Technological factors
| Technological factors |
|---|
| See also |
Technological factors are factors that have impact on area of management (e.g. managing project, implementing strategy) and they are related to technological limitations or issues. Technological factors are e.g.:
- productivity of machines,
- cycle time,
- energy consumption
- dimensions of equipment
- dimensions of buildings
- parameters required to achieve quality product.
Technological factors are mostly known variables when implementing strategy or managing project. However, relations between technological factors can be not recognized, which can lead into problems. For example, known dimensions of equipment and known dimensions of entry gate doesn't imply that manager recognized that gate is too small to pass the equipment.
Therefore, technological factors should be not only identified but also analyzed in order to find important relations between them[1].
Technological factors and information technology
A crucial factor in the acceptance of information technology including the World Wide Web and the Internet is perceived ease of use. Perceived ease of use is the potency with what a person deem that the use of process will be problem-free. Internet technologies in learning surroundings are designed to expedite the learning process. Therefore, these technologies must be seen as easy to use. The ease of use of a website is related to the ease of finding information on such a website and the ease of understanding information, but understanding is more important than finding. It should not be assumed that the level of user's internet skills is high and that this person knows our native language very well. Therefore, websites should use uncomplicated and koherent terms, be easy to read, visually pleasurable and contain links to more detailed content. Using colloquial expressions on such websites is not appropriate[2].
Technological factors and laptops initiative
Many students use laptops at universities and this is a problem for these universities because they are not prepared to introduce such technology. Variety of programs are use on many classess, which require computers. However, implementing a laptop initiative requires careful planning and a lot of support. The main problems for laptop initiatives are costs, comfort and the choice of hardware and configuration. An important advantage of laptops is their portability and size. Before implementing this program, technological and logistical factors must be identified. The university which has oldest this laptop program is University of Minnesota (UMC)[3].
Important technological and logistical factors in the implementation of laptop program mentioned by Custhall R., Changchit C., Elwood S. are[4]:
- enough amount of power outlets affordable in auditorium
- the possibility of using printers
- on-site maintenance
- cordless network in place
- having a backup battery
- place to store a laptop
- replacement of laptop on new laptop after a few years
- immediate updating the hardware
Commercial vehicle fleets and technological factors
In recent years, there has been an increase in the activity of commercial vehicles, and thus also a greater impact on the environment. Unfortunately, also fossing fuels are not renewable and will eventually end so alternative to traditional commercial vehicles is necessary. The electric vehicles are this alternative. Before introducing such an alternative, it is necessary to know the technological factors, because not every place is adapted to such vehicles[5].
Feng W,. Figliozzi M.A. think that:"Vehicle replacement models can be classified into two categories:
- research-oriented
- practice-oriented"[6]
Research-oriented models rely on seeking economically optimal alternative decisions so that the profit is as large as possible for a some kind of time horizon or the smallest possible costs[7].
Practice-oriented models rely on making alternative decisions based on specific performance measures or criteria, for example: energy consumption and age[8].
The most important technological factors of vehicles that are mentioned by Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. are[9]:
- consumption of energy
- type of energy (fuel, water, energy, others)
- the life of this vehicle
- possibility the utilization in miles
The additional important technological factors of electric vehicles are[10]:
- use of special charging stations
- battery capacity of this vehicle
References
- Brown I.T.J.(2002). Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Perceived Ease of Use of Web‐based Learning Technologies in a Developing Country. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries Volume 9, Issue 1, p. 1-15.
- Custhall R., Changchit C., Elwood S. (2006). Campus Laptops: What Logistical and Technological Factors are Perceived Critical?. Educational Technology & Society, 9 (3), 112-121.
- Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012). Conventional vs electric commercial vehicle fleets: A case study of economic and technological factors affecting the competitiveness of electric commercial vehicles in the USA. Procedia – Social Behavioral Sciences p. 702-711.
- Figliozzi, M., Boudart, J., & Feng, W. (2011). Economic and Environmental Optimization of Vehicle Fleets: Impact of Policy, Market, Utilization, and Technological Factors. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2252), 1-6.
Footnotes
- ↑ Figliozzi, M., Boudart, J., & Feng, W. (2011)
- ↑ Brown I.T.J. (2002)
- ↑ Custhall R., Changchit C., Elwood S. (2006)
- ↑ Custhall R., Changchit C., Elwood S. (2006)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
- ↑ Feng W., Figliozzi M.A. (2012)
Author: Joanna Zawiślan
