Managerial Issues Involved in the Development of Nanotechnology Products
Date
2004-12
Authors
Klepetko, Ryan Josef
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Abstract
With the rapid development of and paradigm shift involved in the new field of nanotechnology, this thesis poses the question whether there are any new management approaches, techniques or meta-knowledge that firms working in this field should apply. To approach this question a large and diverse collection of non-technical sources related to nanotechnology was gathered and analyzed. After reviewing these sources with the above question in mind, an outline was created and refined thus giving the organization of this thesis. To supplement the information gathered in the literature, an in depth interview was conducted with managers at several different organizations working in the nanotechnology environment.
Through this research it has been surmised that firms working in nanotechnology basically have the same issues as any firm working in a rapidly changing and highly technical field. These issues include intellectual property (IP) protection, market share, problem solving, adoption of technologies, analysis of the environment, creating a skilled team, product assessment, and, perhaps most importantly, cash flow. The unique aspect of nanotechnology that firms face is the level of expertise and varieties of skills required by the teams working in this field.
It is the conclusion of this thesis that the unique managerial implication of nanotechnology is management of such diverse and skilled workforces. The convergence of the sciences involved in the study and fabrication of molecular interfaces means that highly educated people from entirely different backgrounds, lexicons, and perspectives on the issues need to be united effectively. While managing cash and intellectual property is undoubtedly very important, creating systems to skillfully and efficiently unify the team members will distinguish the firm from others in the field and determine its long term dominance. This thesis reveals that new approaches to project management need to be researched and developed to manage the development process of products in rapidly changing technical environments. These techniques need to incorporate the ideas of knowledge management, system focus, and flexibility as identified in the body of this thesis.
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Keywords
project management, knowledge management, industrial relations
Citation
Klepetko, R. J. (2004). Managerial issues involved in the development of nanotechnology products (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas.