Reference no: EM13708294

Prepare a 1,050-word paper assessing the various roles of managers and individuals in the change process.
Include an examination of the two types of change agents as well as and a manager's role in combating resistance and championing change.
APA guidelines.

six images of managing change: director, navigator, caretaker, coach, interpreter, and nurturer.

The director image is based on an image of management as control and of change outcomes as being achievable. It is therefore up to the change manager to direct the organization in particular ways in order to produce the required change.

In the navigator image, control is still seen as at the heart of management action, although a variety of factors external to managers mean that while they may achieve some intended change outcomes, others will occur over which they have little control.

In the caretaker image, the (ideal) image of management is still one of control, although the ability to exercise control is severely constrained by a variety of forces, both internally and externally driven, that propel change relatively independent of a manager's intentions.

in the coach image, the assumption is that change managers (or change consultants) are able to intentionally shape the organization's capabilities in particular ways. Like a sports coach, the change manager shapes the organization or the team's capabilities to ensure that, in a competitive situation, it will be able to succeed.

The interpreter image to managing change places the change manager in the position of creating meaning for other organizational members, helping them to make sense of various organizational events and actions. It is these events and actions that, in and of themselves, constitute a changed organization.

The nurturing image to managing change assumes that even small changes may have a large impact on organizations54 and managers are not able to control the outcome of these changes. However, they may nurture their organizations, facilitating organizational qualities that enable positive self-organizing to occur.

Change agents

• First-order, incremental change "may involve adjustments in systems, processes, or structures, but it does not involve fundamental change in strategy, core values, or corporate identity."5 First-order changes maintain and develop the organization: they are changes designed, almost paradoxically, to support organizational continuity and order.6
Second-order, discontinuous change "is transformational, radical, and fundamentally alters the organization at its core."7 Second-order change entails not developing but transforming the nature of the organization.8