Mata kuliah : A0012 – Manajemen Umum
Tahun
: 2010
Session 12
MANAGING TECHNOLOGY AND
INFORMATION
Learning Objectives
• After studying Chapter 17, you will know:
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the process involved in the development of new technologies
how technologies proceed through a life cycle
how to manage technology for competitive advantage
how to assess technology needs
where new technologies originate and the best strategies for acquiring them
how people play a role in managing technology
how to develop an innovative organization
the key characteristics of successful development projects
Outline Materi
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Bina Nusantara
Technology and Innovation
Technological Innovation in a Competitive
Environment
Assessing Technology Needs
Framing Decisions about Technological
Innovation
Sourcing and Acquiring New Technologies
Technology and Managerial Roles
Organizing for Innovation
Technology And Innovation
• Technology
– the methods, processes, systems, and skills used to transform resources into products
• Innovation
– a change in technology
– process innovations - changes that affect the methods of producing outputs
– product innovations - changes in the actual outputs themselves
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Technology And Innovation
• The technology life cycle
– a predictable pattern followed by a technological innovation starting from its inception and
development to market saturation and replacement
– cycle begins with the recognition that applied science can satisfy a need
– knowledge and ideas brought together, culminating in a technological innovation
– rate of product innovation tends to be highest in early years
– dominant design emerges when early problems are solved
– technology reaches upper limits of performance capabilities
– the technology remains in mature stage until it is replaced
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The Technology Life Cycle
Performance
Theoretical
maximum
Development slows
as a limit is approached
Emergence of a
dominant design
Early
problems
Time
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Technology And Innovation (cont)
• Diffusion of technological innovations
– spread in the use of new technology over time follows an S-shaped pattern
– adopters of new technology fall into five groups
• innovators - adventurous
• early adopters - critical to the success of a new technology
– include well-respected opinion leaders
• early majority - take longer to decide to use something new
• late majority - approach innovation with great caution
– adopt out of economic necessity or increasing social pressure
• laggards - isolated and highly conservative
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Technological Innovation In A Competitive Environment
• Technology leadership
– can be used to support low-cost and differentiation strategies
– imposes costs and risks
– not the best approach for every organization
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Technological Innovation In A Competitive Environment (cont.)
• Technology followership
– can be used to support low-cost and differentiation strategies
– adoption timing is dependent on the organization’s strategic needs and technology skills
– potential benefits of the new technology also a consideration
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Assessing Technology Needs
• Measuring current technologies
– technology audit - process of clarifying the key technologies upon which an organization
depends
– most important dimension of a new technology is its competitive value
• emerging technologies - still under development and unproven
– may alter rules of competition in the future
• pacing technologies - yet to prove full value
– have potential to alter the rules of competition
• key technologies - proven effective and provide a strategic advantage
• base technologies - are commonplace in the industry
– offer little competitive advantage
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Assessing Technology Needs (cont.)
• Assessing external technological trends
– Benchmarking - process of comparing the organization’s technologies with those of other
companies
• important to consider practices of overseas competitors
• focus is what is currently being done
– Scanning - focus is what can be done and what is being developed
• emphasizes identifying and monitoring the sources of technology in an
industry
• extent of scanning determined by the importance of staying at the cutting
edge of technology
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Framing Decisions About Technological Innovation
• Anticipated market receptiveness
– in the short run, there should be an immediate application that demonstrates the value of the
new technology
– in the long run, a set of applications must show the technology is the proven means to satisfy a
market need
• Technological feasibility
– visions can stay unrealized for a long time
– technical obstacles may represent barriers to progress
• Economic viability
– must be a good financial incentive for the new technology
• development results in costs
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patents help to recoup the costs
Framing Decisions About Technological Innovation (cont.)
• Anticipated competency development
– technological innovations are the tangible product of intangible knowledge and capabilities that
make up the organization’s core competencies
– firm’s must have (or develop) the internal competencies needed to execute their technology
strategy
• Organizational suitability
– assess the fit of technological innovation with the organization’s culture and managerial systems
• proactive” technology-push” innovators
• defender - have a more circumspect posture toward innovation
• analyzer - allow others to prove the viability of the technology
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Sourcing And Acquiring New Technologies
• Make-or-buy decision
– the question an organization asks itself about whether to acquire new technology from an
outside source or develop it itself
– Internal development - potentially advantageous to keep the technology proprietary
– Purchase - most technology is available in products or processes that can be openly purchased
– Contracted development - contract development to an outside source
– Licensing - when technology is not easily purchased, may be able to license it for a fee
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Sourcing And Acquiring New Technologies (cont.)
• Make-or-buy decision (cont.)
– Technology trading - may be used between rival companies
• becoming increasingly common because of the high cost of developing
advanced technologies independently
– Research partnerships - each member enters the partnership with different skills or resources
needed for successful new-technology development
– Joint venture - have greater permanence
• outcomes result in entirely new companies
– Acquisition of an owner of the technology
• outright purchase of the entire company
• acquiring a minority interest to gain access to the technology
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Organizing For Innovation
• Bureaucracy busting
– bureaucracy is an enemy of innovation
– establish special temporary project structures that are isolated from the rest of the
organization
• allowed to operate under different rules
– angura - “underground research” policy that allows Japanese scientists to pursue projects
about which only their immediate supervisor knows
– cross-functional teams - solve problems and create innovative solutions
• are flat structures that create an environment that encourages
collaboration and creativity
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Organizing For Innovation (cont.)
• Implementing development projects
– development project - focused organizational effort to create a new product or process via
technological advances
• fall into one of four categories
– research or advanced development projects - designed to invent new science for application in a
specific project
– breakthrough development projects - designed to create the first generation of a product or process
– platform development projects - establish the basic architecture for a whole set of follow-on projects
– derivative development projects- designed to provide incremental improvements to an existing product
or process
• development projects have multiple benefits
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Organizing For Innovation (cont.)
• Technology, job design, and human resources
– adopting a new technology typically requires changes in the way jobs are designed
– sociotechnical systems - approach to job design that attempts to redesign tasks to optimize
operation of a new technology while preserving employees’ interpersonal relationships and
other human aspects of the work
• managerial choices on how to apply a new technology
– used to limit the tasks and responsibilities of workers
– used to achieve great accomplishments and improve the quality of workers’ lives
– must consider the effect of technology on other human resource systems
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