Business

Introduction:

“Until the late 1890s, naval gunfire was extremely inaccurate. During the Spanish-American War, 9,500 shots were fired at various close ranges, resulting in 121 hits, just over 1 percent.

A breakthrough in precision evolved in 1898. A British officer, Admiral Sir Percy Scott, had become preoccupied with efforts to improve gunnery. One day while his ship was at target practice, he observed numerous rounds be fired by various gunners. He noted that one gunner was significantly more accurate than the rest. Sir Percy also discovered why. This gunner was manipulating the elevating gear of the gun to compensate for the anticipated roll of the ship.

Sir Percy then undertook to bring all gunners up to the level of the best. He also added some essential changes in technology. None of these were Sir Perc's inventions, but he was the first to assemble them in combination. Collectively his changes made possible a so-called continuous-aim firing. It revolutionized accuracy, as shown in the following comparison of firing at a range of 1,500 meters”.

Important Facts:

Here is a graph to illustrate the technology innovation that is illustrated in this article.

                   1898                                1905

* Target                     A lightship hulk              An area of 75 x 25 feet

* Firing done                  by 5 ships                           1 gunner

* Duration of firing         15 minutes                           1 minute

* Hits                                  2                                        15

The main TCO that is illustrated in this article from what I read is the importance in managing new product development processes. We have studied how the success of technology depends on the timing of the entry, but being able to improve the way existing technology works that is already perceived as successful in the market presents opportunities for organizations. As noted in the article Sir Percy did...