The Change Agency Traits and Attributes and the Implication - Case Study Example

The Change Agency Traits, and Attributes and the Implication Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction In the contemporary society, one fact that cannot be denied is that change is very eminent, not only in the life we live but also in the workplace and the organizations we work for. For this reason therefore, it remains the responsibility of the management to initiate the change in order to respond accordingly to the emerging issues both from within and outside the operating environment, with the intention of growing the organization and giving it a competitive advantage. However, the biggest challenge in attaining all these is the approach to go about the change management (Conger & Kanungo 1988). Given this understanding, it is therefore agreed that “the notion of change agency, traits, and attributes of change agents can have an important impact on the success or otherwise of a change programme." This is because in many occasions, the way the change agents bring out the ideas related to change have either worked or failed based on the approach used. The success of change management is also subject of the environment created for it, the various traits and attributes demonstrated by the change agents. This analysis will therefore be based on this statement in order to depict how the view can be used to facilitate the process of creating a social construction environment for change and involvement. The concept of change management Change has been defined in many different ways. However, for the purpose of this analysis, change as defined by Caldwell (2003) as an activity that tends to alter the current situation within an organization or a sociological setting, will be adopted will be adopted. Change can either have a positive or negative impact in the organization depending on what the outcomes are. In many occasions, change can result in a situation where the current situation either from the internal or the external is altered in order to meet the requirement for the required change to take place. This happens in the form of change management (Collins 2005). This is the point where the role of the change agents, traits and attributes come into play. This is to try and create a social environment where the required state of change can be created. This is because both the internal and external can prompt the situation where the management and the organization’s employees start changing their perceptions in order to try to accommodate the emerging issues. According to Quirke (1996), the change agents have a very important role to play in creating a good environment under which change can take place and that their traits and attributes are very important in achieving this. This is very important in the contemporary management environment where change is almost a constant practice and that the organizations are expected to take appropriate measures in creating a climate for constructing a social environment for the change programme and involvement. The various traits and attributes that the change agents should have according to Collins (2005) are the essential tools that should be used to ensure that each and every person responsible is involved in the change practice. This is considered the best practice according to Jaff and Scott (1998) and that they are used by the change agents to organize the social environment and most especially the employees in order to appreciate the change initiative and participate actively in the change management process. For instance according to Lencioni (2006) the different traits and attributes by the change agents are required in ensuring that proper leadership is provided and that can steer the change programme. In addition to this, the other important change agents traits and attributes include team-building, vision building, ambition and personal risk, learning, dialogue and reflection as well as mindfulness. The others include positioning, subversion and political astuteness. These traits and attributes are very important in the context of change management. As illustrated by Jabri (2004) change management model below, change is considered a process and which requires different traits and attributes from the change agents. For instance, the change programme requires that different tasks to be performed to be identified, different roles assigned, an appropriate structure created, the change behavior cultivated and the culture that can support the required change be promoted. As one moves higher the change pyramid, the harder it becomes to ensure. This is because high level skills, competencies and experience are required hence the reason as to why the different traits and attributes among the change agents are highly required. For instance, changing culture is something that can take quite some time. This is because it involves the mind shift from the traditional way of thinking to a creativity and innovation that is required in anchoring the required change (Wheatley 2005). Having considered the various factors identified in the change pyramid above, it is quite necessary to say that different traits and attributes such as leadership, team-building, learning, dialogue and reflection. These are the important attributes that this analysis seeks to depict as very important attributes that the managers undertaking change programmes should consider to embrace. For instance, leadership is a very important attribute that should be demonstrated in the change programme by the change agents. This is because in the process of trying to construct a social environment that can support the change programs, there are different stakeholders involved. Leadership in the change management and according to Jabri and Pounder (2001), refers to a process that is used by the management and especially the change agents to woe the employees within an organization to work towards a certain direction. A good example to illustrate this is the two major world telecommunication companies, Apple and Samsung. According to Shaughnessy (2013) leadership in the two companies has been focused on transformation. This is done by creating a platform whereby creative and innovative activities are promoted in order to be able to build the most durable and competitive position in the global telecommunication industry. In other words, what these two examples illustrate is that change agents’ traits and attributes are important in providing the required transformational leadership whereby each and every player has role to participate without any element of exclusion (Clarke & Meldrum 1999). Each and every change agency trait and attribute identified has a role to play in the enabling the managers to construct a social environment for change and involvement. This is because change entails a number of activities, process and different small teams that must work together towards a common goal. The implication of these traits and attributes to the managers is that they should ways to adopt the best practice in change management where each and every person is involved (Harrison 1970). This is because they are important in providing an insight of what organizational change entails. At the heart of every change agent is to use the process of change management to make a difference in an organization. This is actually a feature that emerges at the point of creating a vision for an organization. This is because a good vision helps all the people involved in change to try and actualize where they are expected to go even though different risks might exist. This is because the individuals will develop the confidence to take the available in order as the price of realizing the organizational goals and objectives. In other words, creating vision and communicating it to the employees is a very fundamental trait for a change agency that is being used to inspire the rest of the employees to take their rightful roles in ensuring that a meaningful change is taking place (Lencioni 2006). What this point is depicting is that every manager who is an agent of change should be inspired with the ambition to make the difference no matter the available challenges and risks. This is however, depended on the personal insight of an individual and to initiate change in an organizational context. Further, having identified that an organization is composed of different individuals, groups and teams, the identified traits and attributes are important in addressing issues related to the different interests held by the different groups and managers (Jaff and Scott 1998). It is at this point that attribute of transformational leadership come in. This is to help the different groups to reason and work together for a common goal. Also in the workplace there is the reality of politics and that the change agents are subject to various rhetorics. However, despite all these, the managers are always expected to see sense in change and as such take appropriate actions that are relevant and that will help the organization excel. This calls for a high level of understanding and accommodating the other managers to work together. In other words, the different change agent traits and attributes need to be used in developing a vision that draws ideas both from the conventional and normal way of doing things (Jabri and Pounder 2001). This is to try and accommodate all the teams without taking them for a surprise. According to Collins (2005), when change takes place in an organization, there is almost a direct impact on the individuals working there and their journey to change can be very long and complex. However, based on the analysis of the various change agency traits and attributes, there is more that needs to be done by the change agents rather than just initiating which can attract a lot of resistance from the employees and consequently the failure of an idea that could have been very brilliant (Ford et al 2002). This is because in many occasions, the employees are likely to develop negative emotions which can either directly or indirectly their work performance in an organization. This is because many of the employees if not well involved and made to understand are likely to lose their focus and concentration. Finally, team-building and team working are very important attributes in inspiring the team spirit and getting all the employees working together. For instance such attributes as dialogue, reflection and mindfulness as identified by Wheatley (2005), ought to be applied together in support of each other. This is because the attributes help create the required synergy in the team where individuals can interact, communicate and share freely on the ways through the proposed change initiative can be improved and the role of each and everybody. The managers are therefore expected to recognize that these are meta-competencies, skills and abilities that must be exhibited in order to help several teams and groups work together. However, while using these traits and attributes, Lencioni (2006) is cautioning that care should be exercised since not all change initiatives are the same and that each initiative might require specific traits and attributes from the change agents. Conclusion This analysis was focused on interpreting the statement that “the notion of change agency traits and attributes can have an important impact on the success or otherwise of a change programme" and then discuss the implications of the same to the process of constructing a social environment for change and involvement. In the discussion, it has been established that are various change agency traits and attributes that are very important in constructing a social environment for change and involvement and they include leadership, team-building, vision building, ambition and personal risk, learning, dialogue and reflection as well as mindfulness. The others include positioning, subversion and political astuteness. All these traits and attributes are important in a change programme in the sense that they create an environment where every individual is involved and has a role to play. References Caldwell, R. (2003), 'Change leaders and change managers: different or complementary?', Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 24, no. 5/6, p9. 285-293. Retrieved from Emerald database. Clarke, M. & Meldrum, M. (1999), 'Creating change from below: Early lessons for agents of change', The Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 70- 80. Retrieved from Emerald database. Collins, J. (2005), Good to Great and the Social Sectors. Boulder, Colorado: Jim Collins. Conger, J.A. & Kanungo, R.N. (1988), 'The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice', Academy of Management Review, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 471-482. Ford, J.D., Ford, L.W. and McNamara, R.T. 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