Pharma Veterans

The Power of Organizational Culture – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1082 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1082 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Kindel Media Credit: Mikhail Nilov Credit: Theo Decker Preamble Organizational culture is one of the most significant yet often overlooked aspects of business success. It shapes how employees interact, influences decision-making, and determines how companies respond to challenges and opportunities. In an era where businesses must constantly adapt to rapid changes, culture is no longer a soft aspect of the organization—it is a strategic imperative. In this article, I would explore the definition of organizational culture, its impact on hiring, its role in strategy making, and why it should serve as a guiding force rather than a restrictive barr...

Interview Excerpts Ex-CEO Novartis – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1077 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1077 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Dr. Daniel Vasella Credit: Edmond Dantès Credit: Tiger Lily Preamble Dr. Daniel Vasella M.D. held several medical positions in Switzerland before he was hired in 1988 by Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation, the former US subsidiary of the Swiss company, Sandoz Pharma Limited. In 1992, he was promoted as the CEO of the parent Sandoz company. Vasella was instrumental in the merger between Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy, another Swiss company, to form Novartis in 1996, which is now the fifth largest pharmaceutical company in the world. He was appointed CEO of the new entity in 1996 and was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1999. In 2010, Vasella stepped do...

Is Your Learning & Development Functioning? – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1030 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1030 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing our contributions here. Credit: Christina Morillo Credit: fauxels Preamble Learning and Development – L&D – is among the cardinal functions of HR. The reason is simple; it is about people/ human resource/ human capital.  In many pharma companies, L&D is either available as Training department, or worse still, as Sales Training Department. Which seems to signify that only salespeople need training which is done for products and selling skills, and no one else is a candidate for learning. Sometimes, Training department arranges external trainers for certain topics which might have come out of the standard TNA – Training Needs Analysis, as part of performance a...

Thoughts on Leadership Teams in Pharmaceutical Companies II – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1023 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1023 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing our contributions here. Credit: Antoni Shkraba Credit: Vlada Karpovich Credit: Werner Pfenning Collective Accountability I finished the last post on the point that collective accountability should also be considered along with individual accountability.  Building collective accountability in the system will require that both individual and team goals be assigned to team members. Team goals are those which can only be achieved as a group and not as an individual. For example, if the organization plans to introduce certain values in its culture, it is a goal for the entire leadership team, and they must work together to achieve it. On the material side, if...

The Culture of Belonging – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #955 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #955 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Alena Darmel Credit: Emtius Hasnat Credit: Helmy Zairy Credit: RDNE Stock Project Credit: Thirdman Many years ago, I witnessed an animated discussion between two senior managers, one of whom had spent his entire career in the same organization where we were sitting, the other had come after working in another MNC for several years. I was a junior manager who also came from another MNC. The topic was ‘sense of belonging’. The long serving manager was insisting that sense of belonging is nothing but a catchphrase. Our employment is a contract, we work and get paid, and the contract can be terminated any time. “Where does sense of belonging come in” he asked. The o...

Policies - Compliance - Culture – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #839 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #839 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Elizabeth Holmes - CEO Theranos Pfizer gabapentin Pharmaceutical industry is regarded as a highly regulated industry and rightly so. At every step, regulations are applied. The data generated during production and quality control is religiously documented and vetted at various levels. Research data is subjected to even more rigorous vetting. When the local or international teams visit for inspection, their main emphasis is on reviewing documents. The process is simple; they ask for SOPs, review these, and then ask for compliance reports. Compliance becomes the key parameter...

Organizational Culture Transformation Process – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #834 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #834 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Polina Zimmeerman Photo Credit:  Photo Credit: Yan Krukau This post has been inspired by an article written by Allan Watkinson and Rohit Kar published in Gallup® Workplace on 24 March 2023. (Link appears at the end) With all the talk and rhetoric about organizational culture, what is the process if the culture is to be built deliberately? This is the question we shall address in today’s post. Couple of basics first. The age of organization is a determining factor for the culture transformation; older organizations will take longer and harder...

Organizational Culture – Vision Mission – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #833 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #833 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Antoni Shkraba Photo Credit: Artem Podrez Photo Credit: fauxels Corporate Values are usually displayed at all prominent places, and violation of values occurs in the shadow of these displays; like cars are parked right under No Parking sign. Like, government and private hospitals put up plaques at various places saying ‘Bakhsheesh’ is not allowed, and the attendants take it forcefully under these signs. I visited the offices of a large “Development Authority’ and just before the entrance there were five flexes saying very alarming things about bribery....

Organizational Culture – Be Real – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #832 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #832 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: RDNE Stock Project Photo Credit: RDNE Stock Project Photo Credit: Walls.io Let us talk about culture. And, with special reference to organizational culture. Culture is an everyday word, but it is difficult to define. Usually people say, the culture is ‘the way things are done around here’. This is right, ‘but why are the things done around here like this?’ Culture is rooted in the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors – through shared norms, beliefs, and practices. These things are visible in practice but cannot be pinpointed and measured. Out of my 4...

Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #758 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Noor Aldin Alwan Photo Credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh Photo Credit: Ahmed akacha As explained in the last post, Divide & Rule comes primarily from the owners for reasons discussed. Ironically, the employees also follow the same tactics to strengthen their hold over the organization.  The desire to hold on to the place and position goes back to ancient times when the appointments and dismissals happened at the whim of the ruler and in seconds. There was no merit in these decisions; just the thought which could go either way. Our entire history has been of slavery and subjugation. Pakistan became free as a country in 1...