University Of Phoenix 4D Printing Emerging Technologies Discussion

Part I

Assessing Technology: 4D Printing

In this assignment, you will discuss perspectives on assessing and managing emerging technologies as applied to state-of-the-art developments in additive manufacture, with a focus on 4D printing. Using the emerging technology of 4D printing, you will apply the concepts from your Week 1 readings to explore some key issues that an organization would need to tackle when considering the adoption of an emerging technology.

Tasks:

From the South University Online Library, read the following:

• 4D Printing – Revolution or Fad?

On the basis of your reading, answer the following questions:

• How might 4D printing technology develop in the near future? What scenarios can be envisioned?
• How quickly might the technology develop?
• What changes would suppliers and customers have to make to adopt the technology?
• What breakthroughs are needed in the technology?
• What complementary technologies or market changes could accelerate or delay its progress?
• What competitive technologies might surpass it?
• What are the risks of waiting to adopt the technology?
• What are some creative ways to develop strategic options to stay in the game without fully committing to the technology?
• What is the worst-case scenario for an established business contemplating adoption of the technology? Who would get hurt most if the worst case occurred?

Part II

Course Project Part 1—Bibliography and Topic Introduction

Select and research a topic pertaining to an emerging technology. Possible ideas include but are not limited to the following: 3D printing, artificial intelligence and cognitive systems, augmented reality, business intelligence, cloud computing, energy harvesting and future fuels, the Internet of things, medical nanotechnology, molecular manufacturing, next-generation converged networks, robotics, synthetic biology, telemedicine, and wireless and mobile technologies.

Bibliography

To research your topic, look for scholarly sources from the South University Online Library and from the Internet. Evaluate the resources you find and compile the useful ones into a bibliography.

For each selected resource, the bibliography entry should have the following:

• The complete citation in APA format
• A description of the information in the source, the reliability of the source, and how the information may be useful in your project

Topic Introduction

Utilizing the concepts introduced in this week’s readings, address the following questions pertaining to your technology topic of choice:

• How does your selected technology qualify as an emerging technology? Discuss the possible pitfalls of adopting this emerging technology for an organization. Support your answer with examples.
• Evaluate the decision to go ahead with this emerging technology under uncertainty. Your evaluation should present scenarios of the technology succeeding or failing and whether the decision posture is aggressive (commitment to create options) or passive (wait and see).
• Detail a process for technology assessment with four interrelated steps: scoping, searching, evaluating, and committing. Show how an organization can apply this process to its decisions regarding your selected technology.
• Explain the different types of risks that must be considered in the evaluation of your selected technology. These typically include market risks, technology risks, and organizational risks. For each type of risk, identify and qualify (whether they are relatively high or low) some risks associated with this technological opportunity for an organization. Discuss which types of risks are relatively more dominant and will require more attention, and which ones are relatively more manageable. Specify the underlying assumptions for your assertions.
• Describe how an organization can achieve foresight regarding the markets and technologies and insight into its capabilities to plan technology deployment. Describe any specific strategies an organization can develop for risk reduction and learning.

Complete the assignment in approximately 5- to 7-pages in a Microsoft Word document. Your paper must include an abstract that sets your objectives and previews your results (findings, decisions, or recommendations) for this week’s assignment and a conclusion that revisits your objectives and summarizes your results. In APA format, cite any sources you use on a separate page. The references you cite should be credible, scholarly sources. Any examples you cite must be supported with sources from the news media. Each week you will revise your abstract, conclusion, and references to adapt them to reflect the weekly specific focus. In Week 5, however, for your final report, your abstract, conclusion, and references will be all encompassing of your Week 1 through Week 5 work.