Technology Strategy and Competitive Strategy

Question: Discuss about the Technology Strategy and Competitive Strategy. Answer: Introduction: Technology in the modern world not only refers to the information technology, rather in this modern world, technology can be of various kinds such as ICT or the Information and Communication Technology. Technology strategy therefore offers competitive strategy to the organization and has positive impact on the organization. It helps the organization in delivering products and services at a cheaper price; the designing of the products and services too comes at a cheaper price. Another positive impact of technology strategy is that it helps in establishing effective, valuable and an efficient relationship with both the customers as well as with the suppliers (Wirtz and Lovelock 2016). The operational use of technology is there mainly to improve the internal workings of the organization. The technological application in the internal process does not, improves the competitive position of the company, in any way, and not does the operational use of the technology help in fulfilling the strategic vision that the organization is having. If the organization at all wants to fulfill its strategic vision; or if wants to gain competitive advantage in the market then the organization should depend on the strategic use of technology (Unit 6 Technology and strategy 2016).In case of developing technology strategy, the managers of the organization should follow the following steps: Forecast the emerging technologies, which had the capacity of changing the dynamics of the industry as well as the market. Identification of organizations technical appetite as well as risk profile, and the technical capabilities, in short identification of the technological aggressiveness is the most important thing. Determining those areas, where, the organization could gain success in future. The organization is here looking for someone who could use the potential technology strategically. It is important for a technology strategy manager to look at the technology strategically, but at the same time, it is important to understand the capacity of the particular technology (Wirtz and Lovelock 2016). In order to understand the capacity of a particular technology it is important to understand the strategic capabilities of that particular technology. The technology manager should be able to develop those options that would help the company to utilize the technology in such a way that it could help in developing the corporate strategy.The technology profile should include the following information: Functionality and the performance of the individual should be assessed, and at the same time, the profile should be able to identify the requirement of the technology (Unit 6 Technology and strategy 2016). The profile should include information regarding the acquisition cost, where the acquisition cost should be able to equate the cost of measure of the functionality or performance. It should require information regarding the operating cost where, the cost requires for support and delivering the output is measured. The profile should contain the user-friendly characteristic technology so that the consumer could use it with ease. Information regarding the reliability of the technology is provided, which include information regarding amount of servicing that is required for maintaining the technology. It includes information regarding life expectancy of the product or the services. The information regarding whether or not it is expensive to service the technology is included in it. Information regarding failed operation and receiving quick services are included in it at the same time (Wirtz and Lovelock 2016). Information regarding the compatibility of the technology; or whether or not the technology is at all compatible with other technologies or not, should be mentioned at the same time. The two important issues that should be covered in the discussion are the following: The innovation should come early in the market and only then, it will earn superior advantage. In gaining superior returns, the organization should be able gain benefits from being early in the market (Unit 6 Technology and strategy 2016). As the competitors enter the price, differentiation as well as product differentiation becomes harder. Innovation in departments like processes and system would help the organization in gaining better cost. The thing happens because these system and processes provides quality and efficiency to the customers. The two most important sources of innovation are the following: The internal sources, which include the RD or the Research and Development, along with it, the particular source comprise of ideas from the staff and suggestion. Brainstorming, too, forms an important part in this particular source. According to statistics almost 55% of the idea, regarding the new products comes from the internal sources. Almost 28% of the new idea, regarding any innovation comes from the customers. Thus, the customers again are an important source creating a new product or coming up with an innovation. The two important best practices in selection are the following: Identifying the strategic issues and at the same time, clarifying the impact that the innovation will have on the competitive environment. The innovation has impact on the brand equity, perception of the organization, and on the image of the organization (Unit 7 Technology and strategy 2016). Therefore, these things should be identified at the same time, along with this enhancement of strategic competencies are required at the same time. It is important to consider how the strategic competencies would have an impact on the external stakeholders, for example the government. The traditional accounting system or the financial values are not at all beneficial for the innovators. The traditional accounting systems are based on costs and they are rarely based on differences that are made between the products and the services. Therefore, negating the traditional accounting system would be another best practice to adopt the decision of a new product. In the growth stage of the product life cycle the clients or the customers get aware of the innovation and most of the time the teenagers or the adults are the customers of the product, during the growth stage. A product enters to the maturity stage to the growth stage when the competitors enter the market with a similar kind of product or a copy of that product (Cassia, De Massis and Pizzurno 2012). Thus, during this stage people belonging to the early majority and late majority are the customer of the organization. The people belonging to this category prefer those things that are totally risk free. The colonizer or the fast followers, according to the researchers are those organizations that enter late in the market but gains more than the pioneers gain (Unit 7 Technology and strategy 2016). The colonizers posses the quality of focusing on the wants and the needs as well preferences of the mass-market consumers; the colonizers also have the quality of using disruptive innovation for creating customer value, of superior nature.