Change management is an important aspect from business point of view and to align the business with the changing environment becomes very critical. For instance, Information Technology (IT) forms the backbone of all organizations and thus it becomes utmost important for them to effectively handle change. They anticipate the change and align its resources and upscale its infrastructure to maintain business continuity and stay upbeat in competition. The organizations which adopt the disciplined behaviour to change management excel in operation quickness which is essential part of service excellence.
Kurt Lewin, an altruistic has a belief that human condition can be improved by resolving social conflict be it religious, racial, martial or industrial. He also believed that democratic values hold the key to prevent worst social conflict of all times. To further elaborate his point of view, a planned change is inculcated in the system through learning. Lewin’s planned approach is to change comprises of key four elements: Field theory, Group dynamics, Action research and the 3-step model of change. All of these elements are necessary to bring about a planned change in an organization. Let us have a look at each one of them in detail:
Field Theory: This approach indicates the study of the group behaviour and relates it to the field in which the behaviour takes place. The group behaviour is the set of symbolic interactions and forces which affect the group as well as individual behaviour. Thus, any behavioural change results from changes in the field. Lewin defined a field as ‘a totality of co-existing facts which are conceived of as mutually interdependent . . .’ (Lewin,1946, p. 240) . Lewin believed that a field was in a continuous state of adaptation and that ‘Change and constancy are relative concepts; group life is never without change, merely differences in the amount and type of change exist’ (Lewin, 1947a, p. 199). This gives birth to a term given by Lewis ‘quasi-stationary equilibrium’ which identifies a group as a sequence of constantly fluctuating rhythms and patterns to the behaviour and processes of a group due to the changes in the forces that act on the group. Lewin was of the opinion that if one could find the plot and establish the effectiveness of these forces, then it would be possible not only to understand why individuals, groups and organizations act as they do, but also what forces would need to be diminished or strengthened in order to bring about change. Lewin has described behavioural change to be the soft side of the business and takes time to attain a new state. However in certain situations, the various forces of change do shift quickly and radically and the status quo is not maintained. Thus new patterns of activity attain a new equilibrium or (quasi-stationary equilibrium).
Group Dynamics: The word ‘dynamics’ comes from a Greek word meaning force. The ‘group dynamics’ refers to the forces operating in groups. It is a study of these forces what gives rise to them, what conditions modify them, what consequences they have, etc. (Cartwright, 1951, p. 382).
Unlike field theory, group dynamics lays stress on the fact that it is the group behaviour instead of the individuals which are the main focus of change. Lewin further insisted that it is useless to focus on changing the behaviour of individuals because it is the group pressure to which the individual succumbs. Consequently, the focus of change must be at the group level and should concentrate on factors such as group norms, roles, interactions and socialization processes to create ‘disequilibrium’ and change.
Action Research: This term was coined by Lewin in 1946 in an article entitled ‘Action research and minority problems’. As the name suggests, a change requires an action and is directed at achieving this. Secondly, in order to choose a successful action, it becomes important to understand the situation correctly, identify all possible alternative solutions and finally choose the best alternative to handle the situation at hand. To be a successful organization, it is important to generate a necessity for change or we call it ‘felt-need’. A low felt-need pose difficulty in implementing a change in an organization. Lewin further explains that ‘Action-research’ can be understood as a series of spiral steps constituting of planning, action and fact-finding (root cause analysis) about the results of the action. Action and research takes into account the field theory as well as group dynamics into consideration. It insists on to identify the forces that focus on the group to which the individual belongs and also find out the reason why group members behave in a way when they are subjected to these forces. Action Research lays emphasis on the fact that for change to be effective, it must take place at the group level, and must be a participative and collaborative process which involves all of those concerned.
3-Step Model: A successful change project involves 3-steps: Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze. The whole idea is that in order to adopt a new behaviour successfully, the old behaviour needs to be discarded (unlearnt) and for this the equilibrium has to be destabilized (unfrozen). Unfreezing creates the motivation to learn but cannot predict or has the power to control direction. The action-research based learning enables groups and individuals to move to a more acceptable set of behaviours. Lastly, the aim is to seek a new quasi-stationary equilibrium which is safe from any apparent regressive forces.
In organizational terms, refreezing refers to changes with respect to organization policies, culture, norms and practices.
John Kotter - 8 steps model- John Kotter has given a sequence of 8 steps to that are needed for a planned change. These are:
1. Urgency of change
– Evaluate the competitive environment, market position, financial performance and technological trends to take strong and bold decisions as per the urgency of the change.
2. Form a string nucleus, leading change
– The driving force is the one who can take bold and risky decisions. Identifying a strong leader is important for the successful transition to a new equilibrium.
3. Create a new vision
– A direction is very critical to know where you want to move your boat else you will be lost in the vast ocean.
4. Notify all new vision
– Intimating the key players in the organization about the newly formed vision ensures that everybody is aligned to the goal and striving to work in a disciplined way to achieve it.
5. Empower others to act on the vision
– Empowering the employees to address four major obstacles: structures, skills, systems and supervisors.
6. Create a short-term win
- Seeing the changes happening and working and recognizing the work being done by people towards achieving the longer-term goals.
7. Maintain a state of emergency – Kotter states that organization need to establish short-term visions and celebrate the success as and when the goals are achieved. These short-term successes will resonate and create the momentum in going forward to attain the final vision. This is the new way of working.
8. Anchoring changes in corporate culture – Kotter believed that once the pressure for change is not there anymore, then the new behaviour attained by the organization is bound to degrade. Thus it becomes even more important to institutionalize the change among the employees and show them how new approaches, behaviours and attitudes have improved performance.
Based on the above two approaches to a planned change, we can conclude that there is not much empirical evidence to support any of the approaches above. Although they are cannot be totally neglected. As seen from the Information Technology example cited above we can say that the approaches explained above are strategically more focused on establishing a planned change to the organization environment.
Bibliography
Hussain Sarayreh, B., Khudair, H., " Alabed Barakat, E. (2013, July). Comparative Study: The Kurt Lewin of Change Management. International Journal of Computer and Information Technology, 2(4), 626-629. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/q54ve2o.
Appelbaum, S.H., Habashy, S., Malo, J.L. " Shafiq, H. (2012). Back to the future: Revisiting Kotter’s 1996 change model.
Bernard, Burnes, (September 2004), Journal of Management Studies. Kurt Lewin and Planned approach to change: A re-appriasal.
Lewin, K. (1946). ‘Action research and minority problems’. In Lewin, G. W. (Ed.), Resolving Social Conflict. London: Harper " Row.
Lewin, K. (1947a). ‘Frontiers in group dynamics’. In Cartwright, D. (Ed.), Field Theory in Social Science.London: Social Science Paperbacks.
Lewin, K. (1947b). ‘Group decisions and social change’. In Newcomb, T.M. and Hartley, E. L. (Eds), Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Henry Holt.
Cartwright, D (1951). ‘Achieving change in people: some applications of group dynamics theory’. Human Relations, 6, 4, 381–92.
