Education for Technology Management

Abstract

Technology management has been practiced and studied for many years. Indeed, history purists will probably trace the inception of technology management to the invention of the wheel. Today, however, many universities in North America and Europe are developing programs in technology management. Some are master's degree programs; some are already established, with students pursuing the subject as their future profession. Some are non-credit courses and seminars. Many industrial companies now offer training courses in technology management. Many of these are also individual courses and seminars, though often not yet part of a regular management training curriculum. Is technology management education simply a collection of topics and courses from other existing fields, or is it a new subject? Is there a core, or basic set, of courses and topics which define the fundamentals of technology management education? Is there sufficient underlying theory to permit the subject to justify consideration as a discipline with university degrees? Does the subject include the use of technology, computer software tools, project planning aids, etc.? These and many other questions are being asked today in an effort to define the subject, propose university degree programs and to plan management training programs for industry. Technology Management: What Is It? A survey of university courses by the JUPITER Consortium in the United Kingdom defined six categories of technology management education: Technology strategy and planning; technology acquisition and transfer; organizing and implementing technology; technology support; technology for managers; and general technology management. Some experts argue that technology forecasting is so important that it deserves a separate category. Some equate technology management with project management and argue that the topic is simply training related to using planning tools and project management skills to prepare managers in technical fields to manage their projects. Others claim the primary subject here is integration of technology and business strategies at high levels in corporations, and that it should be largely directed to executive management. Still others, and I am one of those, argue that the subject includes the management of the technical people and the creation of the environment in which they work. In 1987, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences published the results of a task force study stating that although technology management has existed for more than 25 years, it has not attained the status of recognized discipline and should be viewed as an emerging interdisciplinary field. The study recommended that the field should be strengthened through collaborative efforts of government, academia and industry. The study listed eight primary needs in technology management: * How to integrate technology into the overall strategic objectives of the firm. * How to get into and out of technologies faster and more efficiently. * How to assess/evaluate technology more efficiently. * How to accomplish technology transfer. * How to reduce new product development time. * How to manage large, complex and interdisciplinary or interorganizational projects/systems. * How to manage the organization's internal use of technology. * How to leverage the effectiveness of technical professionals. This list represents a good starting point for trying to define technology management. It is interesting that some of the needs of highest priority are those with the least development to date; e.g., how to get into and out of technologies faster and more efficiently, and how to reduce new product development time. Both these issues are prime candidates for research and improved education. The National Academy study defined the subject as follows: Management of technology links engineering, science and management disciplines to plan, develop and implement technological capabilities to shape and accomplish the strategic and operational objectives of an organization. …