Project Management for Information Technology - Coursework Example

ID Number: Project Management for Information Technology Introduction This report represents a critical evaluation of the role or impact of organizational culture in information technology project management. The report includes the use of two main conceptual frameworks of organizational culture which are the Schein’s model of three levels of culture and the Hatch’s model of cultural dimensions. These theoretical models are used to evaluate the impacts of culture in the management of information technology projects in the business world. These models are discussed and explained before finding their practical implementation in organizational culture and project management. The applications as well as the limitations of these two models in the aspect of information technology project management are also considered. The examples of information technology projects are taken from two companies, namely Google Inc. and Microsoft Corporation and the role of culture in the success or failure of these projects are discussed and analysed. It is identified that both Google Inc. and Microsoft Corporation are extremely mature companies in terms of project management as well as in the use of information technology systems. The analysis of the examples of information technology projects in these two organizations establish that culture plays an important role in the management of different types of information technology projects. The analysis also indicates that a supportive culture is necessary for the short term as well as the long term success of these kinds of projects. The examples show that the complexity associated with the information technology projects can be managed to a high degree through the development of an appropriate culture within the organization and among its members. The report is concluded by summarizing the overall findings from the analysis of the theories and examples. The impact of organizational culture on Information Technology Project Management Organizational culture has emerged as an important perspective in the modern business world. The role of organizational culture has been highlighted in the recent years due to many organizations experiencing issues and fallouts due to discrepancies in their project management and their respective cultures. On the other hand, a majority of the successful companies across the world are identified to have focused extensively on integrating culture in their organizational functions and capabilities. Corporate culture is also an important influencing factor in the way in which information technology projects are managed in a company. It has been identified that when an information technology project fails, the underlying reason is often the lack of synchronization with the existing corporate culture in the organization (Cadle and Yeates 332-334). Organizational culture should be well understood in order to implement an information technology project correctly and successfully. The implications of not being able to assimilate and embed the existing organizational culture in the implementation of the information technology projects may be much derogatory for the project as well as the organization itself. A gap between the prevailing culture of the organization and the direction of implementation of the information technology project may create much resistance on the way of the successful implementation efforts for the information technology projects (Luecke 56). The support of the members of the organization is necessary to ensure the success of these types of projects. A study of the theoretical framework of Markus and Robby’s for information technology projects indicates that the information technology systems should be in line with the organizational environment, the organizational structure, the people as individuals and the people as external stakeholder groups. However, it can be identified from recent examples that the information technology systems should also exist in compliance to the organizational culture. This is because if culture as a level of analysis for resistance is ignored, then the success of the implementation of the information technology project becomes lowered. It can also be identified that the impact of organizational culture is high on the information technology project management from the fact that organizational culture acts as a source of internal resistance for the implementation of information technology projects (Bernerth 552). An organization has two main distinct and competing dimensions when the aspect of information technology is considered. These two dimensions are the demands in the internal systems of the organization versus the demands in the external environment of the organization and flexibility versus order. Also, there are four basic cultures that are necessarily followed in organizations. These include survival, productivity, stability and human relations. Any one of these cultures should be present in order to support the integration of a new information technology project. It has been identified that in the absence of all these four types of cultures, the chances of the failure of the information technology projects become as high as 98% due to the accelerated level of inertial resistance to the implementation of the projects (Heracleous 141). Therefore, identifying the exact fit between the objectives of the information technology projects and the culture of the organization is significant for managing the information technology projects in a proper way. The implementation and management of the information technology projects must also take into consider the different dynamics of organizational culture through the consultation of the theoretical models and frameworks of organizational culture. Two main theoretical models of organizational culture are selected for this assignment. These two models include Schein’s three levels of culture and Hatch’s cultural dynamics. Figure 1: Schein’s three levels of culture (Schein 144) The Schein’s three levels of culture is a conceptual model of organizational culture which was proposed by Edgar Schein in the year 2004. As per the theory of organizational culture devised by Schein, there are three main levels of culture that can be maintained in an organization. These three levels are distinct and are mutually dependent levels and represent the degree to which the prevailing organizational cultural phenomena can be identified by the observers. These levels are Artefacts and behaviours: This level includes any verbally identifiable, overt or tangible element within an organization. Some examples of organizational artefacts may be the furniture use in the office, the architecture and pattern of the office buildings and work floors, dress codes of the employees, office jokes etc. Artefacts represent the visible elements of culture in an organization and they are easily recognizable by the people who are not a part of the existing organizational culture. Espoused values: The espoused values of an organization represent the rules of behaviour and the values of the organization which are predefined according to the organizational standards. The espoused values represent the way in which the members of the organization represent their organization to themselves as well as to others. The espoused values can be expressed in terms of public statements of identity as well as in terms of official philosophies. Sometimes, the espoused values can also act as the projection for the future of the members of the organization as well as the organization itself. Some examples of espoused values may be corporate mantras like ‘family first’, employee professionalism etc. The espoused values of the leaders should be in line with the common assumptions related to culture among all the members of the organization. Otherwise, there may be scopes of internal conflict and subsequent disruptions in project management and other team functionalities within the organization. Shared basic assumptions: The level of shared basic assumptions in the Schein’s model of culture represents the integrated and deeply embedded behaviours of the members of the organization which are generally unconscious in nature but are essential constituents of the culture prevailing within an organization. These basic assumptions are intricately linked with the dynamics of the organization and are difficult to be recognized distinctly by observers. Figure 2: Hatch’s cultural dimensions (Source: Hatch, 276) The Hatch’s model of cultural dynamics was devised by Hatch as an extension of the Schein’s model. This model takes up a dynamic perspective to ask how the organizational cultures are constituted by values, artefacts, values, assumptions, processes and symbols. The Hatch’s model is an elaboration of the model of three levels of culture proposed by Schein. The Hatch’s model identifies that organizational culture is made up of the local processes which involve both stability and change. These need to be explained from the perspective of the everyday processes of the organization. There are four main concepts related to organizational culture as per this model of cultural dynamics. These are values, assumptions, artefacts and symbols. The concept of symbols is added in this model as a significant part of organizational culture. According to Hatch, symbols of culture are extensions of the artefacts of culture and may often be indistinguishable from artefacts. However, symbols have emerged as prominent dimensions in the corporate cultures of modern day organizations. The information technology projects are highly complex projects in any organization. Therefore, the implementation and management of these types of projects should take into consideration a number of factors including the people factor. The human resources of a company are supported by the culture prevailing in the company. Therefore, focusing on creating a suitable alignment with the corporate culture is essential for minimizing the conflicts and resistances in the process of management of the information technology projects (Weick 14). Change management is a significant part of the implementation of Information Technology projects. This change management is supported by the models developed by Schein and Hatch. According to these models, changes in the internal processes of an organization should be in line with the existing beliefs, values, strategic goals and objectives as well as the conscious and unconscious philosophies of the organization (Walinga 128). The case of GroupWare system implementation in Google Inc. is taken as an example to demonstrate how the organizational cultural perspectives affect the success or failure of a new information technology project. The resistances caused in the company for implementing this information technology system were caused due to the conflict of the objectives of the project with the embedded values and culture of the organization. The project involved focusing on the effects of the new system rather than on the obstacles to the preliminary adoption of the new system by the human resource groups which acted as major obstacle in the way of the effective management of the project. This explains that an overall consideration of the prevailing culture in an organization is essential for effective information technology project management. Another example that may be considered in this respect is the information technology project that Microsoft Corporation had taken up for the installation of a financial information system in the organization. The success of the financial information system in the company can be accredited to the highly collaborative and supportive cultural environment existing within the company (Alvesson 440). This indicates that a positive organizational culture can enhance the management of a new information technology project and also go a long way in managing the inherent complexity of the information technology projects. Applicability and limitations of conceptual models The conceptual models which have been incorporated in the study are Schein’s three levels of culture and Hatch’s cultural dynamics. These two models bring forth different aspects related to organizational culture and information technology projects which are undertaken by a company. It can be stated that to some extent these models can be applied on real time information technology projects but in certain scenario acceptability of such models is not possible. Schein and Hatch have proposed different dimensions of organizational culture, and through these models the impact of the culture on overall organization can be well analysed. The pattern of basic assumptions which has been identified by Schein in his theoretical model is acceptable to a great extent as it gives the scope to new team members to correctly perceive, feel and think in relation to cultural problems (Turner 56). Internal integration and external adaptation has been considered as the major problems that arise due to the impact of culture on organization. However in present scenario these two problems are not the prime focus as proper external integration also results into failures of information technology projects. It is clearly evident that cultural issues as per this model is totally based on basic assumptions (Palvia 98). These assumptions often do not hold true for real time scenarios. Artefacts and values to some extent reveal certain assumptions related to impact of organizational culture on IT projects. Schein even states in the cultural model that stability and change needs to go hand in hand. Beliefs, thoughts, feelings and perceptions can be accepted as the primary sources of actions and values. Diversity policies which have been highlighted in this model can be treated as a factor that can help to analyse the effect of organizational culture on an IT project which was undertaken by Google (Parsons & Shils 113). GroupWare adoption is often regarded as a factor that is essential in order to establish communication channels amongst team members. This IT project was developed by the company so as to enhance integration in the system. GroupWare has an impact on employee communication, productivity and collaboration. In this project management, the basic assumption was the possible outcomes of IT but the diverse culture of team members was not taken into consideration by the firm. The actions and motives of employees were avoided which is necessary for adoption of IT project. Artefacts as one of the dimensions of culture as described by Schein can well describe the loopholes within the IT project (Hall 167). This conceptual model is acceptable to a certain extent in relation to the chosen IT project as it describes one aspect of culture that has a strong correlation with IT project management. Diversity policies and employment practices are two important components which illustrates the impact of culture on project management. On the other hand this model is not able to highlight appropriately the causes behind such diverse cultural issues which have an impact on the project management. Schein states that tacit beliefs, thoughts and perceptions have an impact on the basic assumptions of culture but it is not being able to highlight the required solution for these arising problems. The model represented by Hatch was an elaboration of the original model which was put across by Schein. As per the model organizational culture is strongly related to local processes of a firm. The four factors of this cultural dynamic model are realization symbolization, interpretation and manifestation. A real time example which denotes the impact of culture on project management is witnessed in Microsoft. The company had undertaken a financial information system project due to lack of competent professionals and more complex financial data calculations (Brown 123). This project proved to be successful for long term as all the departments within the company worked in collaboration to achieve the basic objectives of the IT project. As per the conceptual model of Hatch, it can be stated that the impact of culture on this firm’s project management was well observed through retroactive and proactive manifestation of the model. The basic assumptions such as disabilities or lack of competencies are also highlighted in the model which is well aligned with the project management scenario of Microsoft. It can be stated that these assumptions are acceptable in context of the impact of organizational culture on IT projects undertaken by Microsoft. To some extent the major reason behind implementation of the IT project by the company was the increasing degree of inefficiency in the system. The management of the company had established the culture of attaining perfection and this was evident in the adoption of new IT project (Ibid 99). Hatch’s model is acceptable in this particular scenario as it outlines the concept of proactive measures which states that assumptions are related to expectations that basically influence thoughts, feelings and perceptions. On the other hand the retroactive measures of the model states that value can either alter or even maintain the assumptions which is set forth by a firm. These concepts are able to portray the issue of organizational disability, which in turn has proved to be beneficial in terms of outlining the key aspects associated with IT project of Microsoft. On basis of this theoretical framework it can be stated that culture of Microsoft has enormously supported its IT project implementation and development. In this finance related IT project, there was a need of constant contribution from all the departments and this was greatly achieved in this organization. Financial data was not only managed by the respective finance department but other team members even contributed equally so that work efficiency can be increased. The proactive measures which is described in the Hatch’s model relates greatly to the acceptance of IT project in Microsoft (Walsham 121). This even states that culture is a factor which needs to be taken into consideration in every project management and identifying disabilities is a prime requisite for any organization. On the other hand there are certain limitations of the model as it was not able to highlight the negativity associated with the impact of organizational culture on project management. This model clearly distinguishes between both the aspects that is proactive and retroaction, but it fails to highlight the difference between values and artefacts. Alteration of values is not well aligned with the real time scenario that has been put across in the form of financial IT project undertaken by Microsoft. The model even states that expectations are usually transformed into reality, but this factor often does not prove to be correct in context of real time project management. Though this model states that expectations are often transformed but this limits the study of cultural impact on project management. This form of transformation will create a negative impact on the project implementation due to cultural conflict (Kluckhohn 103). However this factor has not been outlined in the above mentioned model which forms its major limitation. On the other hand cultural dynamics is another factor which has not been portrayed appropriately in the model. In the context of real time scenario, cultural dynamics is a major factor that has not been supported well by this model. Formation of culture has been well described in the model which is highly acceptable as it states the relationship between organizational culture and project management. The other limitation of the model is its symbolic form, which states that these forms can be made real only through culturally influenced actions. As per the real time example, these actions cannot be considered to be true as cultural actions cannot govern IT project implementation. This proves to be another drawback in the model as it portrays some factors which gains importance but it even eliminates certain aspects which holds significance in analysing the impact of culture on project management. Both the IT projects clearly state the role of culture in overall development of the project. In Microsoft to certain extent culture had contributed efficiently in adoption of the new IT project (Kedia & Bhagat 59). On the other hand, IT project which was undertaken by Google was simply a medium to enhance the level of communication amongst employees. However there was no such success observed in project implementation as outcomes of the project was given more focus rather than actions or motives of employees. Both the models have gained more significance in defining the various aspects of culture but it has failed to describe the intricacies of culture which creates a long term impact on project management (Goffee & Gareth 145). The factor of cultural dynamics has not been well explained by Hatch’s model that forms a restriction for the model in order to analyse the impact of culture on IT project implementation. Conclusion As per the entire study, information technology projects encompass great deal of intricacies and complexity. However in this particular study, organizational culture has been assumed to be the most essential factor which has an impact on IT project development. There are various aspects of culture and each of them is greatly associated with internal or external operations of an organization. IT project development is not only about including all the disabilities present in the system so as to increase its overall efficiency but it even lays emphasis on active collaboration of employees from various departments. It is a medium through which a firm can perform competitively and even eradicate its loopholes that creates a barrier in its success. Organizational culture is formed on the basis of perception, beliefs and attitudes which leads an organization towards success. This culture to a great extent affects the degree of acceptance of a new technology by a group or new team members. It can be stated as a belief which is present in every organization and needs to be followed adequately so that there is no such cultural conflict. The two cultural frameworks which have been incorporated in the study are the basics which explain the various set of cultural dimensions. Schein’s model brings forth the three cultural dimensions and on the other hand Hatch’s model highlights the measures of transformation of expectations into culture. Both these models illustrate the mechanism of organizational culture and the degree to which such culture has an impact on the project management in the organization. Though Hatch’s model has not been able to clearly describe the cultural dynamics which form its major limitation, as in real time scenario, cultural dynamics is a major aspect to analyse the impact of culture on any such project management. However the two IT projects undertaken by Microsoft and Google clearly illustrate the degree to which organizational culture can affect project development. Works cited Alvesson, Matts. Understanding organizational culture. Thousand Oaks: Sage. 2002. Print. Bernerth, Jacob. Expanding our understanding of the change message. Human Resource Development Review. Vol. 3(1). 2004. Print. Brown, Andrew. 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Malden, MA: Blackwell. 2001. Print. Read More