CHANGE AGENTS
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 395 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences |
Changes do not occur without causal agents, which can be of very different types.
It is important to try to recognize such agents when they are still potential or in incipient activity, because this is the only way not to be caught by surprise, experiencing negative effects or missing opportunities.
Apart from their nature, their ways of acting may give us inklings about their possible timing and effects. Such a knowledge is practically the only way to acquire at least a modicum of predictive capacity.
It may also lend us some possibilities to adapt to future changes or even to make a creative use of them when they surface.
J.H. MILSUM observed the importance of change in the stimuli as: “…in (their) absence most of the relevant receptors generally cease to be stimulated” (1968, p.44). He also notes that, in the long run, the lack of change in stimuli may lead to the partial or total impairment of specific perceptions.
J.A. JOHANNESSEN and A. HAUAN introduce the notion of a change agent as a specific person in an organization, who normally introduce changes, whether technical, organizational or conceptual (1992, p.174).