Table of Contents
Abstract
Conducting business in the modern society showcases numerous complexities that managers have to face each day. The primary challenge is experienced in running an organization towards accomplishing its mission statement without hindrances. Technology stands out as one issue that draws the attention of managers in regards to the leadership and cultural aspects. Technology is a significant challenge in business since it influences companies to transform their cultural environments. Despite it posing numerous benefits, it causes setbacks based on how corporations employ it internally. In instances where employees are unwilling to accommodate the new developments, performance becomes a challenge. Thus, both managers and employees have crucial roles to play for their institutions to operate efficiently. Emerging technologies stress managers due to the many demands involved. For instance, they have to ascertain that every concept is to avoid unnecessary faults. The ability to employ technology adequately is significant because any weaknesses grant rivals a competitive advantage. Avoiding the adverse outcomes of technology can help a manager to run profitable companies with ease.
Introduction
Business organizations experience numerous technology-related complications in their operations. Due to high competition in every industry, each organization embraces the emerging trends. Thus, most companies are trying out new concepts on a daily basis to remain relevant and competitive in their fields of operation. One crucial aspect that is being faced by companies worldwide is technological advancements that cannot be avoided due to the benefits they bring forth. As a result, companies are making all the necessary efforts to achieve the best possible outcome associated with technology. The most important thing to note is that using new techniques comes with its challenges that have to be handled appropriately for efficiency purposes.
Technology stands out as one issue that affects not only a company’s culture, but also its leadership. Based on experiences from an organization I previously worked for, technology enables companies to access both internal and external economies of scale. However, any unaddressed faults can cause failure by ruining the corporate culture and disrupting leadership. The current business environment calls for management teams that can readily embrace technological systems accordingly to achieve their operational goals and objectives with ease. Precisely, in any instance where positive results are anticipated, negative effects have to be experienced. The worst impact is a poorly functioning corporate culture due to the complications brought about by technology. In this case, company executives have no option rather than learning how to implement new technologies efficiently to avoid unnecessary challenges that interfere with profitability.
Problem Statement
Technological advancements have increased tremendously in the last couple of decades. While it is associated with numerous benefits such as accuracy and high productivity, technology showcases innumerable challenges. Technology affects business organizations’ culture, as well as their leadership function. In the past, the company portrayed close interactions between personnel before the Internet emerged. In the current scenario, personal interactions have been reduced and replaced by online relationships. To be precise, technology has greatly changed how companies execute their operations, thereby posing various negative effects on the involved people (Zhou, Yim, & Tse, 2005). With the physical interactions between employees and their managers declining, the company showcases a major shift in how operations are executed. Once a company’s culture changes for the worse, failure occurs, hence hindering economic growth and development. On a different note, technology creates an environment where leaders have to make critical decisions on how to utilize it. For example, leaders have to cope with sophisticated technologies that are difficult to use in significant operations (Fisher, 2006). The complexity aspect forces managers to make critical decisions on how to impart the required operational skills to their task force. Failure to embrace training results in instances where underperformance occurs, thereby resulting in reduced sales and profitability. In this case, technological developments keep organizations on alert since all the new trends have to be acquired and applied accordingly. Deviating from the required action plans results in instances where companies develop weak cultures, as well as malfunctioning leadership (Stahl & Tung, 2015). Thus, management teams should be focused on how to achieve the best possible results from the use of modern technologies.
Analysis of Technological Advancements
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture plays a vital role in enhancing a company’s success in its industry of operation. It is usually essential to develop and retain cultures that do not attract conflicts, especially among the workforce. Technological advancements affected the organization’s culture in various ways, an aspect that hindered progress. The high use of internet technology in the company introduced online communication platforms such as Skype, Facebook messaging, and Whatsapp. These developments made it possible for both employees and managers to share information virtually without interacting physically (Stahl & Tung, 2015). Thus, internet technology reduces the personal aspect of business relationships, thereby causing unnecessary setbacks. On a broader perspective, technology transforms the culture of physical communication, hence making it impossible for the appropriate interpretation of commands. Precisely, the absence of physical proximity in companies reduces brainstorming, therefore failing to solve problems as required (Zhou, Yim, & Tse, 2005). This limitation affects many enterprises since online communication does not portray a high commitment as in one on one interactions.
Due to security purposes, the company utilized technology to monitor its employees’ operations and communication. Many organizations have followed suit, assuming that it’s the best approach towards securing their resources and monitoring performance. However, this culture is disadvantageous in that it reduces employee morale. The culture of monitoring employees’ movements creates an environment where they feel distrusted due to the disruption of their privacy. Reduced morale creates losses due to inadequate performance among employees (Bruneel, Spithoven, & Clarysse, 2017). Employees act as the backbone of an organization, an aspect that calls for managers to keep them motivated at all times. Technology allows managers to monitor employees not only using closed-circuit television cameras, but also their emails and social media platforms. This in-depth scrutiny leaves employees with no choice, other than developing resistance to the management. In this case, not every change brought by technology leads to profitability since some issues facilitate poor performance.
Employees determine a company’s success in the use of new technologies. For instance, complex technologies call for extensive training to eliminate the possibility of errors. Thus, organizations incur high costs in maintaining well-trained employees, and this practice has to be ingrained in the culture. The company also experienced challenges since many employees developed resistance to the change process. Resistance was influenced by the problems associated with new technologies. Even after being trained adequately, most employees prefer the old system to the technological one (Bock, Opsahl, George, & Gann, 2012). As a result, the emerging conflict creates complications in the workplace. Also, since advancements occur frequently, companies have to invest in continuous upgrades. To be precise, the culture of utilizing technology in almost every aspect is costly, hence the need for proper planning and budgeting (Zhou, Yim, & Tse, 2005). Thus, the adoption of new technologies exposes companies to cultural challenges that can stall operations if the right solutions are not applied promptly. In this case, the resistance emanating from a change of organizational culture can prevent many companies from satisfying their mission and vision statements.
Organizations usually operate under a culture where employees are retained due to their significance in job execution. However, technology interferes with this cultural aspect by creating employee redundancy. Technology is to blame for many fired employees after making their jobs unnecessary. For example, the company released many employees in the information and processing departments since computerized systems proved to be more productive and less costly (Serenko & Bontis, 2004). The new concept of replacing employees with technological interventions affects the remaining employees’ performance. Cases of employee turnover increase as the remaining employees seek other companies where their jobs are secure. This aspect hinders efficient operations because of an organizational culture that disfavors employees.
Leadership
Today’s managers are more engaged in business issues compared to the past. The reason for this aspect is that new technologies are demanding, hence calling for numerous strategic activities. To be precise, the success of new technologies is determined by the managers’ efficiency. Technology calls for changes in primary managerial functions (Serenko & Bontis, 2004). Most managers end up losing focus and experiencing operational challenges because of the many tasks that have to undertake. For example, technology challenges managers since they have to concentrate on decision-making, control, planning, and coordination. The failure of one task can easily create complications, hence costing the company huge volumes of resources. In my former workplace, poor coordination affected the transfer and delivery of information. As a result, many tasks were delayed, while others got executed inappropriately (Bruneel, Spithoven, & Clarysse, 2017). The company’s productivity since the management team was unable to meet all the demands of new technical systems. The bottom line is that advancements in technology strain managers and their employees to the extent of affecting output. As witnessed in the company, leaders should be ready to set good examples for their employees. In instances where faults in leadership are experienced, then failure should be expected.
Technology limits the availability of managers in a company since they can reach out to internal and external stakeholders virtually. Laxity builds up when managers know that they can use digital technologies to communicate with employees. On the other hand, employees also relax when they are not being watched closely. Cases or poor performance emerge, making it impossible for companies to accomplish their goals. Still, the absence of many leaders hinders the coordination of activities as addressed above. Due to this aspect, most corporations have costly technologies that are not creating the anticipated profits. The occurrence of negligence and unprofessionalism in leadership affects a whole company’s performance (Bock, Opsahl, George, & Gann, 2012). This outcome forces companies to deviate from their operational frameworks, an aspect that causes poor performance.
The risks of losing a company’s private information are higher in organizations that use the latest technologies. For instance, cases of hacking are very high today. Hackers have devised ways through which they can use crucial company information to benefit themselves. Business leaders have to be on their toes to protect their data from being accessed by outsiders (Serenko & Bontis, 2004). The primary challenge is that as technologies keep on developing, hackers develop new strategies for gaining entry to secured information. Managers have to keep themselves well-acquainted with the new technological frameworks to maintain reliable preventive measures.
Technology increases the core responsibilities of leaders, hence the need for efficiency in all aspects. Although technology is associated with numerous techniques, managers hold critical roles that should be undertaken professionally to avoid unnecessary challenges. The worst issue is that the leaders’ inability to cope with these technologies sets a bad example that encourages employees to resist the change process. Precisely, while some organizations are reaping huge profits from technology, others are experiencing massive losses on a daily basis. It is important to note that managers play pivotal roles in steering their companies to success or even failing to meet the need of both internal and external stakeholders.
Recommendations
There exist various strategies that can be employed for companies to avoid the cultural and leadership challenges involved. One strategic approach is the creation of awareness about the anticipated technologies before their implementation in the organization. Enlightening both managers and employees enhances commitment, thereby improving motivation levels. This approach is essential in that it helps create a culture that involves all staff members, hence eliminating resistance to change (Serenko & Bontis, 2004). As such, leaders do not have to spend more time and efforts in pushing employees to use technology appropriately in their operations.
Another recommendation that companies should embrace is being well-prepared beforehand. One reason why technology fails is the acquisition of new systems that no one is conversant with. Thus, the personnel should be aware of the type of technologies, as well as what is expected of them. Managers should also organize training in advance to avoid the challenges associated with using outdated technological systems (Bruneel, Spithoven, & Clarysse, 2017). Further, all leaders should have adequate knowledge on how the systems work for purposes of providing employees with the necessary guidance. This measure calls for close interactions between managers and employees, instead of relying on virtual communication technologies. Every employee ought to know their responsibilities to avoid unnecessary setbacks.
After acquiring new technologies, managers should consider how to increase their employees’ value, rather than to demean them. Hiring new employees frequently is a costly affair that can render companies ineffective (Serenko & Bontis, 2004). Thus, managers should oversee the process of reducing turnover to avoid the costs associated with the hiring process. The subject issue is creating a stable culture where a peaceful coexistence exists between employees and the leaders, hence making it easy for the company to accomplish its operational aspirations.
Conclusion
Modern businesses are more efficient than in the past due to improvements in technology. As more developments continue to emerge, companies continue to experience challenges in their cultural environments, as well as leadership. Technical advancements bring forth complex systems and procedures that create unmotivated employees. The culture of online interactions is developed, an aspect that hinders appropriate problem-solving mechanisms. Managers also opt to release employees once technology comes in, hence facilitating high turnover rates. In regards to leadership, most executives experience coordination and planning challenges. For instance, there exist risks such as hacking and poor training that affects a company’s efficiency in operations. To avoid these difficulties, leaders should keep their employees informed of the company’s expectations from their performance. A close interaction between managers and employees is vital to creating a friendly environment. In such a setup success will be achieved with ease since each party can focus on achieving both internal and external economies of scale.
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