ATM Implementation in a Pharmaceutical Company - Essay Example

It seems that this particular organization has very little coordination within its functional departments. Currently, they are working at cross-purposes. Fighting for resources will not have a positive effect either in terms of the end-products of the company or on overall employee morale and will impact adversely on the efficient running of the organization as a whole.An organization has an existing structure and culture which is made up of its current norms and values. An organization can exist at a functional, business, corporate, and global level.

The existing structure may not be suitable for the implementation of advanced technology due to conflicts arising between the old system and the proposed changes. However, such structures can be redesigned and modified to incorporate changes in management vision, and strategies can be adopted to keep the company competitive in a changing market (Gareth Jones, 2004).The organization's policies may need to be changed to facilitate the implementation of new business strategies such as ATM. The new goals need to be clearly identified and an approach formulated to enable them to be achieved.

In this specific case, the functional level of the organization needs to be modified. Instead of keeping the departments ATM Implementation 3separate, a more integrated approach is needed. The aim should be to encourage coordination and minimize conflict over resources. Resource budgeting and allocation should be made appropriately keeping the end-products in mind. Product teams must be created using employees from different departments such as research, materials, manufacturing, delivery, and sales.

There should be project managers chosen to supervise these interdisciplinary and inter-departmental teams. 'Skunkworks', where a group of individuals is assigned to come up with unconventional solutions to problems may be utilized. Encouraging and rewarding cooperation among team members is very important and appropriate measures can be implemented by the Human Resources Department.New ventures and especially joint ventures may be started to facilitate increased coordination between departments.

An example is to encourage knowledge technology (Research Dept.) personnel to hand over their ideas to materials personnel so that new manufacturing processes can be implemented within the organization. Increased communication and feedback between sales staff and product managers may enhance customer satisfaction in the long run. Keeping up to date on current innovations in the field will ensure the company is competitive in an increasingly global market.