Chapter 9 Flashcards
Technology:
The combination of skills, knowledge, abilities, techniques, materials, machines, computers, tools and other equipment that people use to convert or change raw materials into valuable goods and services.
Inside an organization, technology exists at three levels:
Individual level
Functional or departmental level
Organizational level
Individual level
Technology is the personal skills, knowledge and competences that individual woman and men possess.
Functional or departmental level
The procedures and techniques that groups work out to perform their work create competences that constitute
technology.
Organizational level
The way an organization converts inputs into outputs
Mass production
The organizational technology that uses conveyor belts and a
standardized, progressive assembly process to manufacture goods
Craftwork:
The technology that involves groups of skilled workers who interact closely to produce custom-designed products
What is the process of technology and organisational effectiveness
Work enters
Input process
Conversion process
Output process
Work leaves
Input stage
At this stage, technology – skills, procedures, techniques and competences – allows each organisational function to handle relationships with outside stakeholders so that the organisation can effectively manage its specific environment.
Conversion stage
At this stage, technology – a combination of machines, techniques and work procedures – transforms input into outputs.
The best technology allows an organisation to add the most value to its inputs at the least cost of organisational
resources.
Organisations often try to improve the efficiency of their conversion processes.
Output stage
At this stage, technology allows an organisation to effectively dispose of finished goods and services to external stakeholders.
To be effective, an organisation must possess competences in testing the quality of the finished product, in selling and marketing the product, and in managing after-sales service to customers.
Three principal approaches to measuring and increasing organizational effectiveness.
External resource approach
Internal systems approach
Technical approach
External resource approach
Uses technology to increase its ability to manage and
control external stakeholders
Internal systems approach
Uses technology to increase the success of its
attempts to innovate; to develop new products, services and processes; and to reduce the time needed to bring new products to market.
Technical approach
Uses technology to improve efficiency and reduce costs
while simultaneously enhancing the quality and reliability of its products
What is the first theory on technology
Technical complexity: The theory of Joan Woodward
Programmed technology
A technology in which the procedures for converting inputs
into outputs can be specified in advance so that tasks can be standardised and the work process can be made predictable. Like SOP’s and rules.
Technical complexity
A measure of the extent to which a production process can be
programmed so that it can be controlled and made predictable
High technical complexity
Exists when conversion processes can be programmed in advance and fully automated. With full automation, work activities and the outputs that result from them are standardised and can be predicted accurately
Low technical complexity
Exists when conversion processes depend primarily on people and their skills and knowledge and not on machines. With increased human involvements and less reliance on machines, work activities cannot be programmed in advance, and results depend on the skills of the people involved
Three levels of technical complexity:
Small-batch and unit technology
Large-batch and mass production technology
Continuous-process technology
Small-batch and unit technology
One-of-a-kind customised products
Small quantities of products
Any machines used during the conversion process are less important than people’s skills and knowledge.
High flexibility
Relatively expensive to operate
Large-batch and mass production technology
Massive volumes of standardised products
Try to increase level of complexity and increase their efficiency
Continuous-process technology
The conversion process is almost entirely automated and mechanised
Employees generally are not directly involved
Continuous-process technology
The conversion process is almost entirely automated and mechanised
Employees generally are not directly involved
What is the second theory on technology
Task complexity: The theory of Charles Perrow
Task variability
The number of exceptions – new or unexpected situations – that a person encounters while performing a task.
Task analysability
The degree to which search activity is needed to solve a problem
What is the third theory on technology
Task interdependence: The theory of James D. Thompson
Task interdependence
The manner in which different organizational tasks are related
to one another.
To reduce costs, a mass production company must
maximize the gains from economies
of scale and from the division of labour associated with large-scale production
Economies of scale and from the division of labour associated with large-scale production. There are two ways to do this:
Using dedicated machines and standardized work procedures
Dedicated machines: Machines that can perform only one operation at a time, such as repeatedly cutting or drilling or stamping out a car body part.
Protecting the conversion process against production slowdowns or stoppages
Advances manufacturing technology
Technology that consists of innovations in materials technologies and in knowledge technology that change the work process of traditional mass production organisations.
Materials technology
Technology that comprises machinery, other equipment, and
computers.
Computer-aided design
An advanced manufacturing technique that greatly simplifies the design process
Computer-aided material management
An advanced manufacturing technique that is used to manage the flow of raw materials and components parts into the conversation process, to develop master production
schedules for manufacturing, and to control inventory.
Just-in-time inventory systems
A system that requires inputs and components needed for production to be delivered to the conversion process just as they are needed, neither earlier nor later, so that input inventories can be kept to a minimum.
Flexible manufacturing
Technology that allows the production of many kinds of
components at little or no extra cost on the same machine.
Computer-integrated manufacturing
An advanced manufacturing technique that controls the changeover form one operation to another by means of the commands given to the machines through computer software
