THE CHALLENGES OF CHANGE
Hello Duncan,
Thanks for the informative article. I do agree with your facts. There are a few points in your article I would like to emphasise on.
In the business world, the starting point for any change could either desire (as you stated) to make business better, or could be changes in the external forces that are prompting the business to consider making changes. There could be changes in external factors of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, or Legal nature that can put an organization out of its comfort zone require the business to make internal changes if the organization is to survive.
Kurt Lewin proposed a three-stage theory of change commonly referred to as Unfreeze-Change-Freeze (or Refreeze). According to Lewin [1958], the first step in the process of changing behavior is to unfreeze the existing situation. Only then can change, or movement, occur. Finally, to make the new behaviors stick, a third, refreezing step is necessary.
In my opinion, the biggest challenge is Resistance to change, and this should be tackled at the Unfreeze Stage. The simple reason for resistance is that change is usually perceived as disruptive. There is inherent fear in humans that change is risky and change threatens one’s survival within the organization. As a result, it is difficult to get commitment.
Commitment means setting up a solid team structure to drive the change and getting a buy-in from all individuals that will be affected by the change. So the change team should have a strong change champion and effective change agents to spread the change gospel to the rest of the members in the organization. Commitment is earned through use of effective communication. Effective Communication means including all affected individuals right from the beginning of the change motion (at the Unfreeze Stage).
A new challenge emerges if change progresses to the next stage (the Transition stage). Even though the change ultimate goals had been and agreed by all
Thanks for the informative article. I do agree with your facts. There are a few points in your article I would like to emphasise on.
In the business world, the starting point for any change could either desire (as you stated) to make business better, or could be changes in the external forces that are prompting the business to consider making changes. There could be changes in external factors of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, or Legal nature that can put an organization out of its comfort zone require the business to make internal changes if the organization is to survive.
Kurt Lewin proposed a three-stage theory of change commonly referred to as Unfreeze-Change-Freeze (or Refreeze). According to Lewin [1958], the first step in the process of changing behavior is to unfreeze the existing situation. Only then can change, or movement, occur. Finally, to make the new behaviors stick, a third, refreezing step is necessary.
In my opinion, the biggest challenge is Resistance to change, and this should be tackled at the Unfreeze Stage. The simple reason for resistance is that change is usually perceived as disruptive. There is inherent fear in humans that change is risky and change threatens one’s survival within the organization. As a result, it is difficult to get commitment.
Commitment means setting up a solid team structure to drive the change and getting a buy-in from all individuals that will be affected by the change. So the change team should have a strong change champion and effective change agents to spread the change gospel to the rest of the members in the organization. Commitment is earned through use of effective communication. Effective Communication means including all affected individuals right from the beginning of the change motion (at the Unfreeze Stage).
A new challenge emerges if change progresses to the next stage (the Transition stage). Even though the change ultimate goals had been and agreed by all