Essentials of Organizational BehaviorFourteenth EditionChapt

Essentials of Organizational Behavior
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 17
Organizational Change and Stress Management
Copyright © 2018, 2016, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
Rights Reserved.
Rights Reserved.
1
After studying this chapter you should be able to: (1 of 2)
Contrast the forces for change and planned change.
Describe ways to overcome resistance to change.
Compare the four main approaches to managing organizational
change.
Demonstrate three ways of creating a culture for change.
Rights Reserved.
After studying this chapter you should be able to: (2 of 2)
Identify the potential environmental, organizational, and
personal sources of stress at work as well as the role of
individual and cultural differences.
Identify the physiological, psychological, and behavioral
symptoms of stress at work.
Describe individual and organizational approaches to managing

stress at work.
Rights Reserved.
Forces for Change
Nature of the workforce
Technology
Economic shocks
Competition
Social trends
World politics
Rights Reserved.
There are many forces that stimulate change, including the
nature of the workforce, technology, economic shocks,
competition, social trends, and world politics. All these things
can create change in a workplace.
4
Reactionary versus Planned Change
Change:
Making things different
Planned change:
Change activities that are intentional and goal oriented
Change agents:
People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for
managing change activities
Rights Reserved.
In this chapter, we address change as an intentional, goal -
oriented activity.

5
Resistance to Change
People tend to resist change, even in the face of evidence of its
benefits
Can be positive if it leads to open discussion and debate
Remember, not all change is good
Change agents need to carefully think through the implications
Rights Reserved.
Whenever change is present, there is resistance to change.
Individuals and groups become comfortable with things that are
familiar, and change threatens the status quo. There are
different ways that change is resisted by employees.
It is important to note that not all change is good. Speed can
lead to bad decisions; sometimes those initiating change fail to
realize the full magnitude of the effects or their true costs.
Change can be good, but change agents need to carefully think
through its implications.
6
Sources of Resistance
Individual
Habit
Security
Economic factors
Fear of the unknown
Selective information processing
Organizational
Structural inertia
Limited focus of change
Group inertia
Threat to expertise
Threat to established power relationships and resource

allocations
Rights Reserved.
There are many sources of resistance to change, as seen in this
slide. It can take the form of individual resistance, such as fear
of the unknown or security issues, or organizational resistance,
such as threat to expertise, structural inertia, or limited focus of
change.
7
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Communication
Participation
Building support and commitment
Developing positive relationships
Implementing changes fairly
Manipulation and cooptation
Selecting people who accept change
Coercion
Rights Reserved.
When managers face resistance to change, there are some useful
tactics they can utilize to help people overcome it. These tactics
include communication, getting people to participate in the
process, and building support and commitment. It can also
include developing positive relationships and being sure to
implement the change fairly by applying a consistent and fair
process, using manipulation and co-optation to spin the message
in order to gain cooperation, or selecting people from the
beginning who are more willing to accept change. Finally, a
manager can resort to coercion, using direct threats and force to
make people change. This is rarely a good option.

8
Approaches to Managing Organizational Change
Lewin’s Three-Step Model of Change
Kotter’s Eight-Step Model of the Change Process
Action Research
Organizational Development
Rights Reserved.
There are four main approaches to managing organizational
change. They are Lewin’s three-step model of change, Kotter’s
eight-step model of the change process, action research, and
organizational development.
9
Lewin’s Three-Step Model
Rights Reserved.
Lewin offers a three-step model to help facilitate the change
process. He sets forth that change efforts need to “unfreeze”
individual resistance and group conformity to help them move
forward, and then you need to refreeze the changes by balancing
driving and restraining forces. This will help to move people
through the change process and solidify the desired
behaviors/outcomes moving forward.
10
Unfreezing the Status Quo

Rights Reserved.
In the unfreezing stage, Lewin identifies driving and restraining
forces. Driving forces are those that direct behavior away from
the status quo. Restraining forces are those that hinder
movement from the existing equilibrium.
11
Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan
Create urgency
Form coalition
Create new vision
Communicate the vision
Empower others
Reward “wins”
Consolidate improvements
Reinforce the change
Unfreezing
Movement
Refreezing
Rights Reserved.
Kotter also offers a model to look at change that builds on the
initial ideas of Lewin. He sets forth the following eight steps:
Establish a sense of urgency.
Form a coalition.
Create a new vision.
Communicate the vision.
Empower others by removing barriers.
Create and reward short-term “wins.”
Consolidate, reassess, and adjust.
Reinforce the changes.
12

Action Research
Action research: Change process based on the systematic
collection of data and the selection of a change action based on
what the analyzed data indicate
Five steps:
Diagnosis
Analysis
Feedback
Action
Evaluation
Rights Reserved.
Action research provides at least two specific benefits. First,
it’s problem-focused. The change agent objectively looks for
problems, and the type of problem determines the type of
change action.
A second benefit of action research is the lowering of
resistance. Because action research engages employees so
thoroughly in the process, it reduces resistance to change.
13
Organizational Development
Organizational development:
A collection of change methods that try to improve
organizational effectiveness and employee well-being
Rights Reserved.
Organizational development is an area of study that is set up to
determine what an organization needs to improve its
effectiveness and employee well-being. Some organizational
development values include respect for people, trust and

support, power equalization, confrontation, and participation.
14
OD Interventions
Sensitivity Training
Change behavior through unstructured group interaction
Survey Feedback
Gathering data and acting on it
Process Consultation
Using outside consultants
Team Building
Increase trust and openness
Intergroup Development
Change attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions
Appreciative Inquiry
Discovering what the organization does right
Rights Reserved.
There are six commonly used organizational development
techniques.
Sensitivity training tried to change behavior through
unstructured group interaction.
The second technique is the survey feedback approach where
the organization will use a questionnaire to identify
discrepancies among member perceptions and then follow up
with discussions and plans for improvement.
Process consultation is the third technique. This method
involves a consultant who gives clients some insight into what
is happening in the organization and helps to identify a process
for improvement.
The fourth technique is engaging in team-building tools to
increase trust and openness through increased interactions.
Intergroup development is an organizational development tool
that attempts to change the attitudes, stereotypes, and

perceptions that groups may have of each other.
Finally, the appreciative inquiry. This process seeks to identify
the unique qualities and special strengths of an organization,
which are used to build on to improve performance through a
process. This process includes discovery (identifying the
strengths of the organization), dreaming (speculating on the
future of the organization), designing (finding a common
vision), and destiny (deciding how to fulfill the dream).
15
Creating a Culture for Change
Paradox theory:
The key paradox in management is that there is no final optimal
status for an organization
Copyright © 2018, 2016, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Al l
Rights Reserved.
There is some evidence that managers who think holistically
and recognize the importance of balancing paradoxical factors
are more effective, especially in generating adaptive and
creative behaviors in those they are managing.
16
Stimulating a Culture of Innovation
Innovation: A new idea applied to initiating or improving a
product, process, or service
Sources of innovation:
Organic structure
Long tenure in management
Slack resources
High interunit communication
Context and innovation
Idea champions and innovation

Rights Reserved.
Innovation is a new idea applied to the beginning or
improvement of a product, process, or service. Innovations can
range from small incremental improvements to radical
breakthroughs. Organizations can seek innovation through
changing structure, creating a culture of creativity, or hiring an
innovative workforce.
17
Idea Champions
Idea champions: Managers who actively and enthusiastically
promote an idea, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure
that innovation is implemented
Have high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and acceptance
of risk
Use inspiration and vision to gain commitment
Have decision-making discretion
Rights Reserved.
For innovation to occur there needs to be an idea champion who
actively promotes the innovation.
An idea champion is someone who actively and enthusiastically
promotes an idea, builds support, overcomes resistance, and
ensures that innovation is implemented. A manager must have
high energy and be willing to accept risk. They must use
inspiration and vision to gain commitment and have the
authority to make decisions.
Effective managers alter their organizatio n’s championing
strategies to reflect cultural values. In a collectivist culture, a
cross-functional approach might be more effective, for example.
Similarly, in high power-distance cultures, idea champions
might work closely with superiors to get approval for innovative
activity before work begins.

18
Creating a Learning Organization
Learning organization:
An organization that has developed the continuous capacity to
adapt and change
Managing learning:
Establish a strategy
Redesign the organization’s structure
Reshape the organization’s culture
Rights Reserved.
A learning organization has developed the continuous capacity
to adapt and change.
19
Characteristics of a Learning Organization
Rights Reserved.
A learning organization has five basic characteristics.
20
Work Stress
Stress: A dynamic condition in which an individual is
confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to
what is desired and for which the outcome is perceived to be
both uncertain and important
Rights Reserved.

When change occurs, stress is found throughout the
organization. Stress is defined as a dynamic condition in which
an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or
resource related to what he or she desires and for which the
outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
21
Types of Work Stress
Challenge Stress: associated with workload, pressure to
complete tasks, and time urgency
Can be positive
Hindrance Stress: comes from obstacles to achieving goals
Mostly negative
Usually stress is associated with demands and resources
Rights Reserved.
There are different types of stress. Challenge stress is stress
associated with workload, pressure to get work done, and time
constraints. Hindrance stressors are those things that keep you
from reaching your goals, such as uncooperative employees or
red tape. This can cause more stress than challenge stress often
does.
Stress is typically associated with demands (responsibilities,
pressures, obligations, and uncertainties individuals face in the
workplace) and resources (things within an individual’s control
that he can use to resolve the demands).
While early research tended to emphasize such a homeostatic, or
balanced equilibrium, perspective, it has now become clear that
no single ideal state exists. Instead, it’s more accurate to talk
about allostatic models, in which demands shift, resources shift,
and systems of addressing imbalances shift. Through allostasis,
we work to find stability by changing our behaviors and

attitudes.
22
A Model of Stress
Rights Reserved.
What causes stress? A meta-analysis of responses from more
than 35,000 individuals showed role ambiguity, role conflict,
role overload, job insecurity, environmental uncertainty, and
situational constraints were all consistently negatively related
to job performance.
Stress shows itself in a number of ways, such as high blood
pressure, ulcers, irritability, difficulty making routine decisions,
changes in appetite, accident proneness, and the like. These
symptoms fall under three general categories: physiological,
psychological, and behavioral symptoms.
23
Managing Stress
Organizational
Selection and placement
Goal-setting programs
Job redesign
Employee involvement
Employee sabbaticals
Organizational communication
Wellness programs
Individual
Time management
Physical activity
Relaxation techniques
Social support network

Rights Reserved.
Stress needs to be managed and maintained at a healthy level.
Individuals often manage stress through time management
techniques, physical exercise, or expanding their social support
network. Organizations can also help employees manage stress
by providing training, realistic goal setting, solid designing of
jobs, offering employee sabbaticals, and establishing a wellness
program.
24
Implications for Managers
You are a change agent for your organization. The decisions
that you make and your role-modeling will help shape the
organization’s change culture.
Your management policies and practices will determine the
degree to which the organization learns and adapts to changing
environmental factors.
Some stress is good.
You can help alleviate harmful workplace stress for you and any
employees you supervise by accurately matching workloads to
employees, providing employees with stress-coping resources,
and responding to their concerns.
You can identify extreme stress when performance declines,
turnover increases, health-related absenteeism increases, and
engagement declines. Stay alert for early indicators and be
proactive.
Rights Reserved.
Change is inevitable, especially in today’s market, so it is
critical for managers to have the skill set to deal with it, as it
impacts every aspect of organizational behavior.

If an organization is to remain competitive, it must learn to
operate in a changing environment. Managers must take on the
role of change agents and be the champions for innovation.
25
Copyright
Rights Reserved.
Essentials of Organizational Behavior
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 6
Perception and Individual Decision Making
Rights Reserved.
Rights Reserved.
Rights Reserved.
1
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Explain the factors that influence perception.
Describe attribution theory.
Explain the link between perception and decision making.
Contrast the rational model of decision making with bounded
rationality and intuition.
Explain how individual differences and organizational

constraints affect decision making.
Contrast the three ethical decision criteria.
Describe the three-stage model of creativity.
Rights Reserved.
2
Perception
Perception: A process by which individuals organize and
interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to
their environment
The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally
important
Rights Reserved.
Perception is the way people organize the massive amounts of
information they receive into patterns that give it meaning.
People will use their perceptions of reality, not reality itself, to
decide how to behave.
3
Factors Influencing Perception
Rights Reserved.
There are many factors that influence people’s perceptions. The
factors are either in the perceiver, such as attitudes and
experience; in the situation, such as social setting and time; or
in the target, such as sounds, size, or background.
4

Perception
Situation
Perceiver
Target
Person Perception: Attribution Theory
Attribution Theory: Suggests that perceivers try to “attribute”
the observed behavior to a type of cause:
Internal – behavior is believed to be under the personal control
of the individual
External – the person is forced into the behavior by outside
events/causes
Rights Reserved.
The attribution theory helps us to understand our perceptions
about others. Research has shown that our perceptions about
others are based upon the assumptions we make about them. The
attribution theory says that when we observe behavior we try to
determine if it is internally or externally driven. If it is
internally driven, than it is under the person’s control, whereas
external causes are not under the individual’s control.
5
Determinants of Attribution
Distinctiveness – whether an individual displays different

behaviors in different situations (the uniqueness of the act)
Consensus – does everyone who faces a similar situation
respond in the same way as the individual did?
Consistency – does the person respond the same way over time?
Rights Reserved.
We can use three factors to help us decide if behavior is
internally or externally controlled: distinctiveness, consensus,
consistency. Distinctiveness shows different behaviors in
different situations. Consensus looks at the response and
compares it to others in the same situation to see if it is
consistent with the behaviors of others. Consistency looks to
see if the response is the same over time.
6
Attribution Theory
Rights Reserved.
This chart looks at the elements of the attribution theory and
helps us to make the connection between external or internal
driven factors.
7
Attribution Errors and Biases
Fundamental attribution error:
Tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and
overestimate that of internal factors
Self-serving bias: Occurs when individuals overestimate their
own (internal) influence on successes and overestimate the
external influences on their failures

The basic process of attribution applies across cultures, but
Western cultures tend to be more individualist, while Asian
cultures are more group oriented
Rights Reserved.
There are errors and biases in the attributions we make. First,
we often tend to underestimate the influence of external factors
and overestimate the influence of internal factors. This is
called the fundamental attribution error. The next common
error is the self-serving bias. This bias exists when individuals
attribute their own successes to internal factors and blame
external factors when they don’t have success.
Culture plays a role in the attributions people make. Western
cultures tend to focus on the individual, while Asian cultures
are more group oriented.
8
Shortcuts Used in Judging Others
Selective Perception: A perceptual filtering process based on
interests, background, and attitude
Halo Effect: Drawing a general impression based on a single
characteristic
Contrast Effects: Our reaction is influenced by others we have
recently encountered (the context of the observation)
Stereotyping: Judging someone on the basis of the perception of
the group to which they belong
Rights Reserved.
There are some frequently used shortcuts in judging others.
People will utilize past experience, their attitudes, and their
interests to interpret information on their own biases, often
misperceiving the situation.

Judgment can also utilize the halo effect, where individuals
draw generally favorable impressions about an individual using
a single characteristic.
Contrast effects occur when we are making judgments about an
individual and comparing them to other individuals we have
recently encountered.
Stereotyping is when we judge someone on the basis of
perception of the group to which he or she belongs.
9
The Link Between Perception and Decision Making
Decision making occurs as a reaction to a perceived problem
Perception influences:
Awareness that a problem exists
The interpretation and evaluation of information
Bias of analysis and conclusions
Rights Reserved.
In organizational behavior we are concerned with how decisions
are made and perceptions play a significant role in that process .
Often decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem or a
perceived discrepancy between the way things are and they way
we would like them to be. A decision is then made based on
various alternatives that have been developed from the data
collected. Perception influences this entire process from
problem recognition to data selection to alternative chosen.
10
Rational Decision-Making Model
Rational decision-making model
Define the problem

Identify the decision criteria
Allocate weights to the criteria
Develop the alternatives
Evaluate the alternatives
Select the best alternative
This model is seldom actually used: it’s more of a goal than a
practical method
Rights Reserved.
Decision making is done by individuals but occurs in
organizations. There are some models that can help us in
thinking through decision making in organizations. The first is
the rational decision-making model.
The steps are outlined in this slide. Although this is a good
model, it is more of a goal than a practical method.
11
Bounded Rationality
The limited information-processing capability of human beings
makes it impossible to assimilate and understand all the
information necessary to optimize
People seek solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient, rather
than optimal (they “satisfice”)
Bounded rationality is constructing simplified models that
extract the essential features from problems without capturing
all their complexity
Rights Reserved.
The second model, bounded reality, represents more of the real
world where it seeks solutions that are the best given the
information that is available. Basically, bounded rationality

constructs simplified models that identify the essential features
from problems without getting into all their complexity.
12
Decision Making in Bounded Rationality
Simpler than rational decision making, decision making under
bounded rationality is composed of three steps:
Limited search for criteria and alternatives – familiar criteria
and easily found alternatives
Limited review of alternatives – focus on alternatives, similar to
those already in effect
Satisficing – selecting the first alternative that is “good
enough”
Rights Reserved.
This slide details the three key steps in bounded rationality
decision making which makes it a much more simple process
than the rational decision-making model.
13
Intuitive Decision Making
Intuitive decision making: A non-conscious process created out
of distilled experience
Increases with experience
Can be a powerful complement to rational analysis in decision
making
Rights Reserved.
The third model is based on intuition. This is the non-conscious
process that occurs as a result of experiences that result in
quick decisions.
14

Common Biases and Errors
Overconfidence Bias: As managers and employees become more
knowledgeable about an issue, the less likely they are to display
overconfidence
Anchoring Bias: A tendency to fixate on initial information and
fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information
Confirmation Bias: Seeking out information that reaffirms our
past choices and discounting information that contradicts past
judgments
Availability Bias: Basing judgments on readily available
information
Rights Reserved.
There are many biases and errors that occur in the decision-
making process. The overconfidence bias is when an individual
believes too much in his own ability to make good decisions.
The anchoring bias is when an individual makes decisions based
on the information received first and not on the new information
received. The next error often made is with the confirmation
bias where, during the decision-making process, the individual
uses only facts that support his decision. Availability bias
involves emphasizing information that is more readily at hand,
information that is recent and vivid.
15
More Biases and Errors
Randomness Error: Our tendency to believe we can predict the
outcome of random events
Escalation of Commitment: Staying with a decision even when
there is clear evidence that it is wrong
Risk Aversion: Preferring a sure thing over a risky outcome
Hindsight Bias: Believing falsely that we could have predicted
the outcome of an event after that outcome is already known

Rights Reserved.
Some additional decision-making errors include the escalation
of commitment error which occurs when there is an increasing
commitment to a decision in spite of evidence that it is the
wrong decision. Randomness error refers to our tendency to
think we have some control over our world.
Risk aversion is when the decision maker has a tendency to
prefer a sure thing over a risky outcome. The hindsight bias
occurs after an outcome is already known and then believing it
could have been accurately predicted beforehand.
16
Individual Differences on Decision Making
Personality
Gender
General mental ability
Cultural differences
Nudging
Rights Reserved.
There are many individual differences, including those based on
personality, gender, general mental ability, cultural differences,
and nudging that influence decision making and create
deviations from the rational model defined earlier.
17
Organizational Constraints on Decision Making
Performance evaluations
Reward systems
Formal regulations
System-imposed time constraints

Historical precedents
Rights Reserved.
There are many organizational constraints to good decision
making that create deviations from the rational model defined
earlier. Managers shape their decisions on performance
evaluations, reward systems, and formal regulations. They also
base decisions on system-imposed time constraints and
historical precedents. All these factors may influence the
decisions that are made.
18
Ethical Frameworks for Decision Making
Utilitarianism
Provide the greatest good for the greatest number
Rights
Make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and
privileges
Justice
Impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially so that there is
equal distribution of benefits and costs
Rights Reserved.
Ethics should play a role in decision making. There are three
ethical criteria that influence decisions. The first is
utilitarianism, where the decisions are based on the outcome of
the solution. The outcome is analyzed based on seeking the
greatest good for the greatest number of people and is the
dominant method for businesspeople. The second criterion is
rights, where decisions are based on fundamental liberties and
privileges in an attempt to protect the basic rights of
individuals. The final criterion is justice, where the decision

imposes rules in a fair and impartial manner and equitably
distributes benefits and costs.
19
Behavioral Ethics
Behavioral ethics
Analyzing how people actually behave when confronted with
ethical dilemmas
Rights Reserved.
Researchers have been exploring the field of behavioral ethics
which looks at how people behave when they are confronted
with ethical dilemmas. Studies show that we don’t always
follow the ethical standards promoted by our organizations and
sometimes also violate our own standards.
20
Creativity in Organizations
Creativity: The ability to produce novel and useful ideas
Helps people:
See problems others can’t see
Better understand the problem
Identify all viable alternatives
Identify alternatives that aren’t readily apparent
Rights Reserved.
Better decisions are those that incorporate novel and useful
ideas, or creativity. An organization will tend to make better
decisions when creative people are involved in the process. So
it is important to identify people who have that creative
potential. Some of the methods and theories identified in
earlier chapters can help in this process. For example, those

who score high in openness to experience tend to be more
creative.
21
Three-Stage Model of Creativity
Rights Reserved.
The core of the model is creative behavior, which has both
causes and effects.
22
Creative Behavior
Steps:
Problem formulation: identify a problem or opportunity that
requires a solution as yet unknown
Information gathering: possible solutions incubate in an
individual’s mind
Idea generation: develop possible solutions from relevant
information and knowledge
Idea evaluation: evaluate potential solutions and identify the
best one
Rights Reserved.
Creative behavior occurs in four steps, each of which leads to
the next. Problem formulation, information gathering, idea
generation, and idea evaluation.
23
Causes of Creative Behavior
Cause of creative behavior:
Intelligence

Personality
Expertise
Ethics
Creative environment
Motivation
Rewards and recognition
Rights Reserved.
Smart people tend to be more creative because they are better at
solving problems. Creative people also tend to be open to
experience, have proactive personalities, self-confidence, a
tolerance for ambiguity, and a willingness to take risks.
Expertise is the single most important predictor of creativity.
Ethics and creativity are not correlated – in fact, people who
cheat may actually be more creative. If you aren’t motivated to
be creative, it is unlikely you will be. Organizations need to
foster the free flow of ideas. Freedom from excessive rules
encourages creativity.
24
Creative Outcomes
Creative outcomes: ideas or solutions judged to be novel and
useful by relevant stakeholders
Rights Reserved.
Off-the-wall solutions are creative only if they help solve the
problem.
Creative ideas do not implement themselves; translating them
into creative outcomes is a social process that requires utilizing
other concepts addressed in the text.
25

Implications for Managers
Behavior follows perception, so to influence employee behavior
at work, assess how employees perceive their work.
Make better decisions by recognizing perceptual biases and
decision-making errors we tend to commit.
Adjust your decision-making approach to the national culture
you’re operating in and to the criteria your organization values.
Combine rational analysis with intuition.
Try to enhance your creativity.
Rights Reserved.
26
Copyright
Rights Reserved.
27
MGT 501 Lesson 8
Change
Objectives of This Presentation
Kurt Lewin’s 3-Stage Model
How it works
Why it works
Trust Conditions

The Power of Words
When it won’t work
Kotter’s 8 steps
Two kinds of training:
Lecture:
A formal presentation aimed at informing the recipients of
training as to what to believe, how to do something, and why
they should believe or do it.
Group Discussion:
With the help of a facilitator, the members reason out amongst
themselves what to believe is true and right, how best to do
something, and why they should do it.
Both of these methods can be effective, but if you want to
change people’s thinking, one of them is better than the other.
3
In support of the second of these approaches, Kurt Lewin (1947)
gave the following example:
Two groups of mothers were presented with information about
the benefits of fresh milk.
The first group was presented a “good” lecture on this topic.
The second group was involved in a discussion leading step by
step to the decision to increase milk consumption.
Pressure was intentionally avoided.
The amount of time used by the two groups was equal.

Percentage of mothers who reported an increase in the use of
fresh milk after 2 and 4 weeks:
The question is, why did the group discussion method work
better?
Before we answer this question, we need to first describe how it
works...
So, here are the three stages of all successful change methods,
according to Lewin:
Unfreezing
Moving
Re-freezing
6
Unfreezing
Present a desirable vision that differs from the way things are
today, and are likely to continue to be if nothing is done
differently
If necessary, present some valid facts that support the
likelihood of the unwanted future
Agree on these facts, and on the desirability of the preferred
future
Identify what needs to be done differently, in order to attain
that future

Moving
Leader guides a discussion in which the members of the group
suggest and debate the best ways to accomplish the new
objectives
Typically, they need to start doing new things
Stop doing some of the things they have been doing by habit
Do less of some things they are already doing
Do more of some things they are already doing*
The facilitator should try to guide the group to a consensus
The group then tries to implement the changes
*Note: And most likely, there will be things that should be kept
the same.
8
After possibly a number of repetitions, the group discovers—
and then, most importantly, begins to routinely perform—new
actions that are aimed at bringing about the vision.
Re-freezing
Begins when people have begun to routinely perform—and
expect one another to perform the new actions and to discard
the old, undesirable ones.
When people account to one another, and to themselves in terms
of this new set of standards, the change is complete.
Industrial applications of Lewin’s model are widespread
It differs from old-school ways of increasing productive effort

supply
When a manager just tries to order an increase in production, he
or she might be successful, but it is also possible, and not
uncommon, for them to achieve the result on the next slide...
Safety Zone, t0
Safety Zone, t1
Transition Phase
But what a manager really hopes to see is this:
Force
Field
Analysis
The Trust Conditions and the Power of the Spoken Word
What keeps the new safety zone at t1 in place?
The answer lies in how it got there...
It has to do with the Trust Conditions and the Power of Words
The Trust Conditions cause us to try to make our actions and
our words consistent*
If we make a public promise that we will do something, and
then don’t, what happens?
The cause of the creation and maintenance of the new safety
zone is a result of the “Power of the Spoken Word.”
*Note: It boils down to “integrity.”
13

I had a fleeting thought about it.
I thought about doing it.
I made a plan to do it.
I mentioned it to someone.
I promised in public that I would do this.
I said to someone, “I’m gonna do this.”
Commitment Energy
Higher
Lower
The Power of the Spoken Word
So, the answer to how the safety zone got to its new, higher
level is that the people who observe it “spoke it into existence.”
And once it was in existence, it stayed there because of the
Trust Conditions.
This is the Power of the Spoken Word.
The leader who would use it has to do only three things:
Communicate a vision
Be honest about what is negotiable and what isn’t
...Ask questions, and LISTEN*
*Note: Edgar Schein, Professor Emeritus at the Sloan School of
Management at MIT, was a significant contributor to the field
of Organizational Development (OD), which grew out of
Lewin’s work. He is considered to be one of the founders of the
field of OD. After many years of experience, research,
executive training, and reflection, he wrote a short little book,
Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling
(2013).
15
When the 3-Stage Method Won’t Work

The method gives people the “right to speak.”
In order for it to do its work, this right must exercised “in good
faith.”
Therefore, if the leader (or rather, a manager who wants to lead)
is not trusted, people will resist engagement in the
conversation.
And then, little or no change, and almost surely no lasting
change, will occur.
Consider this next time your manager calls a meeting and wants
you and your peers to suggest ways of improving your
productivity.
Kotter’s 8 Steps
After three decades of the use of Lewin’s model by management
consultants, Joseph Kotter (the one who wrote the book, The
General Managers), wrote another book, Leading Change (1996)
in which he reflected on three decades of corporate change
efforts.
He found that there were 8 steps that were followed by all
successful change efforts...
Kotter’s 8 Steps
Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason
why change is needed
Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change
Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for
achieving the vision
Communicate the vision throughout the organization
Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to
change and encouraging risk taking and creative problem
solving.
Plan for, create, and reward short-term “wins” that move the

organization toward the new vision.
Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make
necessary adjustments in the new programs.
Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship
between new behaviors and organizational success.
Kotter’s 8 Steps
As an exercise, you may want to assign Kotter’s 8 steps to
Lewin’s 3-Stage Model, and to explain why you have made
these assignments.
Don’t just quote the text by Robbins and Judge [2018], where
this is treated in Chapter 17. They don’t explain why this
matching of Lewin’s model with that of Kotter is valid.
Segue to Next Lesson
If it is not already clear that using the 3-Stage Model results,
among other things, in the creation of a “team,” you will know
this by the end of the next lesson.
You will also see how it relates to the concept of Management
by Objectives (MBO).
End of Lesson 8—
Thank You!
References
Kotter, John. (1996). Leading change. Cambridge MA: Harvard
Business School Press.
Lewin, Kurt. Formalization and progress in psychology.
University of Iowa Studies in Child Welfare 16.3 (1940): 9-42.

Reproduced in Lewin (1951 1-29).
Lewin, Kurt. Frontiers in group dynamics. Human Relations I
(1947): 2-38. Reproduced in Lewin (1951 188-237)
Lewin, Kurt. (1951). Field theory in the social sciences (ed.
Dorwin Cartwright). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2018). Essentials of organizational
behavior. New York, NY : Pearson
Schein, Edgar. (2013). Humble inquiry: the gentle art of aski ng
instead of telling. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers,
Inc.

Essentials of Organizational BehaviorFourteenth EditionChapt

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from BetseyCalderon89

More from BetseyCalderon89 (20)

Essentials of Organizational BehaviorFourteenth EditionChapt