APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
The operations of increasing numbers of organizations are increasingly dependent on the effective and efficient application of technology to (a) maintain and improve productivity, (b) satisfy market demands, and (c) assure the continued viability of the organization. Technology, however, is ever evolving, it is expensive, and the precise technological tool required by an organization varies (a) over time, (b) by strategic focus, and (c) from process to process. Therefore, operations managers require an effective and an efficient procedure for the management of technology within an organization. One approach to this task is to apply the concept of capacity planning to the application of technology within an organization (Christie & Wu, 2002).
Christie and Wu (2002) suggest the development of a capacity planning model to fit the needs of a specific organization, the objective of which is to "minimize the gaps between product demands and the capacity allocated to the technology specified by each product" (p. 131). Another approach to the effective and efficient management of technology in an organization's operations is the application of a strategic benchmarking procedure (Brockett, Golden, Sarin, & Gerberman, 2001).
Benchmarking involves the identification of the best practices for a focus activity, the development of procedures to adapt and implement those best practices to the needs and conditions of one's own organization, the measurement of performance against the benchmarks, and revising organizational processes as required to cause performance to coincide with benchmarks. Benchmarking, therefore, is a process, not an outcome.á This process is closely associated with and derived from the quality movement.á Both total quality management (TQM) and ISO 9000 seek to improve quality, and in turn, organizational productivity through the formali...