Indians are acquiring foreign Technology very fast. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is the father of technology in India. He encouraged buildings of dams and improvement of railways.

We can proudly say that we are among the top countries with respect to technology. Recently during regime of Sri Vajpayee, India has also developed atomic bomb. Every new technical development in world is able to make its presence in India.

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The five IITs, the IISc and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research etc. are developing for acquiring new foreign technology at a rapid rate. Students of these premier institutes are well equipped with latest technology.

In the field of computer software, Indian software engineers are considered to be are of the best in the world. But the only defect with Indian is its exploding population. Whatever rapid strides we make in technology is diluted by our rapid population growth. So we have to reduce population growth, so that we may get the benefits of new technology.

Many of our brilliant engineers area going to United States and studying MS or MBA from prestigious American Institutions. But the problem is that these cream of students settle in America and never return to India. Indian companies should offer lucrative and attractive salary packages in order to re-attract US settle Indian Engineers to come back to India to serve their motherland. Then our position in technology map will be good.

Meaning of Technology AcquisitionTechnology acquisition is the process by which a company acquires the rights to use and exploit a technology for the purpose of improving or renewing processes, products or services. It does not include retailed or mass market off the shelf software which is generally governed by non-negotiable shrink wrapped licences.

Technology acquisition is a huge area and the productivity improvement fund targets a specific part of the technology acquisition process. Companies applying for funding for technology acquisition under this fund will be required to have carried out their due diligence and identified the technology they wish to acquire. The applicant company will also know the details of the licence agreement between the two companies and details of the costs involved as part of the application.

Methods of Technology AcquisitionChoosing the best source option for your company...

Internal technology sources... External technology sources... Combination of internal and external sources... Choosing the best source option for your company

Choosing the best source option for your companyThe advantages and disadvantages of internal, external, and combination internal/external technology acquisition sources will be discussed in the following following slides under the headings listed in the slide above.

Company Technological GrowthThe company's need for technological growth must be an important consideration when deciding among technology acquisition options. Ideally, the company should grow technically from every technology acquisition. This is desirable because if the technology acquisition develops internal capability the company becomes less dependant on others. It is able to deal with problems that arise after the introduction of the new technology and it is able to develop its own enhancements of that technology.

Exclusivity/Competitive AdvantageMany companies rely on a technological advantage to differentiate their product from their competitors. These companies must use internal technology development via internal research and development or contracting R&D from an exclusive supplier to maintain their competitive advantage. Technology acquisitions that do not give them exclusive access to the technology makes it impossible to prevent their competitors from having the same technology in their products.

EXTERNAL TECHNOLOGY SOURCESCompany CapabilityObviously a company without internal technical capabilities cannot conduct internal technology acquisition. Companies with internal technological capabilities have a greater number of options than those that do not. Companies must make their acquisition decisions with a full understanding of their internal capabilities (or lack of them). A company should not overestimate its internal capability.

Time to Market The length of time from the acquisition of technology until the company begins to recover revenue from its investment via the sale of products or services resulting from the new technology is a key factor in the acquisition decision. Internal acquisition generally takes longer than acquiring already-developed technology from external sources. Managers have to weigh the reduced capability development opportunities and possible lack of exclusivity offered by internal development against the faster time to market offered by external technology acquisition.

Combination of internal and external sources

Risk of Failure There are risks in all types of technology acquisition. However, the risks change with the type of acquisition. The risks of technological failure are greatest with internal and contract R&D. No matter how good the researchers and designers are, R&D projects may not attain their goals. Research and development, by definition, requires travelling into unknown territory and whenever one is dealing with the unknown it is difficult to predict the outcome.

Costs and AffordabilityThe cost of each technology acquisition option is last but not least in this list of issues to consider. The key to addressing this properly is being sure that all costs are considered in the analysis. In the case of external acquisition, the up-front cost and royalty costs are generally quite clear and relatively easy to compare against the benefits. However, it is easy to overlook the cost of installation, adaption, and training in the area where the new technology is to be introduced, not to mention the costs associated with the impact the new technology has on the rest of the organization. The difficulty in estimating the total cost increases with internal acquisition due to the increased number of unknowns involved.

Making a DecisionThe following table summarizes the information provided above and provides some general guidelines to help guide initial thinking. However, generalities do not apply to every situation. Each case must be considered by itself. The company must develop a list of the pros and cons of each option being considered. The areas highlighted in the CONSIDERATIONS column provide a guide to what things to look at. The key to making a final decision is to provide a currency based estimate of the value or impact (negative and positive) of the each technology option for each of the consideration area. The sum of the values and impacts over the life of the technology will show which option has the best potential for meeting the company's needs.

Choosing the Best Technology Source for Your CompanyCONSIDERATIONS INTERNAL TECHNOLOGY SOURCE COMBINATION OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EXTERNAL TECHNOLOGY SOURCE

COMPANY TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH EXCLUSIVITY / COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE COMPANY CAPABILITY TIME TO MARKET RISK OF FAILURE COST AND AFFORDABILITY

highest potential highest potential for unique product or process must be relatively strong technically generally longest technically - highest, acceptance - lowest generally highest cost, high capability, development value

medium potential may maintain exclusivity, may have to share with partners technical strength is required, but it can be weaker can be reduced due to added information medium risk usually medium costs

lowest potential - must address ways to grow technically generally do not have a unique product or process, may negotiate for a specified market technical strength is an asset, but not essential should be shortest technically - lowest, acceptance - highest should be lowest, beware of hidden costs

CONCLUSIONThe company must then look at what it can afford relative to the up-front or short-term cost of each option. The best option may not be affordable. It can then choose to select an affordable option knowing full well that it will not be acquiring all the benefits the best option would afford. The company needs to document its analysis along with the assumptions upon which it was based so that it can learn from what actually happens compared to what was projected in the decision making process. This will make future decision making efforts better and will provide the basis for deciding to upgrade to a better technology option if the company's financial position improves to the point that a better option becomes affordable.

Technology Acquisition DecisionsIn technology development the following variables affect the decision about whether to develop internally, cooperate or buy. Availability and Level of External Sources Development Time Development Cost Technical Risk and Familiarity with Technology

DECISION - MAKING

TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION TRENDS / STEPSAfter careful consideration of all factors involved, if the company decides to acquire the technology abroad, following important steps would be involved in technology acquisition trends.

1) Identification of Technology Need 2) Sources of Technology 3) Technology Evaluation 4) Agreement & Implementation of Technology

Technology Exploitation Decisions

Technology exploitation is not a separate task from that of product development or marketing. Instead of it is a wider and more fundamental interpretation of both of these activities. As well as aiming to achieve the best return possible on the companys technological assets, exploitation decisions will also impact the direction of technology acquisition because specific technologies will have to be acquired to support and facilitate current and future exploitation.

There are two common views of technology exploitation strategy

Internal: - Internal transfer is used to make usage with the firm for its working operations and marketing strategy. External: - External transfer is the transfer which is used to transfer from one to another firm with the help of licensing, contracting or joint venture.

Diffusion can be done by the two waysEarly Diffusion Policy:Early diffusion policy is the technology where exploitation takes place can early as possible by the firm. This is useful for the following:To get risk free market penetration and increase in technologys market share. To restrict the competitors for developing a some version of technology that can change a acquire the market.

Late Diffusion Policy:-

Late diffusion policy is the technology delay takes place for sharing the usage of its resources. Ford has developed exploitation matrix which helps the manager to develop a useful strategy. The matrix shows the applicability of each method of acquisition according to criteria of matrix.

Technology AppropriationMeaning and Definition of Technology Appropriation:Appropriation occurs in specific events or actions when group members choose to use a specific technology in a specific way. But appropriation also occurs at global as groups enact general patterns of technology use. According to Carrolletal appropriation is defined as a process in which a technology is explored, evaluated and adopted or rejected by users.

Features of Appropriation of TechnologyThe four aspects of technology appropriation: 1) Advanced technology use 2) Comfort 3) Adaptation( Creative and routine uses of the technology) 4) Power/domination

Introduction:In the face of intensive competition and another business pressure on large organization, incremental process improvement is essential. The needed revolutionary approach to business performance improvement must encompass both how a business is structured. The process innovation has change the environment such as living standard of the society as well as individual.

Meaning & Definition of ProcessProcess is a series of action, progressive act or transaction for an effective outcome. According to Hammer:- Business process is a set of logically related task to achieve business outcomes.

According to Juran:- A systematic series of actions directed to the achievement of a goal.

Many managerial and business process are being useful for the desired outcomes of the firm. This can be new combination of enormous potential for helping organization to achieve the desired result and reduce in the investments and improve in quality, service level and other business objectives mainly consider as: Core Process: The vial processes of any organization. Example: Manufacturing.

Different types of process is being identified in the organization. The most common process of management are: Planning Organizing Leading Controlling

The purpose of a process innovation is to increase the efficiencies or the effectiveness of an organization. Changes in process require the organization and individuals to adapt. If this process is properly applied, it offer the organization and its personnel opportunities to improve the value of the organization and to continue the organization for long time. Thus process innovations help to improve the output to input ration of the firm.

1) Re Structuring: A major re organization of afirm is referred to as re structuring. It involves substantive changes include changes in communication and co-ordination patterns within the organization. However periodically, the organization needs to undertake a major review of what it does and why? Such as: Information is not getting to the proper people to make timely decisions. The result is slow decision - making. Opportunities and threats are being missed by the organization.

2) Downsizing: It is a type of restructuring that occurswhen a firm either sells some of its units or lays-off employees. 3) Re Engineering: Re engineering requires fundamental re thinking and radical re design of work process. Bennis & Mische state that re engineering has some specific goals: 1) Increasing Productivity 2) Eliminating Unnecessary levels and work

Process improvements are the techniques used in improving the operations of a company or an organization. Different process improvement techniques are used by different organizations. The usage of these process improvement techniques depends greatly on the goals and objectives of the organization. In process improvement , a company seeks to learn the causes of negative results in the organization. Then analyzed and the right process improvement technique is used to correct this problem. Here are some examples of process improvement techniques that are used by organizations:

1) Benchmarking: It is the method of evaluating the productivity, cost and quality of a product against the standard value. Benchmarking will provide a clear picture of an organizations ranking against the normal value. This process improvement technique will enable an organization to strive harder and improve the quality of services offered. 2) Six Sigma: The six sigma process improvement technique deals with improving the quality of the output. This is done by removing factors that may add to errors in the end product. Key people are then chosen to improve the process and eliminate the errors in production.

Improvement in business processes can have a profound effect in the performance of an organization. Typically these effects translate in to : 1) Cost Reduction: As a process are analyzed and made more efficient, duplication of effort is eliminated. The immediate benefit of these improvements is in terms of lower transactional cost and reduced use of resources for a given task.

2) Reduced Time to Market: More efficient execution processes implies a reduction in the time required for their completion. This is especially evident in product design and development where concurrent engineering is an effective way to reduce design and development cycles. 3) Identification of Best Practices: Continuous improvement of business processes enables staff to identify practices most applicable to a business model. The best practices go a long way towards improving performance while improving customer satisfaction and reducing costs.