Organizational change management (OCM) is a structured approach in an organization for ensuring that changes are smoothly and successfully implemented, and that the lasting benefits of change are achieved. That is easier said than done. Nevertheless, there are many management consultants, clinical psychologists and social scientists who have carried out extensive research on the dynamics of change and proposed models and frameworks to understand the same. We present here a comparison of five popular models. By no means is this list complete. The complexity and unpredictability of human behavior will ensure that the field of change management will continuously produce more frameworks to study and more models to adopt.

1. A Comparison of 5 popular Models for
Managing Business Change

2. Change Management Models- a Comparison
• George Box, a statistician, famously wrote that "essentially, all models are wrong, but some
are useful” . The field of change management continues to prove him right.
• Organizational change management (OCM) is a structured approach in an organization for
ensuring that changes are smoothly and successfully implemented, and that the lasting
benefits of change are achieved. That is easier said than done.
• Nevertheless, there are many management consultants, clinical psychologists and social
scientists who have carried out extensive research on the dynamics of change and proposed
models and frameworks to understand the same.
• We present here a comparison of five popular models. By no means is this list complete. The
complexity and unpredictability of human behavior will ensure that the field of change
management will continuously produce more frameworks to study and more models to adopt.

3. Kotter’s Eights Steps to Change
Benefits
1.Focus on buy-in of employees as the
focus for success
2.Clear steps which can give a
guidance for the process
3.Fits well into the culture of classical
hierarchies
Limitations
1.The model is clearly top-
down, it gives no room for
co-creation or other forms
of true participation.
2.Can lead to frustrations
among employees if the
stages of
grief and individual needs
are not taken into
John Kotter’s (1996) eight steps to transforming
organizations are based upon analysis of 100 different
organizations going through change. His research
highlighted eight key lessons which he converted into
a practical eight-step model. Although represented by
Kotter in a linear fashion, experience suggests that it is
better to think of the steps as a continuous cycle to ensure
that the momentum of the change is maintained.
Establish a
Sense of
Urgency
Form a powerful,
guidin g coalition
Develop a vision
& Strategy
Communicate
the vision
Remove Obstacles
& empower
action
Plan and create
short-term wins
Consolidate
gains
Anchor in the
culture
More at :http://www.kotterinternational.com/our-principles/changesteps/changesteps

4. Bridge’s Transition Model
Benefits
1. You can use the model to
understand how people feel as you
guide them through change. It clarifies
the psychological effect of change.
Limitations
1. While the model is useful for
implementing change, it's not a
substitute for other change
management approaches. It cant
be used as an independent
change management model.
The ideas of Bridges(1991) on transition provide a
good understanding of what is going on when an
organizational change takes place. He differentiates
between change and transition, according to him
Change is a situational and happens without people
transitioning and transition is psychological and is a three
phase process where people gradually accept the details
of the new situation and the changes that come with it.
ENDING NEUTRAL ZONE NEW BEGINNING
End what ‘used to be’; identify
who is losing what, openly
acknowledge the loss, mark
the endings and continuously
repeat information about what
is changing and why.
Individuals within the
organization feel disoriented
with falling motivation and
increasing anxiety. Ensure that
people recognize the neutral
zone and treat it as part of the
organization's change process.
Gain acceptance of the
purpose; Communicate a
picture of how the new
organization will look and feel
; Communicate and gain a
step-by-step understanding of
how the organization will
change
More at : http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bridges-transition-model.htm

5. Roger’s Technology Adoption Curve
Benefits
1.Helps in creating an understanding of
the audience for change.
2.Provides inputs to identify opinion
makers and influencers.
Limitations
1.People need not fall into one
Change Adoption Category;
they drift from category to
category depending on the
specific change/innovation.
2.The adoption terms are
accurate only in hindsight; they
tell you nothing about how a
population might respond to a
The technology adoption lifecycle model, based on his
theory of diffusion of innovation(1962), describes
the adoption or acceptance of a new product or
innovation, according to the demographic and
psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups.
The process of adoption over time is typically illustrated
as a classical normal distribution or "bell curve." The
model indicates that the first group of people to use a
new product is called "innovators," followed by "early
adopters." Next come the early and late majority, and
the last group to eventually adopt a product are called
"laggards.”
The curve creates the foundation of 5 step process of
technology adoption- Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision,
Implementation, Confirmation
More at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

6. Kubler- Ross Five Stage Model
The Change Curve
Benefits
1. An individual’s reaction to
change is well captured, this forms a
good foundation to develop
communication strategy
Limitations
1. Not all change is bad.
This model assumes the
worst reaction to change.
2. It is difficult to identify the
transition between stages.
3. Difficult to apply to a group
The Change Curve is based on a model originally
developed in the 1960s by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
to explain the grieving process. She proposed that
a terminally ill patient would progress through 5 stages
of grief when informed of their illness. By the 1980s,
the Change Curve was a firm fixture in change
management circles. The curve, and its associated
emotions, can be used to predict how performance is
likely to be affected by the announcement and
subsequent implementation of a significant change.
More at :
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/humanresources/documents/learningdevelopm

7. Prosci’s ADKAR Model
Benefits
1.It encapsulates the business/process
dimension of change and the individual
dimension of change
2.Provides a clear management checklist
to manage change
Limitations
1. Misses out on the role of
Leadership and principles of programme
management to create clarity and
provide direction to chnage
Developed in 1998 by Prosci, after research with more
than 300 companies undergoing major change projects.
ADKAR is a goal-oriented change management model
that allows change management teams
to activities on specific business results.
The initially used as a tool for
determining
focus
their model
was if
change
management activities like communications and training
were having
change.
the desired results during organizational
More at : http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm