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Technology and Information Management Program Abstract

This paper describes a new graduate program in Technology and Information Management (TIM) being developed by the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. As a University of California graduate program, it proposes1 to offer both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, with the M.S. intended to prepare its graduates for careers in “high-tech” firms of Silicon Valley, California, and elsewhere. We view TIM as a new and distinct discipline within engineering, combining technology management, systems engineering, and information technology. As an engineering program, TIM addresses both the Management of Technology (MOT) and the Technology of Management (TOM). In MOT, initial emphasis is on the development of theory, analytical results, methods and tools that more closely couple economic factors into engineering and product decisions of firms. This includes studies of the role of information technology in the management of complex systems of both technology and people. In TOM, the emphasis is on development of both theory and software to enable organizations to manage large collections of data in a way that preserves and enhances the information and knowledge that data represents, as well as enabling people in an organization to retrieve that information in a timely and comprehensible way, in areas from manufacturing to sales to services, and across the enterprise functions of analysis, planning and operations. In summary, the domain of the TIM program is: 1) the management of technology and innovation, with emphasis on analytic approaches to complex problems whose solutions have both technological and financial components, and 2) the development of technology of management. Information technology, and information systems and services are core components of both.

Background

The central technology in most complex systems today is information technology, and the most rapidly changing business environments are in the areas of information technology and complex system design. The design and management of these complex systems presents challenges to enterprises and to individual executives and managers. This is especially true in organizations which are in, or critically depend upon, rapidly changing technologies and rapid introduction of new products and services in competitive environments (a definition of “high tech” enterprises). By using, synthesizing and extending ideas from traditional fields such as computer science, economics, and business management, TIM studies and teaches its students how the use of information technology can lead to more effective management of enterprises (to achieve “competitive advantage”), and more generally, addresses problems in the design and management of complex systems involving people, technology and organizations. Research and teaching programs combining technology, systems, and management are much needed especially today, as firms deal with more complex decisions in a global environment, and address such topics as “out-sourcing” and “off-shoring” of many of the traditional technology enterprise functions and engineering and support tasks to lower cost regions and countries such as India and China.

The challenges faced in “high tech” enterprises require the integration of technology and business understanding to solve complex interdisciplinary problems. Management of the

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Mantey, P., & AKELLA, R., & Musacchio, J., & Zhang, Y., & Ross, K., & Desa, S. (2007, June), Technology And Information Management Program Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2680