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A PROJECT REPORT ON “Comparative Study Of Knowledge Management Practices And Knowledge Sharing Culture In The Pharma Industry.”
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Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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Page 1: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

A

PROJECT REPORT ON

“Comparative Study Of Knowledge Management

Practices And Knowledge Sharing Culture In The

Pharma Industry.”

Page 2: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 3: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 4: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 5: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 6: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 7: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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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

Page 9: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

apter-1

Ch

o the

knowledge management.

Introduction t

9

Page 10: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 11: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

• 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

Page 12: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 13: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 14: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

.

Page 15: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

• 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

Page 16: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 17: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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4. The information life cycle

AcquiringUsing

Processing

Storing

Dissemi-nating

18

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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.

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Page 20: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 21: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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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

Page 23: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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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

Page 25: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

• 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Chapter-2

Pharmaceuticals Industry in

India

31

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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

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Page 33: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 34: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 35: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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Page 36: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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Page 37: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

Chapter-3

Company Profile

37

Page 38: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 39: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 40: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 41: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

Chapter-4

Research Methodology

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Page 42: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 43: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 44: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 45: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 46: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

Chapter-5

ysisData Anal

46

Page 47: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 48: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 49: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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Page 50: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 51: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 52: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 53: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 54: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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Page 55: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 56: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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.

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Page 57: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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Page 58: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

Page 59: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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),

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Page 60: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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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

Page 62: Comparative study of knowledge management and knowledge sharing culture in pharma industry ; dwija

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

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• 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Chapter-6

Recomme tionnda

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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.

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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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Chapter-7

Conclusion

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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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Chapter-8

Annexure

79