What Makes Change Agents Skilful and Effective in the Change They Manage - Assignment Example

Part 1: The Role of the Change Agent (Chapter 3) 1. What makes change agents skilful/effective in the change they manage? Change agents are effective in the change they manage when they listen to the senior management in an organisation as well as other people in the organisation who are affected by the change at hand. They must also be willing to acknowledge and draw lessons from failed change initiatives by changing courses of action in new change programmes. Change agents also attain effectiveness when they create enthusiasm and commitment for change among those affected by the change. They also need to explain the need for change and provide support for the change before actually implementing it. Change agents are also successful in managing change when they assess the nature of each change effort so as to ensure that the change strategy is in line with the problem that needs to be solved. 2. As an internal change agent, what actions can you take to assist a team to build its readiness for learning? As an internal change agent, I would always try to be helpful to my team and promote active participation of the team members so that they are able to learn from their own activities, thereby spreading the readiness to learn. To achieve this, I would also use persuasive communication to promote the participation of team members in the group’s activities. Through this approach, team members will be able to place greater trust in the information that they discover on their own and thus develop a greater willingness to learn. I would also make an effort to stay in touch with the existing reality of the organisation and my team in particular. Through approaches such as storytelling, I can motivate members to understand the reality of the existing situation and hence the need for change. 3. Which would be more beneficial for an organisation ― an external or an internal change agent? What are the factors that need to be considered before such a choice is made? Explain your answer. Both external and internal change agents would be beneficial for an organisation depending on the organisation’s situation. Before settling on either of the two types of change agents, an organisation has to consider issues such as the level of knowledge and commitment of the change agent, the resources available, the level of managerial authority that the agent possesses, and the level of skill or expertise required to effect the change. An organisation also needs to consider whether the change needs to be led by a person from within the organisation or a consultant from outside. While an internal change agent may be familiar with the situation in the organisation, they may lack objectivity and have less technical expertise to facilitate the required change. Conversely, a consultant may provide greater objectivity and introduce new expertise or knowledge to the change process, but may be less familiar with organisation’s culture. Part 2: Constructing Change through the Field Concept; Communicating Change and Creating Readiness (Chapter 5 and 6) 1. Discuss the role of force-field in creating readiness at the group level. The role of force-field analysis in creating readiness for change at the group level is that it helps identify the forces for change and the forces that are likely to restrain the change. By doing so, it is possible to pinpoint the specific forces that cause resistance to change in a group and thereby identify ways of reducing these forces so that the group can prepare for change. For instance, a university may want introduce e-learning to reduce operating costs such as building new classrooms (driving force), but a group of academic staff who are not acquainted in delivering e-learning content may be hesitant to accept the change for fear of losing their jobs (restraining force). Through force-field analysis, the university can identify training them as a way of readying them for the change. 2. Critically assess the role of force-field analysis as a tool for mobilization. Force-field analysis plays an important role in identifying the forces that drive change and the forces that restrain it. Through force-field analysis, it is possible to mobilise a group to participate in recognising the need to change while at the same time identifying the factors that may limit the change. For instance, having identified an area that needs change through force-field analysis, it is possible to brainstorm by engaging the members who are likely to be affected by the change. Through initiatives such as storytelling, a change agent can get an insight of the members’ views regarding the change as well as the barriers that are likely to arise. More importantly, the change agent can identify problems that were initially not recognised and hence mobilise the members to find possible ways of overcoming them. 3. Critically assess the role of force-field analysis as a tool for creating readiness in the context of a team setting. Force-field analysis can be used in a team setting by unpacking the forces of resistance to change. This can be achieved by getting people involved individually and as a team in an effort to share their expressions and experiences regarding those forces. Using social processes such as storytelling does not refute the existence of forces of change resistance but emphasises on unpacking these forces in order to disclose their social narrative aspect. Force-field analysis acts as springboard for enhancing a team’s readiness for change as it can enable the members of a team to open up and share their viewpoints. For instance, team members can share their views regarding their work situations in the process of identifying the forces for and against change and finding ways of resolving the underlying problems. Part 2: The Formal and the Dialogic Models of Diagnosis (Chapter 7 and 8) 1. Discuss the role of appreciative inquiry for creating involvement at more than one level of analysis Appreciative inquiry (AI) creates involvement at more than one level of analysis by bringing the viewpoints of different people together. This is because AI is premised on mixing and harmonising of different viewpoints through the narration of various individuals’ narratives regarding certain aspects of an organisation. Such narratives offer a background against which new ideas can be developed. It is also possible to analyse viewpoints of people at different levels in an organisation regarding an issue that is being investigated. Through AI, the stories narrated by different people are discussed collectively so as to come up with new generative ideas or images that can steer the process of change. The number of stories determines the number of frames for analysis, and numerous frames make the solution to a particular issue more realistic. 2. Discuss why it is useful to see appreciative inquiry as having an important role in building readiness for change Appreciative inquiry (AI) has an important role in building readiness for change because it involves diagnosis of an organisation’s need for change while focusing on the positive aspects of the organisation. Since AI focuses on what is positive or what is working or has worked in the past, it is possible for organisational members to open up and answer questions regarding what works best for the organisation. For instance, members can give their views on what works best for them and what motivates them to achieve more. Based on this, it is an easy step to create interventions that will make effective performance the norm rather than the exception. Since organisational members are involved in the inquiry on what works best for them, this makes them ready for any change that might be necessary. 3. Why it is advantageous for diagnosis to be managed using the principles of appreciative inquiry? Discuss It is advantageous for diagnosis to be managed using the principles of appreciative inquiry (AI) because doing so helps build success form the start. AI is premised on the idea that organisations operate and change in accordance with how they inquire or assess themselves. Therefore, the process is likely to reveal the best in people, processes as well as organisations and unravel any shortcomings that may be existing more easily than would a process that uses a problem-based approach for diagnosis. Since AI focuses on the use of positive questions, the results are more likely to be positive and this is important as a way of enabling an organisation to build on its competencies. AI principles also enable a diagnosis process to create a climate that can be conducive to a change process. Read More