The term "organizational impact" has a different meaning in each context it is used. For instance, in any organization you can examine the impact of any major change coming from inside or outside the firm. One way to better understand this phenomena would be to examine the organizational impact of technology and its associated characteristics.

Change in Structure

The characteristics of an organizational impact depend on how an organization is structured. For example, the introduction of robots to perform employee jobs in a manufacturing business would forever change its structure. Automation would permanently eliminate many positions and the new structure would reflect the characteristics of the new workforce.

Change in the Nature of Work

You can also trace the organizational impact of technology to the ways in which the organization's work is performed. Employees must learn to continuously use newly introduced technologies effectively to perform their jobs well. For example, the introduction of a new software program requires a training period in which employees learn how to use it. Even if employees receive software training in advance, they will require time to adapt to the change in their daily work. A new software application or configuration could create new job tasks to be assigned by managers, thus creating another substantial organizational impact.

Change in Knowledge

Technology can also change the knowledge resources of an organization. New technologies can have positive impacts on knowledge resources, such as the storing of knowledge that can then be shared across the firm. New technologies can also eliminate some knowledge sets, especially as employees with outdated skills are replaced by employees with skills in demand.

Change in Culture

Organizational impacts of technology can also include qualitative changes, such as shifts in how managers oversee employees within the workplace culture. Before introducing a technology, experts can consider how the way that people use the technology will affect the way things are currently done. For example, a technology -- such as an online repository of inner-sanctum management meetings on video that is made accessible to all the firm's employees -- that adds transparency to management decisions removes some prestige that managers attribute to their jobs. As more employees gain access to policy decisions made by top leaders in the firm, the organizational impact manifests in more accountable leadership.