Implementing New Technology

Abstract

Organizations have come to rely on implementing new technology as a critical component of their competitive strategy. Implementing new technology allows companies to improve efficiency, productivity, quality, safety, working conditions, and profitability. Much of this potential is never realized; as a study found that 40% of companies had not achieved the intended benefits from the new technology. The study further stated that 10% of these new technology implementation problems were for technical reasons; whereas most problems occurred for human and organizational reasons. Effective new technology implementation requires considering all factors involved in the implementation process as: new technology characteristics, organization structure, task factors, environmental characteristics, and human factors. It is suggested to utilize a cooperative approach implementing new technology, relying on employee participation and teamwork. By taking a total systems view of the situation; and being aware to the existing interactions; it is hoped that the new technology can be implemented in the most effective way possible. A case study is presented to illustrate this.