Avoiding the pitfalls of Emerging Technologies

Running head : Pitfalls of Emerging Technologies

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Emerging Technologies

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Avoiding the Pitfalls of Emerging Technologies

Nowadays , new technologies are being developed by the second . These technologies offer a wide array of applications in different professions , academes or even in everyday life . Technologies are being developed to respond to ever growing need of the medical profession so as to ensure that what they give or how they serve their patients is the best way

possible . The new technologies that are being discovered are utilized so that it can be applied to various dilemmas with regards to finding new and better ways to treat diseases that are harmful to mankind . Finding that wonder drug that will treat diseases such as cancer permanently is the trend nowadays with regards to developing new technologies . The academes all over the world are also getting into the technological bandwagon . Universities and colleges are immersing themselves into developing technologies that would cater to the needs of their own or even those externally to their school . New technologies are also being developed to address the needs of our everyday life . Gadgets are being invented to hasten communication wherever you are in the world . Transportation modes are becoming faster and more efficient with the computer aided softwares and programs and a lot more . Truly new technologies become a threshold into the new generation

The business sector is likewise affected by this technological revolution that we have . As a business entity moving one step ahead of their rivals within the industry is a big factor for them . It would help them to have a better strategic plan and would help them direct their company into wherever they want the company to be

As a business , they tend to be reluctant to new changes in their environment especially when they are one of the top players in the industry . Their goal is to change as little so as possible to avoid risking their competitive edge over their competitors

This is because conservative companies tend to be risk averse . This is to say that they will only take the risks necessary if they perceived that it will give them a rightful compensation for the risk that they took . Otherwise , they would not risk at all into entering something that would put the company in danger . This is to say that they are moving and deciding with calculated risks . This is also the case when companies are faced with technological changes . Most of the conservative and major companies tend to be reluctant into accepting these changes . Unless there is a significant need to adapt these new technologies , their outlook on these are negative . According to the article Avoiding the pitfalls of emerging technologies by Day and Schoemaker (2000 , For start-ups , emerging technologies (e .g , interactivity and electronic commerce , digital imaging , micro-machines , or super conductivity ) are seen as exciting opportunities and for people in existing organizations emerging technologies are often traumatic ' This is because start-up companies have a lesser risk to take than the existing companies have For one thing , if they applied these emerging technologies and fail there isn 't much to lose because they are just starting to invest in a particular line of business . As compared to the existing firms , if they make a wrong move on which technology to adapt , this could mean the end for the company . This is why Day and Schoemaker have cited that these new technologies often become distressing to existing firms . In the case of big and multinational companies , the fact that a lot of people is resting on top management to make the decision that would increase the benefit of the shareholders and stakeholders of the company is in itself a big headache for them . Which of these

emerging technologies will assure that the company will have profits at the end of the day is something that the top management would ponder upon on . Day and Schoemaker (2000 ) added in their article that , The inherent ambiguity of an emerging technology , and the new markets it creates , coupled with the dominance of traditional thinking frameworks make established firms vulnerable to four related sequential pitfalls Day and Schoemaker (2000 ) has cited these four major constraints on an established firms` ability to exploit emerging technologies which are delayed participation , sticking with the familiar , reluctance to fully commit and lack of persistence

It has then come to every firm 's attention to avoid these traps that could have a negative effect on the organization as whole . According to Upenn .edu , the perception of the market and the current resources available for the company should be a competitive advantage for them as opposed to the new entrants in the industry and yet these firms are the ones who have a bad record in managing and utilizing these new emerging technologies

According to Sharedtechnology .net , in a fast and modern trend in emerging technologies , the companies may fail to notice an opportunity by watching and waiting what is going to happen next . Upenn .edu has further expounded that when these firms are in situations where there is a high degree of uncertainty , it is a common mindset to see what will happen next . The problem is that these current companies are waiting too long that before they even know it , they have already fallen into the pitfalls of emerging technologies . According to Upenn .edu , there is a tendency that managers would not see the potentials of a new technology when it is analyzed with regards to the existing business that they have

Moreover , it has cited that first generation products like the digital cameras are most of the times second-rate as compared to the products which they substitute and therefore it would be simple for the top management to disregard these new technologies . What the companies need to do to handle this pitfall is to examine carefully and thoroughly how will their market change as these technologies develop . The managers of the existing organizations need to keep in mind in that they must evaluate the technology 's abilities as opposed to how the market perceives it at that instant . This is because if the other companies would adopt these technologies and the market would embrace it , the delayed participation of organization had cost them to lose their hold on their current market and the possibilities of attracting new ones

Another pitfall is sticking with the familiar . According to Sharedtechnology .net , it happens when it is the market which forces the company to change by not patronizing their old product . The market is said to have a stronger power over the company that they are able to make the firm move to another vicinity where the firm fails to have the capability to decide with regards to their positioning strategy Sticking with the familiar is usually brought by the tendency of most people to avoid uncertainty . The companies tend to have a low growth market for falling for this pitfall

Reluctance to fully commit is the third pitfall of emerging technologies . This happens when the emerging technology would render the current and lucrative products appear redundant and may lead to a decrease in the profit margins of the company . According to Upenn .edu the majority of these existing organizations had made preliminary efforts to

commit themselves but was not sustained in the long run . This is weak compared to their start-up rivals who have risked their wealth on succeeding and are committed up to the very end . With this pitfall Sharedtechnology .net has cited that companies can opt to remain in both markets outwardly but tacitly stay with the money-maker

The fourth and last pitfall is lack of persistence . According to Sharedtechnology .net , lack of persistence is a pitfall experienced by companies when new technologies take time before they are adopted and managers seeking short-term results may dump the new technology before it is able to reach maturation in the market ' Most large corporations loose their patience with regards to the new technologies ' ability to produce good results for the company . Pressured by quarterly reports they tend to abort adopting the new technology after having started to take on it . They would only continue their endeavor once the viability of this new technology has been proven by an outsider which is actually too late to take control of leadership with regards to that new technology

Day and Schoemaker (2000 ) had suggested several strategies to cope up with these pitfalls . They are attending to signals from the periphery building a learning capacity , maintaining flexibility , and organizational separation . They suggest that these signals from the periphery could be needed indication for them to adopt the emerging technology . Having that capacity to learn these would be of great advantage for the company . It was also suggested that maintaining flexibility is crucial to avoiding these traps . Here , it said that there should be a balance between available options and commitment . Finally they suggest that there be organizational separation wherein they must take the new technology outside of the primary organization and put it into a separate division or unit The market of any company is often reluctant in accepting the new offerings of the firm . They tend to see if there will be a positive feedback with regards to the acceptability of the offering . At the edges of this market , an interesting thing is happening . There is a possibility that here , the individuals are less reluctant in accepting the offering . What the firm can do is have a test run of accepting the new technology . If there will be a positive effect when they implemented the new technology to this segment of the market , then they can launch it on the whole market . If the results are otherwise , then they can abort it immediately . With this , they would not be able to be left behind by those start-up companies who easily adopt any new technology as long as they perceive it to boost their market share . They would not fall for the pitfalls of emerging technologies

It can 't be said that they are already guilty of bad management if these established firms fail to exploit emerging technologies . For one thing , they are just making sure that they are not making decisions that would put the entire welfare of the company in jeopardy . They would only want what is best for the company . That 's why they are reluctant to adopt just any new technology that is said to bring benefits for the firm . What they do is that they must know whether these technologies would actually bring benefit or otherwise . They are just making sure that they move with calculated risks so that they will be sure that if ever they adopt these emerging technologies , it will be for the greater good of the company

References

A Different Game : Wharton Book Explores Managing Emerging Technologies (2000

Retrieved November 2 , 2007 from

HYPERLINK "http /knowledge .wharton .upenn .edu /article .cfm ?articleid 193 http /knowledge .wharton .upenn .edu /article .cfm ?articleid 193

Day , G . S Schoemaker ,

. J . H (2000 . Avoiding the pitfalls of emerging technologies

California Management Review , 42 , 8-33 . Retrieved November 2 , 2007 from

HYPERLINK "http /www .implementer .com /articles /articlesdocs /e .business .doc http /www .implementer .com /articles /articlesdocs /e .business .doc

Management and Technology (2003 . Retrieved November 2 , 2007 from

HYPERLINK "http /www .sharedtechnology .net .au /Management_and_Technology .pdf http /www .sharedtechnology .net .au /Management_and_Technology .pdf

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