Organizational Development

Session 03

Shamalka Uduwella
Senior Consultant/ Lecturer
National Institute of business Management
Kandy Capmus
 Theories of Planned Change
• Conceptions of planned change have tended to focus
on how change can be implemented in organizations.
• “Theories of changing,” these frameworks describe the
activities that must take place to initiate and carry out
successful organizational change
• Mainly discussed three theories
 Theories of Planned Change

Theories of planned change

Kurt Lewin Model

Action Research Model

Positive Model
Kurt Lewin Model
 Theories of Planned Change
Lewin’s Change Theory
Consists of three distinct and vital stages:


“Unfreezing”

 “Moving to a new level or Changing”

 “Refreezing”
 Case of a Government office where typewriters are going to
be replaced by computers

 Here, apprehension about learning computer and

unwillingness to accept the change can be restraining
force.
 And, up-gradation of knowledge and increase in
productivity can be a positive driving force.
 “Unfreezing”
 This starts by challenging many of the beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviour of people within the organization.
 Motivation for change should be generated before change
can occur.
 During this everyone feels that things are becoming off
balance as new system will make their job difficult.
 We need to sell the benefits of the change to everyone involved i.
e. benefits of replacing type- writers with computers
 Also address any doubts or concerns.
 Introducing Change/Moving to the New
Level
 Once the organization has gone through the unfreeze stage,
effective change can begin within the organization.
 Time and frequent communication are two key factors for the
change to occur.
 People need to understand the changes as they occur and feel
that they are part of the change.
 Some take a long time to learn the computers.
 This can lead to fear and rumours that need to be handled
quickly which should be taken care of.
 “Refreezing”

 It is the process to integrate the new behavior into the person’s

thinking and attitude.
 Once the changes have taken effect, we need to make them
believe that their productivity and knowledge will go up as the
start learning computer.
 One should make sure that people get comfortable in using the
computers.
 Also to provide clear communications, support and training.
 And to celebrate the successful completion of changes.
 THEORIES OF PLANNED CHANGE

2. Action Research Model Problem identification

Consultation with behavioural science
experts
Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis

Feedback to a key client or group Joint

diagnosis of the problem (with the

management by OD expert)

Joint action planning

Action

Data gathering after action

Action Research Model
• Problem Identification
At this stage, a key executive senses the existence of problems they can
be alleviated with the help of an organization development practitioner
• Consultant with an Experts
Once the problem(s) has been sensed, it is understood that there is a
solution to such problem(s), the help of an OD expert is sought
Action Research Model
• Data gathering and Preliminary Diagnosis
This step is usually completed by the OD practitioner, often in conjunction with
organization members.
It involves gathering appropriate information and analyzing it to determine the
underlying causes of organizational problems.
The four basic methods of gathering data
• interviews
• process observation
• questionnaires
• organizational performance data (unfortunately, often overlooked).
Action Research Model
• Feedback to a Key Client or Group
The gathered data is passed on the key client/ group to determine the
strengths and weaknesses of the area under study, with the consultant
providing the client all relevant and useful data.
• Joint Diagnosis of the Problem.
At this point, members discuss the feedback and explore with the OD
practitioner whether they want to work on identified problems. A close
interrelationship exists among data gathering, feedback, and diagnosis
because the consultant summarizes the basic data from the client members
and presents the data to them for validation and further diagnosis
Action Research Model
• Joint Action Planning.
OD practitioner and the client members jointly agree on further actions
to be taken. This is the beginning of the moving process (described in
Lewin’s change model), as the organization decides how best to reach a
different quasi-stationary equilibrium.
At this stage, the specific action to be taken depends on the culture,
technology, and environment of the organization; the diagnosis of the
problem; and the time and expense of the intervention.
• Action.
This stage involves the actual change from one organizational state to
another. It may include installing new methods and procedures,
reorganizing structures and work designs, and reinforcing new behaviors
Action Research Model
• Data Gathering After Action.
Because action research is a cyclical process, data must also be
gathered after the action has been taken to measure and determine
the effects of the action and to feed the results back to the
organization. This, in turn, may lead to rediagnosis and new action
 THEORIES OF PLANNED CHANGE
3. The Positive Model – focuses on “what the organization is doing
right” and not problems.
a. Initiate the inquiry
b. Inquire into best practices
c. Discover the themes – based on stories of people, i.e., how
managers managed
d. Envision a preferred future – employees identify themes and
change status quo
e. Design and deliver – design & deliver ways to create future – describe
activities and create plans to bring about the vision.
Bruke - Letwin Organisational Model