TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

Awaluddin Mohamed Shaharoun

Email : awaludin@ic.utm.myprof.awaluddin@gmail.com

Technology Management

Awaluddin MS

Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology

What is Management?

• A set of activities– planning and decision making, organizing,

leading, and controlling

directed at an organization’s resources – human, financial, physical, and information

with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an efficient and effective

manner.

Management in Organizations

Inputs from the environment• Human resources• Financial resources• Physical resources• Information resources

Planningand decision

making

Leading

Organizing

Controlling

Goals attained• Efficiently• Effectively

Figure 1.1

The Management Process• Planning and Decision Making

– Setting an organization’s goals and selecting a course of action from a set of alternatives to achieve them.

• Organizing– Determining how activities and resources are to be

grouped.• Leading

– The set of processes used to get members of the organization to work together to advance the interests of the organization.

• Controlling – Monitoring the organization’s progress towards its

goals.

The Management Process (cont’d)

OrganizingDetermining how

best to groupactivities and

resources

ControllingMonitoring

and correctingongoing activitiesto facilitate goal

attainment

Planning andDecision Making

Setting the organiza-tion’s goals and

deciding how bestto achieve them

LeadingMotivating membersof the organizationto work in the best

interests of theorganization

Figure 1.2

What is a Manager?• Someone whose primary responsibility is

to carry out the management process.• Someone who plans and makes decisions,

organizes, leads, and controls human, financial, physical, and information resources.

Kinds of Managers by Level• Top Managers

– The relatively small group of executives who manage the overall organization. They create the organization’s goals, overall strategy, and operating policies.

• Middle Managers– Largest group of managers in organizations who are

primarily responsible for implementing the policies and plans of top managers. They also supervise and coordinate the activities of lower level managers.

• First-Line Managers– Managers who supervise and coordinate the activities

of operating employees.

Kinds of Managers by Area• Marketing Managers

– Work in areas related to getting consumers and clients to buy the organization’s products or services—new product development, promotion, and distribution.

• Financial Managers– Deal primarily with an organization’s financial

resources—accounting, cash management, and investments.

• Operations Managers– Concerned with creating and managing the systems

that create organization’s products and services—production control, inventory, quality control, plant layout, site selection.

Kinds of Managers by Area (cont’d)

• Human Resource Managers– Involved in human resource planning, recruiting and

selecting employees, training and development, designing compensation and benefit systems, formulating performance appraisal systems, and discharging low-performing employees.

• Administrative Managers– Generalists who are familiar with all functional areas of

management and who are not associated with any particular management specialty.

• Other Kinds of Managers– Organizations have developed specialized managerial

positions (e.g., public relations managers) directly related to the needs of the organization.

Kinds of Managers by Level and Area

Mar

ketin

g

Admin

istra

tion

Other

Human

reso

urces

Operat

ions

Finan

ce

Middle managers

Areas of Management

Levels of Management

First-line managers

Top managers

Figure 1.3

Managerial Roles (Mintzberg)

• Interpersonal Roles– Figurehead, leader, and liaison roles involve

dealing with other people.• Informational Roles

– Monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson roles involve the processing of information.

• Decisional Roles – Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource

allocator, and negotiator are managerial roles primarily related to making decisions.

Ten Basic Managerial Roles

Category Role Sample Activities

Interpersonal Figurehead Attending ribbon-cutting ceremony for new plant Leader Encouraging employees to improve productivity Liaison Coordinating activities of two projects

Informational Monitor Scanning industry reports to stay abreast of developments

Disseminator Sending memos outlining new organizational initiatives

Spokesperson Making a speech to discuss growth plans

Decisional Entrepreneur Developing new ideas for innovation Disturbance

handler Resolving conflict between two subordinates

Resource allocator Reviewing and revising budget requests Negotiator Reaching agreement with a key supplier or labor

union

Table 1.2

Managerial Skills

• Technical– Skills necessary to accomplish or understand the

specific kind of work being done in an organization.• Interpersonal

– The ability to communicate with, understand, and motivate both individuals and groups.

• Conceptual– The manager’s ability to think in the abstract.

• Diagnostic– The manager’s ability to visualize the most

appropriate response to a situation.

Managerial Skills (cont’d)

• Communication– The manager’s abilities both to convey ideas and

information effectively to others and to receive ideas and information effectively from others.

• Decision-Making– The manager’s ability to recognize and define

problems and opportunities correctly and then to select an appropriate course of action to solve the problems and capitalize on opportunities.

• Time-Management– The manager’s ability to prioritize work, to work

efficiently, and to delegate appropriately.

The Nature of Managerial Work

• How CEOs spend a typical day—

Unscheduled Scheduled Meetings

59%

Desk Work22%

Meetings10%

Telephone6%

Touring Facilities3%

Management: Science or Art?• Science of Management

– Assumes that problems can be approached using rational, logical, objective, and systematic ways.

– Requires the use of technical, diagnostic, and decision-making skills and techniques to solve problems.

• Art of Management – Decisions are made and problems solved using a blend

of intuition, experience, instinct, and personal insights.– Requires the use of conceptual, communication,

interpersonal, and time-management skills to successfully accomplish the tasks associated with managerial activities.

Becoming a Manager

• Sources of Management Skills

Sound educationalbase; continuedlife-long educationalexperiences

Successfulacquisition andutilization of basicmanagement skills

Initial job experiences;continued experiencesthrough a variety ofjob assignments

Figure 1.4

Managerial Function: Planning

Decision Making and the Planning Process

Strategic goals Strategic plans

Tactical goals

Operational goals Operational plans

The organization’s mission

The Environmental Context

• Purpose • Premises • Values • Directions

Tactical plans

Figure 7.1

Organizational Goals

• Purposes of Goals– Provide guidance and a unified direction for people in

the organization.– Have a strong affect on the quality of other

aspects of planning.– Serve as a source of

motivation for employees of the organization.

– Provide an effective mechanism for evaluation and control of the organization.

Kinds of Goals• By Level

– Mission statement is a statement of an organization’s fundamental purpose.

– Strategic goals are goals set by and for top management of the organization that address broad, general issues.

– Tactical goals are set by and for middle managers; their focus is on how to operationalize actions to strategic goals.

– Operational goals are set by and for lower-level managers to address issues associated with tactical goals.

• By Area– Goals set for the different functional areas of the

organization.• By Time Frame

– Goals may be set for long-term, intermediate-term, or short-term time frames and for explicit time frames or open-ended.

Organizational Goals

(cont’d)• Kinds of Goals

for a Regional Fast-Food Chain

Accounting manager

ï Split accounts receivable/payable functions from other areas within two yearsï Computerize payroll system for each restaurant this yearï Pay all invoices within thirty days

Advertising director

ï Develop regional advertising campaigns within one yearï Negotiate 5 percent lower advertising rates next yearï Implement this yearís promotional strategy

Restaurant manager

ï Implement employee incentive system within one yearï Decrease waste by 5 percent this yearï Hire and train new assistant manager

Vice president ñfinance

ï Keep corporate debt to no more than 20 percent of liquid assets for next ten yearsï Revise computerized accounting system within five yearsï Earn 9 percent on excess cash this year

President and CEO

ï Provide 14 percent return to investors for at least ten yearsï Start or purchase new restaurant chain within five yearsï Negotiate new labor contract this year

Mission: Our mission is to operatea chain of restaurants that willprepare and serve high-qualityfood on a timely basis and atreasonable prices.

Vice president ñmarketing

ï Increase per store sales 5 percent per year for ten yearsï Target and attract two new market segments during next five yearsï Develop new promotional strategy for next year

Vice president ñoperations

ï Open 150 new restaurants during next ten yearsï Decrease food-container costs by 15 percent during next five yearsï Decrease average customer wait by thirty seconds this year

Strategic Goals

Tactical Goals

Operational Goals

Figure 7.2

Responsibilities of Setting Goals

• Who Sets Goals?– All managers should be involved in the goal-setting

process.– Managerial responsibility for goal setting should

correspond to the manager’s level in the organization.• Managing Multiple Goals

– Optimizing allows managers to balance and reconcile inconsistent or conflicting goals.

– Managers can choose to pursue one goal and exclude all others or to seek a mid-range goal.

Kinds of Organizational Plans

• Strategic Plans– A general plan outlining resource allocation, priorities,

and action steps to achieve strategic goals. The plans are set by and for top management.

• Tactical Plans– A plan aimed at achieving the tactical goals set by

and for middle management.• Operational Plans

– Plans that have a short-term focus.These plans are set by and for lower-level managers.

Time Frames for Planning• The Time Dimension of Planning

– is based on the principle of commitment. Planning must provide sufficient time to fulfill the managerial commitments involved.

• Long-range Plans– cover present and future strategic issues; normally extend

beyond five years in the future.• Intermediate Plans

– usually cover from 1 to 5 years and parallel tactical plans.– are the principal focus of organizational planning efforts.

• Short-range Plans– have a time frame of one year or less.– include action plans and reaction (contingency) plans.

Responsibilities for Planning• Planning Staff

– Planning staff personnel gather information, coordinate planning activities, and take a broader view than individual managers.

• Planning Task Force– Created when the organization wants

a special circumstance addressed. • Board of Directors

– Establishes corporate mission and strategy. May engage in strategic planning

• Chief Executive Officer– Usually serves as president or chair of the

board of directors. Has a major role in the planning process and implements the strategy.

Responsibilities for Planning (cont’d)

Executive Committee– Composed of top executives within

the organization. Meet regularly for input to the CEO and review strategic plans.

Line Management– Persons with formal authority and

responsibility for management of the organization. Help to formulate

strategy by providing information. Responsible for executing the plans

developed by top management.

Contingency Planning

• Contingency is the determination of alternative courses of action to be taken if an intended plan is unexpectedly disrupted or rendered inappropriate. These plans help managers to cope with uncertainty and change.

Ongoing planning process

Action point 1 Action point 2 Action point 3 Action point 4

Develop plan,

considering

contingency events

Implement plan and

formally identify

contingency events

Specify indicators

for the contingency

events and develop

contingency plans for

each possible event

Successfully complete

plan or contingency

plan

Monitor contingency event indicators andimplement contingency plan if necessary

Figure 7.3

Tactical Planning

• Developing and Executing Tactical Plans

Developing tactical plans

• Recognize and understand

overarching strategic plans

and tactical goals

• Specify relevant resource and

time issues

• Recognize and identify human

resource commitments

Executing tactical plans

• Evaluate each course of action

in light of its goal

• Obtain and distribute

information and resources

• Monitor horizontal and vertical

communication and integration

of activities

• Monitor ongoing activities for

goal achievement

Figure 7.4

Types of Operational PlansPlan Description

Single-use plan Developed to carry out a course of action not likely to be repeated in the future

Program Single-use plan for a large set of activities

Project Single-use plan of less scope and complexity than a program

Standing plan Developed for activities that recur regularly over a pe-riod of time

Policy Standing plan specifying the organization’s general response to a designated problem or situation

Standard operating procedure Standing plan outlining steps to be followed in particu-lar circumstances

Rules and regulations Standing plans describing exactly how specific activi-ties are to be carried out

Table 7.1

Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning

As part of managing the goal-setting and planning process, managers must understand the barriers that can disrupt them. Managers must also know how to overcome them.

Major Barriers Inappropriate goals Improper reward system Dynamic and complex environment Reluctance to establish goals Resistance to change Constraints

Overcoming the Barriers Understanding the purposes of goals and planning Communication and participation Consistency, revision, and updating Effective reward systems

Table 7.2

Using Goals to Implement Plans• A formal goal-setting process such as management by

objectives (MBO) is an effective technique for integrating goal setting and planning by giving subordinates a voice and clarifying what they are expected to accomplish.

Startingthe formalgoal-settingprogram

Establishmentof organiza-tional goalsand plans

Collaborativegoal settingand planning

Communicat-ing organiza-tional goalsand plans

Meeting

Verifiablegoals andclear plans

Counseling

Resources

Periodicreview

Evaluation

Figure 7.5

Using Goals to Implement Plans:The Effectiveness of Formal Goal Setting

• Strengths (Success)– Improved employee

motivation– Enhances communication– Fosters more objective

performance appraisals– Focuses attention on

appropriate goals and plans

– Helps identify managerial talent

– Provides a systematic management philosophy

– Facilitates control of the organization

Weaknesses (Failure)– Poor implementation of the

goal setting process– Lack of top-management

support for goal setting– Delegation of the goal-setting

process to lower levels– Overemphasis on quantitative

goals– Too much paperwork and

record keeping– Managerial resistance to goal

setting

Managerial Function: Organizing

There are four basic management functions that make up the management process:

Planning, Organizing, Influencing, and Controlling.

Organising. Organising is concerned with assigning the tasks developed during planning to various individuals or groups within the organisation. Organising creates a mechanism to put plans into action.

Classical Organizing Theory

The traditional organizing theory classifies the organizing efforts into four main components:

1. Structuring

2. Division of labour

3. Span of management

4. Scalar relationships

Structuring

Structuring refers to designate relationships among resources of the management system.

Organisation structure is represented by means of a graphic representation called an organisation chart.

Structuring

1. The most common method of instituting formal relationships is by establishing departments.

2. A department is a unique group of resources established by management to perform some organisational tasks.

3. The process of establishing departments within the management system is called departmentalisation.

Structuring

1. Organisation structure based on work functions (activities) is called functional departmentation.

2. The major categories into which the functions typically are divided are marketing, production, finance, etc.

(a) Primitive organization;

(b) Functional departmentation.

Structuring

Organisation structure based on product departmentation groups resources according to the products being manufactured.

StructuringStructure based primarily on territory departmentation groups according to the place where the work is being done or the geographic market area on which the management system is focusing.

Structuring

1. Structure based primarily on the customer departmentation is built in response to the organisation’s major customers.

2. Structure based primarily on manufacturing departmentalisation is built according to the major phases of the process used to manufacture products.

Structuring

1. An enterprise may combine several or all these methods in designing its organization.

2. In the following example, we see1. functional subdivision at the top level,

2. product and process subdivision in manufacturing,

3. geographic and customer departmentation in marketing.

Division of labour

1. The second consideration of an organising effort is how to divide labour.

2. The division of labour is the assignment of various portions of a particular task to a number of organisation members.

3. Because of division, workers can specialise in a particular job and their skill for performing that job tends to increase.

4. They typically have one job and one place in which to do it and do not waste time moving from one job to another.

Division of labour

Advantage:Workers concentrate on performing only one job and they naturally try to make the job easier and more efficient.

Disadvantage:1. Division of labour focus solely on efficiency

and economic benefit and overlook the human variable.

2. Work that is extremely specialised tends to be boring and therefore usually causes productivity to go down.

Span of Management

1. The third consideration of an organising effort is the definition of span of management

2. Span of management means the number of individuals a manager supervises.

3. The more individuals a manager supervises, the greater the span of management.

Span of Management

Several situational factors influence the size of an individual’s span of management:

1. similarity of functions,

2. geographic contiguity,

3. complexity of functions,

4. co-ordination, and

5. planning.

Span of Management

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Factor Factor tends to increase Factor tends to decrease

span of management span of management

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Similarity of functions similar functions different functions

Geographic contiguity physically close physically distant

Complexity of functions simple tasks complex tasks

Coordination little much

Planning little much

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Span of Management

1. A definite relationship exists between span of management and the height of an organisation chart.

2. Normally, the greater the height of the organisation chart, the smaller the span of management.

3. Organisation charts with little height are usually referred to as flat; those with much height are tall.

Scalar relationships

1. The fourth consideration of an organising effort is the design of scalar relationships – the chain of command.

2. This is related to unity of command, which means that an individual should have only one boss.

3. However, because of unity of command, information gathering may get very expensive.

4. To decrease this cost, it has been recommended that in some situations a bridge be used to allow lower level personnel to exchange information.

5. For the bridge to be effective, we should make information being exchanged known to their superiors.

Important Factors to Consider in Organizing

There are several important factors one must consider when designing and performing the managerial function, organizing. These include:

1. Responsibility2. Authority3. Accountability4. Delegation5. Organizational changes 6. Change and resistance, and measures to reduce

resistance7. Stress resulted from organizational changes 8. Measures to prevent and to address stressors.

Responsibility

1. Responsibility is the obligation to perform assigned activities.

2. It is the self-assumed commitment to handle a job to the best of one’s ability.

3. A summary of an individual’s job activities within an organisation is usually given in a formal statement called a job description – a listing of specific activities that must be performed.

4. A sound organising strategy involves clearly specifying job activities for each individual within the organisation.

Responsibility

The functional similarity method is a method for assigning responsibilities in the organisation. It involves (1) management examines organizational objectives, (2) management identifies appropriate activities that

must be performed to reach those objectives,(3) management designs specific jobs by grouping

similar activities, and (4) management makes specific individuals responsible

for performing those jobs.

Responsibility

Three additional guides can be used to supplement the functional similarity method, which are used to check whether

1. Overlapping responsibility exists when more than one individual is responsible for the same activity.

2. A responsibility gap exists when certain tasks are not included in the responsibility area of any individual.

3. Activities exist that do not contribute to the goal attainment.

We should avoid any of the above three scenarios to exist.

Authority

1. Authority is the right to perform or command.

2. It allows its holders to act in certain designated ways and to directly influence the actions of others through orders.

3. It also allows its holders to allocate organisation’s resources in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation.

Authority In reality the source of authority is determined not by decree from the formal organisation but by whether or not authority is accepted by those existing under it. Hence, authority exists and will exact obedience only if it is accepted. Authority will be accepted only if the individual

(1) can understand the order being communicated, (2) believes the order is consistent with the purpose of

the organisation, (3) sees the order as compatible with personal interests,

and (4) is mentally and physically able to comply with the

order.

Authority

There are three types of authority: 1. Line authority 2. Staff authority3. Functional authority

Line authority reflects existing superior and subordinate relationships. It is the right to make decisions, and to give orders in the production, sales, finance areas. Individuals directly responsible for these areas within the organisation are delegated line authority to assist them in performing their obligated activities.

Authority

Staff authority is the right to advise or assist those who possess line authority and other staff personnel.

Examples of organisation members with staff authority are members of accounting and human resource departments.

Authority

Generally speaking, the larger the organisation, the greater the need and ability to pay for staff personnel.

Small organisations may hire part-time consultants for their own needs.

Staff personnel do not make decisions. They advise line personnel on the decision.

In other words, they play three roles:

1. the advisory or counselling role,

2. the service role, and

3. the control role.

Authority

Most practitioners admit that a noticeable amount of conflict usually centres around line-staff relationships. From the viewpoint of line personnel, conflict is created between line and staff personnel because staff personnel tend to

1. assume line authority, 2. do not give sound advice, 3. steal credit for success, 4. do not keep line personnel informed, and 5. do not see the whole picture.

Authority

From the viewpoint of staff personnel, conflict is created because line personnel

1. do not make proper use of staff personnel,

2. resist new ideas, and

3. do not give staff personnel enough authority.

Authority

1. Functional authority is the right to give orders within a segment of the organisation in which this right is normally non-existent.

2. It generally covers only specific task areas and is operational only for designated amount of time.

3. Project manager is a typical example to have functional authority.

Accountability

1. Accountability is the management philosophy whereby individuals are held liable, or accountable, for how well they use their authority and live up to their responsibility of performing predetermined activities.

2. The concept of accountability implies that if predetermined activities are not performed, some type of penalty or punishment is justifiably forthcoming.

Delegation

Delegation is the actual process of assigning job activities and corresponding authority to specific individuals within the organisation.

Delegation process involves assigning specific duties to the individual. Three steps for a manager to delegate duties:

1. must be sure that the subordinate has a clear understanding of what these duties entail;

2. should grant appropriate authority to the subordinate;

3. should create the obligation for the subordinate to perform the duties assigned.

Delegation

1. Centralisation is the situation in which a minimal number of job activities and a minimal amount of authority are delegated to subordinates.

2. Decentralisation is the situation in which a significant number of job activities and a maximal amount of authority are delegated to subordinates.

Delegation

The degree of decentralisation depends on a number of factors:

1. What is the present size of the organisation?2. Where are the organisation’s customers located?3. How homogeneous is the product line of the

organisation?4. Where are organisation suppliers?5. Is there a need for quick decisions in the

organisation?6. Is creativity a desirable feature of the organisation?

Case-study

Your company is a new company albeit a small one and it is involved in the development and manufacture of a new herbal product for the cosmetics industry. You have to set-up three departments, marketting, product development and manufacturing. For each list down the objectives of each department and the terms of reference for each of the would-be managers of the new department..

Management levels and skills

Three types of skills are important for successful management performance:

1. technical skills

2. human skills

3. conceptual skills.

Management levels and skills

Technical skills involve using specialising knowledge and expertise in executing work-related techniques and procedures.

Examples of technical skills are engineering design, computer programming, and accounting.

Technical skills are mostly related to working with “things” – process or physical objects.

Management levels and skills

Human skills are skills that build co-operation within team being led.

They involve working with attitudes, communication, individuals and groups, and individual interests – in short, working with people.

Management levels and skills

Conceptual skills involve the ability to see the organisation as a whole.

A manager with conceptual skills is able to understand how various functions of the organisation

complement one another, how the organisation relates to its

environment, and how changes in one part of the organisation

affect the rest of the organisation.

Management levels and skills

As one moves from lower level management to upper level management, conceptual skills become more important and technical skills less important.

As managers advance in an organisation, they become less involved with the actual production activity or technical areas and more involved with guiding the organisation as a whole.

Human skill, however, are extremely important to managers at all levels. The common denominator of all management level is people.

Engineering Managers

Engineering management may be narrowly defined as the direct supervision of engineers or of engineering functions.

This would also include supervision of engineering research and design activities, particularly in those technology-intensive enterprises.

Engineering Managers

The Engineering manager is distinguished from other managers because he/she possesses both the ability to apply engineering principles/quantitative approaches in management and the skill in organising and directing people and projects.

He/she is uniquely qualified for two types of jobs:

1. The management of technical functions (such as design and production) in almost any enterprise.

2. The management of broader functions (such as marketing or top management) in high-technology enterprise.

Career Progression

Typical engineer spends part of his career in engineering management > 82% in US

Within 15 years, 60% of all engineers become managers of some kind or have left engineering to pursue other businesses

More than 25% of top corporate managers have engineering background

Management is part & parcel of career path

What managers deal with?

“Managers deal primarily with people, politics, and administration and secondarily with making and approving decisions requiring technical judgement”- Kamm (1989)

Role Differences between Engineers & Managers- Morrison (1986)

Position Engineers Managers Focus Technical & Scientific Concerned with people Decision making More infom & certainty Inadequate infom & greater

uncertainty Involvement Work on tasks & solve problems

personally Directs works of others

Process Outcomes Facts with quantifiable results Fewer facts & less quantifiable outcomes

Effectiveness Related to expertise, attention to detail, problem solving & designing,

Interpersonal skills, communication skills, conflict resolution, negotiating etc.

Dependency Autonomous role Interdependent role Responsibility Individual accomplishment-one

project, task or problem at a time Many concurrent objectives-orchestrating many entities

Creativity Creative with products, designs & materials

Creative with people & organisations

Bottom line Will it work? Will it make money/ not lose any?

Engineers as Managers- Morrison(1986) 1. Logical, methodical, objective, unemotional decision

making based on facts.2. Use technical knowledge to check upon facts3. Analyse problems thoroughly, look beyond immediate

ones & explore alternative solutions4. Understand what motivates engineers5. Understand and can review & evaluate subordinate

works6. Can make future planning affecting technology and

relation to cost effectiveness7. Engineering background helps in technical

discussions with clients8. Increases credibility with subordinates, customers &

clients

Operational aspects of management- Gray (1979)

Time spent with people increases- time spent on technical details decreases

As manager, he becomes part of firms management information system

Nature of rewards & satisfaction changes- engineers proud of design etc. Managers are proud of personal interactions affecting more money, resources & accomplishments than as engineer

Reports manager reads are different than as engineer