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Kurt Lewin three step model change theory

Introduction: Change is a common thread that runs through all businesses regardless of size, industry and age. Our world is changing fast and, as such, organizations must change quickly too. Organizations that handle change well thrive, whilst those that do not may struggle to survive. The concept of "change management" is a familiar one in most businesses today. But, how businesses manage change (and how successful they are at it) varies enormously depending on the nature of the business, the change and the people involved. And a key part of this depends on how far people within it understand the change process. One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by Kurt Lewin back in the 1940s, and still holds true today. His model is known as Unfreeze Change Refreeze, refers to the three-stage process of change he describes. Lewin, a physicist as well as social scientist, explained organizational change using the analogy of changing the shape of a block of ice.

Page |2 The Kurt Lewin model can help a leader do the following three steps:

Make a radical change Minimize the disruption of the structures operations Make sure that the change is adopted permanently Understanding Lewin's Model

If you have a large cube of ice, but realize that what you want is a cone of ice, what do you do? First you must melt the ice to make it amenable to change (unfreeze). Then you must mold the iced water into the shape you want (change). Finally, you must solidify the new shape (refreeze). By looking at change as process with distinct stages, you can prepare yourself for what is coming and make a plan to manage the transition looking before you leap, so to speak. All too often, people go into change blindly, causing much unnecessary turmoil and chaos. To begin any successful change process, you must first start by understanding why the change must take place. As Lewin put it, "Motivation for change must be generated before change can occur. One must be helped to re-examine many cherished assumptions about oneself and one's relations to others." This is the unfreezing stage from which change begins. Lewin change model Unfreeze ready to change This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves break down the existing status quo before you can build up a new way of operating. Key to this is developing a compelling message showing why the existing way of doing things cannot continue. This is easiest to frame when you can point to declining sales figures, poor financial results, worrying customer satisfaction surveys, or suchlike: These show that things have to change in a way that everyone can understand. To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core you need to challenge the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that currently define it. Using the

Page |3 analogy of a building, you must examine and be prepared to change the existing foundations as they might not support add-on storeys; unless this is done, the whole building may risk collapse. This first part of the change process is usually the most difficult and stressful. When you start cutting down the "way things are done", you put everyone and everything off balance. You may evoke strong reactions in people, and that's exactly what needs to done. By forcing the organization to re-examine its core, you effectively create a (controlled) crisis, which in turn can build a strong motivation to seek out a new equilibrium. Without this motivation, you won't get the buy-in and participation necessary to effect any meaningful change. Lewin change model Change transition After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage, the change stage is where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction. The transition from unfreeze to change does not happen overnight: People take time to embrace the new direction and participate proactively in the change. A related change model, the Change Curve, focuses on the specific issue of personal transitions in a changing environment and is useful for understanding this specific aspect in more detail. In order to accept the change and contribute to making the change successful, people need to understand how the changes will benefit them. Not everyone will fall in line just because the change is necessary and will benefit the company. This is a common assumption and pitfall that should be avoided. Time and communication are the two keys to success for the changes to occur. People need time to understand the changes and they also need to feel highly connected to the organization throughout the transition period. When you are managing change, this can require a great deal of time and effort and hands-on management is usually the best approach.

Page |4 Lewin change model Refreeze (Stuck it) When the changes are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, the organization is ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization chart, consistent job descriptions, and so on. The refreeze stage also needs to help people and the organization internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making sure that the changes are used all the time; and that they are incorporated into everyday business. With a new sense of stability, employees feel confident and comfortable with the new ways of working. The rationale for creating a new sense of stability in our every changing world is often questioned. Even though change is a constant in many organizations, this refreezing stage is still important. Without it, employees get caught in a transition trap where they aren't sure how things should be done, so nothing ever gets done to full capacity. In the absence of a new frozen state, it is very difficult to tackle the next change initiative effectively. How do you go about convincing people that something needs changing if you haven't allowed the most recent changes to sink in? Change will be perceived as change for change's sake, and the motivation required to implement new changes simply won't be there. As part of the Refreezing process, make sure that you celebrate the success of the change this helps people to find closure, thanks them for enduring a painful time, and helps them believe that future change will be successful. Change will only reach its full effect if its made permanent. Once the organizational changes have been made and the structure has regained its effectiveness, every effort must be made to cement them and make sure the new organization becomes the standard. Further changes will be made down the line, but once the structure has found a way to improve the way it conducts its operations, re-freezing will give the people the opportunity to thrive in the new organization and take full advantage of the change.

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Systems Theory in OD

Brief Systems Theory was first introduced by Van Bertalanffy (1950) and was introduced into the organizational setting by Kataz and Khan (1966). Systems theory is an approach to

organizations which likens the enterprise to an organism with interdependent parts, each with its own specific function and interrelated responsibilities. The system may be the whole organization, a division, department or team; but whether the whole or a part, it is important for the OD practitioner to understand how the system operates, and the relationship the parts of the organization have. The emphasis in OD is that that real systems are open to, and interact with, their environments, and it is possible to acquire new properties through emergence, resulting in continual evolution. Rather than reducing an organization to the properties of its parts or elements, systems theory focuses on the arrangement of and relations between the parts which connect them into a whole. Key points The organization is an open system, which interacts with the environment and is continually adapting and improving. The organization influences and is influenced by the environment in which it operates If an organization is to be effective it must pay attention to the external environment, and take steps to adjust itself to accommodate the changes in order to remain relevant All part of the organization are interconnected and interdependent; If one part of the system is affected, all parts are. It is not possible to know everything about the system, but if you look hard enough there are plenty of clues.

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Applying Systems Theory in an OD Intervention Use mixed groups to achieve a rich understanding how the change is seen from different perspectives. Generate a holistic view of what must be done to give the organization a secure future Use diagnostic events to enhance peoples understanding of important

independencies and to support them in devising a way forward Help different sub-systems to work well together in independent areas Use processes that will increase collaboration across units Honor the primacy of relationship between different groups Where possible bring in outside bodies/data to stimulate the organization to think about the issues Expose people to the outside world in which the organization operates Ensure the organization stays externally sensitive and not insulated in their perspective. Help the leadership team understand that they dont have all the data required to manage change the organization desires.

A system has five basic qualities The system is designed to accomplish an objective The system has an established arrangement The elements of the arrangement are dependent on each other The system thrives on the flow of information, energy, and materials. Overall objectives of the systems are more important than that of individual elements.

Page |7 With any organization, the environment will flow into the open system, requiring change for continued success. The goal is to maintain a high performing system. There are five considerations in pursuit of this goal The business situation (forces in the environment) The business strategy (goals, values) The design elements (technology, structure) Culture Results

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The Diagnostic Component

Introduction Organizational Diagnosis is an effective ways of looking at an organization to determine gaps between current and desired performance and how it can achieve its goals. Effective diagnosis should be an organic process in that as you start to look at an organization and its structures and what it does and does not do, change starts, as change progress so does the now performance and as such the diagnosis process also needs to re start. With each iteration of a diagnostic process so new changes are identified and prioritized. This not only keeps the development process alive it makes it the way we do business here. All too often in organizational diagnostics and development we focus on the new and interesting aspects of what we do. It is however vital that we periodically bring ourselves back to the basics The purpose of the organization is essentially a vehicle for producing profits for its owners. or delivering valued services to its clients in not for profits. To meet the goals and get the best return on investment (ROI), the owners of a company employ managers who are responsible for setting performance objectives and reaching then through the appropriate use of a number of resources such as people, equipment, machinery etc. The Diagnostic Cycle The purpose of a diagnosis is to identify problems facing the organization and to determine their causes so that management can plan solutions.

Page |9 An organizational diagnosis process is a powerful consciousness raising activity in its own right, its main usefulness lies in the action that it induces. The major steps of a diagnostic cycle include Orientation Goal setting Data gathering Analysis/ Interpretation Feedback Action Planning Implementation Monitoring/ Measure Evaluation

Forms of Diagnostic The focus of organizational diagnostics will be different in a range of situations, for example diagnosis for development or improvement will be different from diagnosis for remedial or problem solving, although the methodologies may be similar. While the diagnostic tools may well be similar, the application and outputs can be very different. History of Organizational Development and the lead to Organizational Diagnostics Kurt Lewin is said to have played a key role in the early development of organization development as we understand it today. As early as the 1940s, Lewin experimented with a change process which was collaborative in nature and involved himself as consultant and a client group. The process was based on a three-step approach of planning, taking action, and measuring results. This was the beginning of what has become known as action research. This is a fundamental part of Organizational development. Later Lewin participated in the beginnings of laboratory training, or T-groups when after his death in 1947, his associates in the field

P a g e | 10 continued to develop survey-research methods at the University of Michigan. These procedures became important parts of OD as developments in this field continued at the National Training Laboratories (US) and in growing numbers of universities and private consulting firms across the world. The failure of off-site laboratory training to live up to its early promise was one of the important forces stimulating the development of OD. Laboratory training is learning from a persons here and now (Gestalt) experience as a member of an ongoing training group (T Group). Such groups usually meet without a specific agenda. Their purpose is for the members to learn about themselves from their spontaneous here and now responses to an ambiguous hypothetical situation. Problems of leadership, structure, status, communication, and self-serving behavior typically arise in such a group. The members have an opportunity to learn something about themselves and to practice such skills as listening, observing others, and functioning as effective group members. Initially the approach was practiced in stranger groups, or groups composed of individuals from different organizations, situations, and backgrounds. Over time a major difficulty developed, however, in transferring knowledge gained from these stranger labs to the actual situation back home. This required a transfer between two different organizational cultures, the relatively safe and protected environment of the T-group (or training group) and the give-and-take of the organizational environment with its traditional values. This led the early pioneers in this type of learning to begin to apply it to family groups, that is groups located within an organization. From this shift in the locale of the training site and the realization that culture was an important factor in influencing group members (along with some other developments in the behavioral sciences) emerged the concept of organization development. Diagnosis of the culture was the next phase and has remained critical for long term success ever since.

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Components of Program Management

Definition of Program Management Program management is the act of, Leading, facilitating, and ensuring the strategic planning, implementation, coordination, integration, and evaluation of efficient and effective programmatic activities and administrative systems Developing, cultivating, and maintaining productive working relationships among staff and with partners through the creation of supportive communication channels and feedback mechanisms.

Purpose of Program Management Maximize available resources to implement all program components according to established policies and procedures Identify and leverage non-Federal resources Provide leadership in program planning, implementation, and evaluation Coordinate and administer program activities and supportive management systems

Program management allows organizations to manage complex bodies of work that combine software elements, hardware elements, new or changed business models, and changes to organizational structure and capabilities as a whole. It allows us to do this in a way so that the organization realizes benefits that it could not achieve if the programs constituent projects run separately.

P a g e | 12 Components of program management: Governance This aspect is concerned with defining the structure so that the program can be guided, both by the program manager and by senior managers. It is during this phase that roles and responsibilities will be defined. While the structure for managing projects is normally quite simple, the structure for managing programs will typically be much more complex, spanning multiple divisions within the organization.

Management This aspect relates to the planning and running of both the projects, which make up the program and the overall program itself. They are accountable for every aspect of quality, schedule, and budget. They will approve the project plans and provide guidance to the project teams.

Finance This aspect is concerned with the financial policies and practices governing the program execution. Because programs are much larger than projects, there will typically be, not just a greater cost incurred in running a program, but also a greater variety of costs incurred.

Infrastructure If anything, this is the aspect of the role that most resembles project management. By Infrastructure we are referring to a variety of different things. Making sure issues are managed. Making sure that risks are managed. Ensuring that resources are coordinated. It also encompasses making sure that all communication are well thought out and well coordinated.

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Planning Program management is also concerned greatly with planning. This is not planning how you might think of it within a project management context. Project plans are concerned with deliverables and work packages. Program plans are an integrated visualization of the key deliverables of the program, and they will be structured such so as to best realize benefits to the organization.

All of the above categories may seem similar in essence to project management, but they are not. In program management, these activities are much broader in their scope and concerned with benefits rather than deliverables.

Conclusion These four concepts are very much important for a successful organizational development. A company must focus on establishing these factors clearly before setting the business goals. In this assignment, I have tried to gather detailed information about those four concepts of OD.

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