The impact of the internet on organisational culture within the IT industry

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the internet on organisational culture within the IT industry. The first part of the literature study examines the history of the internet as well as, more specifically, its history and implementation within the organisation. The second part of the literature study analyses organisational culture. This is in order to determine the factors that change it, whether the internet could have played a role in changing the culture and, if so, how this change is managed and the implications of the change. Two case studies support the literature study. The first case study is a quantitative study whereby questionnaires are used to determine how employees at two selected organisations perceive the impact of the internet. The second case study is qualitative and involves interviews with management at the selected organisations. Management’s opinion on the impact of the internet as well as the use of the internet within the organisation is obtained. A comparison is made between the employees’ and management’s responses. Recommendations are made in terms of what organisations should do to overcome the impacts of the internet on their culture. The main focus of the paper is the effect of the implementation of the internet on organisational culture.