Jurox Is a Small Pharmaceutical Company Specialising

Jurox is a small pharmaceutical company specialising in niche markets that relies primarily on focused research to create new products to fill certain niche markets. Jurox began to experience problems with the many projects underway not achieving significant results as well as operating inefficiently and at high cost. While the company does not expect the majority of research to result in feasible products, it does expect this research to be carried out efficiently so that new projects can begin in different areas.

The company analysed the problem and decided that the organisational structure was the source of the problem. The organisational structure was a flat structure organised by function, with separate departments handling each stage of the project and then passing it on to the next department.

The original process was for accounting to determine the financial feasibility, marketing to assess the marketing potential, research and development to create the product, marketing to determine if the product was right for the market and accounting to determine if the production of the product was financially viable. The company decided that this structure by department made the process inefficient as departments were not collaborating on projects. To counter this a matrix structure was introduced.

In this matrix structure the departments continued to be organised by function but with employees pulled from each department to work on task forces handling each individual project. An individual working on a project was simultaneously supervised by the task force leader and their functional manager. This new design was intended to allow projects to move through the steps required more quickly, improve efficiency and allow for later problems to be seen earlier so that research money was not wasted.

While this new structure was thought to solve the problems for the company, the real result was to cause more problems for the company. The majority of employees have rejected the changes and are not comfortable working as part of a task force. The task forces are operating very inefficiently with there being little leadership of the task and a lot of resistance to participate fully.

The dual chain of command has also resulted in a lot of confusion, with employees uncomfortable having to answer to two managers and functional managers frustrated that they no longer have full control over their own employees. Overall, all staff have become less motivated and the research process is less efficient than it was before. This is a situation where research into the problems occurring and into possible solutions would have been beneficial and can still be utilized in repairing the problems now present.

The first research required would be internal research. The initial problem has been identified as low efficiency and high cost in researching new products, with this high cost largely attributed to time and money spent on researching products that are not feasible. One of the major expectations of the matrix structure and the task forces was that problems would be identified earlier rather than later. The first research required would be to determine whether this low efficiency is the result of one department or the organisation as a whole.

This could be determined by analysing previous research specifically to determine where in the process problems occurred. For example, if marketing determined that there was a market for a specific product and then research created a product different from this specific product, then it could be determined that communication between marketing and research at this point was the source of the problem.

This research would be carried out with the use of process analysis, where process analysis describes the processes of carrying out a certain task and the link between these processes. The research would map the process so that it can be understood and follow previous products through the process. Analysis of the map of the process could determine if there are unnecessary steps in the process and also if there is a certain point where problems occur.

The other important internal research to complete would be to determine from employees if there are issues resulting in inefficiencies. Taking into account that it is the employees that carry out tasks, it is reasonable to expect that they may be the cause of problems or may have information on what the real problems are. To determine this, it is recommended that an employee survey be completed. This survey should consist of two stages.

The first stage should be an interview with each employee which asks open questions so as not to lead employees. The second stage would be directed questioning, focusing on what the problems are thought to be, with this stage confirming whether or not a certain issue really is a problem. This two-stage process ensures that answers are not biased and that all possible issues are raised.

The first stage would use one-on-one interviews, with employees asking open questions such as 'what could be improved?' And 'what stops you from completing tasks efficiently?' These interviews would be focused but also flexible so that all possible issues and concerns are raised. Results of the interviews would be summarised with common issues noted and also differences between departments noted. The second stage would be used to assess whether issues that are thought to be causes of the problem really are.

There are already ideas on the source of the problems such as the belief that the research department generally lacks motivation and that employees are frustrated with the number of projects that lead to no results so put little effort into all projects. The second stage will be used to determine if these ideas are correct and also test any ideas that are seen in the first stage of interviews. The second stage will use a written questionnaire so that all employees are asked the same questions.

This will allow majority views to be recognised. This also allows departments to be compared. The idea that the research department lacks motivation can be tested by comparing the research departments with the other departments, where the other departments become a control group. Based on the ideas found and the problems identified action can than be taken with how it effects employees known and with the action intended to solve these identified problems.