ITECH7402 Professional IT Culture: Leadership & Collaboration

This presentation explores the role of human behavior and organizational culture in organizational change, discussing factors like technology, globalization, and workforce dynamics. It examines reactions to change, the impact of organizational culture on performance, and strategies for managing IT professionals in collaborative, global work environments. Leadership styles, effective presentation and communication approaches, and the roles and responsibilities of IT professionals are also covered. The presentation further addresses the global nature of the IT industry, ethical issues arising from technology use, and the importance of professional IT culture and leadership. It concludes by highlighting evidence of effective collaboration, emphasizing clarity, respect, communication, and problem-solving skills. Desklib provides access to similar presentations and study resources for students.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
IN IT

Role of Human Behavior and Organizational culture in
organizational Change
Organizations changes due to changes in:
Technology
Globalization
Workforce dynamics
Poor performance (Wu & Parker, 2017)
Market conditions
Organizational growth
Human beings tend to display various
reactions to changes in an organization
Active resistance -the most negative.

Passive resistances- Disturbance by
the changes without actually voicing
the opinions (Hayden, Sadhu &
Volberda, 2018)
Compliance-Going along with the
suggested changes even though with
little enthusiasm
Enthusiastic support- Defending and
championing for the new way

Organizational culture -processes
set binding members of a given
organization on shared and lasting
patterns of beliefs, assumption and
basic values in the organization.
Enables the organization to handle the
continuously changing challenges of
adaptation to the external environment
(Wu & Parker, 2017)
Culture awareness may be promoted
through systematic study of the culture

Such awareness results in enhanced
organizational performances including
group productivity,
a sense of belonging; and
collective efficiencies
Organizational culture influences the
systematic dynamics in terms of
changing an organization
Works best for widespread and chronic
problems within the organization
(Hayden, Sadhu & Volberda, 2018).

Management of IT professional in collaborative,
global work environments
Collaboration brings
about the opportunity
of fresh thinking to
create and desperate
skillsRecommendations for collaborative
working
• Collaboration is normally top sided
• All resources for collaboration are not
equal
• Rewarding effective collaboration
• Encouraging behavioural changes
(Hayden, Sadhu & Volberda, 2018)

• Considering structural changes
• Top collaborators should be
identified at risk for overload (Wu &
Parker, 2017)
• Both physical layout and technology
should be leveraged

Leadership Styles
• Autocratic-Leaders are the final
decision makers
• Laissez-faire-Managers apply a some
extent of supervision on the team
members
• Democratic/Participative-Team
members are encouraged to take part in
decision making
• Transactional-Employees follow the
leadership of the manager to achieve
agreed goals

Presentation and communication approaches
suitable for today’s IT workplace settings
Open meetings
One on one
Emails (Wu & Parker,
2017)
Creation of a receptive
atmosphere
Adopting presentations
Eliminating unnecessary
repetition

Communication through training
Use of simple words that can easily be
understood
Illustration of confidence and
seriousness to ensure that the message
being passed is not taken for granted
Use of body language (Hayden, Sadhu
& Volberda, 2018)
Listening to the members of the team
Adopting appropriate voice tone
Being appreciative

Roles and Responsibilities of IT professionals
Extension of complex and independent
support in the system administration,
system operations and hardware
support (Hayden, Sadhu, & Volberda,
2018)
Analysis of the design, modification
and support of computer systems and
subsystems
Development and execution of
Microsoft systems and solutions for
technology for clients
Installation, execution and support of

Extension of primary support for Active
Directory, Ms SharePoint and Systems
and Ms Exchange
Troubleshooting of the various issues
and interacting to deliberate projects,
solutions to technology as well as give
responses to the concerns on
technologies and systems
Coordination with the other IT staff
study centers development of technical
specifications and standards (Hayden,
Sadhu, & Volberda, 2018)

The global nature of the IT industry
• The advancement of
IT around the world
today is beyond
imagination
• IT has integrated the
economy of the
world by removing
barriers (Hayden,
Sadhu, & Volberda,
2018)
• There has been growth in the global
sourcing of technology related services

An approximated growth
has been experienced on
the world wide spending
on technology products
An approximated growth
has been experienced on
the world wide spending
on technology products
IT spends in the world
are projected to growth at
an exponential rate

Ethical issues confronting changing use of technology
Security: The internet has enabled ease
of hacking into computer and systems
Infringement of copyright: IT has
enabled access to any information at any
provided time making authors of various
information lose the credibility of their
works
Privacy Issues: IT has exploited the
freedom of privacy (Wu & Parker, 2017)
Enhanced pressure on IT experts: IT
experts are being pressurized to

Professional IT Culture & Leadership
Models the behavior of leaders
Enable leaders set the expectations and
build themselves with the required
skills
Aids in reinforcing a culture of
accountability among leaders
Enables leaders to come up with
purposes for which they are to believe
in

Evidence of effective collaboration
Clarity in the definitions of the division
of labor
Acknowledgement of and respect for
the input of all the collaborators
Group goals superseding the personal
goals
Effective communication skills
(Northouse, 2018)
Effective problem solving
Proper interpersonal skills
Dependability and reliability

References
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership:
Theory and practice. Sage publications
Wu, C. H., & Parker, S. K. (2017). The
role of leader support in facilitating
proactive work behavior: A perspective
from attachment theory. Journal of
Management, 43(4), 1025-1049
Hayden, M. L., Sadhu, J. S., & Volberda,
H. W. (2018). The conjoint influence of
top and middle management
characteristics on management
innovation. Journal of