Business Considerations - Fundamentals of Industrial Chemistry: Pharmaceuticals, Polymers, and Business - page 70

the organization. Consider the example of a group charged with developing
a process which can be scaled to meet a need identified by marketing. The
group leader would be responsible to talk with marketing to make sure that all
of the customer requirements are known and factored into the effort within the
group. Similarly, the group lead needs to keep marketing and manufacturing
appraised of progress and timetables so they can factor them into their plans.
Often the group leader is senior and acts as a mentor for the group members.
In some organizations, the group leader also gives appraisals, pay increases,
disciplinary actions, and other tasks in concert with the human resources
group.
Another option is to organize groups of people as self-directed teams. The
advantage of this is that the team can assign tasks based upon skill set and time
availability of the various team members. Even appraisals and salary actions
can be done by the team based upon team ratings. For example a member
is rated by everyone else on the team on a scale of several characteristics
deemed to be important to the success of the team. Everyone could be rated
on: technical expertise; work ethic; action oriented; cooperation; contribution
to team goals; and other criteria. This team-based organization, or a variant of
it, is commonly used. In theory, it is more effective because responsibilities
are divided by the team and the team should best understand the capabilities
of the members. However, it is not an ideal world and often there are issues
with the non-hierarchical approach.
Whatever the organization, if trying to solve a problem, especially a plant
problem, it is best to communicate directly with the people closest to the
problem. These people often have the best understanding of the issues and
if you take the time to listen to them will help you solve many a production
problem. Similarly, if involved in scaling up processes, it is best to consult
with the people in production at an early point in the development process to
gain an understanding about what makes a successful process.
6.5 GANTT CHARTS
Many industrial projects involve people from different departments with
different skills performing different tasks, each contributing to an overall
goal. Management of these projects can be complex and often timing is
important. Gantt charts can be used to plan and coordinate various needed
tasks. They also offer a quick visual method of assessing whether a project is
on schedule and what needs to be done to shift resources. Time is displayed
on the X axis with various tasks on the Y axis. The tasks are represented
horizontally to indicate the timing and needed time span. There are other
techniques used in project management. For example, PERT (Program
Evaluation Review Technique) charts are sometimes used because they can