“Lewin considered that change ensued from the competition between driving and restraining forces” (Potter, 1993). Hence, as change is instituted, there are forces that drive the change and facilitate it while other forces form resistance to the change. Therefore, achievement of the change can be accomplished by decreasing the resistant forces and increasing the facilitating forces. In today’s world which is characterized by rapid change, the impact of change on an organization’s life is necessitated by the tumultuous and challenging environments in which they operate (Potter, 1993).
Lewin’s force field change model is described as effective change occurring by unfreezing the current state of affairs, changing or moving to the desired state, and refreezing the situation so that the change remains within the desired state. Unfreezing is concerned with producing a position of disequilibrium between the driving and restraining forces, implementing the change, and refreezing when the organization is aligned with the desired behaviors (McShane, 2005). On a simpler note, Lewin’s theory involves preparing the people for change with a focus on getting them to let go of what is familiar, taking the necessary steps to implement the change and finally returning the organization to stability that is based on the new structure.
If an organization’s unfreezing behavior stage is unsuccessful, there will be an increase in conflict and tension in the organization as well as a stronger push of resistance to the change. If an organization fails to refreeze behaviors, people being creatures of habit will revert to past patterns. Some of the techniques used in unfreezing and freezing behaviors are:
Unfreezing
- Motivate employees to change through rewards system
- Provide open and frequent communication with employees
- Provide a clear, well articulated strategic vision of the desired future state which minimizes employees’ fear of the unknown and gives a better understanding of the behaviors that the employees must learn for the future.
- Involve employees as change agents to assist in the change process as role models for others to follow during the change.
Freezing
- Alter rewards to reinforce new behaviors.
- Supply new information systems to guide new behaviors.
- Recalibrate and introduce feedback systems to focus on new priorities. (Robinson, 2006)
Internal and External Drivers
Internal and External drivers are the intricate workings of an organization that affect the change process. Synergetic Solutions, Inc. driven by the stagnation of the computer system integration market has embarked upon a new endeavor of designing complex computing networks. This venture has paid off well landing additional contract orders for the company. The internal drivers listed are impacting the change process through the need to improve automation tools that will increase the quality of the products to be delivered, motivate the employees to be more efficient and productive and increase the concept of innovative power among the teams thereby enlisting empowerment. The external drivers affecting Synergetic is marketing to customers to increase revenues, progressing in technology and set the trend among competitors to be a leader in the field of the networking solution business.
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Internal drivers
The need for increased product quality
The need to increase personnel motivation
The need for innovative power
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External drivers
Market: industrial customer and end-use demands
Technological innovations
Set the trend among competitors
Leadership
General Colin Powell said, “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says possible” (DiGenio, 2003). Leadership is an intuitive form of management that seeks to overcome challenges entailing creative skills in order to make sense of uncertainty whereas management simply looks over the day-to-day activities of an organization. Managers tend to work within the box and concentrate on the here and now. On the other hand, leaders look outside of the box to see the big picture and focus on a much broader scope that ventures beyond the tomorrow. Leaders therefore, tend to inspire people to want to get the job done (2003). These are some of the factors that the leader at Synergetic needs to weigh to implement the strategy for change. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision the people will perish”. Therefore, a good leader must bring a vision with him or her to the organization with clearly defined goals and objectives on the direction that he or she wants the organization to go. The leader at Synergetic should have established priorities on how employees will be encouraged and motivated to want to facilitate a change for the company. There should be unambiguous guidelines of expectations with incentives for performance. Finally, there should always be an adherence to the golden rule; do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Resistance
Resistance to change can be overt or implicit; immediate or deferred. When resistance is overt and immediate, the organization can deal with the situation right away whereas when resistance is implicit and deferred, it is subtle and grows in resentment towards the organization. Hence, it is more difficult to recognize and the organization ultimately suffers. The most frequent reasons for resistance is the fear of the unknown, real concern for security secondary to economic factors, lack of communication, lack of power and force of habit (Robinson, 2006). Therefore, it is generally understood that change can bring a loss of comfort and security.
When faced with change, there is a sense of uncertainty because of not knowing what the future will bring. There is a threat to the investment that people have made in the status quo. They fear loss of statue, money, authority, friends or other benefits that they value. If people feel that they are in a position to lose more than they will gain in the transition, then there will be resistance. There is a feeling that they are being punished and that the change is being forced upon them especially when the purpose has not been made clear. Then there is the typical resistance because of dogmatism, habit and having faced a previous change that failed. Changes are simply disruptions of one’s life that is not acceptable in the uncertainties of the today therefore, people who will resist are going to naturally resist until the vision is made clear and the threat is resolved.
There are several strategies to use in alleviating resistance to change. Communication is a key element in empowering employees to participate in the change process. This allows the employee to be involved in the development of the new structure. Implementation of training programs allows employees to learn to adapt to the change and to cultivate new skills for new positions. Employing negotiation strategies will additionally assist in resolving resistance to change. Resistance to change is not always negative because it can be channeled to allow employees to release pent-up frustrations that they may have. This will allow management to address all concerns and could possibly reveal problems in the change process that has been overlooked (Robbins, 1989).
Leadership Recommendations
Leadership style is determined, in part, by how much the leader involves group members in decisions (Robinson, 2006). There are numerous styles of leadership; situational, transactional, transformational and charismatic. Based on my research, during a time of change, I would recommend a transformational leadership style for most situations of change management. The description given in McShane (2005), of a transformational leader is one who creates a strategic vision, communicates that vision, models the vision, and builds commitment to the vision. Transformational leaders shape a strategic vision on a realistic future that bonds employees together to focus on the organizational goals for the future which is accepted and valued by the members. The transformational leader communicates the vision’s meaning and elevates the importance of the visionary goal to the employees. This causes employees to strive towards reaching the objectives of the organization. Transformational leaders walk the talk by stepping outside their comfort zone and put into practice what they say. They are focused, reliable and persistent in staying the course. The more consistent a leader’s actions are with their words, the more employees will believe and follow the leader all the while establishing trust that is centered on success. Chart 2 identifies the elements of transformational leadership.
Chart 2
Conclusion
The world is continuously changing and forces infringe upon organizations which makes change inevitable. Change will come but it is how we adapt to the change that will make the difference. Without change, progress ceases and growth dies.
References
Burns & Stalker. (1961). Management of Innovation (p. 19). London: Tavistock Publications.
DiGenio, J. (2003). Reflections on leadership-grow leaders! Armed Forces Comptroller, (Fall). Retrieved March 18, 2006, from http://www.allbusiness.com
McShane & Von Glinow. (2005). Organizational behvior: emerging realities for the workplace revolution (3rd). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Potter, S. (1993). A Social History of the T-Group. Groupvine, (Spring). Retrieved March 18, 2006, from http://www.psicopolis.com
Robbins, S. (1989). Organizational Behavior (4th, p. 302). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Robinson, R. (2006). [ORG 502 Overheads-Week 5-Change]. Unpublished raw data.
