B222A – Managing Technologies and Innovation TMA - FALL 2015-2016 I- INSCTRUCTIONS II- CASE TO STUDY III- QUESTIONS IV- GRADES DEDUCTION V- AOU POLICY ON PLAGIARISM VI- PT3 FORM I- INSCTRUCTIONS: • Cut-off date: Submit this assignment no later than De

B222A – Managing Technologies and Innovation
TMA - FALL 2015-2016

I- INSCTRUCTIONS
II- CASE TO STUDY
III- QUESTIONS
IV- GRADES DEDUCTION
V- AOU POLICY ON PLAGIARISM
VI- PT3 FORM

I- INSCTRUCTIONS:

• Cut-off date: Submit this assignment no later than December 12, 2015. All late submissions require approval from the branch course coordinator and will be subject to grade deductions.
• Learning outcomes: The purpose of this assignment is to support students’ understanding and application of different concepts learned in B222A, mainly: internal acquisition, open innovation, process of developing a new product, external collaboration, company’s core competencies and focus areas.
• Word count: you should discuss the questions in no more or less than the number of words mentioned for each question (plus or minus 10%).
• Referencing: You must acknowledge all your sources of information using full Harvard Style Referencing (in-text referencing plus list of references at the end). Use E-library: to get journal articles on the topic (Emerald, EBSCO…). Use at least 2 articles.
• Plagiarism: Remember that you should work the information from references into your own original thoughts and INTO YOUR OWN WORDS. Plagiarism will lead to a significant loss of marks. Extensive plagiarism could mean that you failed your TMA. (Refer to AOU definitions of cheating and plagiarism at the end of this document)
• Essay guidance: Your response to each question should take the form of a full essay format. Avoid using subheadings and bullet points. Use B222A textbook and slides, the case, and E-Library. Plan what you will write, and have a well-organized outline.
• Using PT3 form: When you have completed your TMA, you must fill in the assignment form (PT3) posted on your moodle account, taking care to fill all information correctly.
• Turnit-in upload: A soft copy of your TMA and PT3 form should be uploaded to Turnit-in via the link posted on your moodle account, within the cut-off date.
• This TMA is 20% of B222A Grade.
 
II- CASE TO STUDY
GlaxoSmithKline: Successful Internal Innovation
A firm may pursue new technology in two principal ways: internally, through research and development, or externally, by purchasing the technology. Each activity has benefits and drawbacks, and each takes different skills. Therefore, a firm like Cisco or GlaxoSmithKline may have both internal and external development efforts; the firm typically will develop greater skill in one area than the other. For example, Cisco’s competitive advantage has come from obtaining technology from external activities, in particular, through a large number of acquisitions each year.
GlaxoSmithKline is an example of a firm that has excelled through the use of an internal innovation strategy. The firm was formed through multiple mergers and acquisitions during the merger boom in the pharmaceutical industry at the beginning of the 21st century. The firm seeks to excel in internal innovation through research in the three priority diseases that were identified by the World Health Organization – HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
GlaxoSmithKline was formed when Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merged in 2000. In part, the purpose of the merger was to improve R&D. To help ensure that the new firm accomplished this in 2001, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reorganized its research and development efforts into Centers of Excellence for Drug Development (CEDD), small business units that emphasize flexibility, innovation, and therapeutic focus. Since the merger, GSK has been a leader in innovation in pharmaceutical development and distribution. For example, GSK has made a ground-breaking effort to provide HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries at significant price reductions. Since the initial merger, GSK has developed leadership in pandemic flu readiness, and made other treatments available at reduced prices to people in the poorest countries of the world. Besides seeking to help with the treatment of the key diseases identified by the World Health Organization, GSK concentrates on medicines that treat asthma, viruses, infections, mental health, diabetes, and digestive conditions. In addition, they explore treatments for various types of cancer.
GlaxoSmithKline Today
GSK implements its strategies by employing 99,000 people in over 100 countries. Over 15 percent of GSK employees work directly on research to discover new medicines. The firm’s commitment to prevention is illustrated by the fact that they supply 25% of the world’s vaccines. The strategies they pursue are summarized as follows:
- Grow a diversified global business
- Deliver more products of value
- Simplify the operating model
Building an internal innovation foundation
The GSK internal R&D efforts formed the basis for this extensive set of products and this innovative process for distributing pharmaceuticals to the poorest countries. Consistent with this goal the firm spent over 10% of its revenues on research and development in 2008. One of the major problems facing GSK and other companies in this industry is patent expiration. Because GSK has 20 patented drugs that are in the late stages of patent protection, they are redefining the portfolio of drugs that they want to pursue – they are concentrating their R&D on developing a higher volume of mid-size products in particular for long-suffering populations. This will lower the risk of the portfolio of drugs because the revenues of the firm will not be dependent on one or two major successes.
GSK also wants to ensure that the firm focuses on the best science. In 2008, approximately 75% of new products in the pipeline were entirely new compounds/vaccines. Thus, to be successful in the future there is today a strong drive to be more innovative. To accomplish this, the R&D area of GSK has been reorganized to improve its efficiency. It has created 70 Discovery Performance Units (DPUs), most of them inside the firm, in order to focus on eight therapy areas: biopharmaceuticals, immune-inflammation, infection diseases, metabolic pathways, neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology and respiratory.
Building return of investment in innovation
In addition to hiring the individuals to conduct the research and to develop new products, the firm has a culture and processes that support innovation. This is supported by the multi-functional teams, the DPUs, that include scientists, marketing specialists, and others from key domains in the business to work on innovations. The firm encourages cross-fertilization of ideas through collaboration and meetings among its own scientists where different compounds and potential products are showcased. In these settings, R&D groups of individuals gather, and learn about new products and processes. They generate more ideas and products than the firm can pursue during a given period of time. Then the department evaluates the different ideas and products and judges on which innovations to support. The team also avoids the continuation of projects that are not meeting expectations.
The results of these innovation efforts and the discipline behind the R&D department is that GSK receives approximately over 30% of its revenue from products that had been in existence fewer than three years.
When GSK’s extensive internal development efforts lead to innovations that do not fit with the company’s primary focus, the firm does not abandon those ideas. Instead, it develops external discovery teams with other firms of universities or research labs. This way, GSK can still benefit from the innovation but is still able to maintain its focus on its own strategic goals in its eight primary areas of research and innovation.
Source: Adapted from Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation, by Bruton G. and White M.


III- QUESTIONS:
Answers to these questions should be based on: the case study, material learned from the textbook and online sources (i.e. companies’ webpages, AOU e-library databases…)

1- Write an overview of GlaxoSmithKlein profile. For this you will have to visit GSK official website and other web pages you find interesting for your search. The profile should include information such as: the company’s history, purpose, mission, market sector, recent profit, revenues and growth, description of products categories, brands, R&D activities….
(300 words – 33 marks)

2- According to the passage above, GSK has put extensive efforts in its internal development to stay on top of pharmaceutical innovation. Explain the main steps conducted by GSK for this purpose.
(400 words – 34 marks)

3- Give a proper definition of “core competencies” and discuss how essential it is for a manufacturing company to concentrate on its core competencies. Explain how this was conducted at GSK.
(300 words – 33 marks)


IV- GRADES DEDUCTION:
TMA Presentation: (up to 5 marks)
Up to 5 marks should be deducted for poor presentation or poor organization of the TMA outline and discussion or TMA presented without PT3.
Proper referencing: (up to 5 marks)
Referencing should be both in-text referencing, plus a list of references at the end using Harvard style. Up to 5 marks should be deducted for poor referencing.

Use of E-Library: (up to 5 marks)
A minimum use of 2 articles from AOU e-library is required to support the discussions. Up to 5 marks should be deducted for no use or poor use of e-library.

Word count: (up to 5 marks)
The answers should be within the specified word count. A deviation of 10% is acceptable; if more, a deduction up to 5 marks will be applied.



V- AOU POLICY ON PLAGIARISM:
Arab Open University Definitions of cheating and plagiarism:
Plagiarism means copying from internet, from unreferenced sources, from other students’ TMAs or any other source. Penalties for plagiarism range from failure in the TMA or the course, to expulsion from the university.
According to the Arab Open University By-laws, the following acts represent cases of cheating and plagiarism:
• Verbatim copying of printed material and submitting them as part of TMAs without proper academic acknowledgement and documentation.
• Verbatim copying of material from the Internet, including tables and graphics.
• Copying other students’ notes or reports.
• Using paid or unpaid material prepared for the student by individuals or firms.
• Utilization of, or proceeding to utilize, contraband materials or devices in examinations.

Penalty on plagiarism: The following is the standard plagiarism penalty applied across branches as per Article 11 of the university by-laws was revisited and modified to be more explicit with regard to plagiarism on TMAs. Penalties include the following:
1) Awarding of zero for a TMA wherein more than 20% of the content is plagiarized.
2) Documentation of warning in student record.
3) Failure in the course to dismissal from the University.

VI- PT3 FORM
Use of PT3 form is mandatory as a cover page for your TMA. This form is provided to you by your tutor or posted on LMS. TMA presented without PT3 form is subject to grades deduction. This PT3 form will be used by your tutor to add comments and marks and will be returned to you with the annotated work.