Technology Management is set of management disciplines that allows organizations to manage their technological fundamentals to create competitive advantage. Typical concepts used in technology management are technology strategy (a logic or role of technology in organization), technology forecasting (identification of possible relevant technologies for the organization, possibly through technology scouting), technology roadmapping (mapping technologies to business and market needs), technology project portfolio ( a set of projects under development) and technology portfolio (a set of technologies in use).

The role of the technology management function in an organization is understand the value of certain technology for the organization. Continuous development of technology is valuable as long as there is a value for the customer and therefore the technology management function in an organization should be able to argue when to invest on technology development and when to withdraw.

Technology Management can also be defined as the integrated planning, design, optimization, operation and control of technological products, processes and services, a better definition would be the management of the use of technology for human advantage.

The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering defines Technology Management as the field concerned with the supervision of personnel across the technical spectrum and a wide variety of complex technological systems. Technology Management programs typically include instruction in production and operations management, project management, computer applications, quality control, safety and health issues, statistics, and general management principles.^[1]

Perhaps the most authoritative input to our understanding of technology is the diffusion of innovations theory developed in the first half of the twentieth century. It suggests that all innovations follow a similar diffusion pattern - best known today in the form of an "s" curve though originally based upon the concept of a standard distribution of adopters. In broad terms the "s" curve suggests four phases of a technology life cycle - emerging, growth, mature and aging.

These four phases are coupled to increasing levels of acceptance of an innovation or, in our case a new technology. In recent times for many technologies an inverse curve - which corresponds to a declining cost per unit - has been postulated. This may not prove to be universally true though for information technology where much of the cost is in the initial phase it has been a reasonable expectation.

The second major contribution to this area is the Carnegie Mellon Capability Maturity Model. This model proposes that a series of progressive capabilities can be quantified through a set of threshold tests. These tests determine repeatability, definition, management and optimization. The model suggests that any organization has to master one level before being able to proceed to the next.

The third significant contribution comes from Gartner - the research service, it is the hype cycle, this suggests that our modern approach to marketing technology results in the technology being over hyped in the early stages of growth.

Taken together these concepts provide a foundation for formalizing the approach to managing technology.

Accreditation and Certification[link]

The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE), accredits selected collegiate programs in Technology Management. An instructor or graduate of a Technology Management program may choose to become a Certified Technology Manager (CTM) by sitting for a rigorous exam administered by ATMAE covering Production Planning & Control, Safety, Quality, and Management/Supervison.

ATMAE program accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) for accrediting Technology Management programs. CHEA recognizes ATMAE in the U.S. for accrediting associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degree programs in technology, applied technology, engineering technology, and technology-related disciplines delivered by national or regional accredited institutions in the United States.(2011)^[2]

See also[link]

• Technology Scouting
• Technology forecasting
• Innovation management

References[link]

1. ^ ATMAE Membership Venn Diagram
2. ^ ATMAE Scope of Recognition [1]

Further reading[link]

• Kropsu-Vehkapera, H., Haapasalo, H. & Rusanen, J-P. (2009). "Analysis of Technology Management Functions in Finnish High Tech Companies". The Open Management Journal 2: 1–10. DOI:10.2174/1874948800902010001. ISSN 1874-9488. http://www.bentham-open.org/pages/content.php?TOMANAJ/2009/00000002/00000001/1TOMANAJ.SGM. 

Dr. Gary P. Hamel
Gary Hamel (left) interviews Eric Schmidt (right)
Born	1954 (1954) [1]
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Occupation	Author, Professional speaker, Consultant, Management expert
Website
garyhamel.com

Dr. Gary P. Hamel is an American management expert. He is a founder of Strategos, an international management consulting firm based in Chicago.

Early life[link]

He is a graduate of Andrews University (1975) and the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (1990^[2])

Career[link]

Gary Hamel is the originator (with C. K. Prahalad) of the concept of core competencies. He is also the director of the Woodside Institute, a nonprofit research foundation based in Woodside, California.

He is a visiting Professor of Strategic Management at London Business School. He was formerly a Visiting Professor of International Business at the University of Michigan (PhD 1990) and at Harvard Business School.

His academic standing took a dent soon after publication of the hardback version of Leading the Revolution, in which he had written a very positive profile of Enron. Following the critical reception of Leading the Revolution, Hamel began work on resilience in business strategy. He wrote of the concept in a 2003 Harvard Business Review article titled "The Quest for Resilience"

Achievements[link]

The Wall Street Journal in 2008 has ranked Gary Hamel as one of the world's most influential business thinkers,^[3] and Fortune magazine has called him "the world's leading expert on business strategy^[4]".

Personal life[link]

Hamel and his family live in Woodside, California.^[5][6]

Bibliography[link]

• The Core Competence of the Corporation (Harvard Business Review) (1990)
• Strategy as Revolution (Harvard Business Review) (1996)
• Competing for the future (with C. K. Prahalad) (Harvard Business School Press, April 1996) ISBN 978-0-87584-716-0
• Alliance Advantage: The Art of Creating Value Through Partnering (with Yves L. Doz) (Harvard Business School Press, September 1998) ISBN 978-0-87584-616-3
• Strategic Flexibility: Managing in a Turbulent Environment (with C. K. Prahalad, Howard Thomas and Don O'Neal) (Wiley, 5 January 1999) ISBN 978-0-471-98473-3
• Leading the Revolution (Harvard Business School Press, 2000) ISBN 978-0-452-28324-4
• The Quest for Resilience (with Liisa Välikangas) (Harvard Business Review) (2003)
• The Future of Management (with Bill Breen) (Harvard Business School Press, 10 September 2007) ISBN 978-1-4221-0250-3
• "Funding Growth in an Age of Austerity" (with Gary Getz) (Harvard Business Review, July–August, 2004)
• "What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation" (2011) ISBN 978-1-118-12082-8

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Management Innovation Exchange is one of Gary Hamel's newest projects where he talks about the need to reinvent management for the next century
• MLab website
• Gary Hamel Biography on the World Business Forum where Hamel is a featured speaker for the 2011 event