Good morning and welcome
to the 21st International Conference on Management of Technology sponsored
by the International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT, 2012,
Taiwan) . I am honored to be invited to address you at the opening of this conference,
but I have been pondering why?
A good reason, I think,
might have something to do with the fact that my university, NTHU is the first
university in Taiwan to establish College of Technology Management in the year
of 2000. The second reason could be that NTHU has the first Institute of
Service Science established in 2008. The third, perhaps the most important one
is that the Chairman of this Conference, Dr. S. C. Hong is the Associate Dean
of the College of Management on our campus. In any case, I am delighted to have
this opportunity to say a few words on this important occasion when you, a
group of eminent scholars and experts in the field of technology management
from more than 30 countries across the globe, are gathering in Hsinchu. As a
member of the hosting institute, I thank you for your active participation in
this conference to exchange ideas and discuss issues related to our common
interest, Technology Management. The conference this year will focus on new
theories, ideas and frameworks as well as research tools dealing with the
convergence of technology and service. Your insights in these areas will
certainly be very valuable and will undoubtedly enhance the outcome of this
conference.
Technology-service
convergence has become an essential engine of increasing economic significance
in the post-industrial society. There are many examples of “technology
improving service and service enriching technology.” Two such cases come immediately
to my mind are IBM and the convenience stores developed in Taiwan. As you may
recall, IBM had successfully charted a new course of its business in mid-1990
by shifting its focus on its traditional strengths in hardware to greater attention
on services, software, and its ability to craft technology solutions. It
unleashed a global service business that rapidly rose to become a leading
technology integrator. For the case of how technology improves service, the
convenience store in Taiwan may serve as a prime example. As some of you
visiting Taiwan for the first time might not be aware with the fact that Taiwan
boasts the highest density of convenience store in the whole world. There are
about ten thousand such stores serving 23 million people in Taiwan. Almost all
street corners in Taiwanese cities have one or more convenience store.
Customers can buy not just snacks or grocery; but also pay their utility and
telephone bills, credit card debt, insurance premium, parking fee and fines, as
well as pick up tickets for high speed railway trains and many entertainment
events. They can also receive shipped goods, including books and gourmet
dishes, among other things they had ordered through the internet. They can
extract and print government certificates and even renew their driver license.
In short, the Taiwanese street corner convenience stores are now serving many
functions that were served only at certain specialty offices such as the post
office and banks. They are truly convenient owing no small part to the
advancement of new technology.
Although examples of
technology improving service are common, successful cases for service enriching
technology are less prominent. It is possibly related to the types of economy;
kinds of business and issue of scale. These are perhaps good topics for you,
the experts at this conference, to elaborate.
For the same reasons of my
presence here today, you are all cordially invited to visit NTHU during your
stay in Hsinchu. My campus is only 15 minutes away from your conference site
and is rated as the most beautiful campus in Taiwan by a popular magazine. Yes,
there is also a convenience store on our campus! It is noted for the largest
amount of books that were shipped, at the rate of 1.75 books per hour, through
their network. Thus, during your tour of our campus, you will meet a lot of book
lovers like you as well as having a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
I look forward to greeting you on my campus
and hope that you enjoy your stay in Hsinchu. Thank you and wishing you a
successful conference.
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