MANAGING CHANGE PART I 1 MANAGING CHANGE PART I 2 Managing Change Part IManaging Change Part I Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is the work organization Learning Team B has chosen for this paper. It is based out of Mclean, VA is a contracting company that supports various federal government department/divisions, military, and private sector civilian organizations. Our focus is in areas such as information technology, grid technology, system engineering, financial analysis, and program office support.  This paper will identify a specific change that the team feels should occur in this organization. It will describe the cycle of change, and the specific change that needs to occur within the cycle of change. In so doing, it will also compare and contrast continuous and discontinuous change in this scenario. This paper will differentiate between the two types of change agents and discuss how one or both can be used in this scenario. SAIC Background SAIC encountered internal turmoil, which called for the removal of three of its top executives in connection with a contract it had with agencies in New York City known as the City Time Contract. The company has also decided to move from a historically independent company and split into two public companies, SAIC and LEIDOS. This was done to increase the organization’s potential for bidding on government contracts and address any perceived conflicts of interest when providing multiple and or different services for the government. The legal issues associated with the contract, the removal of the executives, and the spilt will undoubtedly trigger change both internal and external. Cycle of Change The cycle of change is a process from which an organization goes through a major change or implementation in order for the organization to change the way it currently does business. These changes can come about for many reasons, changes in technology, changes in the business structure, or major innovations within the business sector. Managing change in the workplace is a continual process. Implementing these changes can be exciting and yet difficult at the same time. Change can be the most difficult obstacle to overcome in any work environment. When change is implemented it can be hard for employees to adjust to the new rules and responsibilities. Change in itself can be viewed good or bad depending on one’s perception of the change and how it will affect them (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006). Each lifecycle stage does offer new opportunities for an organization. There are four distinct stages to the organizational life cycle. The first stage is entrepreneurial stage, which is the birth or the re-birth of the organization. This stage is making sure that certain resources are made available and that the organization is establishing its mark in the market. The second stage is collectivity stage which is the development of the o ...

1. MANAGING CHANGE PART I
1
MANAGING CHANGE PART I
2
Managing Change Part IManaging Change Part I
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is the
work organization Learning Team B has chosen for this paper.
It is based out of Mclean, VA is a contracting company that
supports various federal government department/divisions,
military, and private sector civilian organizations. Our focus is
in areas such as information technology, grid technology,
system engineering, financial analysis, and program office
support.
This paper will identify a specific change that the team feels
should occur in this organization. It will describe the cycle of
change, and the specific change that needs to occur within the
cycle of change. In so doing, it will also compare and contrast
continuous and discontinuous change in this scenario. This
paper will differentiate between the two types of change agents
and discuss how one or both can be used in this scenario.
SAIC Background
SAIC encountered internal turmoil, which called for the
removal of three of its top executives in connection with a
contract it had with agencies in New York City known as the
City Time Contract. The company has also decided to move
from a historically independent company and split into two
public companies, SAIC and LEIDOS. This was done to
increase the organization’s potential for bidding on government

2. contracts and address any perceived conflicts of interest when
providing multiple and or different services for the government.
The legal issues associated with the contract, the removal of the
executives, and the spilt will undoubtedly trigger change both
internal and external.
Cycle of Change
The cycle of change is a process from which an organization
goes through a major change or implementation in order for the
organization to change the way it currently does business. These
changes can come about for many reasons, changes in
technology, changes in the business structure, or major
innovations within the business sector.
Managing change in the workplace is a continual process.
Implementing these changes can be exciting and yet difficult at
the same time. Change can be the most difficult obstacle to
overcome in any work environment. When change is
implemented it can be hard for employees to adjust to the new
rules and responsibilities. Change in itself can be viewed good
or bad depending on one’s perception of the change and how it
will affect them (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006).
Each lifecycle stage does offer new opportunities for an
organization. There are four distinct stages to the organizational
life cycle. The first stage is entrepreneurial stage, which is the
birth or the re-birth of the organization. This stage is making
sure that certain resources are made available and that the
organization is establishing its mark in the market.
The second stage is collectivity stage which is the development
of the organizations strategies and goals. In the collectivity
stage this is establishing cohesion and guiding goals. This is the
stage that Citigroup needs to focus upon; because of the

3. organizations overarching goals the managers have failed the
employees. Focus to be on place back building the knowledge of
the employees, his or her abilities, skills, teamwork, and most
of all for everyone to work together as a team.
The next stage is formalization which is establishing,
procedures, policies, and formal control systems. The last life
cycle state is the elaboration stage which is the business
revitalizing, and problem- solving stage.
Two Classifications of Change
The two classifications of change that affect organization,
continuous, and discontinuous, have specific agendas, and
criteria to improve the company. Change for SAIC has come at
a crucial time in the company’s history. Change of any kind
affects all who are employed with SAIC. Employees have stock
in the company and are considered employee owners. Any
changes financially affect them in one way or another.
Continuous
Continuous change will certainly be a model the company
follows as a result of decisions made to replace executives and
split the company. This change is considered to be incremental
change that “may involve adjustments in systems, processes, or
structures, but it does not involve fundamental change in
strategy, core values, or corporate identity” (Palmer, Dunford,
& Akin, 2006). Continuous, also known as first-order and
incremental change, maintains, and develops the business. There
are no drastic changes in culture, values, strategy, or identity
(Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006). An interpretation of first-
order change is maintenance for keeping up with what is the
needed standard performance. A business that uses certain
software may determine a new report is more effective than
another report previously used.
Continuous change unlike discontinuous change is understood
and changes are expected and gradually occur like a butterfly
for example that changes from a caterpillar. This change occurs

4. over a period of time. With the split occurring taking the
company from independent to public the financial outlook of the
company will most certainly change. Shareholders will now be
part of the company so the dynamics will change. The company
will stay the course and the logic and ideals that brought
success will continue to exist. Investors must be assured that
positive change and the companies’ effort to move in the right
direction and bring about positive change will occur and a
strategy in place to show how this change will be implemented.
Discontinuous
Discontinuous change, also known as second-order change is
fundamentally different from first-order change. Second-order
does not maintain or improve the business, it completely
changes the business. Discontinuous transforms the company
from one identity to another (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006).
Downsizing, restructuring, merging, and buy-outs, are common
examples of discontinuous changes. The purpose for second-
order, unlike first-order, is to transform the business into
something completely different.
One could argue that with the company splitting in two public
companies that discontinuous change may be the model involed
because the company is now moving into unchartered waters.
Moving to a public company when traditionally we have been
independent involves unforseen changes. Keep in mind the
company is a contracting agency and whether these contracts
will be affected by the changes continuous, discontinuous or
both is yet to be seen. The split however will make the company
more competitive thereby increasing revenue and attracting
investors.
Change Agents
The two types of change agents are internal and external.

5. According to Palmer, Dunford, and Akin (2006), "Examples of
internal change agents are corporate board members, CEOs,
executives, managers, and others in an organization's work
force. External change agents include investors, suppliers,
community activists, government regulators and even
consumers.
Internal
Internal change agents usually come from either the human
resource department or top level management and they have a
huge role to play in the restructuring of an organization.
Challenges internal change agents face are having to ensure that
they do not get affected by other people's power games, as they
would have knowledge of the internal politics (Palmer, Dunford,
& Akin, 2006). They will also have to convince others that
they have the necessary skills and expertise that will effectively
contribute to the organizational change that has been task to
them instead of having the company engage an external
consultant, which results in cost saving as well. Connecting
with the influential people in the company of different
departments is also an essential factor as they can be the
internal change agent's key points of influence to the
organization as a whole (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006).
External
External change agents are often consultants that are being
hired based on their expertise and portfolio that they have. They
are often being hired because the top management feels that
there isn't any suitable or capable people within the
organization to be appointed as internal change agents and thus
the outsource hiring of experienced consultants. However,
according to Palmer, Dunford, & Akin (2006), "Arguments for
the use of external agents outnumber those against. A field
experiment; showed that organizations could be made more

6. receptive to research results through the use of external
consultants. This gives external change agents the advantage of
objectivity, allowing analysis and examination of the various
cultures, practices and mindsets that are within the organization
(Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006). An internal change agent,
who has already been part of the organizational culture for a
period of time might overlook something and not be as
objective, which make employees feel they have a biased view
towards certain issues. External change agents also have an
added advantage of committing all their time to the task that is
given to them. This is unlike internal change agents, where they
have to be concerned about the daily operations of the company
as well as implementing the different changes in the
organization (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006).
Another consideration a company must consider when
appointing a change agent is what model of approach should be
used in the implementation process. One popular model is the
organization development approach. Change agents take on a
leadership role with values that include humanistic, democratic,
and developmental aspirations of the company (Palmer,
Dunford, & Akin, 2006).
Conclusion
The work organization described and discussed in this paper
was Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). It
identified a specific change that we felt needed to occur. Also
describe was the cycle of change, and the specific change that
needed to occur within the cycle of change. This paper
compared and contrasted the continuous and discontinuous
change in this scenario. As well as differentiated between the
two types of change agents and examined how one or both were
used in this scenario.
References

7. Palmer, A., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2006). Managing
organizational change: a multiple
perspectives approach. Retrieved from The University of
Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Retrieved from http://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/top-dc-
companies/2011/company/science-
applications-international-corp/591/
Retrieved from http://www.saic.com