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By Dr. Arthur M. Langer
In my previous article in The Langer Report, I explained the Strategic Integration component of Responsive Organizational Dynamism (ROD). I defined ROD as "the set of integrative responses to the challenges raised by technology." ROD is composed of two components: Strategic Integration and Cultural Assimilation as shown in the diagram below:
This article will define and explain Cultural Assimilation. Cultural Assimilation is a process that focuses on the organizational aspects of how technology is internally organized, including the role of the IT department, and how it is assimilated within the organization as a whole. The inherent, contemporary reality of Technological Dynamism requires not only strategic but cultural change as well. This reality demands that IT organizations connect to all aspects of the business. Such affiliation would foster a more interactive culture rather than one that is regimented and linear, as is too often the case. An interactive culture is one that can respond to emerging technology decisions in an optimally informed way, one that understands the impact on business performance.
The kind of Cultural Assimilation elicited by Technological Dynamism is divided into two sub-categories: the study of how the IT organization relates and communicates with "others," and the actual displacement or movement of traditional IT staff from an isolated "core" structure to a firm-wide, integrated framework. Remember that I have characterized Technological Dynamism in earlier articles as "the unpredictable and accelerated ways in which technology, specifically, can change strategic planning and organizational behavior/culture."
IT Organization Communications with "Others"
My research has shown the limitations and consequences of having an isolated operating IT department within an organization. This isolation of an IT staff can lead to marginalization, which results in the kind of organization where not all individuals can participate in decision-making and implementation, even though such individuals have important knowledge and value. Technological Dynamism is forcing IT departments to rethink their strategic position within their firm's organizational structure. No longer can IT be a stand-alone unit designed just to service outside departments while maintaining its own separate identity. The acceleration factors of technology require more dynamic activity within and among departments, which cannot be accomplished through discrete communications between groups. Instead, the need for diverse groups to engage in more integrated discourse and to share varying levels of technological knowledge as well as business-end perspectives requires new organizational structures that will of necessity give birth to a new and evolving business-social culture. Indeed, the need to assimilate technology creates a transformative effect on organizational cultures, the way they are formed and reformed, and what they will need from IT personnel.
Movement of Traditional IT Staff
In order to facilitate Cultural Assimilation from an IT perspective, IT must become better integrated with non-IT personnel than is currently the case. This form of integration can require the actual movement of IT staff personnel into other departments, which begins the process of a true assimilation of resources among business units. While this may seem like the elimination of IT's integrity or identity, such loss is far from being the case. The elimination of the IT department is not at all what is called for here; on the contrary, the IT department is critical to the function of Cultural Assimilation. However, the IT department may need to be structured differently from the way it has been so that it can deal primarily with generic infrastructure and support issues such as email, network architecture, and security. IT personnel who focus on business-specific issues need to become closely aligned with the appropriate business units and may even be better served by reporting directly to those units.
Furthermore, we must acknowledge that, given the wide-range of available knowledge about technology, not all technological knowledge emanates from the IT department. The question becomes one of finding the best structure to support a broad assimilation of knowledge about any given technology; then we should ask how that knowledge can best be utilized by the organization. There is a pitfall in attempting to find a "standard" IT organizational structure that will address the Cultural Assimilation of technology. Sampler's (1996) research, and my recent studies with chief executives, confirms that no such standard structure exists. It is my position that organizations must find their own unique blend using organizational learning constructs. This simply means that that the Cultural Assimilation of IT may be unique to the organization. What is then more important for the success of organizational development is the process of assimilation as opposed to the transplanting of the structure itself.
Today, many departments still operate within "silos" where they are unable to meet the requirements of the dynamic and unpredictable nature of technology in the business environment. Traditional organizations do not often support the necessary communications needed to implement Cultural Assimilation across business units. However, business managers can no longer make decisions without considering technology; they will find themselves needing to include IT staff in their discussion-making processes. On the other hand, IT departments can no longer make technology-based decisions without concerted efforts toward assimilation (in contrast to occasional partnering or project-driven participation) with other business units. This assimilation becomes mature when new cultures evolve synergistically as opposed to just having multiple cultures that attempt to work in conjunction (partner) with each other. The important lesson to keep in mind here is that the process of assimilating IT can create new cultures that in turn evolve to better support the requirements established by the dynamism of technology.
Eventually, these new cultural formations will not perceive themselves as functioning within an IT or non-IT decision framework, but rather as operating within a more central business operation that understands how to incorporate varying degrees of IT involvement as necessary. Thus, organizational cultures will need to fuse together to respond to new business opportunities and requirements brought about by the ongoing acceleration of technological innovation. This has been evidenced at one of my clients. Three years after the original case study, it became necessary to integrate one of the business operations with a particular group of IT staff members. The IT personnel actually transferred to the business unit in order to maximize the benefits of merging both business and technical cultures. Interestingly, this business unit is currently undergoing Cultural Assimilation and is developing its own behavioral norms influenced by the new IT staff. However, technology decisions within such groups are not limited to the IT transferred personnel.
Summary
Without appropriate Cultural Assimilation, organizations tend to have staff that "take shortcuts, [then] the loudest voice will win the day, ad hoc decisions will be made, accountabilities lost, and lessons from successes and failures will not become part of…wisdom" (Murphy 2002: p. 152). It is essential then to provide for consistent governance, one that fits the profile of the existing culture, or that can establish the need for a new culture. While many scholars and managers suggest the need to have a specific entity responsible for IT governance, one that is to be placed within the organization's operating structure, such an approach creates a fundamental problem. It does not allow staff and managers the opportunity to assimilate technologically driven change and understand how to design a culture that can operate under the dynamisms caused by technological innovations. In other words, the issue of governance is misinterpreted as a problem of structural positioning or hierarchy when it is really one of Cultural Assimilation. As a result, many business solutions to technology issues often lean toward the prescriptive instead of the analytical in addressing the real problem.
References:
Murphy, T. (2002). Achieving Business Practice from Technology: A Practical Guide for Today's Executive. New York: John Wiley.
Sampler, J. L. (1996). 'Exploring the relationship between information technology and organizational structure', in M. J. Earl (ed.), Information Management: The Organizational Dimension, 5-22, New York: Oxford University Press.
Check out previous Langer Reports:
Langer Report: Operating IT As "Driver,' 'Supporter'
6 Strategies To Help 'Supporter' IT Organizations Succeed
The Langer Report: Are You A Driver, Support, or Both?
Columbia University's Dr. Arthur M. Langer is Senior Director of Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; Associate Director, Instruction and Curricular Development, School of Continuing Education; and a faculty member in the Graduate School of Education (Teachers College) and Continuing Education. He also is a member of the CIOZone's advisory board.
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