Purchase Solution

Being a Change Agent Research Paper

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Write paper on being a change agent. It may include examples from previous experience as well as implications for future application.

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

The expert writes a paper on being a change agent. The examples from previous experience as well as implications for future applications are given.

Solution Preview

Being a Change Agent Research Paper:

A change agent is someone who wants to hold on to targets at any expense that creates their own instrument in changing culture. They are those people who want to their own instrument in changing culture by daring to accept the challenge to think for themselves. Most of the people demand considerable effort, skill and care from the change agents. They must be able to guide people involved in unpleasant emotions so as to prevent damages that would be harmful to the organization, the change agent and the members of the organization (Wagner, 2010).

Cultural change brings about improvements for behavior, goals and changing assumptions for the members of that culture which are typically accompanied by unpleasant emotions. Changing a culture and the people involved by the change agent implies that one will be acting as a catalyst for that change. Being a catalyst demands thorough self-management and is also taxing. Change agents require a continuous process of personal growth (Wagner, 2010).

A change agent is required to understand the culture. He or she should understand that some startup organizations value innovation over predictability whereas large organizations value predictability over innovation and that one cannot get a large organization to embrace change. Large organizations tend to do the same things they have always done and this might lead to the organization losing its market share since your change might be better or worse. A change agent should make change predictable so as to make a large organization to embrace change (Wagner, 2010).

When a change agent meets resistance to change, he or she should find out the reason for the resistance and try to reach to the root cause of the change. The people we work with always want to improve and therefore, a change agent should address the root cause of rejecting change so as to have a lasting impact. For an agent to introduce change, he or she is required to sell the benefits of the change. Change agents often sell the costs yet if one concentrates on the costs, you make people believe that the cure is worse than the disease and that you won't be selling the change. For example, writing more tests code than the production code doesn't help get an organization to adopt more developments that are test-focused. A change agent should lead the benefits by thinking of the lower chance of regression and the quicker turn around (Wagner, 2010).

A change agent should be able and willing to make changes that he or she would want the customers to adopt. One might find it difficult to get any organization to embrace change by talking about it. Asking for permission to do what you know is right works against your goals and one has to be careful not to be explicitly rebellious but always work hard to demonstrate what you want to do. Little sayings and slogans are tools that are intended to make it easier for one to remember the advice. When adopting change, one needs quick reminders to remind and inspire people. One should also make sure that everyone understands the justifications for the slogans (Wagner, 2010).

A change agent's job is to develop a climate for planned change by overcoming rallying forces and resistances for positive growth. Such skills are needed in systems that do not respond appropriately to changing environmental forces and conditions of rapid change. The behavior of the change agent is needed when a major change needs to be initiated. Different mechanisms and behaviors will be required to stabilize the change and this would lead to a desired change in the circumstances if the ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Cost Concepts: Analyzing Costs in Managerial Accounting

This quiz gives students the opportunity to assess their knowledge of cost concepts used in managerial accounting such as opportunity costs, marginal costs, relevant costs and the benefits and relationships that derive from them.

Managing the Older Worker

This quiz will let you know some of the basics of dealing with older workers. This is increasingly important for managers and human resource workers as many countries are facing an increase in older people in the workforce

Organizational Behavior (OB)

The organizational behavior (OB) quiz will help you better understand organizational behavior through the lens of managers including workforce diversity.

Understanding the Accounting Equation

These 10 questions help a new student of accounting to understand the basic premise of accounting and how it is applied to the business world.

Academic Reading and Writing: Critical Thinking

Importance of Critical Thinking