The impact of culture on new technologies

New technologies can provide a company with a competitive edge. However not all new technologies do; often the reason is poor implementation of the technology. Successful introduction of new technologies requires good engineering management skills. This includes understanding that there are three phases to introducing new technologies. They are the initiating phase, the implementing phase, and the institutionalizing phase. They are interdependent and are known collectively as the change cycle. In addition, to be good at change management, the practitioner must understand how the corporate culture impacts the change cycle. If the proposed change is not aligned with the company culture, the initiative will eventually fail. To understand the need for alignment, the practitioner must understand the difference between major and minor change. Major change has nothing to do with complexity or cost, it has everything to do with whether or not the proposed change is closely aligned (minor change) with the culture or significantly misaligned (major change).