Importance of Culture and Technology in an Organization

Importance of Culture and Technology in an Organization
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Introduction
Today’s global market is experiencing stiff competition, forcing companies to design strategies and tools to gain a competitive edge. Organizational cultures and technology practices play a significant role in a firm's performance. These elements are vital in establishing a differentiation strategy and other business metrics that facilitate the production of unique goods and services. Studies have shown that organizational culture and technology positively impact employee motivation. An increase in employee satisfaction results in a corresponding increase in motivation. This trend improves employee performance and leads to maximum output for the organization. This research deals with the importance of culture and technology in the organization. It argues that culture and technology are primary drivers for organizations' improved performance, productivity, and success.
The Problem
Many corporate managers struggle to survive in a competitive global due to challenging business characteristics. The challenges include rising international price competition and satisfying stakeholders' demands. Managers also have problems establishing an influential organizational culture and investing in appropriate technology to increase the company’s performance and productivity. Szczepańska-Woszczyna (2014) noted that poor cultural and technological integration affects the organizations’ financial performance and shareholders’ value. Szczepańska-Woszczyna (2014) further demonstrated that over 90% of business excellence initiatives do not succeed because of inappropriate cultural and technological integration in the corporate group.
The existing cultural difference is a major barrier to business performance. The absence of effective organizational culture and technological innovation is a significant cause of poor performance and productivity in the company (Leithy, 2017). The general business problem is that some organizations lack effective culture and technology, which often leads to poor performance and loss of productivity. The specific problem is that some managers lack strategies to develop influential organizational culture and technology to improve performance. Therefore, corporate managers need to understand the role of culture and technology in improving organizational performance and productivity.
Methodology and Research
This study aimed to understand the importance of culture and technology in an organization. A positivist research philosophy was adopted since the research sought to investigate the connections between elements in the phenomena. The methodology used in this study was secondary research from peer-reviewed journal articles published within eight years. Peer-reviewed articles were selected because they contain valid and reliable information. Both benefits and disadvantages of culture and technology to business were determined.
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture refers to the system of norms, attitudes, values, behaviors, beliefs, and habits that control individual practices within the firm. Patterns of values, ideas, and methods are learned from experience developed throughout the organizational history. They are manifested in the material management and members’ behaviors. According to Akpa et al. (2021), an influential culture follows the premise that members learn through problem-solving. A group of organized people with shared goals, values, and beliefs can build motivation in the workplace.
Over the years, several researchers have revealed a significant connection between organizational culture and employee behavior. Leithy (2017) showed a direct influence of culture on employee performance and job satisfaction across various sectors. On the other hand, Akpa et al. (2021) demonstrated that leaders influence employee innovation practices by stimulating the idea generation process. In a different study, Szczepańska-Woszczyna (2014) investigated the impact of culture on the trust levels between managers and workers and found an increase in employee-manager trust levels as perceived cultures became more organic. Akpa et al. (2021) further argued that organization control level directly influences the employee trust in managers. The author concluded that commitment levels increase when employees are given control over their work quality and integrity.
Advantages of Culture
Studies have shown that organizational culture enhances organizational performance, employee satisfaction, and the sense of certainty about problem-solving (Akpa et al., 2021). According to Akpa et al. (2021), an organization's effectiveness can decline if the culture becomes incongruent with the changing stakeholders' expectations. Leithy (2017) noted that the effects of culture on employee behavior and performance are based on three ideas. First, understanding the organizational culture allows employees to understand the company’s history and present operation methods (Akpa et al., 2021). This insight guides their behaviors and influences employees to work based on the organization's standards and expectations.
Second, culture fosters a commitment to the firm's values and philosophy (Akpa et al., 2021). This commitment creates shared feelings of working towards achieving common goals. In other words, organizations achieve effectiveness when workers share values. Third, the organization’s norms embedded in its culture act as a social control mechanism to influence employees’ decisions and accepted behaviors (Akpa et al., 2021). This can also be attained by hiring, selecting, and retaining employees whose values, norms, and beliefs align with those of the organization.
Solid and robust cultures have always boasted of improved performance and continued business success. These organizations generate a solid social force field of energy that inspires workers and drives the company towards excellent performance. Companies that lack strong cultures cannot compete effectively in the global market. They can also have weak managerial activities to generate superior performance. Akpa et al. (2021) stated that strong and weak cultures significantly influence organizational behavior. However, strong cultures have definite goals and a strategic vision of the organization, and employees work together to achieve them (Leithy, 2017). Therefore, the management goals in strong cultures align with employees’ goals, but in a weak culture, the member’s goals contrast with the management's strategic direction.
All the above explanations point out that organizations with sustained financial performance have a strong set of core organizational values that dictate how they conduct business. These core values define how to treat workers, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. They foster flexibility and innovativeness. Combined with management control, they can sustain higher financial performance (Leithy, 2017). Most management researchers have associated strongly shared values with self-confidence, commitment, ethical behavior, and reduced job stress.
According to Akpa et al. (2021), when a company’s strong culture s misaligned with its environment, it cannot effectively serve customers and other key stakeholders. Hence, a large body of research infers positive correlations between culture and market and financial performance, employee attitude and behaviors, knowledge management, and overall organizational effectiveness.
Disadvantages of Culture
Organizational culture has proved to be effective in business performance and success. However, it comes with some disadvantages. According to Gulua (2018), culture raises some ethical dilemmas because cultural leadership may be seen as imposing culture by leaders on other organizational members. Pursuing a monoculture may mean subordinating some participants' values, beliefs, and norms to leaders or dominant groups (Leithy, 2017). This poses the risk of manipulation. This may lead to employee resistance.
As noted, cultures rest upon norms, beliefs, and values. Changing these attributes can create friction and change resistance among employees. In response to stiff competition or corporate greed, organizations develop a culture that tolerates unethical competitive behaviors (Akpa et al., 2021). Many corporate scandals stem from the perception that businesses should only focus on winning the competitive race by all means. Defining competitive tactics in the gray area between unlawful and unethical can cause regulatory backlash and business demise.
Technology
Technology has been considered a fascinating development since the industrial revolution and one of the most significant factors in the current business environment. It offers opportunities for organizations, changing how corporations and employees should accomplish their tasks (Cascio & Montealegre, 2016). Technology stimulates growth and development, especially in a highly dynamic and competitive business environment that needs advanced technology tools to improve efficiency, manage cost, and produce high-quality products and services (Wilburn & Wilburn, 2018). It also helps in marketing, contacting customers, and looking for potential clients. Rapid technology development has a positive impact on the company's performance. According to Beer & Mulder (2020), technological progress and employee performance have a close relationship.
When mixed with other resources like humans, technology can increase productivity and improve effectively and ethically performanc...