mployees than the corporate or plant employees. This is tested with the help of T-
re is no difference in the level of knowledge sharing between the R&D and
ployees.
Te t: Two-Sample Assuming Equal ces
Variable 1
Variable
2 Mean 3.708148148 3.722963Variance 0.139661823 0.106875Observations 27 27Pooled Variance 0.123268661 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 52
t Stat -
0.155037506 P(T<=t) one-tail 0.438695993 t Critical one-tail 1.674689154 P(T<= 0.877391986 t) two-tail t Critical two-tail 2.006646761
The above output accepts the null hypothesis. That means the claim that the knowledge
sharing is significantly higher than the corporate is rejected.
67
D is significantly higher than the corporate
H0: There is no difference in the level of knowledge sharing between the R&D and
corporate employees.
H1: The level of knowledge sharing at R&
T-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
Variable 1 Variable 2 Mean 3.708148148 3.388148148 Variance 0.139661823 0.054892593 Observations 27 27 Pooled Variance .0972772080 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 52 t Stat 3.769739272 P(T<=t) one-tail 0.000209498 t Critical one-tail 1.674689154 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.0004189 97t Critical two-tail 2.006646761
However the above output rejects the null hypothesis that means that the knowledge
sharing is significant higher at R&D than the
T othesis supports the result o nalysis. That infers that
the knowledge sharing level is highest at plan lo s then and the least scores
re at corporate. This is may be the operations are given more importance by the
he pharma industry as a whole needs to respond to the latest KM trends. As the major
ompetitors at the global market has well defined and well designed systems to create,
apture, and restore the knowledge in this era of high attritions and talent scarcity.
corporate.
he above two hyp s gained at pri r a
t the R&D fol w
a
management than the R&D.
T
c
c
68
Recommendations:
0
1
2
3
4
51 Openness to share
2 Team structure
3 Reward
4 Innovation& creativity
5 Top mg Autonomy t support6
7 T&D efforts
8 Bench marking and bestpractices
9 Tech. Infrastructure
Observations:
The above graph indicates the overall KSC level in the Pharma industry as a whole. On
the basis of that the following are the general trends observed.
• No company has the formal KM practices and activities that can be linked with its
overall strategy. However there is informal system within the industry as better
understands the value of knowledge and human intelligence.
• The level of knowledge sharing culture is considerable yet not satisfactory enough
to support successful KM strategy.
• The commitment from top management is there but the loopholes lie in the
systems and practices to ensure the results.
70
Recommendations:
1. Based on the survey results and analysis, the companies seem to
appreciate the potential and value of KM but needs some further education
on the principles and specific methodologies, techniques, and tools as to
how best to leverage their knowledge in their organization to evolve into a
``learning organization''. A short course in KM to senior managers may
better familiarize the organization on the concepts, issues, pitfalls, and
techniques, dealing with knowledge management, so that the organization
would not fall behind its competitors who are already involved in KM
initiatives.
2. Second, a knowledge audit should be conducted as a pilot study in a
targeted business area within the company whose need for capturing
preserving, and sharing knowledge of its expert employees is critical. The
wledge audit would identify the types of knowledge needed in the
targeted area, the types of knowledge missing and available, who needs
ure this knowledge into a
KM system, as well as providing recommendations on how to transform
ets) should be measured, a study should
be conducted to measure the intellectual capital (and its growth) in order
,
kno
this knowledge, and how this knowledge is used. A gap analysis and
specific recommendations for how best to capt
the organization into a ``knowledge sharing culture'', would be conducted.
3. Based on the strong agreement that the intangibles in the organization (i.e.
intellectual capital/knowledge ass
to determine the value added benefits to the organization.
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4. To create a knowledge sharing culture, make a visible connection between
sharing knowledge and practical business goals, problems or results.
6. knowledge to widely held core values. Don't expect people to
share their ideas and insights simply because it is the right thing to do.
7.
build a sharing culture, enhance the networks that already exist. Enable
them with tools, resources and legitimization.
8.
5. It is far more important to match the overall style of your organization
than to directly copy the practices developed by other organizations. To
make sharing knowledge a natural step, think through how effective
change happens in the organization. Make the visible artifacts of
knowledge sharing ± the events, language, Web sites ± match the style of
the organization, even if it intend to lead it into new behavior and
approach.
Link sharing
Appeal to something deeper. By linking with core values of the
organization values, you make sharing knowledge consistent with peers'
expectations and managers' considerations. Align your language, systems
and approach with those values. The values you link to do not need to
obviously support sharing knowledge, but people do need to genuinely
believe in them. They cannot simply be the "espoused values" in the
company's mission statement.
Human networks are one of the key vehicles for sharing knowledge. To
Recruit the support of people in your organization who already share ideas
and insights. Ask influential people and managers to encourage and even
pressure people to share their knowledge.
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9.
es, is
a powerful determinant of one's own behavior.
10.
Build sharing knowledge into routine performance appraisal. Other
people's behavior, like alignment with business results and core valu
Even when you plan to use sharing knowledge as a way to change the
organization, our research suggests that the best strategy, ironically, is to
first match the values and style of your organization. Don't start out a new
campaign and new structures for sharing knowledge. Find the knowledge
sharing networks that already exist and build on the energy they already
have.
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Conclusion
Concluding thought of the project is that though there is a high demand on the pharama
industry to apply the KM practices and systems linked with its overall strategy the
research suggest that the companies are still lagging behind in applications of KM. there
is no formal activities and the intervention applied to create the knowledge sharing
culture however the industry is mapped at i fferent level, Which suggests that there is
need for the pharma industry to understand the importance of knowledge and human
intelligence for the competit ce to take active efforts in
this direction.
s
ndi
iveness of the organization and hen
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Limitations of the study
• The inferences and generalization about the KM trends and knowledge sharing
culture for the Pharma industry are drown from three companies only.
• The sample size for the research purpose is only 135-whch s too small to generalize
the inferences.
• The responses of the respondents are their perceptions and hence there may be gap
between the results and actual situation.
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Bibliography Books:
ls for putting
information work. —Cliff Figallo & Nancy Rhine.
in the new knowledge management—Joseph Firestone & Mark
Mceloroy.
• Knowledge management—Shelda Debowski
• Managing Industrial knowledge- creation, transfer and utilization—Ikujiro
Nonaka & David Teece.
• Creating a learning Organization—
• Role of executive in Knowledge management—Carla O’ Dell
• HBR on knowledge management.
• Building the knowledge management network-best practices, too
• Key issues
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References:
• The ICFAI Journal of Knowledge management—Vol.IV No.1 March 2006
• Journal of knowledge management processes
ott and
Carla O'Dell
anagement implementation--Gavin P. Levett
and Marin D. Guenov
ajor pharmaceutical company--Jay
Liebowitz
Site
• Sameeksha—TECNIA Journal of management studies, Vol. 1, Apr-Sept 2006
• Leadership Excellence, August 2005.
• Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing knowledge--Richard McDerm
• A methodology for knowledge m
• Knowledge management receptivity at a m
s:
• www.citehr.com
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.kmportals.com
• www.sumtotalsystems.com
• www.humancapitalinstitute.org
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