Introduction
In today’s world, organizations are adopting various technologies to help them perform better in their processes. However, technology is rapidly changing from day to day therefore the organizations are usually faced with many challenges especially when they want to adopt new external technology.
Challenges that need to be addressed during the appropriation of technology from external sources.
Before adopting external technology, the organization needs to consider the skills that need to be adopted by the users to enable better adaptation. Lack of required skills may generate diverse and conflicting requirements between the new technology and the users and the full understanding by the users may come after deployment of the technology. The organization should therefore ensure that the organization has adequate skills and knowledge for the new technology before it’s adopted. (Fischer 1998)
According to (Webb & Cleary 1994), the resistance of the external technology can be experienced in an organization; many people may feel that the current technology is working for them and don’t require an external source. Some may see it as a disruption of the already established skills and approaches to work therefore they resist change and don’t feel comfortable with the changes and feel that the current technology is more effective as compared to the new one. The organization, therefore, needs to ensure that the external technology has a dynamic usage; that is it must support a dynamic operating environment that is driven by business goals and needs otherwise the technology can end up being used in unanticipated ways which may bring inconsistencies between the designed usage and the future usage. One should ensure that the technology brings better outcomes, ensure that those who adopt it become experts, and ensure that it increases motivation in people. External technology may also bring security problems to the organization. (Hofmann, Yedlin, Kushner & Mishler, 2007).
One must consider the cost of adopting an external technology. New external technologies are expensive to acquire and therefore availability of funds should be considered before the adoption of change; if the technology is more expensive than expected, the funds can be used for other important needs in the organization. (Poppo & Zenger 1998).
There is a rapid obsolesce of technology in today’s world; this is due to the rapid changes that are taking place in the technological world and the increasing needs which require frequent and rapid changes in technology. Skills adopted for a new technology this year may be found to be obsolete in the following year forcing a person to adopt fresh skills; this leads to inconsistency in the operations of a business or organization therefore one must make sure that the external technology being adopted will not wear out or be obsolete rapidly to avoid inconsistency frequent need of getting new skills every time as a result of technological changes in the organization. (Barr & Thorsen 2003).
Adoption of an external technology should not widen the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘not haves’ in an organization. It should therefore be ensured that the appropriation brings equity in the society at large and not be restricted to the few people who can afford it.
New external technology should be able to identify the mission and needs of a business and show both functional and non-functional requirements. A person should therefore develop an acquisition plan based on a strategy that is built around the key drivers and risks such as cost and performance of the adopted external technology. The technology should also be able to deliver the needed capabilities to avoid future disappointments. (Boehm 2006).
The most logical time for a firm to choose external sourcing over in-house development.
Many advantages come with external sourcing over in-house developments that make an organization want to adopt an external technology.
External outsourcing is more flexible as may be compared with in-house developments. It offers various support options in terms of developments, release, licensing regimes, and distribution therefore external sourcing is more preferred when an organization or a person wants to adopt a flexible system of operations.
An organization will go for external sourcing than in-house developments especially when it wants reliable technology. This is because external sourcing is more reliable and fits in their categories more efficiently therefore it is the best in an organization that wants a fitting and reliable technology in its operations. (Joe & Martin 2007).
An organization or organization will want to adopt external outsourcing over in-house development when it wants maturity and longevity of the technology. This is because external sourcing although it may seem slow in the first stages of its developments, it eventually improves as its usage increases. This means that the technology will be efficient for a long and will be more mature therefore it will be efficient for an organization with a need for mature and longer technology use.
External sourcing improves performance and brings greater efficiency in a firm; therefore it will be of preference for a firm that is pressurized to produce better results because external outsourcing uses fewer resources and gives better results with fewer time risks. It will also be reliable for a person an organization that requires speed to market its products. (Samsons 2000).
External outsourcing simulates innovation and brings a new way of thinking within a firm. This means that it is efficient in overcoming challenges and the ability to pursue innovation internally. It collects intelligence on emerging markets and technologies that fuel innovation especially in resources, risk, and resistance. (Paap 2008).
The reasons why an organisation would want to replace a technology
There are many reasons why an organization may want to replace technology.
Technology changes with time; if an organization decides to be stuck with one kind of technology, it will be hard for it to cope with the rest because the results it may bring might not be acceptable in the modern time since they probably will be worn out by time. An organization will therefore want to change its technology to keep up with the changes taking place in the technological world. (Suzuki 2003).
The emerging or an external source of technology may be more user-friendly as compared to the existing technology. An organization will therefore want to adopt the technology with which the users will be more comfortable, feel motivated, and are conversant so that the results will be more favorable and the operations of the organization will more efficient. (Shamus 2007).
Change of technology enables users to have more experience in their work, they are also able to get more information which helps them to do better work and gain success in their undertakings.
Change of technology also makes work be faster and efficiency is achieved in the organization, therefore, the more reason why it would want to adapt or replace technology. (Maher 2004).
In conclusion, organizations need to put into consideration the various challenges that they may face as a result of the appropriation of external sources of technology. Factors such as cost of technology, skills needed, obsolesce of technology, user’s views, and the technology’s efficiency as compared to the existing one in an organization should be considered before its adoption. An organization should also be able to know when it is appropriate to adopt an external source instead of an in-house development; this will help it in efficiency and reliability.
References
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