PLDT exec’s tech mg’t paper earns spot in int’l gab

An executive of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) became the first Filipino technology management practitioner to present a paper recently in Nancy, France, during the Annual International Conference of the International Association for the Management of Technology comprised of professors, professionals and practitioners worldwide.

Edmund Pike, product manager of PLDT, presented his ideas in a paper entitled "Laying Down the Foundations of Technology Management in the Philippines," which he submitted for the perusal and screening of the world’s renowned experts in technology management.

The paper was written initially to encourage the PLDT Business Solutions, the University of the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and other Filipino ICT stakeholders to take part in an academic, governmental and cross-industry collaborative effort which will study the current status and future technology prospects of the country, and identify the barriers as well as the drivers of industry growth.

The paper also cited the disadvantages and inadequacies of using existing knowledge sources in developing and using technology to stimulate business activity and help prop up the economy.

"Instead of seeking the best ideas which can be translated into new technological breakthroughs, the typical Philippine firm has adapted the ‘me too’ attitude, content with being mere copycats of its Western counterparts," he said in his paper.

Utilizing technology management models, Pike proposed that technology management approaches in other countries be tested with the purpose of identifying, diffusing and assimilating the lessons that can be learned.

Pike also discussed in his paper the importance of embedding technology strategy and technology management as part of each firm’s corporate strategy with the academe playing a vital role.

Aside from that, Pike espoused an alliance among the private sector, academe and the government in conducting research and development projects to complement and enhance traditional knowledge sources such as research firms, suppliers and the Internet.

As a result of this paper, the collaboration effort has gained momentum with the support of professors and students of three important entities of the University of the Philippines – the Technology Management Center, the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Department and the College of Science – plus the Department of Science of Technology, agreeing to do collaborative research and development in the PLDT Innolab.

The PLDT InnoLab or Innovation Laboratory and Learning Center is located in Mandaluyong City. Joint research and development projects involving, but not limited to, rural telecommunications, Internet Protocol version 6 (Ipv6), mobile telecommunications, broadband networking, toll online billing system and wireless communications will be conducted there by PLDT, UP and DOST.

Inspired by the PLDT-UP-DOST collaborative efforts and using the premise of the paper as the main basis, Pike also managed to form an organization for the country’s technology management practitioners called the Technology Management Society of the Philippines (TMSP).

Technology industry leaders, leading university professors, ICT proponents and locators, service aggregators/providers, consumers and IT faculty members have agreed to discuss and solve industry-specific concerns in the Philippines and to share their learned insights through this organization.