Reaction Paper

Organization Development and Change: Leading and Managing Change

One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed
by Kurt Lewin back in the 1940s, and still holds true today. His model is known as Unfreeze –
Change – Refreeze, which refers to the three-stage process of change that he describes. Lewin, a
physicist as well as a social scientist, explained organizational change using the analogy of
changing the shape of a block of ice. If you have a large cube of ice but realize that what you
want is a cone of ice, what do you do? First you must melt the ice to make it amenable to change
(unfreeze). Then you must mold the iced water into the shape you want (change). Finally, you
must solidify the new shape (refreeze). Change management occurs as a response to the ever-
changing environment or current crisis. It may also occur as a result of a proactive management.

According to Lewin, leadership is linked to change management. Managing

change is tough, but part of the problem is that there is little agreement on what factors most
influence transformation initiatives. If one is to ask 3 senior officials to name one factor critical
to the success of a certain program, one would most likely receive 3 different responses. It is so
because each leader has his/her individual perspective and stance for the same situation, and
these standpoints may be founded from personal experience. In 1992, Harold L. Sirkin, Perry
Keenan, and Alan Jackson, who authored ‘Hard Side of Change Management’, started with the
contrarian hypothesis that organizations handle transformations in remarkably similar ways.
Hence, their studies show that in most organizations, two out of three transformation initiatives
fail. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We all have heard for countless times the irony “the only constant thing in the world is
change.” Change is a common thread that runs through all businesses regardless of size, industry
and age. Our world is changing fast and organizations must change quickly, too. Organizations
that handle change well thrive, whilst those that do not may struggle to survive. An essential part
of a successful change management depends on how well people within it understand the change
process. Individuals who make up an organization are the core of the same. Members are the
strength of a firm. Unfortunately, they can also be a source of weakness. But, what steps must
the management undertake to strengthen its employees? I agree to the concept of Kurt Lewin, the
founding father of Organizational Development. But I would like to point out that he had failed
to discuss other vital factors that are equally significant to what he had mentioned in his concept.
These four factors are performance duration, performance integrity, commitment of both senior
executives and staff who are most affected by the said change, and additional effort the
employees must exert to adapt. Management should not be frustrated if the implementation of
the change consumes more time than expected. The longer the change carries does not mean the
change is more likely to fail. Instead, the company should make schedules to review the
transformations the change has led to. There is no standard duration of time for reaching the
desired future state. If the firm does not achieve the changed state after some time, how will the
organization know that it has allowed a reasonable time frame for the change to occur? This is a
dilemma the organization would face.

Prepared by:

Jugie R. Nugas