DT087

DT088
DT713

16258 MECH 9002

16271 MECH 9002
16258 MECH 9002
DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BOLTON STREET, DUBLIN 1
__________

Master of Engineering in
Mechanical Engineering
_________
SUMMER 2012
SEMESTER 2

___________

INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Robert Simpson, M.Sc.
Professor David Kennedy
Kevin Delaney, M.Eng.

Answer Question 1 and any TWO other questions

Question 1 is worth 40 marks, all other questions are worth 30 marks.
Time Allowed: 2 Hours

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Question 1
(a) A company that establishes a technological breakthrough in an existing market may have some first
mover advantages but may also encounter some disadvantages. List possible examples of such
disadvantages.
(4 marks)
(b) There is a view that the system of patenting does not encourage innovation in society. Do you agree or
disagree with this view? Justify your answer with clear examples.
(4 marks)
(c) You have invented a new product which has some features similar to a product that was on the market 10
years ago but also a number of novel features. Use a suitable sketch or flowchart to describe your
approach to ensure that you can sell products using the idea.
(4 marks)
(d) Using a diagram to help your discussion compare and contrast the processes of single and double loop
learning. Give a clear example of circumstances when both single and double loop learning might be
most appropriate.
(4 marks)
(e) Use a sketch to explain the concept of a knowledge lifecycle.

(4 marks)

(f) Technology companies often use the concept of roadmapping. Clearly explain what this term means
and how such activities might benefit a company engaged in innovation.
(4 marks)
(g) A manager is trying to decide on the composition of a new product development team. He is proposing to
select people with similar backgrounds to form the team. What are the potential positive and negative
effects of such a composition?
(4 marks)
(h) Many markets coalesce around a single dominant design rather than support a variety of technological
options. With the aid of suitable examples describe what you feel to be the main driving factor for this.
(4 marks)
(i) List, briefly describe and justify what you consider to be the most important factors contributing to
successful innovation.
(4 marks)
(j) As the engineer responsible for developing knowledge management systems you will have social, ethical
and legal responsibilities. How might your knowledge and understanding of these responsibilities affect
your actions in developing such systems?
(4 marks)

Question 2
An innovation manager in a large company with substantial investments in new product development must
balance and manage the research and development (R&D) project portfolio.
(a) Describe why R&D project portfolio management is an essential activity in such a company.
(6marks)
(b) A number of different structures exist to manage new product development projects. List and briefly
compare and contrast at least 2 such structures.
(12 marks)
(c) Skunk works is a method of organizing innovation projects in more independent and separate
organizational units outside of the main organization. What does this term mean and why might
innovation projects be sometimes organized like this?
(6 marks)
(d) Do you see a direct link between innovation and knowledge management? How might you graphically
show this link?
(6 marks)

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Question 3
DIT Product Development Ltd is a Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) which believes that its future survival
demands a disciplined and effective approach to discover, understand and apply new knowledge and ideas to
further the strategic direction of the company. The company has invested in a knowledge management system;
effectively an intranet designed to enable employees to share knowledge, ideas, ask questions and track the
approaches that the company has taken on similar projects in the past. The system has been operational for several
years but the company is disappointed that very few employees are actually using it to further the companys
goals. An investigation into why this is the case has identified the following:
1. Staff consider they are already very busy and feel that entering notes and other records into the database
is too much hassle.
2. Staff resent management interfering in and trying to impose excessively rigid demands on them
3. No deadlines were set for entering information.
4. Staff fear that they may look incompetent to their co-workers if they ask relatively basic questions.
Considering the hypothetical case study above answer the following questions:
(a) Briefly describe what you understand by the term knowledge management and what benefits the company
might expect from the successful implementation of such a system.
(8 marks)
(b) Assume you are responsible for developing a Knowledge Management System (KMS) for such an SME. List,
briefly explain and justify the different components or technologies you think it should incorporate.
(10 marks)
(c) Why is there a need for companies to assess the performance of a knowledge management system in an
organization and how might such an assessment be carried out?
(6 marks)
(d) How might the company best prepare and encourage staff to use the KMS?

(6 marks)

Question 4
Collaborations are increasingly important in innovating companies. Assume that you are a manager in a tyre
company and want to develop product and service innovation in collaboration with external supplier(s). One such
innovation relates to the integration of an electronic sensor into the inside of tyres so that the conditions inside the
tyre can be monitored more closely. It is envisaged that this would provide information on the operating
conditions the tyre is being exposed to and signal the need for service in advance in order to minimize down time
and the risk of tyre failure.
You have to convince your manager that your proposal is the best direction for the company. While your manager
has not pursued this course of action previously you want to apply what you have learnt to help the company
develop technologies and get value from the innovations.
(a) Integrating examples in your answer justify why you might consider such collaboration and suggest how
you might find such partners.
(6 marks)
(b) How would you propose to organize and implement such collaborations?

(12 marks)

(c) In what ways might such collaboration with industry be encouraged to improve Irelands technological
capability?
(6 marks)
(d) Outsourcing raises many issues relating to knowledge management and the protection of intellectual
assets. Write brief notes regarding at least 2 such issues and how they might be addressed.
(6 marks)

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