Knowledge Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry Essay

The study of K todayl move on Management is a process that has been researched for centuries by western philosophers and traditional theorists, however it is and until latterly that experience oversight has been the main focus for m any governing bodys. Many wear said that it was the publishing of Karl Wiigs, companionship charge foundations (1993), that sparked the huge interest in knowledge management and nearly two decades on KM is now considered as an essential shaft of light for companies to improve their performance and adaptability. 1 Not only this but the concept of knowledge has been regarded as a businesses most cute asset and highly critical in keeping a impregnable competitive. 2 This study will look at the knowledge management of mavin of the most Knowledge intensive industries in the world, the pharmaceutical effort, looking at, canvass and criticising the different strategies that are white plagued within the fabrication. The pharmaceutical industry is apace growing and rapidly evolving , with organisations constantly directing in their research and victimization de actuatements for the development of brisk and valuable definitive information.In 2007 6,525 million was worn-out(a) on R+D in the UK for the pharmaceutical market, showing that firms invest large sums of money in this knowledge intensive industry. 3 Pharmacy as an enterprisingness system The Pharmaceutical Industry is sort of like a community of practice (CoP) where each(prenominal) the organisations deal out a common interest in medicine, working together to promote the acquisition and sharing of knowledge, with a common goal of providing the best practice for the public. 4 It is exceed that the industry is hard dependent on using IT in storing and accessioning information.Since the introduction web 2. 0 there has been a rapid increase in the part of enterprise systems across the industry. An enterprise system every(prenominal)ows for data to be identifi ed, captured and embedded in software to be accessed by all organisations within the industry. 5 A clear example of this comes from a passe-partout eubstance called the department of health, this body stores translucent data on the internet in a PDF called the green disk, this can be accessed by any member of the public, as well as any organisation.The book provides the latest information on vaccines and vaccination procedures for all vaccine preventable diseases. 6 Not only is the book accessible via the web but also a hard copy of the book has been distributed to immunisation health trafficals around the nation, making it very easy for any pharmacy to find the information it packs. What makes this store of information so genuine and valuable to organisations is that it updates itself with unfermented editions from information shared between different chemists, adding unseasoned vaccines etc.This type of knowledge management system is effectuateive for this industry and can be better explained using Dalkirs knowledge management cycle 7 As it shows, knowledge is captured by different organisations through the uptake of research and development, this knowledge is then assessed and shared with organisations and pharmacies all over the country via the use of the green book. Pharmacys then use this knowledge to purchase the right medicine and vaccinations to sell to the public.The update part of the life cycle comes in the introduction of new editions brining new information. on that point is a sense of a mini community within this management system, where the role of culture is valued quite an highly as a knowledge sharing environment is created and designed so firms and organisations can share their information. 8 and one of the main drawbacks that comes with this knowledge management system is that it does check competitiveness.Larry Prusak (1996) said The only thing that gives an organization a competitive edge the only thing that is susta inable is what it knows, how it uses what it knows, & how fast it can know something new 9 The introduction of the green book meant every pharmacy in Britain has access to the same information, making it difficult for organisations to get ahead in term of knowledge. However it is important to note that pharmacys are not entirely profit orientated, but also aimed at providing the best viable medicine and vaccinations to the public.The General Pharmaceutical Council and its implications Continued professional development is decisive in the pharmacy profession as it allows for individuals and organisations to reflect back on their practice and then create programs to upgrade and improve. There is a professional body dedicated entirely to this system called the General Pharmaceutical Council (GDP), 10 this body provides a particular framework for individuals and organisations to set targets based on their previous(prenominal) practices.The CDP offers a cycle for firms to reflect o n their previous practices and then plan on ways to improve practices on the future based on experiences and knowledge they have acquired. An another(prenominal) aspect of the CDP is something called Continued Professional outgrowth (CPD) 11 This is a set of standards that are universal to all companies in the industry and which they must all comply with. What makes this so effective is the CPD is applied to all pharmacists and failure to meet the standards would provide in the pharmacy losing their registration.The CPD expects each pharmacist to make a minimum of 9 entries a year, based on the knowledge acquired to update their own practices. This is a huge incentive for all firms to get involved as failure to do so would result in losing their registration. Although this is a good strategy in attempting to engage organisations in learning, there is a key fundamental drawback. Although the system allows for storage of explicit data from each organisation, it does not allow for ph armacies to access information from other pharmacies therefore stopping any sharing of information or data.However it is clear there are other professional bodies available for this. The effect of IT The internet for many may have made the storage of knowledge much easier, however there is a negative associated with heavy corporate trust on IT. The effect may be that members from departments and organisations no longer need to confer with each other as the information can be taken from a directory from any enterprise system. This will reduce salute to face conversations between specialists which spark new ideas resulting in a wishing of new information coming in.The availability and easy access of knowledge will act as a disincentive for individuals to search for new information. Conclusion Knowledge management is now considered essential, with many agreeing the knowledge a business has is one of its most precious assets. Overall it is quite evident that the pharmaceutical industr y is heavily reliant on the use of IT to process, store and share knowledge. The professional bodies mentioned above are only a few of the number of enterprise systems dedicated to allowing organisations to update their knowledge of the profession and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.The use of a universal framework to engage pharmacists in assessing their own practices is an essential tool in making firms acknowledge their own level of knowledge as well as keeping them up to date with the most late information. The fact that there is soundless competition and huge sums of money invested into R+D shows that all across the industry people are still challenging new ideas, however one thing is for certain, each organisation relies on each other for new information and knowledge in this ever changing industry.