Technology Management

Technology Management for Engineers
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Compiled by : Adnan Alam Khan

For
Institute of Business Management
2015.
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Email: write2adnanalamkhan@gmail.com or adnan_hiit@yahoo.com

1. Define Problems of Technology Management?
Ans: Technology management studies face three main problems:
1. A lack of distinction between concepts and practice in innovation, knowledge and technology
management
2. A lack of universally accepted conceptual models or frameworks to understand the practical
application of TM
3. A lack of integration of key tools into the analysis of TM.
In order to tackle the first two problems, this study integrates the theory of dynamic capabilities into
a TM framework and offers a model for explaining the core TM activities on the basis of
technological capabilities. In this framework, TM is conceived as the development and exploitation
of technological capabilities on a constant basis. Technological capabilities, being a subset of
dynamic capabilities, require a capacity/ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and
external competencies to address rapidly changing environments.
2. Define activities of Technology Management?
Ans: The analysis of TM becomes the analysis of six generic TM activities:
Acquisition,
Exploitation,
Identification,
learning,
Protection and
Selection.
All these activities will help to build the technological capabilities associated with them.
3. Discuss benefits of TM frame work.
Ans: The proposed TM framework offers several benefits in understanding TM:
1. It establishes boundaries and relationships between TM and other management principles,
particularly with innovation. This is achieved by classifying TM activities into two categories:
primary/core and supporting activities that come from other disciplines such as knowledge
management.
2. It helps to avoid two critical concerns: the static nature of innovation models and their
deterministic approach, thanks to the explicit indication of the nonlinear feature of TM
activities in the framework.
3. The framework is based on the management of technological capabilities, enabling the link
between TM activities and technological capabilities to be established.
4. The use of the TM framework helps to develop a core set of generic TM activities that can be
customized by any organization (manufacturing or services) and applicable at any level, such
as R&D or business unit, and at any size.
The TM activities model is highly flexible, and offers a good starting point for managers as well as
engineers and management students who want to pursue careers in TM. It shows what skills and
knowledge are necessary to manage technology in order to develop and exploit particular
technological capabilities within firms.
4. Discuss tools for technology managers
Ans: It offers six tools to be included in a toolkit for technology managers: a)patent analysis, b)
portfolio management, c) roadmapping, d) S-curve,e) stage-gate and f) value analysis.
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5.Define Absorptive capacity

Ans: Absorptive capacity measures a firms ability to value, assimilate and apply new knowledge on
multiple levels individual, group, firm and national level.
6. Define Activity
Ans: Activity is used interchangeably with process or routine, and is associated with the concept
of capability. When the capability reaches some threshold level of practised or routine activity, the
performance of an activity can be claimed to constitute a capability.
7. Define Antecedents
Ans: Antecedents are prior-based knowledge, that is, knowledge stocks and knowledge flows, as
well as communication. It involves a firms innovation performance, aspiration level and
organizational learning.
8.Define Acquisition
Acquisition is how a company obtains the technologies valuable for its business, based on the buy
collaboratemake decision. Technologies might be developed internally, by some form of
collaboration, or acquired from external developers. The management of acquisition differs on the
basis of the choice made.
9. Define Base enable Technology
Ans: Base/enabling technologies are essential to be in business and are widely exploited by
competitors, so their competitive impact is low. Critical/key technologies are well embodied in
products and processes and their competitive impacts are high. Pacing technologies might be under
experimentation by some competitors and if the technology succeeds, its competitive impact is likely
to be high. Emerging technologies are at an early research stage or emerging in other industries and
their competitive impact is unknown, although they are expected to be tomorrows pacing
technologies.
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10. Define Alliances
Ans: Alliances are collaborations among several organizations ranging from firms to intermediaries.
Several types of alliance are possible, ranging from an ad-hoc partnership formed to solve a specific
problem, through complex alliances and joint ventures to complete acquisition.
11.Define Auditing
Ans: Auditing generally refers to the evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, project or
product. Audits are performed to ascertain the validity and reliability of information, and also to
provide an assessment of a systems internal control. For example, a technology audit provides
details of the technologies available in-house and their status.
12. Define Balanced score card.
Ans: Balanced scorecard is an accounting method used to ensure well-rounded performance,
especially from managers, by designing an evaluation that takes into account the perspective of
clients/customers, managers, peers and subordinates on four dimensions: customer service, internal
business processes, learning and growth, and financials.
13. Define Assessment
Ans: Assessment is the systematic identification, analysis and evaluation of the potential secondary
consequences, whether beneficial or detrimental, of technology in terms of its impacts on social,
cultural, political and environmental systems and processes.
14. Define Concurrent Engineering
Ans: Concurrent engineering is a process in which appropriate disciplines are committed to work
interactively to conceive, approve, develop and implement products/service projects that meet
predetermined objectives. Or
Concurrent engineering is applied to the engineering design philosophy of cross-functional
cooperation in order to create products that are better, cheaper and more quickly brought to
market.
15. whats the difference between Bench marking and Business Model
Ans: Benchmarking uses standards or measures from high performing organizations as a basis for
comparison. The results from benchmarking need to be used as part of an overall change process;
just doing the benchmarking doesnt lead to change.
A business model is a framework for creating economic, social and/or other forms of value. The
term business model is thus used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to
represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure,
organizational structures, trading practices and operational processes and policies.
16. Why BPR is important for any firm?
Ans: Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a TQM tool used to increase performance by radically
redesigning the organizations structures and processes, including starting from the ground up.
17.Why Capacity is different from capability?
Ans: Capability is an ability to do something, consisting of strategies and operational activities.
Capability is the ability to perform actions and since it applies to human capital, capability is the sum
of expertise and capacity. Where as Capacity is the ability to hold, receive or absorb knowledge.
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18. Discuss launching a new product in the market.
Ans: Commercialization is the process of introducing a new product/service into the market. The
actual launch of a new product/service is the final stage of new product/service development.
Commercialization includes the activities of finalizing development and preparing the
product/service to customers as well as dealing with marketing, such as advertising and sales
promotion, and after-sales efforts.
19. Does Complementary Assets plays an important role in TM, How?
Ans: Complementary assets are the assets, infrastructure or capabilities needed to support the
successful commercialization and marketing of a technological innovation, other than those assets
fundamentally associated with that innovation. These assets offer those services almost always
needed to commercialize an innovation, such as marketing, competitive manufacturing, and aftersales support. Three main complementary assets are generic assets, which do not need to be
tailored to a particular innovation; specialized assets, which have unilateral dependence with the
innovation; and co-specialized assets, where a bilateral dependence exists between the innovation
and the complementary asset.
20. Is there any relationship between Diffusion and Diversification?
Ans: Diffusion is the process whereby a new technology is spread. Diffusion is also an endogenous
characteristic of the innovation process itself, as the learning, imitation and feedback effects that
arise during adoption further develop the initial innovation.
Diversification is a marketing strategy used by a company aiming to increase profitability through
greater sales volume obtained from new products and new markets. The strategies of diversification
can include internal development of new products or markets, acquisition of a firm, alliance with a
complementary company, licensing of new technologies, and distributing or importing a product line
manufactured by another firm.
21. Define concurrent Engineering.
Ans: Concurrent engineering is a process in which appropriate disciplines are committed to work
interactively to conceive, approve, develop and implement products/service projects that meet
predetermined objectives.
Concurrent engineering is applied to the engineering design philosophy of cross-functional
cooperation in order to create products that are better, cheaper and more quickly brought to
market.
22. Define continuous improvement
Ans: Continuous improvement improves performance and customer satisfaction through
continuous and incremental improvements to processes, including removing unnecessary activities
and variations often represented as a quality initiative.
23. Define contracting R&D.
Ans: Contracting R&D is where a company uses the services of a contract research organization or
some other party to develop a new process or product.
24. Is there any difference between Core competencies and Corporate entrepreneurship
Ans: Core competencies are competencies that are applicable to a wide variety of products and
business markets, are not imitable, and make a significant contribution to the perceived customer
benefits of the end product. Core competencies are particular strengths relative to other
organizations in the industry, which provide the fundamental basis for the provision of added value.
Core competencies are the collective learning in organizations, and involve how to coordinate
diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies.
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Corporate entrepreneurship can broadly be defined as entrepreneurship within an existing
organization. Employees, perhaps engaged in a special project within a larger firm, are encouraged
to behave as entrepreneurs, with the resources and capabilities of the firm to draw upon. Corporate
entrepreneurship includes all an organizations innovation, renewal and venturing efforts.
25. Define Development funnel or Idea.
Ans: The development funnel (also known as an idea/project funnel) illustrates the new product
development process where
the
idea generation,
development and product
launch/commercialization activities are conducted. It is widely used in innovation management
processes.
26. Define TM tools and its application
Ans:
27. Define phase of new product development

Ans:
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28.Define alliances in terms of TM.
Ans:
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29. Does technology exploit you?
Ans:
30. Define relationship with customer in terms of TM

Ans:
31.Discuss the relationship between Inventions and Innovation
Ans:
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32. Input , Process and Output measure in TM.
Ans:
33. Discuss Technology Matrix in term of Market

Ans:
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34. Discuss Stage-gate process.
Ans:
35. Discuss TM activities.
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Ans:
36. Define PDP process development projects.
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Ans:
37. Draw Model of Open Innovation

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38.Draw product process Matrix
Ans:
39. what are the dimension of innovation?

Ans:
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Home Work or Quiz
1. Why does dynamic capabilities theory improve the understanding of TM?
2. How has the TM discipline changed over the past 50 years?
3. What is the TM framework?
4. What are the main generic TM activities?
5. What are the main generic TM tools and what criteria are used to select them?
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Technology Management for Engineers

Compiled by : Adnan Alam Khan