Lewin's Planned Change Model

Lewin’s Planned Change Model

Kurt Lewin’s planned change model outlines the general framework for understanding organizational change. His model refers to the three stage process of change he describes as unfreezing, changing and refreezing. By using this model, one can view the change as a process with distinct stages and can prepare for what is coming by making a plan to manage the change transition. 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 relation to others.

The first stage of Lewin’s change model; Unfreezing, involves preparing the organization to accept the change that is needed. It involves breaking down the existing way of operating before building up a new one. The key to this process is to develop a message explaining why the organization should not be continuing with its existing way of doing things and how it is affecting them so that everyone can understand the need for change.

The second stage, Change, refers to how people in organizations begin to resolve their uncertainty and start looking for new ways and strategies to do things to support the new direction. This stage of the change process takes time and proactive participation from everyone in the organization as a whole. In order to accept and contribute to change and make it successful, they would need to understand the benefits of change. With that being said, not everyone will follow suit just because the change is necessary and beneficial for the company. They would need to understand how the change can benefit themselves as employees and how personal transitions in a changing environment is useful for the process. Time and communication are the two key aspects to success for the changes to occur. Employees would need time to adapt and understand the changes and proper communication should be used so that they feel connected to the organization throughout the...