Technology Morphology

The Morphological Analysis of Technology is explained here:

    - Notes

    - Table

Notes

Technology

Technology has two components:

1.  Technology should be an entity (physical existence)

2.  Technology should embody some knowledge (knowledge content)

Passive Technology

A technology in which there is no apparent continuous energy transfer. Examples of passive technologies are duster and purse.

Active Technology

A technology in which there is continuous energy transfer. An example of active technology is a fan. 

Embodied Technology

Embodied technology is encapsulated in products and physical equipment, such as manufacturing plant. The technology has what Glasser (1982) calls, a technical root structure which gives a product or process its performance and application characteristics. Some writers include in embodiment the training or retraining of labour.

Disembodied Technology

Disembodied technology is mainly intangible; there are no specific products which give it its particular character. The scientific principles underlying disembodied technologies are the social or management sciences rather than the natural sciences. Industrial engineering and quality assurance are typical examples of a disembodied technology. Its practitioners use artefacts but these are generic, such as an operating manual or a computer software package.

Infratechnology

A technology which supports the R&D, production and marketing of an industry. Expressions of infratechnologies are measurement and test methods, calibration procedures incorporated in technical standards, published scientific and engineering data.

Generic Technology

A technology which has a wide range of applications throughout industry. Lubrication, electronic device design, optoelectronics and robotics are typical generic technologies.

Specific Technology

A technology which is specific to a given process or industry.

Systems Technologies

The constituent technologies of a fusion of technologies (systems integration). Example: The systems technologies involved in multi-media telecommunications include hardware such as computers and telecommunication equipment, software such as digital systems and programming, transmission networks consisting of optical fibre links and interfaces.

Level Of Technology

A technology can be evaluated on a scale which starts from the practical and repetitive at one end to the complex and abstract at the other. For instance, Parker (1982) gives six levels of technology relevant to the development of a new product. A modified approach based on five levels is illustrated. The characteristics and context of technology at each level are given in the table.

Industrial Category

Refer National Industrial Classification [All Economic Activities], Nabhi Publications (1999)

Fluid Stage

When a new technology emerges, particularly as a result of a group of key inventions, the products and processes involved are not yet fully developed. The nature and scope of the market are still tentative. The innovation context is fluid and there is a period of vigorous progress when innovations follow each other rapidly and new equipment evolves. A number of alternative product and process designs compete until a dominant design is established. A diversity of applications foster market growth and structure.

Consolidation Stage

In this stage, the emphasis is on standardization, manufacturing efficiencies and, where feasible, the economies of scale of mass production. The innovation context becomes specific.

Mature Technology

With time, the technology and its products become ‘mature’; the rate of innovation slows while further development is affected by diminished returns and rapid increases in costs. Markets become increasingly price-competitive and growth begins to level out. A natural limit is eventually reached when the cost of the further development of a product or process becomes prohibitive.

References

1. Presentation on Academic Activities in Technology Management pursued at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Date: 4.12.1995

2. Paul Lowe, The Management of Technology: Perception and Opportunities, Chapman & Hall, London, 1995.

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