Technological change has been recognized as the major contributor to
economic growth and has become one of the most important challenges to
policy makers and managers. Many excellent books and papers have been
written on the subject. Most of these deal with the macro or micro
economic impact of technological change or the technological change
process from invention and discovery to innovation, development, and
final maturity as well as ultimate obsolescence of technology. This book
is designed to present technological change as a decision process and
explain the use of recently developed methods for the effective
management of technological change. In particular, techniques for the
effective choice among technological alternatives, timing of the
introduction of new technology both in terms of its own status and that
of the technology to be replaced if any, and the rate and method of
introduction of new technology are presented. Management of technology
is a complex decision process which is affected by both internal and
external factors. The purpose of this book is to instruct the reader in
effective technology deciSion making which involves the evaluation of
the status of technology in use if any, the problem to be solved or
output to be obtained, determination of environmental and internal
constraints, and the competitive environment or market conditions which
affect the technology decisions.
