Roche case/Organisational strategy
Please read the Roche case (the article by George Anders from Fast Company - see Blackboard).
What does George Anders mean when he says, "for all of the ingenuity involved in making the GeneChip, it has required cleverness on Roche's part to use the chips effectively within a big organisation"?
(In your answer, give examples of how Roche changed its organisational approach to support effective use of the technology)
Previously, under the adversarial system of product development, people were reluctant to share their work. Understandably too, the organisation's strategy of having the best duke it out implies casualties. The genechip is a rich and diverse information source, so much so that one individual will struggle to maximise the return of each experiment. This limitation hurts the company's forward momentum but cannot be addressed by tying employment prospects to output.
ReplyDeleteGeorge means that although the GeneChip is a very intelligent and advanced technology, it would not be as effective without Roche’s management and control of how the chip is used. For example, with the colon cancer case, the head of preclinical research decided to “cut across traditional departmental boundaries and create interdisciplinary teams”. This meant that different members from different laboratories and science backgrounds combined their knowledge to process all of the data provided by the GeneChip a lot quicker. This combination resulted in two promising drugs for colon cancer, which had been otherwise overlooked when the scientists were working separately.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of Roche’s effective use of the GeneChip is in the STEP (single tissue expression profiling) lab. Usually, a GeneChip researcher sends any promising results to the STEP lab, where it is assessed on up to 200 different tissue samples. This used to be done manually, but is now completed using a precision machine which can analyse 96 samples at a time. This means that assessments on possible areas can be completed a lot quicker, which increases the entire process of creating a new and effective drug.
I also like that the change in organisational strategy opened the door for the creation of the STEP team. Under the adversarial system people wouldn't have submitted their work to be independtly tested by an upstart team preferring "classical reviews of literature" etc to work sharing. Under Babiss' new system of interdisciplinary work sharing they can. What's more the new approach to development serves the company's business strategy better by providing checks on redundant development and speeding up more successful projects. (Assuming their business strategy is to sell lots of good drugs.)
DeleteThe GeneChip has totally changed the way the Roach performs its research and discovery of new medicines. This is partly because a single GeneChip creates a huge amount of data, specifically 60 million bytes of raw data that is soon turned into another 180 million bytes once basic analysis has been performed on that data. This means Roach has had to be clever about managing all this data in terms of computer storage but also making sure scientists are effective in processing all this data. To be effective in using all this data, Roach found the best solutions were for biologists and statisticians to start talking early about how to use data from the GeneChip experiments and also the forming of flexible teams to find promising prospects. This also brought about the technique of “fail fast” which is an idea where once sometime has been spent on a prospect and if nothing has been achieved then scrap that and move on to another promising prospect instead of wasting time and resources on a lost cause.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the capability to produce such vast quantities of information reinforces the fail fast culture espoused by Babiss and equally his culture encoruages the testing of many ideas. The link between the informational and organisational strategies is the culture of failing fast, something Roche was incapable of under the adversarial approach.
DeleteIn the past, Roche pitted research teams against one another - all were in competition to develop the best drugs for the market. It was seen as a ‘gladiator mentality’ and in the booming field of genomics, Roche needed to create a more effective and warmer teamwork style for the organisation to succeed. An example in which Roche changed its organisational approach was by creating interdisciplinary teams – each member was from a different field. Teams could approach projects in different ways and combine their knowledge to find a perfect solution. Lee Babiss, the new head of preclinical research, implemented these interdisciplinary teams because he noticed that researchers from different fields were starting to have corridor meetings and discuss projects.
ReplyDeleteWithout Roche’s effective organisational management, the GeneChip wouldn’t be used appropriately. The GeneChip is a new technology that creates a large amount of data very quickly. The right knowledge and skills in regards to interpretation and analysis of data is very valuable for Roche. Lee Babiss, implemented the message ‘fail fast’ – if researchers had spent too long on a project, it is better for them to scrap it and focus on something new. His aim was to create an organisational environment where failure was accepted rather than frowned upon.
With the introduction of the GeneChip Roche has had to change the way they carried out research within the company and this has lead to a need to change the type of scientists they have been employing recently. They have gone into advertising for scientists who can cope with change well and also being able to fail faster. The GeneChip technology speeds up the process in the genomics research which enables the scientists to fail faster and move on to new projects. Roche has had to ensure they run the right experiments that will utilise the GeneChip’s technology.
ReplyDeleteThe Roche group has changed the organisational structure from a more hierarchical structure to a matrix type structure. This is seen by changing to having different teams from the genomics department and the oncology department collaborating and working together, which previously wouldn’t be allowed. They have also needed biologists and statisticians to start talking early about how to use data from a GeneChip experiment.
The genechip allows researchers to quickly assess how likely a drug is to succeed or fail allowing them quickly move from research that is unlikely to work to better prospects. The way Roche used to work with competing teams against one another meant that they were more likely to stick at bad research to make their theories work. The ingenuity came from how they restructured the teams to allow to quickly change research and having people from different disciplines working in the same team to have different views on the research.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Anders is saying that while the innovation of the GeneChip has revolutionised genomics, it is ultimately the way in which Roche has reconfigured their organisational management which has allowed for researchers to fully utilise the chip's capabilities. Promoting this new idea of collaboration within the organisation rather than their previous competitive culture has facilitated a more effective way to manage and analyse genomic data. The need to do so can be attributed to the overwhelming data which can be generated from the GeneChip experiments. Roche has addressed this challenge by assembling interdisciplinary teams such as having members from the Oncology department work with the Genomics department. As a result, this collaboration of different disciplines helped to discover promising drug targets that would have been previously overlooked
ReplyDeleteThe GeneChip has changed the way in which Roche operates their internal practices of research. From conducting individual analysis on experiments, it was clear that it was not doing justice in producing new drugs opposed to a more team based network. Roche changed the way they their employee’s work to support the effective use of technology by directing their work environment toward team based operations in 1999. Barry Goggin was the first to discover the change in work activities because of the “corridor meetings” that were happening to discuss small projects. This saw Roche’s head of preclinical research adjust their work environment to “interdisciplinary teams” because of the “corridor meetings” which facilitated teamwork between researchers of genetics and oncology. Before teamwork existed in Roche, searching through 12,000 experiments individually would seem to be a daunting task. But once they were able to work together, results from analysing multiple GeneChip experiments became much quicker. In the end, George Anders is trying to convince that new technology should be approached with a collaborative method as it was evident the GeneChip is better utilised in teams to gather the best outcomes for drugs possible.
ReplyDeleteAs with any technological innovation, for the GeneChip's potential to be fully realised Roche had to intelligently deploy and manage its usage with as much care as the technology's itself. This point is what Mr. Anders suggests was key to success for Roche. Initially there were problems with the efficiency of GeneChip usage and data storage. This was largely caused by Roche's highly adversarial culture whereby thousands of experiments were conducted by different departments which caused massive congestion of the company's computing capacity and a refusal to quit on projects before over committing resources. However once Roche re-organised itself and its cultural attitude to accommodate data sharing and the 'fail fast' strategy the GeneChip's performance really took off.
ReplyDeleteWhat Geroge Anders means is that there is more to simply having the latest in advanced technology. In order to maximize the use of the GeneChip, a clear and efficient strategy is required. The Roche Group traditionally had a very competitive structure where teams would attempt to outdo the others. However, as time passed and the company grew, the Roche Group found that this organizational structure was no longer effective. There was simply too much data being generated.
ReplyDeleteIn order to solve this problem, the Roche Group has not only made use of the GeneChip, but they also needed a change within the organization. Teams now needed to work together in order to interpret and make use of the data the GeneChip provided.
An example of this would be what teams had to do in the colon case. Geneticists and oncologists had to cooperate and work together. And by doing so, they were able to combine the knowledge they have from their own disciplines and unite them to create one shared knowledge pool. This allowed them to find two promising targets, which would have gone ignored if the two teams working alone.
In a general sense, it means that Roche is effective in the way they reconfigured their organisational strategy to accommodate the corresponding change in technology in order to gain balance to the overall business strategy. The introduction of the GeneChip technology have adversely changed Roche’s approach to its business culture from a more ‘proud and stubborn’ one based on ultra-competition amongst scientific teams to a more relaxed one where ‘failure is all right, as long as you fail fast’ and where collaborative teamwork is exercised. In embracing this teamwork notion, a Genomics Oncology team was formed to focus on identifying new targets for cancer drugs using the GeneChip and other genomics tools. As a result, they created new drug targets that would've otherwise be disregarded when working in separate teams.
ReplyDeleteIn a general sense, it means that Roche is effective in the way they reconfigured their organisational strategy to accommodate the corresponding change in technology in order to gain balance to the overall business strategy. The introduction of the GeneChip technology have changed Roche’s approach to its business culture from a more ‘proud and stubborn’ one based on ultra-competition amongst scientific teams to a more relaxed one where ‘failure is all right, as long as you fail fast’ and where collaborative teamwork is exercised. In embracing this teamwork notion, a Genomics Oncology team was formed to focus on identifying new targets for cancer drugs using the GeneChip and other genomics tools. As a result, they created new drug targets that would've otherwise be disregarded when working in separate teams.
DeleteWith the introduction of the genechip Roche has had to look at their current organisational strategies and evaluate whether or not their current strategies were going to be sustainable, which they weren't. To make best use if the information and data that was being produced by the genechip Roche had to change the way in which their teams were operating. Rather than working in their own individual departments and trying to be better than one another, Roche decided that teams would be best built across departments. An example of this is when Roche formed the GO team which had people from all different departments, who had different cultural backgrounds but they were united by the same desire and this produced a very successful team.
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ReplyDeleteBefore the GeneChip teams within Roche were “pitted against one another” which created a sort of “gladiator mentality.” However, James Rosinski, an expert in the field of bioinformatics, stated “we have to interact”; No longer could teams work against one another. In order to succeed, with “old ways of management” proving unsuccessful, Roche looked to create a warmer teamwork style. Head of preclinical research, Lee Babiss, started noticing a switch of work practices and that meetings and project discussion were taking place unofficially in corridors.
ReplyDeleteCutting traditional departmental boundaries in order to support this ‘energy’ of corridor meetings interdisciplinary teams were created. The interdisciplinary teams were made up of individuals from a wide variety of fields and therefore could combine their different perspectives and knowledge to find promising solutions.
The change in the organisational culture of Roche came about to ensure the success of the GeneChip. Ultimately the GeneChip is a technology that creates a extremely large amount of data very quickly. With such large numbers of data being generated it was going to be increasingly beneficial for the researchers to share their knowledge in order to analyse and interpret this data. Therefore, it was vital that people worked collaboratively rather than against one another. This also meant that the value of this technology could be understood and utilized to its full capacity. Ultimately, Roche changed its approach to research, which largely contributed to the effective use of its technologies. In other words, Roche’s success did not only come from technology innovation but also the change of organisational culture.
What George Anders means by this statement is that more than just the implementation of the technology was required for the technology to be successful. The implantation along side the restructuring of the current organisational strategies has allowed the best use of the GeneChip.
ReplyDeleteThe introduction of the GeneChip has restructured the way in which Roche operates to allow Roche researchers and employees to gain maximum effectiveness and efficacy. By encouraging the idea of team collaboration in 1999 rather than the previous competitive structure allows teams to work across the different departments to ensure better results in a smaller time.
George Anders means that even though the GeneChip is an innovation of Roche’s speed up the discovery process for new drugs but it needed an effective way to control the risks of redundant data which was created by 1 million geneomics experiment a day. When sample run on a single GeneChip set, it generates 60 million bytes of raw data which in turn adds 180 million bytes of computer usage for a basic analysis. This created various problems; first the computer storage would be full within every six months and second pharamaceutical headquarter was making adjustments to deal with having ‘too much data, too fast’. To be more effective Roche found the best approach for genomic data. The key is for biologists and statisticians to start talking early about how to use data from GeneChip experiment. This created a culture where failure is all right, as long as it is fast and then the team could move on to the next experiment.
ReplyDeleteAs much as how GeneChips work intelligently to provide many promising benefits, it is how Roche use and operate with these GeneChips that allows it to work more effectively. As stated 'the only way to enhance technology revolution is to unleash an organizational revolution' and with the introduction of this new technology, it allowed Roche to change the way it operates. By cutting the traditional boundaries among departments and allowing them to work and interact as teams. So instead of being competitive and having a kind of 'gladiator mentality', team members are able to cooperate and make the most of one another's specialities. For instance, the GO team that was formed not only were able to unravel complex data analysis together, but also they were able to spot new drug targets that would have been overlooked if members were working alone
ReplyDeleteI think the message that Anders is trying to convey is that it is a combination of the technology (GeneChip) and organisational culture/work processes that create a more efficient workplace. The fact that the GeneChips allow increased storage space and thus faster testing time, Roche's switch from a seemingly competitive workspace to one of collaboration sees faster results, partly due to faster processing and faster 'fail times' as collaboration's increased brain power sees the faster flowing of ideas and criticisms, allowing teams to move on from 'bad research' faster than previously. So really, it's more of the change in organisational culture and processes (ie. the change from a competitive to team workspace) that has allowed increased efficiency at Roche, not just the chip itself. Not only that there is more brain power, but also the way that users are interacting as a team with the technology (less repetition) has seen increased employee satisfaction, results and efficiency at Roche.
ReplyDeleteRoche has had to use intelligence when incorporating the gene chip into their systems. Due to the amount of storage required by the GeneChip, the company had to have plans in place in order to not overuse their computer capacity. The fact that Roche is a large organisation means that if one department is overusing the computer data, the entire organisation is going to be effected. The creation of teams with members from different departments was a great use of Roche’s resources as they could form eclectic teams with members of different backgrounds. This use of collaboration as opposed to the competitive culture with Roche once had was a great way to make the best use of the GeneChip.
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