Organization Development for Revitalization of Information Technology Sector of Pakistan

Abstract

“Information Technology” and “Organization Development” are the two expressions that rarely seem to appear before us collectively if we observe the Information Technology (IT) Industry of Pakistan. At national level many reforms have been made by Government of Pakistan for the uplift, sustainability, growth and development of IT Sector of Pakistan. It is indeed great to study the fact that national IT sector has seemingly shown massive improvements as far as fetching Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is concerned. Ignoring the consequences faced by the IT industry of Pakistan due to the political set backs, one can see clear and distinct growth in Information Technology Sector in Pakistan. Despite the fact, that everything seems so positive about IT sector of Pakistan compared to other industrial setups within Pakistan, the comparative growth of the IT sector has not been as promising as in other parts of South Asia despite similar cultural background. Many studies reveal and focus on the so called core economical, political and technological factors that are responsible for the low performance of IT sector of Pakistan with respect to other South Asian economies, but none seem to bring into focus and discuss the factors responsible for this declined performance at grass root level. Here the term “grass root level” refers to the factors that are responsible for low productivity, poor quality, low comparative performance and deprived business management practices of IT organizations of Pakistan. These grass root level factors may be termed as soft factors and factors related to Organization Development. This study argues that Organization Development practices needs enhanced focus for better organizational performance of IT organization in Pakistan and thereby highlights the importance of Organization Development framework for the high performance of IT sector of Pakistan. The study seeks to achieve several interconnected objectives. It examines the role and requirements of “Organization Development” for IT industry of Pakistan. It identifies deficiencies, issues and problems that arise due to inadequate focus of IT organizations of Pakistan on Organization Development methods and techniques and also presents analysis against all identified loopholes. In addition to this the study also presents the preferred Organization Development practices (the best practices) and methods (specially customized for Pakistani IT industry) for Organization Development. Focus is also laid on deployment methodologies as change management tool which can be used for practical implementation of the identified best practices and the customized methods. In summary this study helps to understand the deficiencies in general organizational setup of IT industry of Pakistan and at the same time assists the IT entrepreneurs, executives, senior management and policy makers within IT organization in Pakistan to revitalize their organizations for its long term stability, sustenance and high performance using Organization Development as a framework. This study can also prove to be beneficial for all investors within and outside Pakistan who intend to setup IT based organization in Pakistan. Emphasis is made on policy formulation and its management, employee behavior and psychology, human resource management, quality, productivity, process management and change management. All aspects of the study are presented, analyzed and explored with conscience concern of local culture.