MAN 6537: Managing Technology in Organizations

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MAN 6537Managing Technology in Organizations

• Srikanth Paruchuri
• Assistant Professor
• Dept. of Management

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Technology

• What constitutes technology?
• Is technology important?
• Can technologies change?

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What Constitutes Technology?

• State of knowledge
• Methods of doing things
• Methods of solving problems
• Academic knowledge vs. technology
• Basic vs. applied knowledge

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Is Technology Important?

• Defines what can and cannot be done
• Defines most efficient/economic way of doing
  things
• Defines the efficiency frontiers
• Defines the lives of people and the way they live

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Can Technologies Change?

• Technological change innovation?
• Developments in basic sciences
• Developments in applied sciences/applications
• Is the introduction of color computers by Apple
  an innovation?
• Is introduction of cup holder by Honda an
  innovation?

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Technological Changes

• What are the different types of technological
  changes?
• Who brings about these innovations?
• Who is influenced by these changes and how?

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Types of Technological Changes

• Types of technological changes
• Incremental vs. radical
• Continuous vs. disruptive
• Competence-destroying vs. competence-enhancing
• Modular vs. architectural
• Product vs. Process

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Types of Technological Changes

• Patterns of technological change
• Tushman Anderson
• Eras of ferment followed by eras of incremental
  change
• Bower Christensen
• Initiated by focus on different set of
  performance attributes
• Existing customers valued performance attributes
  improve at a faster pace

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Who brings about these changes?

• Small vs. large firms
• Incumbents vs. New entrants
• From within the industry vs. outside the industry

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Who brings about these Changes? (TA)
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Who is influenced?

• All organizations
• Depending on the type of innovation
• Depending on the size of the firm
• Depending on organizational inertia

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Organizational Responses

• Can all organizations respond to these changes?
• What types of organizations can respond?
• Are some special characteristics required to
  respond to changes?
• How do different organizations respond to
  different technological changes?

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Organizational Learning

• Is there something called organizational
  learning?
• Who does the learning?
• Where do they learn from?

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Organizational Culture

• Is there something called organizational culture?
• Is having strong culture good to respond to
  technological changes?
• Does strong culture reflect resistance or
  creativity?

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Market Strategies

• What are the different market strategies that
  could be adopted by organizations to respond to
  technological changes?
• What are the different types of markets?
• How can firms compete in the network markets?

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Predicting Future

• Can we predict the future?
• What tools are useful in this process?