Cultural Initiatives

Organizational cultural initiatives are not limited to the internal culture of the organization but are influenced by the external culture within which the organization operates. Organizational culture is a relatively new type of organizational analysis that is borrowed from the field of anthropology. It first was described as an organizational unit of concern by Pettigrew (1979). Competitive organizations maintain their competitive advantage through their ability to effectively leverage high technology and people in the workplace. High technology and people do not exist in a vacuum. How has the environment or culture influenced the use of technology and people? The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) review the cultural initiatives including embedded in environment, adoption of cultural norms, leadership by inspiration, and evidence based management; and (2) present an analysis of issues and concerns related to managing people and technology in an environment that focuses upon a cultural perspective within the organizational process.