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A.
Cross-Functional High-Performance Teams |
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Over a number of years, there has been a drive towards new organizational forms. The realization that better results are achieved by skilled, motivated, focused teams has resulted in a growing trend toward empowered cross-functional project teams, focused around the drug development process, rather than within functional departments. Improved integration and communication of information through the use of IT is key to developing this trend further. |
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Building high-performance teams presents a difficult challenge, particularly in the pharmaceutical R&D context because |
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bureaucratic and hierarchical organizational structures have historically hampered effective project work. |
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skills of scientists in R&D have focused on scientific excellence at the expense of project management and team leadership. |
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behavior of scientists from Director level to graduate entry level has prevented truly effective teamwork. |
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budgeting and decision making powers on resource allocation are largely left for departmental managers with limited transfer of formal power and responsibility to project managers. Typically, people are afraid to transfer too much formal power to the project managers for fear of destabilizing the organizational matrix. |
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performance management systems often do not support good teamwork across departmental interfaces and may not recognize the input from project managers. Even for team members within departments, the performance management environment does not reinforce teamwork behavior. |
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the lack of effective peer groups because of geographical and departmental distance works against learning and positive competition to improve leadership and working practices. |
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planning and problem solving are poor because of the lack of formal training. There is a need for simple milestones and logic-based planning tools that are easily accessible. |
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increased R&D externalization means that new challenges of collaborating across companies and geographic boundaries compound the difficulties. |
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