Management of Technology and Innovation

For senior technology executives—one of the most comprehensive and practical courses today that focuses on the key problems in managing innovative enterprises and deploying technical resources.

Managing innovation requires focusing on the human side to better utilize key resources and processes to help you capture market leadership in a competitive
global economy.

In addressing new market opportunities, many businesses follow a strategy that seeks to expand core technical competencies and investment in innovation for both new product and service developments. The future’s big winners are focusing today on increasing innovative activity in preparation for market expansion.

This course confronts the key challenges in managing, developing, and expanding technological innovation in highly market-driven companies.

Your opportunity for assuming technology leadership in the future is promoted by:

	Mobilizing more effective, motivated entrepreneurial team efforts
	Rapidly commercializing technical advances and innovative ideas
	Exercising leadership and decision making under technological and market uncertainty
	Developing critical management skills and allocating technical resources in changing organizational and economic environments
	Promoting and leading system change within established corporate cultures

Who Should Attend

This 3-day course is specifically designed for executives, vice presidents, R&D directors, high-level managers, and senior technical professionals responsible for technology development or the management of innovation for new products or services.


Course Content

Leading and Motivating Technical Professionals
	Using a new managerial framework for understanding how professionals’ motivations change
	Designing the task characteristics of a highly motivating work environment
	Improving the integration and long term vitality of technical professionals
	Managing and dealing with creative ‘mavericks’
	Managing technical professionals who have ‘plateaued’

Managing Uncertainty
	Understanding how motivation, innovation, and uncertainty are interrelated
	Dealing with risk and uncertainty
	Leveraging the creative tension between the generation and reduction of uncertainty

Managing Technology Transfer and Communication
	Understanding the role of the technical gatekeeper
	Recognizing the effectiveness of alternative organizational structures including project, functional, and matrix-type approaches
	Dealing with the effects of physical location and organizational architecture on technical communications and innovation

Staffing the Innovation Process
	Moving technical professionals into leadership roles
	Recognizing and balancing the critical functions necessary for carrying out innovation
	Designing managerial systems, including dual ladder, career assignment, evaluation, reward, and recognition systems
	Developing critical skills for reducing new product development cycle time

Commercializing Technical Capabilities
	Linking technology with market strategy for successful innovation in the marketplace
	Managing the technology/marketing interface and cross-functional relationships
	Maintaining creativity in long term technical efforts
	Encouraging, protecting, and sponsoring entrepreneurial risk-taking and team efforts
	Improving the transfer of technical knowledge into new products and services
	Understanding the effects of centralized/ decentralized structures on communication and innovation

Managing the Decision Making Process
	Managing the tensions between development efforts and schedule pressure
	Structuring and leading decision making processes
	Involving other functional areas and building consensus
	Minimizing the detrimental effects of organization politics

Creating and Maintaining High Performing Technical Organizations
	Building collaborative cross-functional teams
	Building and sustaining motivation, performance, and innovation over time
	Identifying the skills, characteristics, and managerial styles of effective technical leaders
	Utilizing ‘marshaling’ events for overcoming the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome
	Using culture to gain high commitment and innovative work climates

Managing the Ambidextrous Organization
	Balancing the tensions between short- and longterm technical efforts
	Managing incremental, breakthrough, and discontinuous innovations
	Managing streams of innovation across technology cycles
	Developing leadership styles and capabilities for managing innovation streams

Integrating Technology with Strategic Management
	Examining patterns of product and process innovation
	Coupling strategic plans with organizational evolution
	Investigating and understanding strategic contingencies as product classes evolve
	Identifying key patterns of successful innovation

Leading Entrepreneurial Efforts to Foster Breakthrough Innovation
	Strategies for leading the adoption of both sustaining and disruptive technical advances
	Diagnosing root causes of performance problems and resistances to change
	The role of executive leadership in shaping and managing change and decision making
	Using influence and power more effectively to lead innovative activities

Special Features

Each person attending this course receives a copy of The Human Side of Managing Technological Innovation: A Collection of Readings, 2nd ed., Ralph Katz and The Organization and Architecture of Innovation by Thomas J. Allen and Gunter W. Henn.


Participants are invited to attend a dinner the first evening of the course, providing an opportunity to share information and ideas with the instructor and other participants.

Instructors: Thomas J. Allen, PhD, Ralph Katz, PhD
Fee: 2008 - $3595
Credits: 2.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Dates: June 3-5, October 27-29, 2008
Time: 8:30am - 5:00pm 1st & 2nd Days; 8:00am - 4:00pm 3rd Day
Dinner: 5:30pm 1st Day
Program Coordinator: Delores Lee, 626.395.4043

Management of Technology and Innovation - pdf brochure
Technology Management Certificate Program - pdf brochure

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