The Techno MBA

Xerox, within it's PARC group invented the ball mouse, some of the first personal computers and the first graphical user interface (GUI) but failed to truly capitalize on their ideas. Apple computer was the first computer company to popularize the GUI in its personal computers and we all know the success Microsoft had in taking all 3 of these technologies mainstream. Meanwhile, although Xerox is a high tech company involved in a multitude of technologies, they are primarily known as a photocopy company.

Why is it that some companies produce great ideas in R&D but fail to capitalize on them? A major focus of the Jenkins MBA here at NC State is on real world experience coupled with an emphasis on how technology plays a role in today's business environment. I enjoyed a recent lecture in my Management of Technological Innovation class where our professor referred to us as Techno-MBAs. Most traditional MBAs operate in the realm of managing existing products rather than creating new innovation. He explained that in business today there is often a gap between R&D on one side and existing product management on the other. One goal of this program is to turn out graduates who can operate in the fuzzy middle. The Jenkins MBA will create graduates who can take the exciting but unproven ideas that come out of R&D and filter them to find value where a new product or service can be created. The challenge will be to manage the process in the middle, as a liaison between the inventors and the managers. We will learn how to translate management needs into ideas for R&D and how to identify potential new innovations that will end up creating value and ensure good ideas are not lost in obscurity. This concept excites me and I'm looking forward to diving deeper into this topic!