SPRING DRIVE 2014 ASSIGNMENT

NAME Nandini BiswasROLL NO 521147058

SEMESTER VI

SUBJECT CODE & NAME BBA601- TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

CREDIT 4MARKS 60DATE OF SUBMISSION 22nd June, 2014

Q1. Define any one definition of Technology. Explain the concept of technology in brief

Ans: Technology is revolutionary, and its impact on our lives and capabilitiesgrows exponentially. The headway in modern technology has impacted onvarious industries ranging from medical, to entertainment, to transportation, toeducation. With the rapid advancement of new technologies, it is very difficultfor the corporates to remain updated with the latest or greatest technology andkeep hoping to implement more competitive systems. This renders the role of atechnology manager very important for organizations.

Technology is a man-made resource for creating more wealth and is alsoconsidered as a commodity that can be bought and sold. Generally, it is thecombination of hardware and software. Hardware is the physical product or component while software is the knowhow, technique or procedure. Technologydoes not exist in isolation. It exists in human surroundings. Each technology,when applied, causes some alterations in its human surroundings which canbe beneficial or harmful. Thus, it is essential while determining strategies fortechnological advancement, one must adopt an optimum approach of maximizingbenefits and reducing negative effects of technology

We have seen that technology plays an important role in the growth of theeconomy of nations and also enhances competitiveness in the industries whereit has emerged as the most important resource that contributes directly to socioeconomic development. It has become a strategic tool for the organization thathas great impact on the functionality of the organization; hence, the organizationshould monitor the changes in the structures in technology.One of the major functions of technology management is to understand

the value of certain technologies for an organization. If the organization decidesto go for continuous development of technology, and if they consider it valuablefor the customer, then it is the responsibility of the organization to see and decidewhen to invest in technology development and when to withdraw, with properarguments.Technology and technology management are critical for an enterprise forits successful operations on a long-term basis. Organizations are required tofocus on basic considerations before adopting any technological innovation:• Idea of technological innovation• Potential market• Teamwork in both technological and business expertise.The idea of a technological innovation should be based or linked withpotential market and the technology team should closely interact with the rest ofthe divisions of the enterprise leading to successful conclusions in terms ofproducts to be developed.The efficient technology management system is very important for anorganization. As the world of technology changes rapidly with changingcompetitive environments and market needs, organizations must pay attentionto developing new innovative products for domestic and global markets

CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology embedded in

Machines

People skills

Processes

Q2. List and explain the effects of technology on various human need factors

Ans: Technology has spawned the growth of modern society and has largely influenced every aspect of living.

• Easy life- If we want to prepare coffee it can be done by just pressing oneswitch, cleaning of clothes, washing dishes, sending mails has becomeso easy, preparing food is again so easy—all credit goes to technology.Life is so easy with all kinds of technologies available. We are now nomore exerting ourselves like our earlier generations used to exert for theirliving.• Luxurious life-With the developments in technology, we are able to enjoyall the pricey luxuries in life for e.g. cars, air conditioners, refrigerator,microwave, washing machines and many more.• Communication is fast – Mobiles phones have made it possible for us tocommunicate over wireless media. The communication industry is rapidlychanging and doing wonders.• Distances are short- With the development of transport technology suchas electronic trains, jets, airplanes, the far-distance journeys can be donein a few hours which ultimately helps us in meeting our near and dearones as and when required and also allows us to work from differentgeographical locations.• Speedy long distance communication through emails and fax- Now we donot have to worry about the lost letters or miscommunications. With thehelp of Internet, e-mails can be accessed anywhere and everywhere inthe world, since we are connected through the internet.

The economy of a country influences how the people of the county live. Oneof the major force which is driving us is technology. Our generation is hugelyimpacted by it. It has transformed our lives so much and we will see many moreadvancement in the years to come

Q3. Differentiate between exploratory and normative methods of forecasting

Ans: Exploratory technological forecasting approach transcends into the futurefrom the past performance or experience. It starts from today’s assured basisof knowledge and is oriented towards the future. Its techniques deal with theanalysis of technological capabilities, features of the past and then evaluatingthe present and then finally looking forward to the future. Explorative forecastingis more focused on predicting how a new technology will evolve on a predeterminedcurve.

Normative technological forecasting first assesses future goals, needs,

desires, missions, and works backwards to the present. This normativeforecasting technique attempts to be more proactive.These forecasting approaches are not competitive nor do they substitutefor one another. They are complementary to each other and have to be usedtogether. Usually one does not attempt to prepare an exploratory forecast ofsome technology unless there is a normative forecast that the specific technologywill be needed. Some of the factors that influence the choice of the forecastingmethodology can depend on the time frame for the forecast, how much precisionis needed in the prediction and the purpose of the forecast

Q4. Describe the process of Technology assessment and evaluation with a neat diagram

Ans: Technology assessment process:

Technology description: This is the first step of technology assessmentwhere technology is described in terms of the function or purpose of thetechnology, its possible effects, and the resources that are required.

Identification of stakeholders and the identification of theirrequirements: In the second step of technology assessment processthe stakeholders and their requirements are identified which will help tomake assessment more effective.

Identification of the purpose of assessment: This step will help inidentifying the purpose of the assessment of technology and also help indetermining the procedure of conducting the assessment.

Identification of the intended uses of the assessment: In this step oftechnology assessment process, intended uses of the assessment willbe identified. We can define intended uses as the particular ways in whichthe results of the assessment will be applied.

Creation of an assessment plan: In this step, a plan is created fortechnology assessment. This plan is an elaborate description of theprocedure of implementation of the assessment, which comprises theidentification of resources existing for the implementation of the plan,information to be gathered, methods to be used for research, descriptionof the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders and time duration forthe accomplishment of the tasks.

Gathering of data: In this step, data is gathered as per the assessmentplan. Data gathering comprises the indicators, sources of the data to begathered, methods to use, information quality and quantity, and the contextin which the data gathering is done.

Data analysis: In this step patterns are identified either by isolating thesignificant findings or by combining information sources to reach a larger

understanding, and making decisions about the procedure to organize,divide, interrelate, compare, and display information. We guide thesedecisions through the questions being asked, the types of data existing,and inputs from the stakeholders.

Conclusions and recommendations: After analysis, the conclusions andrecommendations are made wherever needed. Conclusions are relatedto the proof gathered and verified against agreed-upon standards set bystakeholders. Recommendations are made based on the conclusions.

Reporting results: In this step, the report of the assessment is madewhile keeping in mind some factors, such as:• Target audience• Objectives of the study and its limitations• Strengths and weaknesses of the technology

Process of technology Evaluation:

In India, technology evaluation is not applied as a formal tool in technologyacquisition. For being globally competitive and for exports, accreditation and certification are required for product specification and quality and the first step inthis direction is technology evaluation

Technology evaluation is a firm/organizational level exercise of choosing atechnology from amongst a set of available technologies, the adoption or use ofwhich will optimize on a set of defined parameters.Technology evaluation considers some factors like cost of technologyacquisition, amount of capital investment, rate of ROI, payback period, breakevenpoint, nature of pollution caused and cost of control, type of capital goods,manpower skill required and their availability, hazards and risk involved and theirmanagement cost, rate of obsolescence of technology, and technologyreplacement costs. However, the technology evaluation norms vary from placeto place.If an organization is evaluating technology at the initial stages of its inception,they have to determine the parameters against which the competing technologieshave to be evaluated and assign weightages to these parameters so as to arriveat a single value which could be then compared for different technologies. It ispossible that two firms from the same country may assign different weightagesto different evaluation parameters for evaluating technologies.

Technology

Description

Identification of

stakeholders

Purpose of assessment

Intended use of assessment

Creation of assessment plan

Gathering of data

Data AnalysisConclusion of recommendation

Report