Lecture 23 BTM 4803 Technology Management Islamic University of

Technology (IUT)

Topic: Appropriate Technology

Course Instructor: Dr. Iftheker A Khan

23-Aug-21 © Lecture Notes of Dr. Iftheker A Khan 1

Appropriate Technology

⦿Mahatma Gandhi
➠Developed the concept of village-based
technology
➠Considered to be the father of this movement
National Flag of India
⦿Economist Dr. Ernst Friedrick “Fritz”
Schumacher
➠coined the concept of appropriate technology
in 1962, yet called it intermediate technology.

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Appropriate Technology

⦿ Small-scale technology
⦿ Simple enough that people can manage it
directly and on a local level
⦿ Makes use of skills and technology that are
available in a local community to supply basic
human needs, such as gas and electricity,
water, food, and waste disposal.
⦿ Appropriate technology is decentralized.
⦿ w/ appropriate technology the person who
produces a service or a product also
becomes the consumer.

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Production of Technology
Goals:
• Human Needs
Traditional Inputs: • Productivity
• Money Increase
• Materials • Competitive Edge
• Labor & • Technological Self Satisfy
Management Driving Goals
Force Reliance
• Physical Facilities
• Energy
Resource R& D
Intelligent-Based Input Output Technology
Allocation Organizations/
Inputs:
Units
• Science
(The application of the
• Knowledge technology ends up in
• Skills Guiding Human
human surroundings)
• Human Abilities Force Surroundings:
• Information • Economical
Management • Technological
• Existing • Environmental
Technologies Resources
• Socio-Cultural
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Iftheker A Khan 4
• Demographic
Human Factors Example
Surrounding Technological Technical utility (capability; reliability; efficiency)
Options of technology (flexibility; scale)
s Factors to Availability of infrastructure (support; services)
be Economic Economic feasibility (cost-benefit)
considered Improvement in productivity (capital; resources)
Market potentials (size; elasticity)
for Resource Availability of material and energy sources
technology Availability of financial resources
assessment: Availability of skilled manpower
Environmental Impact on physical environment (air, water; land)
Impact on living conditions (comfort; noise)
Impact on life (safety; health)
Population Growth of population (rate; life expectancy)
Level of education (literacy rate)
Labor characteristics (unemployment; structure)
Socio-Cultural Impact on individual (life quality)
Impact on society (values)
Compatibility with existing culture
Politico-Legal Political acceptability
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Mass need satisfaction
© Lecture Notes of Dr. Iftheker A Khan 5
Compatibility with institutions and policies
Concept of Appropriateness

• Technology is a product of R&D factories.

• Different R&D factories at different places produce different technologies for

achieving same or similar goals.

• Surroundings--act as a guiding force for the production of technology--are

different even though the driving force by various needs may be the same.

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 Concept of Appropriateness
Technological
Appropriateness
Objective functions used in
the dev. of tech at different
places could also be
different.
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1. It is not intrinsic quality of any technology.
2. It is derived from the surroundings in which it
is to be utilized.
3. It is derived from objective function used for
evaluation.
4. A value judgment of those involved.
Maxm of Opportunities (+ve effects)
(Maximization of the sum total of
Two Basic
Components positive aspects)
of Objective
Functions Minm of Losses (-ve effects)
(Minimization of the sum total of
negative aspects)
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Concept of Appropriateness

acts and Guiding

acts and Guiding

Surroundings-1

Surroundings-2
Driving

Force

Force
Force Same or Driving
Same Tech-1 Tech-2 Force
Similar Same
Goal

Place-1 Place-2
R&D-1 R&D-2

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 1. at the time of development.
2. w.r.t. surroundings for which it has been
Any Technology is
developed.
Appropriate
3. in accordance with the objective function
used for development

May or May Not be

Appropriate Same place & different
time Because the
surroundings and/
or objective
Different place & functions may
Same/different time have changed

It is not Appropriate at later 1. Different or changed surroundings

time and/or at a different time 2. Different or changed objectives
due to reasons 3. Both of above
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 1. What factors included
in the positive aspects
There are three 2. What factors included
ways by which Varies Time to time
Objective in the negative aspects
Function can & place to place 3. What is the relative
differ place to weightage given among
place & time to
time and between the two
sets of factors.

Difference in Surroundings:
• Between developed countries & developing countries
are quite significant.
• Even among each group, there are plenty of
variations.
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 Surroundings differ Place to place and also
over passage of time.

Over Passage of time + Almost all elements of

surroundings change
Application of Tech (better or worse)

1. 1. Relevant Components
2. 2. of Surroundings
3. 3. 1.
4. 4. 2.
Tech-1 3.
5. 5.
6. 4.
6. Tech-2 5.
7. 7. 6.
11 7.

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But not all components of surroundings are
© Lecture Notes of Dr. Iftheker A Khan
relevant to every specific technology. 11
Macro and Micro Surroundings
⦿Broader (Macro) Surroundings of a country (e.g., country’s law & order,
political situation, Govt policy, etc) is in a broader spectrum and is same
for all technologies at a particular time and place.

⦿But for a certain technology, you can list specific components from the
broader surroundings to form a Specific (Micro) Surroundings which is
directly affected by that technology (e.g., North Bengal sand pumping
affect local environment, socio-culture, economics, etc.). Thus at same
place and same time Specific (Micro) Surrounding for different
technologies many be different.

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 What constitutes surroundings depend upon the
technology under consideration
Tech-1 Specific Surroundings-1
Tech-2 Specific Surroundings-2
Tech-3 Specific Surroundings-3

Two surroundings are unlikely to be identical. For any

particular technology, many apparently different
surroundings may in fact be considered similar.

Surroundings-1
A Specific Can be
Technology Surroundings-2 Considered
Similar
Surroundings-3
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Concern of developing country

➢ Two objectives: More Employment & Reduce Poverty.

➢ Commercial interests from developed nations dominate the
industrialization process in developing countries.
➢ In many cases, introduction of imported technologies resulted in a
fundamental and a massive assault on local culture.
➢ The AT movement in developing countries is essentially an effort to
adapt and develop technologies suitable to their surroundings.

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 Concern of developed country
⦿Find a more harmonious and sustainable • Revitalize local culture to encounter the
relationship with the environment. increasingly homogeneous and sterile mass
⦿Identify a way out of the accelerating energy culture propagated through the electronic
and resource crisis. media.
⦿Reduce alienating work.
• The AT movement in developed countries is
⦿Develop more socially conducive work
essentially an effort to correct the excess and
places.
imbalance of an industrial culture driven by
⦿Bring local economics back to health with an
an extreme form of materialism.
increase in locally owned and operated
enterprises.

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 Example of DDT
The well-known chemical
pesticide DDT
(Dichloro-diphenyl-
trichloroethane) was an
appropriate technology at
the place & time of original
application
After some time, it became
inappropriate even at the
place of origin. It has been
banned in the industrialized
countries because of a
change in objective function
(represented by added
emphasis on the
minimization of –ve effects)
DDT is still considered to be
appropriate in many
developing countries as the
specific surroundings &
objectives are collectively
judged to be similar to those
of the place & time of
original application.

Appropriate Inappropriate Appropriate

Technology Substitution causes change in surroundings

and make the old technology inappropriate
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 Example of Conventional Watch
The most appropriate But with the development of quartz watches, it is no
technology of conventional more appropriate, because the technological &
watch making existed in economic surroundings have changed drastically.
Switzerland for quite a long Technological Substitution normally makes the old
time. technology inappropriate as it causes significant change
in the surrounding.

Appropriate Inappropriate

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 Example of Coal-Based Technology
The coal-based technology Tech. Substitution And now with further
for generation of electric But became inappropriate change in the surroundings
power was very appropriate due to technological (particularly w.r.t the
at one time. substitution process. resource aspect) the coal-
based technology has
become appropriate again.

Appropriate Inappropriate Appropriate

Because of the changes in the surroundings,

technologies once labeled inappropriate can become the
appropriate technologies of the future

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Example: Drugs

⦿Technologies embodied in drugs, such as penicillin, polio vaccine,

contraceptive pill, etc. are perhaps appropriate throughout the world
because the specific surroundings often include the human body and
therefore, are somewhat similar.
⦿The price of the drug and religious belief may become important in certain
cases.
➠Contraceptive Pill: In context of General Ayub Khan, Ex-President of
Pakistan.

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Example: Human Powered Transport (Rickshaw)

⦿Human powered transport (cycle or rickshaw) is appropriate only in small rural

settings where the travelling distance is short.
⦿This is also used in many big cities of the developing countries and is judged to be
appropriate in surroundings with massive unemployment and poverty.
⦿But it is inappropriate in an affluent society.
Thus, we see that technological appropriateness can be explained easily with
reference to the surroundings and objectives, as viewed by those involved.

Some specific Technologies are appropriate in vary few

places but inappropriate in most other places due to
difference in surroundings.
• Electric toothbrush
• Cable car
• Mink coat
• Ice-breaker
• Geothermal energy
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Determining appropriateness of a technology
1. Primary aim of meeting basic need of rural people. 7. Capable of using indigenous raw materials
2. Capable of absorbing larger amounts of labor, and service facilities.
including woman. 8. Waste cycling and non-polluting.
3. Preserve existing traditional jobs and create new 9. Setting an economic growth process going
ones. for the masses.
4. Low cost & should require labor levels of skills. 10. Has to be decentralized and capable of
5. Provide viable means for small-scale production reducing income disparity.
operations. 11. Consistent with local culture.
6. Consume lesser amount of energy and other 12. Compatible with the social system.
Natural resources. 13. Acceptable to the political system.

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Technology choice situation of a developing Each developing country needs
country can be divided into three broad sectors: a complex of strategies for
1. Leading sector ( which is essentially for selection of appropriate
future foreign earnings). technologies corresponding to
2. Driving sector (which is expected to reduce these 3 sectors
the technological gap).
3. Evolving sector (which tries to meet rural 1. Information on available
needs of immediate future). technologies (including
Are Extremely alternative technologies)
Important for 2. Tech. forecasting
Selection of ATs 3. Tech. Assessment

• In the Assessment procedure, the criteria function is adjusted to match

national goals.
• Each Technology has to be evaluated with respect to Total Surroundings.
• Once the choice of Tech is made, it is then necessary to provide adequate
Technology infrastructure for Adoptation, Adaptation, Innovation,
Development, and Marketing
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of Appropriate Technologies.
© Lecture Notes of Dr. Iftheker A Khan 22
Table: Strategy for Selecting Appropriate Technologies

Sector Objectives Most Important Procedural

Criterion for Requirement
Appropriateness
Leading Achievement of world technology frontier in Maximize TF; TA; R&D
selected areas for capital formation profitability in the and Marketing
through export of technology International
(Indian IT Sector) market
Driving Achievement of technology modernization Maximize gains TT; TA;
in selected areas for productivity and and Minimize Technology
efficiency through import of technology losses Adaptation
(Bangladesh Agricultural, Tractor, Power
Tiller, Hybrid Seeds, Garments)
Evolving Achievement of tech upgradation in Minimize TT; TA;
selected areas for basic need satisfaction disruptive Technology
of rural people through indigenous tech changes in local Adoption-
(Food Process Products, Shemai, Pickles, traditions Adaptation and
23-Aug-21 Light Engineering Industries).
© Lecture Notes of Dr. Iftheker A Khan innovation 23
Summary

1. Choice from alternative technologies

Appropriateness 2. The target groups
of a technology
3. The resource constraints
can be assessed
4. Disruptive changes

A disruptive technology is one that displaces an established technology and shakes up

the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.

Study Material: Lecture Note L23 Appropriateness of a Technology

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