Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 4 MI0040- TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT (Boo I!

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(# " Consider t)at *ou are a mana+er in a ,om-an* and *ou .ant to mana+e a te,)no/o+* t)at is ne./* in,or-orated0 (a' " !es,ri1e t)e effe,ts of te,)no/o+ies on 1usiness0 Ans.er" The effects of technologies on business are described here , 2edu,ed ,osts of o-erations" Different companies use different technologies for reducing manufacturing and administrative costs. Ne. -rodu,t and ne. mar et ,reation" This involves the introduction of technology for the miniaturisation of the product. This involves the technology to reduce the size, become easily portable and useful for many applications. For example, the Sony Corporation has introduced the miniaturisation technology that aimed at developing the product with high portability. Ada-tation to ,)an+es in s,a/e and format This focuses on how the devices support the different features. For example, the mobile can support the email, browsing and so on. Im-ro3ed ,ustomer ser3i,e" This involves the introduction of technology for improving customer service. This helps to gain the mar!et in the present competitive world. 2eor+anised administrati3e o-erations" This involves the effect of technology on the administrative activities. For example, the introduction of "utomated Teller #achines $"T#s% in the ban! has reduced the employee effort that is re&uired of distributing the cash at the cash counter. (1' 4re-are a /ist of t)e fa,tors t)at are ,onsidered in mana+in+ te,)no/o+*0 Ans.er" Technology is the useful tool which controls the environment and also acts as an instrument which converts the natural resources in to useful goods. This is the main factor which affects the growth of an organisation. 'elow are the factors that are considered in managing technology , #" Te,)no/o+* and /on+-term ,*,/es" There are some economists who argue that technology affects growth and recession in the world economy. The infrastructure is useful for maturation of the technologies. (hen the down turn starts to come up again then organisations has to invest the capital e&uipment that is based on the new technologies. %" Te,)no/o+* and ,om-arati3e ad3anta+e" "t the national level, the firms will have more value when it has both the comparative advantage and also the technological lead. "ll the other companies from the world loo! for your organisation. For e5am-/e, a )orean shipbuilding industry has become the leader by increasing the size of the shipyards and many techni&ues that were incorporated to increase the productivity and capacity of the vessels. The s!ills, !nowledge and competitive leadership have helped them to achieve more heights. (%" T)e -ur-ose of fore,ast is to im-ro3e t)e 6ua/it* of t)e de,isions re/ated to se/e,tion of a/ternati3e from a3ai/a1/e a/ternati3es and not to for,e to a,,e-t a -arti,u/ar de,ision0E5-/ain 3arious te,)ni6ues for fore,astin+ .it) a neat dia+ram0

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7i+ure " !ifferent Te,)no/o+* 7ore,astin+ Met)ods #" E5-/orator* Met)ods" *xploratory methods are primarily concerned with the analysis of historical data. Selected attributes such as functional performance, technical parameters, economic performance, and so on are plotted against time. They are of + Types , A" Intuiti3e fore,astin+" This is the most widely used forecasting method. This method assumes that the experience and education of experts is sufficient to forecast the vectors of expansion and evaluation in a specific field. They can be further divided into two types , !e/-)i te,)ni6ue" The Delphi techni&ue involves the comparisons of expert pro,ections of future technical developments. This helps us in pro,ecting the future technical and mar!et developments. This also involves the uncovering of the fundamental differences in opinion. O-inion -o//s The opinion poll techni&ue involves the opinion of different experts. This techni&ue involves the ,oint assessment of different ideas. This techni&ue also helps us in !nowing the new technologies and evaluating many of the options of the new technologies.

B" E5tra-o/ation te,)ni6ue" The extrapolation is the most usual method of forecasting in exploratory methods. The extrapolation method involves the extension of the present methods for the future. They are of - types , Linear e5tra-o/ation" The linear extrapolation involves the creation of tangent line at the end of !nown data and then extending the line beyond that limit. .inear extrapolation gives the good results when this is extended approximately as the linear function .

E5-onentia/ e5tra-o/ation" The exponential extrapolation is the non/linear extrapolation. This includes the historical trends of a particular period of time and these trends are extended for the future. This is reliable, simple and inexpensive.

C" Gro.t) ,ur3es" This is another method included in exploratory methods. The growth curves are reformulated from a time basis to an observation basis. This includes the numerous time series of growth behaviour that are collected and categorised according to data characteristics. They are of two types , 4ear/ ,ur3e" The pearl curve is an inhibitive model of technology growth. 0earl curves are produced, when there is some competitive situation between the two technologies with same growth rates. Gom-ert8 ,ur3e" The gompertz curve uses the pearl curve to show the pattern in which the maturing technologies approach the development limits.

!" Te,)no/o+* monitorin+" Technology monitoring is also an exploratory method. (e can define this method as a method that loo!s after the monitoring of the technologies. This is based on analysis and meaning of signals of change.. %" Normati3e Met)ods" The normative approach includes the well organised attempts to allocate the money, manpower and the other resources, on a rational basis, that might affect the technology forecast of the future. They can be further divided into 1 methods , they are A" 2e/e3an,e tree" The relevance tree includes the hierarchical listing of the tas!s and the alternatives. 2n this tree, we consider each branch as a goal. The relevance tree is helpful for all the planners to systematically assess all the interlin!ed technologies. B" Mor-)o/o+i,a/ ana/*sis" #orphological analysis involves systematic evaluation of all possible combination of solutions to the individual parts of a system. C" Mission f/o. dia+rams" The mission flow diagram indicates the mapping of all the substitute routes or se&uences for finishing a given tas!. (e need to determine the important steps on each route and also identify the problems and costs related with each route. ($" 9rite s)ort notes on0 (a'" Te,)no/o+* ado-tion Ans.er" we can define 3adoption of technology4 or 3technology adoption4 as the successful implementation of technology, and deriving the full potential of the technology. "doption is relatively easy in a new enterprise as compared to an ongoing firm. The concept of technology adoption has attracted much more attention in recent times, due to the explosive growth of new technologies worldwide. From the last few years, business and consumer mar!etplaces have been exposed to the widespread use of the personal computer, the 2nternet, ever present wireless communications and broadband communications. Te,)no/o+* Ado-tion 4/an in,/udes fo//o.in+ ste-s 2dentify the target group .ocate and analyse the resistance to change "ssess actual ability to change

"ssess capacity and resources to change "ccess perceived priority of change

(1'" Te,)no/o+* diffusion" Ans.er" The process of adopting the new technology by the customers who came to !now about the technology from other customers is called as the technology diffusion. Diffusion involves special types of communication methods or system to help diffuse changes in practice. Thus, we can say that diffusion is the process of closing the gap between what people do not !now and what they can effectively put to use. Im-ortan,e of te,)no/o+* diffusion " Technology diffusion plays a ma,or role in most of the countries today. The barriers to technology diffusion help us to determine the magnitude of technology diffusion. These barriers determine the volumes of diffusion. Diffusion enlarges the set of available technologies and increases the productivity of the country. 2n case of diffusion, productivity is determined by the domestic technology in the production country and the diffusion technology from other countries. " well/managed technology diffusion system enables an organisation to plan its technology development pro,ects in a more meaningful manner as well as transfer the technologies more successfully. (C' " Te,)no/o+* a1sor-tion" Ans.er" (e have to ac&uire technology from sources within or outside the country, and one of the ways to ac&uire technology is, by the process of te,)no/o+* a1sor-tion. 5nce a technology is imported from another country, it needs to be absorbed and updated in accordance with the local re&uirements. The concept of technology absorption differs from country to country, and even from firm to firm. 2n 2ndia, absorption is generally considered as the capacity to reproduce or manufacture products according to the 6!now/how6 supplied by the licensor of technology, without really understanding the 6!now/why6 of the technology. 2o/e of te,)no/o+* a1sor-tion" Technology absorption plays an important role in pro,ect implementation. 2t is clear that the pro,ect absorption occurs after the pro,ect implementation Benefits of Te,)no/o+* A1sor-tion " These benefits are 7epeated collaborations for the same product8 process are avoided. "c&uisition of further technologies becomes selective. "bility is developed to unpac!age the technology. Savings can be affected in foreign exchange due to indigenisation 8use of indigenous alternatives. (4" 9)en *ou ,)oose a ne. te,)no/o+*: *ou ma* )a3e to fa,e some of t)e 6uestion /i e .)at are its fun,tiona/ er6uirements: non-fun,tiona/ re6uirements and does t)e te,)no/o+* fit t)eor+ani8ation ,u/ture; (a'" Ho. do *ou ans.er for t)ese 6uestions; Ans.er " (e can get the answers to these &uestions by following some tips related to the selection of a new technology. These tips are 'efore choosing a new technology, the operational efficiency, control costs and productivity of the technology should be determined. 2t is not reliable to adopt a new technology, if your competitor owns it.

The choice of your latest technology must incorporate flawlessly into production and hold up your existing purposes. "n important consideration is that it should assure your potential needs with minimum upgrades. The availability of your service and support should be determined beforehand. The services li!e the ma,or and minor upgrades must be provided by the vendor. The use of solution pac!ages or customer proprietary pac!ages that no longer support you should be avoided. The selection of new technology based on the lowest price should be avoided which would otherwise result in less capability, thereby costing your time and money. For instance, buying a costly computer for every three to five years instead of a low price one for every year would save your time and problems. 2t doesnt necessarily mean that that you have to purchase the top products. Do not always go for buying a name brand product. For example, the computers have turn out to be a commodity, which means reaching a !nown brand do not automatically indicate you are accomplishing an enhanced &uality. 2t implies, you are getting enhanced technological support. "n important point to be !ept in mind is that although computers are easy to repair and maintain, you can engage somebody locally to repair at a reasonable price. " good selection of the retailer is important than going for a brand in order to provide you with technical support in case of problems. The retailer is the one who would be !eeping you happy by satisfying your needs. Therefore, ma!e sure the return policy provided by the retailer is good and replenish fees are not charged. The services that provide you with long distance charges should be avoided. The services li!e 95220 should be used, since it is less expensive. "lso, it provides many facilities that are not currently available in standard land lines. 2t has the provision to forward the office calls to your home or cell, or have mail delivered to your email. The web provides a lot of applications, services, and tools which have become the valuable things in life, available free of cost. 2t doesn t mean only email or instant messaging accounts are provided free of charge. There are some application alternatives providing better results than small businesses be able to do with conventional applications.

(1' 9)at is memristor; Ans.er" Memristor" A Ground1rea in+ Ne. Cir,uit" This technology has a uni&ue feature, that is, it can retain information for the amount of current that has passed through it. 'y varying the amount of current, it has the tendency to become a one/element circuit component with uni&ue features. 2t has the tendency to replace the flash drives that are being used today, because it can retain its electronic state even though the current is turned off. 2f we compare the cost constraint with the flash memories, #emristor is relatively cheaper and offers greater memory densities. "lso, it can restore the 7"# chips, so that, after turning off your computer, again when you will turn it on it will provide details concerning what it was doing previously. (< 9rite s)ort notes on0 Ans.er " (a'" Brid+in+ a+en,ies" There are some agencies because of whom the transfers of technology ta!e place, comprises of government departments, industries, financial institutions, consultants, venture capital companies, research companies, and 7:D organisations, and so on. (e can call these agencies as the bridging agencies as given in figure

The users of new technologies include industries both from the private as well as the public sector, agencies that are very large and technically oriented, such as, 2S75 $2ndian Space 7esearch 5rganisation%, government departments, "*C $"tomic *nergy Commission%, and so on. (1' 4ro1/em so/3er mode/" "s per this model, the generation and transfer of technology, acts as a companion of problem solving, as given in figure

(,' Bar-=a a* mode/" This model is based on a pro,ect management approach, and was introduced by 'ar/;a!ay $managing partner of films, who focussed his practice on personal in,ury and wrongful death law%. "s per this model, we can divide the process of technology transfer into four stages Search. "dapt. 2mplement. #aintain. This model specifies the activities to be carried out and also accentuates the importance of both transferor and transferee to expertise for underta!ing technological forecasting, long/range planning, and gathering of pro,ect/related intellect. 2n this model, the term <donor= is used, which refers to the transferor and gives an impression that the owner of technology is giving away a valuable asset out of selfless reasons. The 'ar/;a!ay model helps us to learn some facts, which are The need of comprehensive examination of the technology transfer process from search stage all through post/implementation stage. "doption of a process approach to plan and implement the technology transfer pro,ects. The need of ob,ectives and decision points to strengthen the activities, to correct the mista!es, or even to terminate the pro,ects at any point of time.

(d' S,)/ie: 2adnor and 9ad mode/ Schlie introduced a simple, universal model for technology transfer process. This model describes seven elements which manipulates the planning, implementation, and ultimate success to any technology transfer pro,ect. These seven elements include #" The transferor, who sells the technology to the recipient. %" The transferee, who buys the technology. $" The technology that has to transfer. 4" The transfer mechanism chosen for the transfer the preferred technology. <" The environment in which the transferor is wor!ing. The transferor environment characteristics can manipulate the effectiveness of the transfer process. 2t includes "mong others. Financial status. 'usiness point of reference $inward versus outward%. Constancy $Stability%. *tc &" The environment in which the transferee is wor!ing. The transferee environment characteristics can manipulate the absorptive capacity of the transferee. 2t includes 0hysical and organisational infrastructure. "vailability of s!ills. "ttitude and obligation to the transfer pro,ect. Technological status. etc >" The larger environment that surrounds both the transferor and the transferee. This environment has three layers> they are sub/regional, regional, and global. 2f the layers of the larger environment will not uphold, then it will affect the cross/border and international technology transfer even if the immediate operating environments of the transferor and the transferee are favourable to the technology transfer.

(&0 E5-/ain t)e 1asi, s,)eme for no./ed+e 1ased a--/i,ations0 Ans.er " no./ed+e 1ased te,)no/o+* -ro,ess " #anagement re&uires a precise understanding of the process which )'T applications demand. (e discuss a brief discussion on a model of the development and use of )'T as it is typically practised, as given in fi+ure &. 2t removes technical detail, but includes all !ey elements and relationships.

fi+ure & " Basi, S,)eme for ?no./ed+e-Based A--/i,ations 2n 7i+ure & : in the ?Development 0hase, !nowledge is carved out from one or more people who have specialised !nowledge in the relevant domain. Such an individual is typically referred to $in the paper% as an @expert@, but the more general term @domain specialist@ is less exaggerated and more general. The !nowledge is usually represented in the form of antecedent/conse&uent rules. For some instances it is li!ely for the domain specialist to provide the !nowledge to a @!nowledge/base@, but more usually a @!nowledge engineer@ traps it using some suitable language and supporting software. "fterwards, a user, without consenting to either the domain specialist or the !nowledge engineer, confers the !nowledge/base. The user provides data about some event or circumstances within the problem

domain. The software ta!es assumptions, by applying the rules present in the !nowledge/base to the case/ specific data and the typical, domain/specific data. " result is provided to the user, in the form of a diagnosis, prediction, recommendation, and decision depending on the nature of the application. 2n addition, the user may re&uest a clarification of the disagreement whereby the software reached its termination. The scheme given in fi+ure &, also integrates t)ree emer+ent areas of )'T, which are )nowledge ac&uisition initiated automatically, by analysing a set of extraordinary cases, either to support the !nowledge engineer, or to create the !nowledge/base directly. " general !nowledge/base, such as, an encyclopaedia represented in a suitable form, or generalised pattern/processing or associational !nowledge. 2t encloses common !nowledge or common/sense, and may be used as a foundation upon which the domain/specific !nowledge may be built. Aatural ?machine/learning ability, in such a manner that the results of new cases are used by the software to change the existing !nowledge/base.