The present work shows a general diagnostic procedure that allows to "evaluate" and "measure" the technological and innovation processes in the Cuban steel-mechanical industry. The application of the same was carried out in a representative sample of the companies that make up the steel-mechanical sector of the Villa Clara province.
In each of the stages developed, in the research, particular methods of analysis and synthesis were used combined with other more specific ones such as the general method of problem solving, economic analysis, analytical tools, among which the cause-effect analysis stands out; as well as interviews, surveys, group of experts, comparative and logical analysis, consultation of records and computer support, among others.
Introduction
It is impossible to sustain the economic development of a country using perpetual protection mechanisms of domestic industry. The binomial import substitution - increase in export levels requires organizations to comprehensively improve their technological and management processes, which implies the adequate administration of all their resources, among which, technological ones, play a fundamental role.
Therefore, to achieve a real recovery of the Cuban company in the current context of the national market and for a successful insertion in the foreign environment, a substantial increase in its innovation activities is required, among other aspects (Faloh Bejerano et al., 1997).
As a way to achieve them, the so-called Business Improvement process (PE) arises, which constitutes one of the decisive lines of the economic take-off that the country needs. Its general bases are a guide, as well as the management instrument so that business organizations can, in an orderly manner, carry out the necessary transformations in order to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness in their management. In the regulations for the implementation and consolidation of this State Business Management and Direction System (Decree No. 281/2007), the importance of technological innovation is highlighted, when addressing in its Chapter IX, the Innovation Management System; However, in the diagnostic instrument that is part of the process, it is appreciated that these activities are not covered or emphasized as required.
Although the country has considerable scientific-technical potential, many times this is not adequately used in pursuit of the development strategy that continues to be outlined in quite difficult conditions, so management processes are needed at all levels that lead to change in current ways of thinking and acting.
Although in the steel-mechanical industry of Villa Clara, awareness has been gained regarding the investigative activity and its decisive importance for the development, efficiency and “take-off” of their companies, the amount is still low, in general terms, of results related to technological innovation that are obtained and generalized annually. However, it has not been possible to satisfy the existing demand, due to insufficient production levels, as well as the low quality of its products, which are influenced, among other factors, by the scarce existing experience on technological and innovation processes. That is why it can be stated that the sector does not yet have procedures that allow it to diagnose and evaluate its technological and innovation processes,to analyze the factors that influence its development, as well as to carry out an adequate surveillance of the technological environment that makes it possible to discover opportunities to improve them, to prepare a technological development plan that, being in correspondence with the strategic objectives of the organization, allows it to seek relevant ways to enrich its technological heritage and protect its products, knowledge and technologies, which, in a tight synthesis, constitutes the identified problem situation that founded the original research summarized in this Work.allows it to seek relevant ways to enrich its technological heritage and protect its products, knowledge and technologies, which and in short synthesis, constitutes the identified problem situation that founded the original research summarized in this Work.allows it to seek relevant ways to enrich its technological heritage and protect its products, knowledge and technologies, which and in short synthesis, constitutes the identified problem situation that founded the original research summarized in this Work.
Thus, and to achieve high levels of effectiveness and relevance in the development of the Cuban steel-mechanical industry, studies are needed that must go from the conceptual-strategic to the practical-operational, through the development of a methodological instrument that allows, in a first stage, a general characterization of innovation and technological management, by detecting the main existing difficulties, as well as opportunities for improvement related to the innovation process (IP), which constituted the scientific problem to be solved in this research.
In correspondence with the aforementioned aspects, the following general research hypothesis was proposed: By characterizing the current state of innovation and technological management, through the development and creative application of a specific diagnostic procedure, the key factors can be identified that influence the incorporation of this function in the organizations of the Cuban steel-mechanical sector.
To verify this hypothesis, the case study technique was used, verifying if the developed procedure contributes effectively to revealing the problems related to the absence of innovation activities in the companies under study.
Development
1. General diagnostic procedure. Bases for its construction
To characterize the activities of Technology and Innovation Management (GTI, hereinafter) in the company under study, as a starting point and essential element for the development of the technological strategy, the procedure shown in the Figure 1.
Figure 1. General diagnostic procedure to characterize the innovation process and its management. Source: Adapted from Delgado Fernández (2005).
Its development was conceptually based on “Module 1” (see Figure 2), of the methodology for evaluating technological innovation proposed by Delgado Fernández (2005), considering it appropriate and pertinent for this research purpose, integrating as a component essential in the strategic planning process of the organization, although it required a corresponding adaptation in relation to the general objective of this research; constituting a novel element derived from its adaptation.
Figure 2. Technological innovation evaluation module. Source: Delgado Fernández (2005).
In turn, the procedure developed was carried out on the following bases:
- It constitutes an indissoluble part of the business strategic planning process. Although it involves the R & D & I function, it is not limited only to this. There are a series of important areas or functions within the field of GTI, whose content in the Cuban steel-mechanical industry is defined in the proposed diagnostic procedure Avoid some misconceptions that some Cuban businessmen still have today, such as: believing that any innovative effort will be successful, looking for the best possible technology and not the relevant one, betting only on the development of radically new technologies rather than on improving existing ones; and believe that the organization is "always" ready to use technological advances.It is based on the identification and adequate management of the key competencies of the organization that should lead it, based on an identification, evaluation and selection of appropriate technologies, increasing its technological capacity and innovative behavior, through of the formulation of the technological strategy and of a Technological Development Plan, once the diagnosis has been made. Despite its comprehensive approach, the emphasis falls on GTI's business processes. The rest of the functions were considered, fundamentally, by their relationship with it.Through the formulation of the technological strategy and a Technological Development Plan, once the diagnosis has been made. Despite its comprehensive approach, the emphasis falls on GTI's business processes. The rest of the functions were considered, fundamentally, for their relationship with it.Through the formulation of the technological strategy and a Technological Development Plan, once the diagnosis has been made. Despite its comprehensive approach, the emphasis falls on GTI's business processes. The rest of the functions were considered, fundamentally, for their relationship with it.
2. Description of the general diagnostic procedure
In each company in which the proposed procedure is applied, it must begin with the management's conviction that this process is strategic for the organization. Consequently, this must be communicated to all workers, and must also set attractive objectives and guarantee the necessary resources.
This step is of great importance, because it allows to locate in the current situation of the company, identify which are the main factors and characteristics that can potentially influence the innovative activity of the organization and that provide the necessary conditions for the development of IP and its management. This diagnosis not only allows to determine if there are problems in the development of the IP, but also covers the detection of other problems in the business activity, due to the relationship of the GTI with the organization's strategy and integration with the rest of the business functions, as well as the bases on which the proposed procedure was built.
As the diagnosis can contribute to starting a participatory process to introduce improvement actions, the methodology that is explained below was developed, with the aim of serving as a tool to initiate a self-evaluation on the behavior of the PI. In addition, this guide is intended to be a first step to motivate internal reflection on GTI activities, since the intention is not so much to obtain the appropriate answers in the characterization of the current situation, as for companies to be able to ask their "own essential questions" to increase your capacity for innovation. Therefore, it is recommended that each company apply it at least once a year due to the usefulness it can provide for strategic planning.
The general diagnostic process comprises the following steps:
- The general characterization of the organization under study Determination of the level of satisfaction and participation of workers, based on the adaptation of a method proposed by Brito Viñas (2000), as well as the inclusion of some elements of the tools used by Suárez Hernández (2003) Characterization of the IP (Evaluate), through the development of a survey using as a reference the guide prepared by CIDEM (2002), as well as other sources identified in the theoretical-referential framework of the research, which allows to analyze the behavior of the activities that make up the IP. Characterization of the IP management level (Measure), based on a selection of possible indicators, identified in the analysis of the “state of the art”,that directly influence the GTI activities in the company and that as a whole, provide the necessary information to "measure" the level of IP management. Current status of the technological innovation activity and its management, when carrying out the comparative analysis and statistical processing of all information (different periods, between companies, etc.)
A detailed explanation of each of the steps listed above is provided below, in order to facilitate their understanding and application.
2.1. General characterization of the organization
As a starting point, the organization under study (Step 1 of the procedure) should be characterized, in a general way, in two (2) phases. The first, executed through the review of company documents to obtain general information regarding the industrial sector, date of foundation, corporate purpose, mission, vision, production capacity and its level of use, organizational structure, characterization of resources human resources and main indicators (market production, sales volume, profits, product portfolio, customers, etc.).
In the second phase, through interviews, direct observation and work sessions with the Director, the Board of Directors and specialists, information is obtained related to the key factors of success and / or failure, the technologies in operation, the realization R & D & I activities and improvement, links with research centers and universities, as well as other aspects related to the use of technological resources.
2.2. Determination of the level of satisfaction and participation of workers
The inclusion of Step 2 within the procedure is given by the special importance of the presence of motivated and involved personnel, for the effective and rational development of the IP, in the organization. Therefore, the level of employee satisfaction, their motivation, as well as their level of participation in business activities, is decisive to enhance the GTI function. For its determination, specific questionnaires were designed, based on the methods proposed by Brito Viñas (2000) and Suárez Hernández (2003).
In cases where it is advisable, for the application of these surveys, a type of proportional stratified sampling must be carried out by area and occupational category of all the company's workers. This type of sampling will make it possible to discover if there are significant statistical differences between the opinions expressed by the selected personnel. Its analysis can help to differentiate erroneous behaviors and practices in the management processes in some specific categories of personnel and / or in a certain area.
2.3. Characterization of the PI (Assess)
Innovation is a process that relates very diverse functional areas: Marketing, Sales, Logistics, Operations, Design, Prototype, R&D, etc. Because of this, in order for the company to embed the GTI function and increase its capacity for innovation, they must dedicate sufficient resources to manage the IP. The structure of the companies does not necessarily have to follow the traditional functional organization, as it can also be structured in business processes, correctly identified and defined.
Any organization, no matter how complicated, can be broken down into the following processes: (1) those that cover the strategic activities of the company (strategic processes); (2) those that relate the activities that are in direct contact with customers (key processes) and (3) those that act as support to the previous processes and are related to suppliers (support processes).
Innovation is a strategic process for the company, which would be defined by all those tasks related to "doing new or novel things" (design and development of new or improved products) and with "doing things differently" to increase the value of products (redefinition of business processes). It begins with the identification of an opportunity or unsatisfied need and ends with the satisfaction of customers for the new product created.
By coinciding with what was addressed by CIDEM (2002), and adapting it to the Cuban reality, it is summarized that the PI includes four basic activities:
1. Generation of new or improved products:
- How does the company identify new products or services and anticipate the needs of customers? How is the contribution of ideas and creativity of its workers stimulated ?, and What mechanisms and criteria are used to select the ideas to be developed ?
2. Restructuring of production processes:
- How is the company concerned with redefining its production processes to achieve greater flexibility and / or productivity, higher quality and lower production costs? How changes in production processes allow changes to be made to products? How is incorporation evaluated of new technologies and management and organization tools in their production processes to increase the value of their products?
3. Development of new or improved products:
- How is the company organized and structured to realize the idea in the launch of a new product on the market? How is the new product developed in the shortest possible time, how does it coordinate internal and external work teams and what management techniques projects uses? In addition, this activity includes the detailed definition of the functions and specifications of the product, parts and systems that compose it, according to the assembly and manufacturing process; taking into account its distribution and after-sales service.
4. Restructuring of the commercialization processes:
- How do changes in marketing activities serve to increase the value of products or create new products? How are new information technologies applied to redefine product marketing?
In addition, the PI integrates two essential activities that are part of the so-called “facilitators” of its development, since they directly affect the previous four: Culture of Innovation and Knowledge Management.
The better structured the PI, the greater the company's ability to launch new products. The paradox is that this does not guarantee continued success, because although an organization is achieving good results in innovative activity by doing things in a certain way, nothing guarantees that the same behavior will be valid in the future. The innovative company is one that cares about having the IP structured and managing it efficiently, while, at the same time, it has established a series of learning mechanisms to redefine this process in accordance with its strategic objectives.
One factor that must be kept in mind is that the PI is not linear, but systemic, so all activities must be considered simultaneous with continuous market feedback (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Activities that make up the innovation process. Source: Adapted from CIDEM (2002).
Related to the above and as a result, to “assess” the PI, a survey was developed that allows analyzing the behavior of the activities that comprise it, already defined above, using as a basis the guide prepared by CIDEM (2002).
To decide the behavior (or assessment) of each activity, a work team or group of experts must be created, made up of specialists and / or qualified workers from the various areas of the company, so that it is a multidisciplinary group, although it must be managed a common language on technological innovation.
For this, an initial explanation must be carried out, where the objectives to be pursued, the work method are mentioned, and if necessary, a general training must be developed on the main elements related to innovation and technological management. The team members must answer the questionnaire individually, and then comment on it as a group and discuss the differences until reaching a common criterion or, on the contrary, the surveys can be processed according to traditional methods. It is valid to clarify that it can be decided to evaluate the IP as a whole or to focus on a specific activity.
2.4. Characterization of the PI management level (Measure)
The assimilation of increasingly complex technologies requires a technological culture around them, based on the knowledge of the laws and basic principles that sustain it and the requirements of technological discipline that, inevitably, must be observed for their proper functioning. This will allow, not only to operate them efficiently, but to face new and unexpected situations, make the necessary adjustments and rationally develop incremental innovations on them, as well as generate their own, in order to achieve success.
To achieve this, the company must properly evaluate the innovative activity; as there are multiple generic and / or specific factors and indicators that can influence the IP of an organization and that, in fact, allow “measuring” its development and level of management.
Such factors, such as the motivation of the workers, the technological level, etc., are those that generate enough synergy to improve a product or a process, causing the organization to develop and be considered as innovative in its performance sector.
In the analysis of the "state of the art", several useful indicators were examined to measure the scientific and technological level reached by a country or region. Indicators were also identified that characterized the level of development in Science and Technology reached in R&D centers. On the other hand, in other studies and conceptualizations; and in particular in the Oslo Manual (OECD, 2005), different characteristics and requirements of companies considered innovative are proposed. Under these premises, within the framework of this research, a selection of possible indicators that directly influence the innovative activity of the company and that as a whole provide the information necessary to “measure” the level of IP management was developed.
For the definition of these indicators, the national experience was used as a reference, in addition to international experience, particularly in the "Proposal of regulations for the granting of the status of innovative company of the Republic of Cuba", an article in consultation prepared by CITMA (2007), in addition to the "Evaluation Methodology of the System of Science and Technological Innovation of SIME (2004), protected by Resolution No. 200-01 / 2001.
It is clear that it is not the only selection of possible indicators, but that it could be others. At the time of application of the procedure, the indicators proposed must be made known to the group of experts of the organization under study, and if necessary, tools and techniques can be used to add or omit any of these.
In any case, the selection used does not condition the result, but it does constitute a kind of “measurement scale” to obtain an objective characterization of the PI. Therefore, it is recommended to use the same classification of indicators when performing analysis between periods of the same organization, or between companies.
2.5. Current status of technological innovation activity and its management
It is difficult to establish parameters to decide whether an organization is considered innovative or not, and much more to characterize the level of management of this activity, since there are no previous references of this analysis in innovative or successful companies in the country.
However, it was considered that still not at all or compared only with previous periods of performance of the organization, and until a reference or comparison base is created (to the extent that the proposed procedure or another similar one that seeks the same objectives), its comprehensive assessment will only provide a useful tool for managers in the process of strengthening the GTI function in Cuban companies. To carry out the comprehensive assessment and determine the current status of the technological innovation activity and its management, methods and techniques of comparative analysis, group dynamics, etc. can be used, in addition to the processing of the results of the interviews and surveys carried out, which they are part of the proposed diagnostic procedure. Once the GTI is characterized,By knowing the current state of technological innovation and its management, the organization will be in a position to evaluate its strengths and opportunities for improvement, the use it makes of them and the reserves that still persist; resulting in a determining element for the elaboration and adaptation, and reorienting if necessary, of its technological strategy.
3. Selection of the companies under study
The SIME ministry is in charge of directing, executing and controlling the policies of the Cuban Government and State regarding the activities of the steel, mechanical and recycling industries. Since its foundation in 1974, this Ministry has had a vertical line of development, due to a well-structured investment plan directed, fundamentally, towards the production of automotive, railway, agricultural machinery, iron and steel, construction equipment, machine tools, medical equipment and clinical furniture, household appliances, household supplies and supplies for the hotel industry.
In the specific case of Villa Clara province, within the manufacturing industry, the steel-mechanical sector is of particular importance, because it concentrates a large amount of the region's workforce and has a high weight in economic results, constituting a prioritized sector. This Ministry is represented in the territory by ten (10) companies and eleven (11) basic units of national companies based in the capital of the country. For the selection of the companies under study, a non-probabilistic or judgment sampling was applied, choosing the ten (10) companies, because due to their size, nature of their productions and volumes of commercial production, they had the most important role in the results. economic sector.
3.1. General results of the study
As a result of the study carried out, in the selected companies, some common characteristics and problems could be identified. These results indicate low innovative behavior and little development of the GTI in the Villa Clara steel-mechanical sector, all of which can be summarized as follows:
- Of the total sample, only four (4) entities (40%) have all the information requested. The general information on innovation is the one with the greatest difficulty in obtaining it. Some data are presented, but it is recognized that they are not relevant. Generally, this is a difficulty that manifests itself, either due to the non-availability of the requested information, because there are no R + D + i areas and / or there is some ignorance in the managers with aspects related to the GTI, happening that in the information system of these entities, concepts such as: innovation expenses, innovation income, etc. are not recorded. Almost entirely - eight (8) companies (80%) - manage innovation activities reactively and operationally, therefore, the GTI does not constitute a functional strategy in the Company.The highest values reached in the study carried out indicate cost reduction strategies with 25%, followed by quality (21%), market service (14%), innovation and profit (eleven%). The remaining strategies are below 10% and the furthest of all is the highly segmented strategy with a score of 4%. In all companies, to a greater or lesser extent, technology training and technology acquisitions are regularly carried out not incorporated into capital. The main objective of these innovation activities is to reduce operating costs (23%), improve product quality (17%) and / or achieve a positive impact on working conditions and safety (15%).Companies set their innovation objectives based on the needs of the production process (32%), the means and available resources (28%) and the directives of the higher body (18%). Only four (4) companies (40 %) have a budget for R + D + i, which is also insufficient, since it represents 0.86% of their total commercial production and 0.43% of their total income, which is a major limitation. To this is added, that the budgeting is carried out informally and that the "expenses" (investment) related to these activities are not properly costed, so the actual expense of GTI activities is not known or controlled. Despite the aforementioned problems, innovation activities are carried out in the companies studied.The R & D & I activities that are most developed in these entities are those related to the development of new or improved products (29%), the implementation and certification of quality systems (21%), the application of management techniques advanced (17%) and significant changes in organizational structures (13%). The least important is the implementation of a new strategic orientation in the company, with 4%. Most of these are developed by an existing working group or by an ad-hoc group created for this purpose (70%). based on a close relationship with other companies (50%) and with the client in the case of collaborative productions (40%). These types of innovations are obtained through the purchase of technologies (38%), co-investments (25%),copying and adaptation of technologies (19%) and to a lesser extent through R&D activities (6%). The main difficulties are evident in the relations between these companies and the ECIT and / or CES, according to the index obtained in the established assessment scale: the erroneous belief of not needing these collaborations or strategic alliances (1,4), ignorance of the services offered by said institutions (1,9) and the differences between business and scientific language (2,3 The main internal sources of ideas for innovation are: the production area (38%), initiatives (31%) and, to a lesser extent, by managers (15%); while the main external sources most used are: visits to other companies (31%), magazines and books (23%), participation in trade fairs and exhibitions (19%),as well as visits to research centers (19%), still wasting attendance at conferences, events and improvement activities, external consultants, contacts with customers and suppliers and databases with technological information. Only 50 % of the managers surveyed (5 colleagues) know the recent evolution of relevant technologies for the sector, the rest having partial knowledge of them. The best-known technologies are: computer-aided tooling design (50%), numerical control machine tools (40%), electric arc steel casting (30%), stainless steel profile rolling mills (30%) and automated machines for plastic injection with hot chamber molds (20%).The little experience they have in the search for technological information (2%) and in monitoring the evolution of technologies - and in their negotiation and contracting - in the environment (4%), are a consequence of the scarce surveillance carried out and of the non-evaluation of its technological capacity. In addition, their experience is limited in terms of carrying out diagnoses on their technological and productive problems (6%), the transfer of technologies generated or improved (8%) and in establishing alliances with the ECIT and the CES (8% In most cases, managers consider that the improvement of staff is insufficient. With the exception of three (3) companies (30%), the rest consider that the inadequate improvement of their workers is a brake on innovative activity; only occasionally, most companies (80%),very empirically, they evaluate their needs for improvement. On the other hand, only 30% of the total of the entities have an improvement program that generally includes short courses, ignoring other more complete and structured forms such as diplomas and master's and doctorate programs. All of the companies analyzed were uses, to some extent, computing. The greatest use made of it is in accounting and financial management (19%), in the preparation of documents (19%) and to a lesser extent, in production planning (16%), process control productive (11%), as well as in sales management (11%) and warehouse management (8%); However, this technology is little used in key activities such as project management, simulation,in activities of improvement and the introduction and improvement of technologies, as well as in the dissemination of science and technology in the organization.The managers surveyed and interviewed consider that the main key success factors of their companies are: cost efficiency (21%), access to financing sources (18%), the use of "cutting edge technologies" for the sector (14%) and product quality (14%). Furthermore, it is a consensus, due to the value obtained according to the scale of established assessment that the main internal factors that would favor the success of innovation in the sector are: adequate integration and cooperation between areas (3.5), the existence of a creative environment (4.2), motivation and willingness to innovation in managers (4.8), improvement of workers (5,3) and the existence of a flexible, decentralized and little formalized structure (6,2), supported by effective and rapid internal communication, a direction open to new ideas and risk, with participatory decisions; However, they give little importance to the innovation strategy based on a PDT, to technological surveillance, to access to scientific and technological information, to relations with the ECIT and CES, as well as to the effort to have resources to carry out R & D & I activities Generally, they agree that the environmental factors that most influence and are key to innovative success are: the country's economic situation (1,4), the changes required by the turbulence of the world economy (2.5) and ease of access to financing sources (2.5),supported by the existence of state policies to support innovation (3.8), the presence of offers for improvement and networks that provide scientific-technological information and advice (4.1). Likewise, in both dimensions (internal and external factors) there is a great similarity with those presented in the theoretical-referential framework of this research.Finally, they generally consider that the main obstacles or barriers to innovation (or failure factors) in Steel-mechanical companies are based on: the lack of efficient financing mechanisms (17%), poor management of the projects that are executed in the company (15%) and the little cooperation and integration between the areas of the company (11%); although they do not stop considering also,the scarce link with the scientific sector (8%) and the insufficiency of effective mechanisms that encourage innovation (6%), coinciding, in a large part of these factors, with those defined in the theoretical-referential framework of this Thesis; However, the fact that bureaucracy, the will and motivation of managers and workers, excessive decentralization and insufficient improvement do not coincide as obstacles.
Conclusions
- The importance of the steel-mechanics sector for the central territory and the country, makes the effective management of its innovative activities and technological resources, as well as the choice of its technological strategy on objective bases, an urgent challenge. The form currently used by many Cuban steel-mechanical companies for the GTI does not correspond to the demands imposed by an increasingly globalized environment since, in the first place, they lack a procedure that provides the informational base that serves as a starting point for the improvement establishments and, second, they do not have the appropriate organizational culture to implement successfully and immediately new "ways of doing".The questionnaires and indicators to characterize the PI and its level of management in the Cuban steel-mechanical company, developed as part of the general diagnostic procedure proposed, demonstrated its relevance and feasibility, becoming an excellent guide to carry out a comprehensive strategic self-evaluation of this capacity in companies, and in a necessary support to build a technological strategy, on more objective bases, the existence of rigid structures, obsolete technologies, problems with supplies, a low level of supplier-customer relationship, and little vigilance technological, deficient policies of motivation and incentive to human resources and, even, an organizational environment not suitable for innovation and the non-existence of an innovative culture,were the problems revealed through the diagnosis made which, together with the absence of an explicit technological strategy consistent with the corporate strategy and the still weak links with the academic and scientific sector, have affected the level of incorporation of new technologies and products In these companies it is insufficient, causing the production and commercialization of products of lower quality and technological content than those demanded by the current environment, regardless of their characteristics (size, assortment, life cycle of their products and the degree of maturity of their technologies) all steel-mechanical companies need to develop the processes related to GTI, starting with the correct definition of the technological strategy to follow to increase their capacity for innovation.The study of a group of companies in the sidero-mechanical sector of the province of Villa Clara allowed to conclude that, although not yet generalizable by experimental evidence to the universe of companies that with different legal status operate in the Cuban economy, many are still not suitable for compete with advantages in a market of free competition and, even, in the current Cuban market, given the multiple insufficiencies that still present. The analysis of these companies, allowed to validate the hypothesis raised at the beginning of this investigation, demonstrating the logical consistency, feasibility, flexibility and relevance of the decision support procedure developed in this thesis, given that, in the first place, it allowed diagnosing the current state of activities directly or indirectly related to the IP and,secondly, it provided the basis for, in a later stage, finding solutions to increase GTI levels and their management in the companies studied. The study of the group of companies, such as the case study developed, showed that, frequently, It suffers from a true and adequate management of GTI activities in Cuban steel-mechanical companies and even from the consideration of this function as one of those that must be developed and strengthened to achieve the levels of success that are required in the present.It suffers from a true and adequate management of GTI activities in Cuban steel-mechanical companies and even from the consideration of this function as one of those that must be developed and promoted to achieve the levels of success that are required in the actuality.It suffers from a true and adequate management of GTI activities in Cuban steel-mechanical companies and even from the consideration of this function as one of those that must be developed and promoted to achieve the levels of success that are required in the actuality.
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