TECNOLOGIA : CONCEITOS E DIMENSÕES

José Carlos Teixeira da Silva, Dr. Eng. Produção/Esc. Politécnica-USP

Prof. Dr. Depto. Engenharia de Produção/FE/Universidade Estadual Paulista-Unesp

Av. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube S/N, Bauru-SP, CEP 17033-360 Email : [e-mail]

Abstract

This paper discusses technology concepts and dimensions, in the field of

technology management at the manufacture sector, with respect to product and process. It

analyses the generic use nowadays of the term “technology” like “education

technology”or management technology”, which are essentially methodology and not

technology.Considering the embedded technology in products/process, and technology

capability in the organizations, was possible the development or the deployment of the

term “technology” creating the concepts of “macrotechnology” and “microtechnology”.

While the macrotechnology is referent to the systemic concept inside the organization, the

microtechnology is referent to the technology inside the product/process. Starting with

these concepts is possible to analyse strategic and operational aspects of the organization

with respect the product technology, the process technology, the technology vulnerability,

and the technology capabilit.y. With a preliminar exploratory research was possible to

know some ascpects of the organizations’s behavior in the field of the technology at the

manufacture sector. It was detected limited capability in those organizations with respect

the components of microtecnology, like the “core technoloy” and the” boundaries

technologies” , either to the product or process. The same conclusion is valide to the

technology capability of those companies, related with the macrotechnology concept.

Key-words : technology, technology management, product development.

1. INTRODUÇÃO E OBJETIVOS

O uso do termo “tecnologia”, oriundo da revolução industrial no final do Século

XVIII, tem sido generalizado para outras áreas do conhecimento, alem dos setores da

industria têxtil e mecânica. O Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, de Aurélio Buarque de

Holanda, indica a palavra “tecnologia” como “um conjunto de conhecimentos,

especialmente princípios científicos, que se aplicam a um determinado ramo de atividade:

tecnologia mecânica”. Evidentemente, é dentro das áreas de engenharia que esse termo é