Thought Paper 1
Susan Zykorie
MGMT 633
2/5/14
Thought Paper #1
The ability of an organization to change is vital to their ability to be current and valid. External environments that all organizations operate in will continue to change and evolve and it is the responsibility of the organization to adapt to be able to deliver their services. An effective organization is one that is adaptable. A possible part of that adaptation process may be a change agent. Change agents are those that can help identify change needs, assist in the institution of the change, and help to maintain the change in the long term. After graduate school I began a new job where I felt that I could be an agent of change; however my ability to affect change was obstructed and I was unsuccessful in my efforts to do so.
In January 2007, I was hired as a Children’s Librarian at a suburban public library. The library system I was part of serves Harris County, one of the largest urban counties in the U.S and has 26+ branch locations, as well as an annual circulation of over 10 million items. As such a large organization, there are many established policies, procedures, and habits that have been established. The branch library I was hired to work in had a staff consisting of one Branch Manager, one Assistant Branch Manager, one Reference Librarian, one Children’s Librarian spot that I filled, one Children’s Assistant, as well as various circulation staff. At the time that I was hired, the Children’s Librarian prior to myself was still in the branch but had transitioned into the Reference Librarian position after having worked as the Children’s Librarian for at least 6-7 years. Also in the Children’s Department was an assistant. This assistant had also been with the branch for multiple years, having been hired about 6 months before the previous Children’s Librarian. In essence, this assistant had not worked with any other Children’s Librarian but the one I replaced. Upon my hire there was little to no training
MGMT 633
2/5/14
Thought Paper #1
The ability of an organization to change is vital to their ability to be current and valid. External environments that all organizations operate in will continue to change and evolve and it is the responsibility of the organization to adapt to be able to deliver their services. An effective organization is one that is adaptable. A possible part of that adaptation process may be a change agent. Change agents are those that can help identify change needs, assist in the institution of the change, and help to maintain the change in the long term. After graduate school I began a new job where I felt that I could be an agent of change; however my ability to affect change was obstructed and I was unsuccessful in my efforts to do so.
In January 2007, I was hired as a Children’s Librarian at a suburban public library. The library system I was part of serves Harris County, one of the largest urban counties in the U.S and has 26+ branch locations, as well as an annual circulation of over 10 million items. As such a large organization, there are many established policies, procedures, and habits that have been established. The branch library I was hired to work in had a staff consisting of one Branch Manager, one Assistant Branch Manager, one Reference Librarian, one Children’s Librarian spot that I filled, one Children’s Assistant, as well as various circulation staff. At the time that I was hired, the Children’s Librarian prior to myself was still in the branch but had transitioned into the Reference Librarian position after having worked as the Children’s Librarian for at least 6-7 years. Also in the Children’s Department was an assistant. This assistant had also been with the branch for multiple years, having been hired about 6 months before the previous Children’s Librarian. In essence, this assistant had not worked with any other Children’s Librarian but the one I replaced. Upon my hire there was little to no training
References: Cummings, T. G., and C. G. Worley. Organization development & change. 9th ed. South-Western Pub, 2009. Print. Steele, Fritz. Consulting for Organizational Change. Waltham, Massachusetts: Univeristy of Massachusetts Press, 1975. Print.