Who Is the Agent of Change?

The benefits of working in a large company are better infrastructure, well-defined policies, training and learning opportunities, job security and gradual growth. Slow decision-making due to the bureaucratic structure is a major drawback. The unique character of small firms offers agile structure, quick response, family-like atmosphere, opportunity to wear many hats as advantages, and lower compensation and restricted growth as disincentives to joining. However, if employees get their human relationships to energize, the size of the firm will be inconsequential for their success. That is, small firms can only offer a congenial atmosphere as a big firm never. Therefore, understanding what gives us energy and how we utilize it is critical for the leaders in small firms. This case study focuses on the CEO of a small family-owned firm (Nishio Glass and Mirror) whose decision to usher in positive organizational scholarship with the help of consultants set the firm on a successful journey. Even though statistics show that most change efforts fail irrespective of the size of the firm, in this case, it succeeded. This case study informs us that workplaces can be a community for people to amplify positive energy unleashing virtuous circles of growth. Research Questions: What is positive organizational scholarship? How can it be implemented in a small firm? Theory: Positive organizational scholarship and agents of change. Type of the Case: Study of a phenomenon. Basis of the Case: Phenomenon. Protagonist: Present, the CEO of the firm. Findings for Phenomenon-based Research Case An organization is not a machine to transform resources into material properties. It is a community where people share the agentic roles with one another to let them transform. In a trustful community, people can examine the experience of ‘pregnant void’ to open a virtuous mindset; moreover, people can give suffering for others as an agent to embody the meaning of virtues. Discussions for Phenomenon-based Research Case To manage a chaotic situation, which approach should be applied: crisis management or a proper management system? In this case, even a management system failed and dumped the CEO in psychological chaos. Which is that process that an external OD consultant can adopt to transform an organization by setting its employees on the path of self-transformation? If we apply hedonic happiness to the case, it seems to be fit for the past situation where people in the case wanted to have materialistic and short-term success. Discuss the alternative that can be applied.