Organizational Change: Types, Benefits, and Change Agents

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
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Introduction
Organizational Change is a process in which a company or organization changes how it operates,
a change that can be partial or a total overhaul. The change may be limited to one or a
combination of various areas such as operational methods, technologies, the organization’s
structure and or its culture (Ahmad, & Zhichao 2018, p. 201). The process also puts into
consideration the results of these changes. Organizational change can be a continuous process or
a within a specific time frame depending on the reason and factors behind the change. A
continuous change in an organization would be intended to rectify a long-term issue or the
changes that help the institution cope with the ever-changing world (Sghari 2016, p. 790).
Distinct changes occur mostly to correct some specific issue in the organization. For instance, if
there is consistent break down in the communication in a company, the management may initiate
a one-time change the communication system in the company to avoid such lapses in future.
As researched by (Bielinska-Kwapisz 2014, p. 417), change in an organization can either be
planned change or unplanned change depending on the underlying factors. Planned changes are
the ones that are done after a deliberate decision has stood made to carry out the adjustment. For
example, the management of a company may decide to lay off some employees to reduce the
companies wage budget or as a result of a reduced market for their product hence lower
production. Such changes are planned based on the nature of their processes, as the laid-off
workers must be compensated in the above example (Rosenbaum, More, & Steane 2018, p. 299).
Unplanned organizational changes do occur due to unforeseen happenings such as a breakdown
in some systems, death of an important employee in production or any other unpredictable
events. Such events result in changes in an organization even without much deliberations, and
the changes are always non-continuous as they are intended at solving a specific issue.

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These planned and unplanned organizational changes can be as a result of either internal or
external pressure (Landau, Drori, & Terjesen 2014, p. 1330). Internal pressure is as a result of
events happening within the company or organization such as system failure, improper
communication or even death of an employee that may prop change. External pressure is caused
by the events happening outside the company which may trigger changes in the institution. Such
events may include changing trends in consumer behavior, level, and nature of competition from
other rivaling firms in the industry and the ever dynamic technology. Other external factors may
include globalization, workforce diversity, and some ethical behavior. For an organization to
carry out the intended organizational change, it would require a team of experts to steer the
process, these experts are known as change agents.
Benefits of change
1) Improved performance
Changes in an organization do result in improved performance among employees. For instance,
change in technology in the production department would mostly improve the efficiency and
general performance in the department (Ahmad, & Zhichao 2018, p. 211).
2) Employee growth
Some employees do feel a sense of stagnation when they do the same ask for a very long time. A
rotational change in the organization would break that monotony and instill a feeling of growth
among the rotated workers.
3) Company relevance