Customer Reviews

Management of Technology : Managing Effectively in Technology-Intensive Organizations

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This book has little to recommend it in my opinion.

He needs an editor--badly. It has a multiplicity of typos, which I find distracting. He defines jargon with more jargon. He cites his own work more than anyone else's. It's information-like but not really informative. When I finish reading a chapter, I don't feel like I've gotten one solid idea out of it. [Unfortunately I have to read it for a class I'm taking.]

The design of the book adds to its lack of readability.

The stories at the beginning of each chapter are interesting but he didn't write them.

My advice: Save your time and money. Approach management from the standpoint of commonsense and treat your employees the way you would want to be treated.

For a textbook on what is a fairly dry subject this is surprisingly readable, with complex ideas discussed in a lucid and informative manner. The author addresses a wide range of topics under the umbrella of Management of Technology, from theories of motivation to the Request for Quote process, along the way covering project organization, the impact of new technology and tools for planning and controlling project work. Many references are provided for further study, should the reader wish to delve deeper into the academic underpinnings of the book.

Particular highlights are sections on motivation of technology specialists, organizing for project work (with emphasis on the plusses and minuses of matrix approaches) and project management tools. The discussion on why project managers don't use all the tools available is especially thought provoking.

There is some padding (the chapters on managing environmental quality and using consultants don't add much) and too many typos, some of which do change the author's meaning, but overall this will be a useful reference for anyone who manages engineers and scientists or is studying engineering management.

Had this book for a class in 2010. Much of the material is outdated, and stale. It has some good information, but an updated version would be better at this point.