Change Management Strategies: Choosing Internal or External Agents

This essay delves into the critical decision-making process for organizations undergoing change, specifically focusing on the selection of internal versus external change agents. The author explores the multifaceted factors that influence this choice, including organizational culture, structure, vision, and leadership styles. The essay highlights the roles and responsibilities of both internal and external change agents, examining their respective strengths and weaknesses. Through examples and case studies, the essay illustrates how internal agents, familiar with organizational norms, can facilitate rapid change, while external agents bring specialized expertise and an objective perspective. The essay also discusses various change models and theories, such as Kurt Lewin's theory and Kotter's 8-step model, and emphasizes the importance of change agents possessing specific qualities like leadership, motivation, and understanding. Ultimately, the essay underscores the importance of a strategic approach to selecting change agents, aligning the choice with the organization's specific needs and objectives to ensure successful change implementation and sustained competitive advantage. The essay is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib.

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION(S)
STUDENT NAME
AUTHOR’S NOTE

CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Organisations undergoing change employ internal and external change agents. What
factors must be considered before making a choice? Justify your answer with examples
Organisational change is one of the most significant issue faced by many
organisations for which they consider making critical choice between appropriate change
agents for bringing effective change in work systems. Organisational change can be defined
as process in which organisations optimises work performance for fulfilling organisational
goals and objectives. It is the action that occurs due to ever changing demands of people as
well as environment where making response to critical situations becomes difficult for
managers. Success in organisation’s change is realised not only because of adjustments made
but by making changes with capable managing teams. There can be many reasons behind
making changes in organisation but the goal behind it is always providing organisation with
effective management team.
Why does an organisation require making changes? From passive viewpoint,
organisational change is an event where organisations transfer it executive power to change
agents who provides organisations with solutions for bringing effectiveness in it. There may
be many factors that need to be considered before making changes in work place like goal
setting, evaluation, execution and opposing factors. However, culture, structure, vision,
mission and leadership style are also necessary to be considered for which organisations
needs to make choice in making best suited change agents for their company (Gill, 2003).
Regardless of the type of issue present in the organisation, revolutionary changes are adopted
by managers during critical conditions where they need to follow a specific change model.
However capable a leader is, they may fail to understand the value of present change
management models and factors associated with change theories. For this, they hire special
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people or a group from within or outside the firm, also known as change agents, to carry the
change management process more efficiently. An effective change agent will always carry
the change process in a manner where minimum side effects of changes are realised by the
firm (Baesu & Bejinaru, 2013).
Organisational change is a complex procedure that involves all levels of organisation
in a linear way. Different departments and individuals react to the change out of which few
even get resisted due to it. Therefore, it becomes important to analyse past experiences to
make future predictions more highlighted towards positivity. It is apparent that change in
organisation is made due to significant cause that can either be external or internal force.
External changes are associated mainly with technological change, market place changes,
competitor activities, change in governmental policies or change in consumer preferences.
Depending upon the nature of change required, organisations considers the changes and
appoints suitable change agents who are aware of current business practices from external
view point. Whereas internal change factors relate to changes in management philosophy,
power of control and outdated organisational structure. Under these situations, normally
companies hire those agents who are more knowledgeable in organisations objectives so that
change implemented does not make changes to the mainstay behind establishment of the
company (Aladwan, 2001).
There are many methods that are applied by organisations for implementing change
process and over the years many change models and theories have been formulated by
researchers that are immensely used by change agents. Kurt Lewins theory, Kotters 8 step
model and Maslow’s theory are some of the organisational change theories applied by change
agents according to the situations present in organisation (Muchira & Kiambati, 2015).
Counselling programs along with training and motivation are few elements implemented by
change agents which focuses on entire groups of organisations so that all its members
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participate in change program efficiently. Whether a group or any individual leader who are
responsible for entailing change within organisation are made thorough with firm’s motive so
that the changes made does not impacts negatively in organisational work force. Many
organisations focus to collaborate with outside sources to implement training and
development programs where expert professional are invited to solve organisation’s issues
while giving proper training to the employees. Therefore, more people become concerned
about firm’s step towards development and gets involved in organisational change naively.
Change within firms becomes easier if the employees participate in change process or
becomes supportive and organisational change ultimately results in effective communication
within organisations (Elving, 2006).
Change agents play a significant role in organisational change process where ‘change
agents’ are those people that can be presented from inside or outside of firm. They provide
assistant and technical support to the people of management along with taking decisions
regarding change process. Change agents that do not belong permanently to the organisations
and are appointed specially for change process and are called external change agents. They
usually belong to professional fields that specialises in change management systems and
processes. Whereas internal change agents are the ones who belong to the organisations and
performs change process along with performing other ordinary duties of the firm. These
agents provide effective changes as compared to external agents since they are aware of
organisations principle and people present there. In other words, internal change agents can
be referred to those people who change the norms of the company by involving themselves
with other employees and initiates change process with gaining support from others. For
example, organisations undertaking changes in global management usually belongs to top-
level management where other subordinates may deal with other changes required
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subsequently. In this situation, change agent is the leader of the company who defines job
changes in the form of authority (Gerwing, 2016).
The speed of change varies from company to company and restricts using same model
each time. In the present era, where technology has become an integral part of organisations,
it has been used immensely by organisations during change process even. Identification of
change requirements and demonstration of work principle has become easier than before.
However, identifying and implementing change processes still requires individual effort so
that change process decisions can be made after considering other organisational factors also.
A change agent therefore becomes necessary part in change process so that effective change
management is implemented in firms for getting best possible results (Baddah, 2017). Change
agents whether internal or external, require possessing special qualities and competencies to
support change process effectively. Other reasons behind appointing change agent in
organisation are to facilitate, implement and direct change principles. Leadership, motivating
and understanding qualities are some of the factors looked upon by organisations before
appointing their change agents. Real change leader is the one who initiate and influences all
others to perform their job differently and more properly by applying multiple change
leadership approaches. Change experts chosen by organisations shall execute and initiate
change for making organisation achieve longer period competitive advantage with the
engagement of change initiation. Change experts acquire significant competencies within
themselves to master change and shift people and firm in forward direction though change
(Lunenburg, 2010).
While making research for this essay, one fine example of internal change in a
Swedish food and beverage industry was investigated that unfolds firms change process
through internal change agents while expanding its business in international market. With the
help of managerial capabilities and theories, the conceptual framework was made by the
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company. The company internal change agents possessed dynamic capabilities that made
their internationalisation process easier. The case study shows that firm discovered internal
and external environmental needs while taking actions against impacts regarding other
external changes. As the managements of the firms developed proactive behaviour, their
dynamic capabilities underwent an internal change process critically without effecting regular
work process of the firm (Dahlin & Dannevig, 2015).
Once organisations become aware about the requirements of changes, they decide to
resolve it and face next decision regarding change process. This is the time they face
questions like ‘Whom to assign change process duty?’ As discussed above, they either chose
internal or external agents but making such choice further depends on numerous factors.
While organisations realise that change process needs to be made on immediate basis, they
choose internal change agents because they know organisational systems and norms and thus
time required for explaining those norms is saved. Since they are aware about the facts
behind changes, they provide with quick solutions along with securing employees
relationship with the firm (Qureshi & Sayyad, 2016). However, there are few drawbacks also.
Internal change agents may lack necessary qualities or skills and thus may result in
ineffective change. Even due to their relationship with present employees may avoid in
making severe changes for avoiding emotional stress and impacts on relationship with them.
Due to these reasons, organisations may opt for external change agents to assist projects
while ignoring relationships among people and focussing more on organisational objectives
(Long, 2013). As compared to internal change agents, external change agents possess more
professionalism and expertise since their core job is to facilitate changes in organisations. But
again, drawbacks can be seen here also as they prove to consume more time as compared to
internal change agents. Since external agents are not sure of company’s norms and
qualification of employees present, they take considerable time in getting all the desired
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information’s. Therefore, external change agents are selected only due to their expert
solutions and abilities while organisations internal change agents are appointed by them
where long term changes are made in regular basis.
One fine example that shows how external change agents provides effective change is
a case study of small and medium sized organisations present in Singapore. During the Asian
crisis, these SME’s faced severe loses and entrepreneurs of firms decided to undergo change
process within their firms to overcome impacts from crisis. Since they had small firms and
lacked change experts, they decided taking help from external agents for making necessary
changes in their work culture. They appointed external agencies and professional agents who
specialised in change management process. With strategic change management and sound
change process, more than 45% of SME’s survived where other who remains rigid in making
changes had to suffer firm’s closure (Menkhoff & Loh, 2003). This example shows the
importance of external change agents during intense situations and when the issues are
observed in larger scale.
External change agents act more professionally acting more as a consultant than an
entity which provides force within organisation to get involved in change procedure for
realising objective behind change process. On the other hand, changes made by internal
agents proves to be more effective since change agents already possess respect from
employees whereas external change agents need time to get familiar with people and forming
relationship to understand their problems (Brown, 2012). However, under both situations,
organisations choices largely depend on various other factors as mentioned in the essay like
internal and external force, environmental force, global changes, customers preferences
changes and changes required to align with present business standards. Organisational change
largely depends on the change agents as skills and qualities of change agents are reflected in
the change process implemented by them. Therefore, organisations make a critical thought
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out before making a choice between internal and external change agents. By giving authority
to change agents, organisations become depended on them for making firms’ new regulations
and hence require making appropriate choices so that core objective behind organisations
existence is not violated (Barclay, 2009).
Change agents possess superior quality as mentioned in the essay that is also one of
the factors considered by organisations before making choices. For these organisations
consults professional agents or experts for getting effective solutions who may be present
within or outside the firm. While making a choice, organisations also considers factors
behind making changes so that change agents can be selected accordingly. Hence, it can be
said that change in organisations is a crucial process where making a choice between internal
and external change agents requires critical consideration by organisations. Not every change
agent possesses wide range of qualities and competencies and therefore making selection
between them becomes difficult for the companies. The above essay has identified various
qualities and skills required in change agents that are mostly considered by organisations
before making choice. Where the situations are intense and complicated, organisations
appoint external agents whereas during long term and regular process, internal agents become
preferable. The factors that influences changes within organisations has been examined in the
essay that shows fundamentals considered for making change to ensure organisational
success. The awareness behind change models and choice between change agents shows
existing relationship between them which influences entire change management process of
organisations.
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