Philosophy on Technology

Companies nowadays are technologically inclined as it is crucial for its survival. It was properly understood that good innovation almost certainly brings result and that postponing it would reduce the possibilities of innovating in the future, greater priority would be given to innovation and executives would be more disposed to create the circumstances that make it possible.

Karl Marxʼs claim that ʻTechnology discloses manʼs mode of dealing with Nature, the process of production by which he sustains his life, and thereby also lays bare the mode of formation of his social relations, and of the mental conceptions that flow from themʼ1. What drives executives in most companies to innovate? or what do the leaders of highly innovative companies have in common? Not contented with utilitarianism in its approach to technology but also made it attractive and intrinsically beautiful to the users as what Apple does with their iOS devices, most of the top level executives such as the late Steve Jobs are pursuing a vision. That vision is translated to its employees as it is sufficiently attractive and tangible. It can often be a more powerful driver than extrinsic motivations such as pay. And when executives are passionate about innovation and their companyʼs vision, their energy and the clarity of their ideas are contagious2.

There are three paradigms, which today compete for dominance in scientific society - the entrepreneurship paradigm, the technology-economic paradigm, and the strategic innovation paradigm3. These paradigms are the determinant factors that would influence any companyʼs philosophy towards technology. For example, in the 1950s, Masaru Ibuka, one of the founders of Sony, was so determined to create a new form of recording device that he motivated his engineers to work to their utmost. Some time later, this led to successful product launches such as the Walkman. The engineers of Sony had pursued the so-called technology-economic paradigm that its R&D department played the central role in its innovation activities. Looking at the strategic innovation paradigm on the other hand, its crucial element is the ability to see new possibilities in the market, then to induce innovations that can exploit these possibilities by utilizing the firmʼs resources4. Apple, which is currently one of the worldʼs most innovative companies does not do market research. This is straight from Jobsʼ mouth: “We do not do market research”. They scoff at the notion of target markets, and they donʼt conduct focus group. Why? Because everything Apple designs is based on Jobs’ and his team’s perceptions of what they think is cool. He elaborates: “It’s not about pop culture, and it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do. So you can’t go out and ask people, you know, what’s the next big thing. There’s a great quote by Henry Ford, right? He said, ‘If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘A faster horse’’5.

Despite of its product successes, the company also has had its share of failures, such as the MobileMe or Apple TV, but, as in any innovative culture, well-intentioned errors are tolerated and later developments show that Apple learned from its mistakes. This is another aspect that leaders of highly innovative companies have in common is that they share values that encourage experimentation and learning. 

Silicon Valley, home to many of the worldʼs largest technology corporations is also the leading hub for high-tech innovation and development. We have witnessed the rise of young technology entrepreneurs, highly determined, encouraged by their companies to innovate. Yes, it is in the most innovative companies that the entrepreneurship paradigm flourished. Their senior executives are not just self-confident but they also have confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of their employees. For example, for many years at 3M, and more recently at Google, the entrepreneurial spirit has been developed and backed by a principle of freedom, as opposed to just work, in the pursuit of groundbreaking ideas. Researchers are allowed to spend some of their time on projects of their own choosing without interference from above6.

Innovation should be understood as a long journey through growing achievements based on work and diligence. It must have a clear objective, but there must also be freedom to experiment. Joseph Schumpeter presupposes that the entrepreneur is not seeking economic gain. He states three motives that drive such a person: the wish to be independent; the will to conquer; the pleasure of the creative process in itself and of solving problems. These same entrepreneurs have conquered the odds and its innovation leads to a disturbance in the economic system where its production structures with new growth potentials are created and old mature structures are pulled down. It is a process called creative destruction as Schumpeter terms it. It is a chaos that leads the economic system forward7.

Open-mindedness is also a point to be undertaken. Companies are willing to explore proactively different ways of moving forward, the best solution that can improve their processes and services. Starbucks tells its staff that when a client complains, itʼs important that you recognize that this is an opportunity to form a close relationship. Once the employees see that the management cares about the clientʼs opinion, they are more likely to value it as well8.

Crucially, these values, principles and practices are not exclusive to any particular sector or geographical area. Networked enterprise are also emerging to connect the internal efforts of employees and to extend the organizationʼs reach to customers, partners, and suppliers. Based on the McKinsey report, companies embracing Web 2.0 technologies continues to grow as it shows significant increases in the percentage using social networking which is at 40 percent and blogs at 38 percent. Its benefits ranged from greater market share and higher margins to faster access to knowledge9.

When network giant ABS-CBN Corp. launched its Digital TV Service last April, its aim is to eventually replace the current analog signals in the Philippines. The digital box will provide better signals and more viewing options to non-cable TV subscribers for a one-time purchase between PhP1,000 and PhP3,000 without the hustle of monthly subscription fees. The Lopez-led firm will spend an initial PhP1 billion in its DTV offering10 and is ready to start broadcasting digital signals as soon as the implementing rules that will govern DTV transmission has already released by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which is hopefully this year. The NTC officially adopted the ISDB-T or the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial last 11th of June 201011. The ISDB-T system from Japan has chosen, mainly because of the low price of the digital box which was quoted at around US$10 to US$15 a box12. 

ABS-CBN's philosophy to technology is to provide the best solution to its consumers without compromising their existing TV sets as well as their wallets, since the Philippine market is not yet ready to receive high-definition broadcast signals where most of the household are still using analog TV. The company has taken into consideration the market demographics as well as government policies which are the crucial steps in determining technology selection and adaptation.

References:

1 Rosenberg, 1981 p.9
2 IESE Insight, "A Culture of Innovation Begins at the Top" by Vila Vilar, Joaquim, 2011, insight.iese.edu/doc.aspx?id=1256&ar=16
3 Three paradigms in innovation theory by John Sundbo, p.399, Science and Public Policy, December 1995

4 Three paradigms in innovation theory by John Sundbo, p.404, Science and Public Policy, December 1995

5 You canʼt innovate like Apple by Alain Breillatt

6 Eric Schmidt on business culture, technology, and social issues, McKinsey Quarterly, May 2011

7 Three paradigms in innovation theory by John Sundbo, p.401, Science and Public Policy,

December 1995

8 Starbucksʼ quest for healthy growth: An interview with Howard Schultz, McKinsey Quarterly, March

2011

9 The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday, McKinsey Quarterly, December 2010

10 The Philippine Star, “ABS-CBN allots P1B for shift to digital TV” by Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, 05 April

2011

11 Wikipedia, Digital Television, ISDB-T adoption

12 Philippine Daily Inquirer, “ABS-CBN to launch digital TV service for non-cable customers” by Paolo

G. Montecillo, Business section, page B1, 05 April 2011