The Strategic Management of Technology: A Guide for Library and Information Services

Citation

Fourie, I. (2005), "The Strategic Management of Technology: A Guide for Library and Information Services", The Electronic Library, Vol. 23 No. 6, pp. 709-710. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470510635791

In The Strategic Management of Technology – David Baker offers a fresh and very practical overview of aspects to consider for managing technology. He firmly believes a strategic approach will minimise the chances of failure, since it will mean that the critical success factors will be taken into consideration. He, therefore, offers numerous practical guidelines and advice in this regard, which are also reflected in the four case studies on projects from the UK, USA and the Sudan.

Baker holds an MBA degree from the Open University in the subject area of strategic management of technology, and has published widely in the LIS literature. He is thus well equipped to tackle the complexities, intricacies and challenges of the strategic management of technology. In a very practical, to the point manner, Baker starts off by considering the concept of strategic technology management, which includes strategy, technology, value and mission statements and technology management. In Chapter 2 he deals with invention, innovation, improvement and integration in a fairly detailed discussion. Scenario planning and systems thinking as two methods of strategic planning are, respectively, covered in Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 5 covers strategy implementation, while Chapter 6 offers a summary of the book. Although there are many references to private sector organisations and their approaches, Baker, where possible, attempted to relate these to the public sector where most libraries and information services find themselves.

The Strategic Management of Technology – is a clear, well‐written and logically structured publication. Although firmly based in the theory of strategic management and IT development as is clear from the extensive lists of references, each chapter takes a very practical approach to real‐life complexities. This makes The Strategic Management of Technology – an excellent companion for the busy IT manager.

The book concludes with an extensive list of sources for further reading and a good, 7‐page index.

The Strategic Management of Technology – is recommended for all LIS professionals who have to manage changing IT environments, and need advice on strategic issues: it does not only offer sound practical advice, but also good pointers to the subject literature and a theoretical bases for strategic management.