Managing Technology in the 21ST Century

by

Darrell D. Bowman, Ph.D.

dbowman@uindy.edu

Assistant Professor Information Systems

University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46112

Abstract

American business managers of technology face challenges from technology and a globally

competitive market. How managers utilize technology could affect the success of the organization. The

factors affecting technology management in the twenty-first century, are an internationally diverse

workforce, a global market, rapid technological development and an high pressure management

environment. Unique business skills, such as flexibility, vision and a keen sense of business, are

examined as requirements for twenty-first century technology managers.

Various opinions have been published regarding the phases of new technology market

acceptance, called the Technology Adoption Life Cycle. Scholars believe that technology management

in the new century is based on the use of innovation to further the competitive advantage of the

organization in the growing global market. It is essential for educators to convey the technology

challenges for prospective managers to higher education students.

Table of Contents

List of Tables iii

List of Figures iv

Introduction 1

Analyzing Technological Directions 7

Technology Based Globalization 7

The Unique Business Characteristics for Technology Based Companies 10

Technology Adoption Life Cycle 13

E-Business 16

Conclusion 18

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Managing Technology in the 21ST Century

American business managers of technology face challenges from technology and a globally

competitive market. The end of the last century witnessed revolutionary changes in technology

and the use of technology in business. Technology-based globalization is clearly the new

paradigm for local economies and major businesses (Blakely, 2001). According to Blakely

(2001), technology will determine the type and form of work, not physical resources, tax breaks,

low wages, or location assets that local communities control. Blakley (2001) believes that

globalization and technology are closely related and the most significant influences on the

world’s economy in the new century. According to (Zahra, 1999) forces of globalization will

continue to escalate, causing companies around the globe to search for innovative ways to

capitalize on the opportunities unleashed by the global economy.

A second priority will be acquiring information through technology (Hitt, 1998). The

Information Age that began in 1980’s will continue into this century. According to Hitt (2000)

there will be haves and have-nots. Organizations with access to information critical to their

business will be on equal ground with competitors (Hitt, 2000). Hitt (2000) believes that

businesses without information access will quickly loose ground or fail to survive in the highly

competitive international market.

The third priority is to transform information into knowledge. According to Hitt (1998)

transforming information into knowledge can produce a competitive advantage for firms. Kanter

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(1999) states that organizations should use collaborative methods such as networks, boundary

teams, supply chain partnerships, and strategic alliances, to support innovation and then spread

knowledge.

According to research conducted by Phan, Siegel and Wright (2009) there is a gap in educating

technology managers. “Some countries with centralized educational systems (e.g., Japan,

Singapore, and Ireland) are graduating ‘bilingual engineers’ with capabilities in technology and

business.” (Phan, Siegel, & Wright, p. 1., 2009).

Technical managers today must contend with shortened product life cycles, narrower product

launch windows, global competition, and increasingly complex technical products (Pinto, 2002).

Graduates entering business must understand the competitive climate created by technology and

globalization. Tarnof, (2000) stated that the ability to manage information technology is an

important requirement for insurance company senior executives. The ability to manage

information technology is a requirement not left only to information technology (I.T.) managers.

Tillinghast-Towers Perrins consulting firm conducted a 1999 survey with what population or

what was the name of the survey? The survey was sent to 270 United States and Canada based

insurance firm executives and a 24 percent response rate was achieved (Tarnof, 2000). Tarnof

(2000) reported that almost one-third of the life insurance CEOs believe that managing

information technology is one of the top three strategic issues companies face.

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“The global economy is a major irrevocable event whose existence has already had a major

influence on today's strategic leadership practices and offers insights about practices that should

be used in the future”, according to (Ireland, 1999). Technology and globalization will continue

to influence business around the world. But the rapidity of change causes experts to believe that

the leaders of the twenty-first century will come from a different mold (Rifkin, 2002).

A by-product of the globalization of businesses is an increase in workforce diversity (Ireland,

1999). As companies become more global they will have to deal with the complications and

issues brought by a diversity of politics and culture. Business communities will comprise of

individuals from multiple countries and cultures that may have unique and idiosyncratic value

structures (Ireland, 1999).

The twentieth century has become known as the information age. According to Tyson, the

information age is being replaced with the intelligence age and success will come to those

companies that build a knowledge base about their competitive environment and a perpetual

strategy process to keep it continuously updated (Tyson, 1998).

Managers of technology must continue to stay up to date with technological innovation and

trends. According to Gates, the founder of Microsoft, the most significant trends of the new

twenty-first century are the Internet and E-Business (Leibs, 2002). Executives must make

decisions about how technology can best be used to the company’s advantage and what

technology is best. The Xerox Corporation has developed a significant number of innovative,

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information-processing products for example the PC mouse, graphical user interface, laser

printer, and local area network (Tyson, 1998). Yet Xerox is not a leader in the technology

industry today and is on the edge of financial collapse. Xerox failed to recognize the value of

some of their developments. Xerox did a fine job of information gathering but could not link the

intelligence they had gathered to a strategic implementation. The ease of acquiring information

and the amount of information has never been greater (Tyson, 1998). Both are due in great part

to the availability of the Internet. However, managers can become overwhelmed with

information (Tyson, 1998).

The highly competitive markets of today have also created a cacophony of managers who are

risk-takers working under pressures created by rapid change (Delbecq, 2000). A technology that

clearly reflects rapid change and high risk is the Internet.

Traditionally business has been conducted within the confines of brick and mortar. Deals were

consummated face-to-face or over the telephone. But the Internet has added a new method for

conducting business. Extranets are delivering what was thought impossible a short time ago:

efficient, timely collaboration within the enterprise and between firms separated from each other

by thousands of miles and many time zones. For the first time, a worldwide enterprise, and its

trading partners, can act as a unified, global team, because workers can leverage a shared base of

knowledge delivered from anywhere (Wladawsky Berger, 1999). An example of the effective

use of an extranet is ABB, the Swiss transnational; to integrate over 60 000 users in a worldwide

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corporate network spanning more than 80 countries and to connect over 100 external

companies--both customers and business partners (Wladawsky Berger, 1999).

Analyzing Technological Directions

Technology Based Globalization

Managing business technology today requires a combination of traditional management skills

and technology savvy. In a 2000 issue of Journal of Management Inquiry the work environments

of two of America’s highest regions for technological production were compared; Silcon Valley

in California and Route 128 region of Waltham, Massachusetts (Delbecq, 2000). The article

reports that those at the heart of innovation in most high-tech companies in Silcon Valley present

a very different image from the innovators of twenty years ago. The innovators are more

youthful, with most being in their 20s and 30s. The work environment is casual, almost

collegiate. Programmers and team-leaders are less likely to be wearing suits and ties than blue

jeans, khakis and open-collar shirts (Delbecq, 2000). The groups arrive at innovation by

questioning the solutions of their predecessors. In Silicon Valley the predominant cultural

attribute looked for in a manager or team leader is not someone who will be technically "right"

and control and direct subordinates, but rather someone who can excel in diagnostic questioning

(Delbecq, 2000). Delbecq describes a Silicon Valley that continues to reinvent itself.

The change that has occurred in the Route 128 region of Massachusetts reflects a shortage of

software developers and engineers (Delbecq, 2000). A global workforce has descended on the

area and the workforce is more youthful. They work in shorter time-frames and planning-cycles

according to Delbecq. Delbecq found that In Silicon Valley and Route 128 the young high-tech

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developers work long hours, experience time pressure and are empowered to take risks. The

environment and make-up of computer technology departments is changing as it continues to be

affected by highly competitive global markets.

The Internet inspired knowledge age is causing a shift in immigration according to Blakely.

Now, workers with access to the Internet can compete with one another through the Internet with

computerized central control systems (Blakely, 2001). Blakely (2001) believes that the world is

entering a new age of electronic migration. No longer will a worker have to leave his or her

home country to work in a far land. Blakely states that American companies are beginning to

outsource technical jobs to countries such as India and Pakistan. The long-range ramifications of

electronic worker migration and international outsourcing cannot be predicted. But the

challenges for managing technology workers can be understood. The cultural constraints of

electronic migration require that work hubs be established and managed by local management

(Blakely, 2001).

For the I.T. department in America that employs immigrant knowledge workers the challenge of

management is complicated by greater diversity (Blakely, 2001). Regardless of the global

business environment it is still necessary for managers to be able to manage people and

processes.

The Unique Business Characteristics for Technology Based

Companies

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Managers directly involved with technology have multidimensional roles. Today they must be in

tuned with the needs of the organization, have a working knowledge of their business and

manage the complexities of their technology (Hitt, 2000).

“Managers must become agile and flexible to help their firms develop and sustain an advantage

in the competitive landscape of the new millennium. They will need to harness the powers of

information technology and human capital with nonlinear thinking in the global marketplace of

the 21st century” (Hitt, 2000).

The two most significant technologies inherent in the technological revolution is information and

communications technology according to Hitt, (2000). Information technology centers on

collecting information and producing useful knowledge for decision support. Communication

technology enables access to global information. In the 21st century even technology managers

must think globally and allow strategic flexibility (Hitt, 2000). The technological environment

has been dynamic for many years but adding a global business factor makes flexibility a required

characteristic for I.T. managers of all disciplines.

Perhaps the most important skill for technology managers is developing partnerships between

technology departments and the business managers (Nelson, 2001). I.T. managers must not only

be responsive to the business needs but must contribute to the corporate strategy. Nelson (2001)

states, “Thriving will require tight and consistent partnerships between IT and business

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managers” (Nelson, 2001, 3). Technology managers need to become more assertive leaders who

seek opportunities for technology to drive business (Nelson, 2001).

Managing technology and technical innovation is important for every organization. Learning to

apply innovation to the needs of business is not automatic. Managers must know when to adopt

technology and how long to maintain the technology (Ireland, 1999).

Conclusion

Hitt (2001) found that technology, led by the Internet, created major changes to the way the

world does business. In the last fifteen years of the twentieth century computers became smaller,

cheaper and more powerful. The Internet helped to evolve computers from giant calculators to

full function communication devices and information generators. Markets that were once local

or national have become international. Globalization has enhanced competitiveness through

innovative technology (Mruthyunjaya, 2001). Technology and innovation are the catalyst for

global competition but can also be a tool for competitive advantage (Pinto, 2002). “In order to

successfully manage the technology in the current global context, organizations should examine

the technology basically from three view points. The first one is acquiring the state-of-the-art-

technology from wherever it is available; including technology developed in-house, and the

second one is to guard the same from becoming obsolete. The third one is to maintain a balance

between new technology and technology updation” (Mruthyunjaya, 2001).

Globalization has dramatically cut the costs of international shipping, transportation, travel,

communication, and financial interaction, as well as of computing and information exchange

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(Bosworth, 2001). The global economy crosses national borders and comes with natural issues.

The issues are emphasized by Bosworth , “The issues raised under the heading of globalization

are controversial in part because the term has different meanings for different people, broadly,

most globalization is the expansion and intensification of linkages and flows--of people, goods,

capital, ideas, and cultures--across national borders” (Bosworth, 2001).

Globalization has forced people from diverse cultures to work together in America and abroad.

The natural problems associated with a diverse workforce are language, culture, politics and

beliefs (Ireland, 1999). Technology has also created a strategy of outsourcing technical skills to

foreign countries (Hagel III, 2001). However, countries with a labor knowledge pool capable of

attracting high-tech companies are few. According to Zahra (1999) today, companies across the

globe are struggling with the challenges of creating and exploiting new knowledge.

The 21st century technical manager’s primary challenges focus around global competition and

rapidly changing technology (Delbecq, 2000). Ireland (1999) said, that the global economy will

continue and has already had a major influence on today's strategic leadership. Strategic

leadership may mean that managers will have to seek innovation and manage it. Hitt (1998),

who studies 21st century organizations, states that there are three key strategies for managers of

technology in the new century. The first key is managing innovation; the second is managing

information and the third key is managing knowledge.

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Hitt (1998), Dess (2000) and Byham (2000) stress the importance for managers to adapt to

changing technology and corporate strategies. The organizations that seek to compete globally

using technology must be flexible and quick to respond to changing markets and innovation

(Vecchio, 2000).

The global economy has produced business partnerships that are utilizing the Internet

infrastructure. “For the first time, a worldwide enterprise, and its trading partners, can act as a

unified, global team, because workers can leverage a shared base of knowledge delivered from

anywhere” (Wladawsky Berger, 1999). The 21st century has already seen rapid growth of E-

Business between American business and business partners around the world.

Technology management in the new century is based on the use of innovation to further the

competitive advantage of the organization in the growing global market (Mruthyunjaya, 2001).

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The Technology Adoption Life-cycle Fred M. Beshears

The University of California at BerkeleyEducational Technology Services

Room 5 Dwinelle HallMail code: 2535

Berkeley, CA 94720-2535

Converting university teaching to technology-based systems is an expensive process. Where can institutions look for evidence about the likely reactions of faculty to new methods and for advice about how to maximize the chances that faculty will adopt them? The adoption by business and individuals of high technology products, particularly those that represent a discontinuous innovation, holds obvious parallels. What can we learn from that experience?

Moore has summarized and structured a wealth of experience on the introduction of new technology - both success and failure. His book, Crossing the Chasm (1991) looks at the challenge of marketing high technology. He distinguishes between successive groups of adoptors:

Innovators (I) The enthusiasts who like technology for its own sake. Early Adopters (EA)

Those who have the vision to adopt an emerging technology to an opportunity that is important to them.

The Chasm (C) Time gap in technology adoption, which is between the early adoptors and the

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Pragmatists (P) Early Majority

Early majority pragmatists are the solid citizens who do not like to take the risks of pioneering, but are ready to see the advantages of tested technologies. They are the begining of a mass market.

Pragmatists (P) Late Majority

Late majority pragmatists, who represent about one-third of available customers, disklike discontinuous innovations and believe in tradition rather than progress. They buy high-technology products reluctantly and do not expect to like them.

Traditionalists (T)

Traditionalists (laggards) do not engage with high technology products - except to block them. They perform the valuable service of pointing out regularly the discrepancies between the day-to-day reality of the product and the claims made for it.

For Moore, the most important time gap in technology adoption, which he calls the Chasm, is between the early adoptors and the early majority pragmatists. Many high tech companies have floundered in the chasm, just after volume starts to rise at the end of the early adoption phase. All too often, sales suddenly dry up if the early majority does not buy.

The analogy to technology-based teaching is clear. Some faculty will always be attracted to new technology for its own sake (the innovators). Others will quickly see the potential for more convenient and efficient learning (the early adopters). The key question is: Will the pragmatic solid citizens, on whom the success of the university depends, be attracted to form an early majority of users?

Moore suggests that high tech companies who successfully cross the chasm first establish a niche in the mass market from which they can expand. Moore recommends developing scenarios by assessing, for example, what a particular delivery technology could give to distinct groups of faculty and students in the way of useful applications. The purpose is to tune a particular combination of the triad of function, faculty, and students into a powerful value proposition. If that is achieved those students and faculty will have a compelling reason to adopt the technology.

In the context of higher education, such a 'must-have' value proposition could be based on one of three elements:

1. It creates a previously unavailable capacity that makes learning dramatically easier, or more productive, or more enjoyable.

2. It visibly, verifiably and significantly reduces current overall operating costs.

3. It radically improves the productivity of the university on a critical success factor that is already well understood.

(Note: For more details, see Moore, G. A. (1991) Crossing the Chasm, HarperBusiness, New York.)

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