A CHANGE agent (about: Erneuerer, operator of the change) is an expert for constructional causing of clarifying in decision and conflict situations as well as of innovations and/or innovations and changes in the personal, organizational, economical-economic or political-social range.

It causes this either by intentionful acting for direct effect on the behavior of others, or than indirect release events caused of reactions to the kind of its behavior or to in addition.

The CHANGE agent in the closer sense is treated here in particular. Taking up the term by consulting firms led to expansions of its meaning (see below: Term).

Objective and function

The goal of a CHANGE Agents is to secure a coming off and the lastingness of decisions and their conversions on psychosocial level.

The CHANGE agent provides in the most favorable case for suitable framework situations, which promote a natural ripening of quasi-autonomous decisions and their conversions.

• Thus it causes the identification of the involved ones and concerning with their own behavior,
• confidence gives them to its own being able and to the solubility of the task and
• satisfaction with the own portions of the development and/or change process lends to them.

Development scenarios

For clarifying in decision or conflict situations a CHANGE describes agent, who framework situations are suitable, to promote a coming off of necessary decisions. Beyond that it describes, which events lead to these situations and on which ways these to be released are.

For innovations and/or innovations a CHANGE agent describes the requirements which can be fulfilled and the need, which are the basis for these. If necessary it, as, describes and/or by which events, this need can be waked, and which solutions for the satisfaction of the need it sees. Finally it describes, with which introduction strategy the innovations and/or innovations can be led to success.

The CHANGE agent affects itself the diffusion (spreading) of an innovation positively or negatively, and is here not member of the social system in that the innovation common.

For changes a CHANGE agent of achievement and development obstacles describes and - reserves. It conceives "“trips"”, which oversubscribe usually existing organizational weaknesses up to the exaggeration - in the most favorable case up to the ridiculousness -. Thus it provokes the involved ones in addition, quasi "“head-vibrating"” or "“laughing at itself"”, occasionally also after a "“welfare seed fright"” to require the necessary changes. - The evasion of an opposition attitude following from it substantially participants leads in the following work on the project to a considerable minimization of friction losses and to a high-grade self-motivation, as it cannot be achieved by direct effect third.

Conversion projects

A CHANGE agent acceptance lends foreigncertain conversion activities. - Tolerance is not sufficient, since it does not exclude under smoldering leagues conflict. - It by positive thinking and constructional participation in the psychosocial processes, which arise due to the change, in the role reach this as affected too one.

It provides suggestion for selfcertain conversion activities and promotes the initiative of the involved ones. - It reaches this by engaged co-operation at the conception and conversion processes for codesigning the change, in the role as participating.

Term

In the diffusion research the term "“CHANGE Agents"” becomes in particular related from Everet M. Rogers (diffusion OF innovation). "“CHANGEs Agents"” used opinion leader ("“Opinion Leaders"”) around an innovation to here possibly prevent or through-add. The term was already imported in the social and communication sciences, when it was taken up also in other place:

The term of the CHANGE Agents arose 1994. A retention of the English term is meaningful in German, since during the transmission too much would be lost.

• Enterprises in the USA let examine, why changes could penetrate successfully in the managerial policy so rarely from the management to the implementing, and how the exceptions were to be explained.
• Some few key persons were noticeable, who could move something also without special order or appropriate authority, rather from the second row, quite.
• By statistically detectable differences they were hardly to be recognized, a few special characteristics and abilities had them however together, e.g.:
  • They rejected higher executive functions, if they could not work thereby no more in the proximity of the "“practice front"”, because they were convinced that on the success of the enterprise one decides there.
  • In the guidance methods they were very variable: Although they preferred a liberal handling the coworkers clearly, they dealt in similar situations quite differently with them, dependent on their personality, and could, even if necessarily, quite authoritarianly to arise.
• As search criteria, in order to find further potential at "“CHANGE Agents"”, at "“operators of the change"”, these realizations appeared not particularly productive.
  • The hit rate remained small; almost exclusively women were under it, probably owing to their higher social and language authority, but probably because of their smaller career striving (s.o.).

Term use

Emerging the term released in the middle of the 1990er years in the consulting industry a Hype. - Your marketing experts recognized that the control of particularly effect-strong methods could be suggested to the economy, which generally was at sharp change pressure with this term, if a management consultation in the description of its proceeding used it.

The explanations of this article do not reflect this Hype and the associated expansion of the term meaning. - Large consulting companies do usually without its use. They speak in the context of the organizational development (OE) of the methodology of the change management (CHANGE management), which however differently to be understood are, as a CHANGE the Agents:

While "“CHANGEs managers"” would probably regard the employment of a "“CHANGE Agents"” rather as a special case for a cutout from their methodology,

if "“CHANGEs Agents"” were inclined probably rather to the opinion, who had a "“CHANGE agent"”, need no "“CHANGE management"”.

Search machines bring clearly over 100.000 hits for "“CHANGEs agent"” (Google, Yahoo).

Research

Scientific investigations are concerned

• with the study (rather conscious) of the techniques effective with a CHANGE agent and (rather unconscious) the situation and behavior patterns as well as
• with the practical applicability of the found mechanisms, in order determined changes purposefully cause.

In the Stanford Persuasive Technology lab one selects a large beginning: "“Everything that leads to behavior changes, could function as CHANGE agent."”

There the influence possibilities are examined by all kinds of interactive computer products. - This branch of research becomes Captology (wordplay, about: "“Examination"” or "“collection technology"”) mentioned.

Resuming information

See also:

• CHANGE management

Literature

• B.J. Fogg: Persuasive Technology: Using of computer ton of CHANGEs What incoming goods Think and DO, Morgan buyer Publishers, 2002 ISBN 1558606432

• Everett M. Rogers: Diffusion OF innovation, 5. OD., Free press, 2003, ISBN 0743222091

Related links

• http://captology.stanford.edu/ Captology, Stanford Persuasive Technology lab (English)
• http://credibility.stanford.edu/ The Web Credibility Project, ebenda (English)

Articles in category "CHANGE agent"

We found here 28 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 6 related websites.

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