Important Perspectives on Technology
Your profitability is closely related to the degree of added value, and technology provides a basis for adding this value.
When the topic of technology comes up it is a common mistake to think about computers
or information technology. For companies that develop products, we find it helpful to categorize technology into two main camps:
- Technology consumed. This is all technology infrastructure that is needed to operate your firm and perform its activities.
- Technology produced. This is the value-added area. Technologies that are developed by you (whether internally or acquired externally)
that are used to build your products and provide value to your customer.
What does the word "technology" mean to you? It is often identified with modern,
sophisticated artefacts and/or software. The word is based on the two Greek words: "technos,"
meaning the process for doing something, and "ology" meaning a systematic understanding of something.
Thus technology can be thought of as [20]:
- the knowledge of a functional technique, or
- the knowledge of doing something or
- the knowledge of the manipulation of nature for human purposes
Technology can also be thought of in terms of either knowledge, skills or artefact:
- technology as knowledge, is the formal abstract representation of technology in a codified form.
- technology as skills includes the human resources who have the specific capabilities to employ technological knowledge, as well as the tacit knowledge which is not codified.
- technology as artefact concerns the physical objects which embody particular technologies [21].
Each new wave of technology can be described in terms of:
- the generic tasks to which it is applied (e.g. amplifying and switching electrical signals)
- the material technology it selects (e.g. silicon, SiGe in the case of semiconductors)
- the physical/chemical properties it exploits (e.g. the "transistor effect" and the "field effect")
- the technological and economic dimensions and trade-offs it focuses upon (e.g. density of the circuits, speed, unit costs, etc.) [22].
Do the following exercise to provide yourself with a foundation of management knowledge needed for future decisions about enhancing and leveraging your core competencies.
- Think about your technologies in terms as knowledge bases, skill bases and artefacts and link these to your core competencies.
- Identify where the domains of technological knowledge are embedded into your products.
- Analyze your product portfolio and determine what knowledge domains are embedded into which products.
Use our expert guidance to assist in your analysis.
info@strategies2innovate.com
The following is a list of the important topics concerning the management of your technologies. If there is an area
that is not covered and you need information about it -- just let us know.
