Contrasting Lewins and Dawsons Approaches - Example

Contrasting Lewin’s and Dawson’s approaches University: Student Id: Course: City: Date: Contrasting Lewin’s and Dawson’s approaches Introduction Organizational change has been considered as the best strategy for businesses to achieve competitive advantages. Organizations are keeping pace with the market changes where they have been adjusting their operations to remain relevant. The relevance in the market is considered as the major aspect that determines the competitiveness of organizations in the industry. There are change pressures that make organizations to change their operations that can include a decrease in sales volume, increased complaint from customers (Burnes, 2004). The management of organizations can then come up with the necessary strategies that can address the change pressures. There different types of organizational changes that are adopted by business in the process of responding to the pressures. However, the common change type is a technological change where organizations adopt technology in the course of making sure that they achieve efficiency and quality. Many organizations are adopting technology as part of the change to achieve costs advantages through enhancing efficiency (Buchanan, et al. 2005). In the process of adapting to change, various approaches can be employed depending on the type of change adopted in the organization. In this essay, I will be contrasting the Dawson’s and Levin’s approaches include both the weaknesses and strengths of the two approaches. Levin’s approach Levin developed one of the best models for understanding the change in the 1940s. The Levin’s approach developed a model that involved three stages of change that included the unfreeze stage, change stage and refreeze stage. In the three stages, Levin made use of block ice analogy to explain the three stages of change. According to Levin change management is how organizations or business manages transitions of business activities. The changes needed to be understood first and evaluate the current business nature (Collins, 2005). The changes should be given time and should not be rushed into because they can also fail if not given the right time to evolve. Kurt Lewin developed an approach that is seen positive when adopting a change in the business operations. Levin has put the change process in stages that include unfreezing, change and refreezing using the analogy of block of ice to make the stages more understood. In the course of explaining the organizational change, Levin gave an instance of changing ice to desired shapes. According to Levin ice is a solidified liquid that can be molded to any shape at its initial change. The molding of ice into desired shapes represented the initial strategies in an organization can be changed to achieve a particular goal of transition (Burnes, 2009). If an organization changes its old ways of operation to adopt its good new ways to impact production represented the changing process. Ice represented the changes a business that is adopted in the course of achieving the desired results. Unfreezing stage. Unfreezing is the first stage where the business prepares stakeholders to accept changes and then dissolving the existing or prevailing status to build a new one. It is at this stage that the pressures to change are realized. The stage to be successful some values, attitudes, beliefs and defining behaviors of the business and how they can be restructured (Oswick, et al. 2005). The restructuring process needs to be motivated to get to the level with new changes that are to be adopted. However, this change may be perceived differently by some people though it needs to be considered as the best approach for attaining competitive advantages in businesses. Change stage The change stage entails the real expected transition that needs to take place in the process of achieving the desired outcome in organizations. Change can lead to the adoption of new resources that can boost the change. The transition can require incurring some costs that should be accepted and put into consideration. The change stage involves people resolving their look of doing things and start doing them newly and differently (Sonenshein, 2010). The change does not need to be embraced very first because much costs and expenses may be incurred in the process adopting the new change. Communication and time are the great keys to give the change a chance to take place and ensure successful implementation of change. Refreezing stage The refreezing stage is the last stage of incorporating changes in organizations using the Levin’s approach. It is through the refreezing stage where the adopted means of operation are made routine to ensure successful change implementation. Every stakeholder in the business has to feel comfortable and confident in incorporating working new ways where the management can achieve this objective through engaging the relevant stakeholders. Changes at work need to be motivated, given time and perceived as a positive shift in business operations. Motivating changes promote positive results in the business at the end of the day (Burnes, 2005). Employees are the primary perceivers of the business change and they ought to be motivated and appreciated. Business needs to involve the employees in the management of change to eliminate resistance to change. Engagement is crucial in ensuring successful implementation of change in organizations, as employees can be aware of the outcomes of the change hence willing to support the changes. Implications of Levin’s approach The implications of Levin’s approach can include directing, managing and controlling change. According to the Levin’s approach change is a learning process that is behavioral and can be managed, directed, and controlled. In the adoption of Levin’s model of management of change requires all fields of the business to cope and work together. Directions given by organizations managers are geared towards achieving the prime goal (Skordoulis and Dawson, 2007). The change measures formulation by organizations are aimed at managing and controlling all business activity in an organization. The successful implementation of the formulated strategy change determines the competitiveness of the organization. The Levin’s approach recognizes the possible resistance that is likely to be faced by an organization. Recognizing the possible resistance is crucial in ensuring successful change implementation. Levin’s approach assists in admitting, accepting, and recognizing factors that might be challenged in the process of ensuring successful change implementation. It aids analysis of the causes and possible solutions to change resistance (Todnem, 2005). Once this resistances are recognized typical methods and techniques can be put to control the resistance. For instance, the various ways that can be utilized in the process of making sure that the employees support the change process can be analyzed using the Levin’s approach. According to Levin’s approach overcoming resistance can be possible through good leadership and management. Understanding the possible resistance can help set up good leadership to overcome them. Researching on resistance can be crucial in the process of identifying the ways or measures to solve the challenges facing change. For organizational management to manage change, need to ensure the stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. The engagement process can include involving employees, delegating duties, team building, and decentralization. The moment employees need to be continuously involved in the decision-making process to make them committed to achieving the needed change. Levin’s approach ensures that the change process is achieved in a way that can help diagnose the best strategies to be adopted. Change management when using Levin’s approach follows a sequence to achieve the set goals (Sonenshein, 2010). Since change is a gradual process, it is important for an organization to keep assessing the status of the change process. Once the change stage is understood challenges involved can be solved and the necessary strategies are taken to guarantee successful change implementation. The stakeholders’ behavior is important in the ensuring successful change implementation. The change of attitude among the stakeholders is the first step in the process of formulating and implementing change. Attitude is the intellectual perception of concepts leading to an action that is responsible for initiating change. The change in behavior is very significant when it comes to achieving positive attitude towards the management of change. Behavioral change is crucial because it can assist in making sure that stakeholders are committed to achieving the set change goals. The behavior of the stakeholders can be influenced by the expected impacts of the change to be implemented (Skordoulis and Dawson, 2007). The external factors in the business environment play a significant role in making decisions in shaping behavior. Change in behavior is determined by the situations that surround the change process. Weaknesses and strengths of the Levin’s model Some strengths and weaknesses can be associated with Levin’s model. Some of the weaknesses of Levin’s model can include the fact that the management of change Levin’s idea was to give it too much time. The much time taken in changing from different strategies can lead to losses of a business employing the Levin’s model in change management. Time is very crucial to organizations to succeed in the business field, as it is directly proportional to effort put in the production process. Levin’s model also ensures that the employees are involved in decision making hence the change strategies can fail to be secret. Engaging the employees can be used as a tool by competitors to know times of change and the nature of change being implemented (Oswick, et al. 2005). Decisions need not be shared since no employee promises to work in an organization permanently. The moment the employee leaves the organization can easily reveal the strategies that are adopted in the organization. The primary strength of the Lewin’s approach is that it engages the employees in the formulation and implementation of the change strategies. The engagement of the employees in the change process is crucial in ensuring that the employees are motivated. Employee involvement motivates employees towards working and committing themselves because they feel that the management values them and that they are part of the organization (Todnem, 2005). Besides, understanding business environment factors provide the management with the necessary knowledge for making sure that the necessary change strategies are adopted. For example, understanding the social and political factors in the process of formulating and implementing the change strategies is crucial in making sure that the changes adopted are successful. Also, the management is in a position to ensure that only the relevant strategies about the business environment are adopted. Potential areas for future development The potential areas for the future development of the Lewin’s approach include the evaluation of the best leadership style that needs to be adopted to ensure successful change implementation. Putting up good measures and policies to good leadership and management can give an up thrust to achieving the targeted change. Considering the good leadership and management of an organization in the process of adopting a change in making sure that the change adopted is successfully implemented. Team building and delegating duties can be important in the process of promoting change in organizations as the employees can be able to work towards achieving a common goal (Collins, 2005). When employees work as a team towards attaining a common goal the implementation process of change can be made easy. Besides, leadership is crucial in making sure that employees are committed to achieving success in the change implementation. Dawson’s approach Patrick Dawson’s approach emphasizes organizations need time to move from one point to the other where change is time-based. Organizational change according to Dawson’s approach addresses time as the main factor of consideration where transition should take time seriously. There are temporal dynamics that should be understood with the context frame that analyzes past and future. According to Dawson change is a process that outlines the significance as time progress where keeping pace with time is crucial for organizations that aspire to make sure that they are competitive. Dawson’s approach focuses on research with the aim of understanding the prevailing conditions to effect organizational change (Sonenshein, 2010). Unlike the Lewin’s approach that is based on stages, Dawson’s approach is based on processual approach. The processual approach assumes that change is complex and should not be given all hopes that it gives positive results. The change recognizes that unforeseen unexpected and unplanned can take place hence the need to come up with the necessary strategies that can help in mitigating the uncertainty risk. Unforeseen unplanned and unplanned can be positive and negative results of adopting a change in management. The process also outlines the importance of contexts and temporality in decision making, power plays, and political processes. Dawson’s approach also advocates for spotlighting how multiple interpretations due to communication is done previously. Different groups may interpret concepts differently hence developing varying ways of in their perception change. The complexity of change should not overlook the reality that there is present past and future (Skordoulis and Dawson, 2007). People have different behaviors from present and future that is caused by emerging trends in the environment, and that can only be understood by understanding the trends that have been taking place. The understanding the trend helps in studying and understanding the behavior of people surrounding the organization. Therefore, analyzing the trend that has been taking place can be crucial in the process making sure that the necessary change strategies can be formulated and implemented. In a real sense, the approach aligns present data via multiple techniques and qualitative research strategies like interviews, document analysis, and observation. The methods of collecting data are meant to orient the business organization with the external factors that can be affected if the change is effective (Todnem, 2005). However, the practices of involving the research strategies or techniques require careful considerations for example work out other demands, getting sustained access in organizations funding bodies expectations, and detailed research. The processual approach has an aim of evaluating processes of change as they interweave and emerge to attain temporal understanding. Dawson to explain organizational changes in management he has set up a frame of factors that are interrelated. The factors can include the core business, technology, cultural history, and people among the other factors that have a strong influence on the business operations. The market shifts are the major causes of the change in the organization. Dawson also addressed the change of substance regarding change scope, scale, and content. And finally, Dawson found political activities to have impacts on the change process. These political activities include politicians lobby and strategic alliances which are brought about by either conflicts or collaboration of groups, an external process, and individuals (Boje, Burnes, and Hassard, 2012). According to Dawson politicians can take part in influencing organizational changes through exercising their powers to change regulations in the market. The processual approach towards the process of change and politics tend to overlap with time as individuals give sense to the organizational process of change. Researchers collect data on primary processes to identify patterns and activities that shape other processes of change to attain organizational change. In doing the processual research, a theory building encompasses using the prevailing knowledge of framework to provide more insight concerning the change process further. The researchers formulate concepts and develop ideas around prevailing studies of the organization (Morgan and Spicer, 2009). They have to ensure that researcher’s imaginations on the interpretation of data provided concerning the change in the organization are geared towards establishing the trend that is existing. Weaknesses and strengths of Dawson approach The strength of the Dawson approach can include the fact that the transition of change is given time is likely to be viable. The management can be able to make the necessary decision concerning the change due to the processual approach used in managing change. The strategies adopted and implemented in the process of managing change can ensure that they achieve the set objectives through analyzing the various factors affecting the organization (Collins, 2005). Different ways of understanding the business environment of an organization have been designed to research on how the change process can be effective. Besides, Dawson approach helps in creating a good relation with the external environment that includes the stakeholders as the approach considers the interests of the stakeholder. Valuable information is gotten in research giving it light to know areas that are going to be affected by the change once it is implemented. The major weaknesses of the Dawson approach include the lack of the necessary scope for explaining the change management. The scope can be lost if the research is not keen and vigilant enough to unlock meanings of data obtained through analysis of the explanations. Poor data collection can fail to give the exact picture of the change management. Different interpretations of the data collected may not bear fruit in that wrong actions may be taken to influence the change of management. Dawson approach is pessimistic to achieve its goals of change in management. In change management Dawson expects nothing to be it positive or negative. Besides, it takes much time of collecting data so as to understand the surrounding environment. As a result, Dawson approach is time-consuming because data has to be collected recorded and later interpreted and finally gives recommendations on what to be done (Burnes and Jackson, 2011). It also depends on of external factors like the political, socio-cultural, technology factors that keep on changing. Dawson approach is considered to be expensive since it requires resources for collecting more data methods of collecting data like interviewing are very costly and time-consuming. Therefore, Dawson approach is difficult to be adopted by organizations that need a change urgently. Potential areas for future development The potential areas that need development in the future can include coming up with the best research method can assist in saving time used in analyzing the data to establish the trend. Reducing the time used in the process of analyzing data can be crucial in the process of making sure that Dawson approach is applicable. Conclusion Regardless of the approach utilized, change management can be achieved properly through ensuring a positive thinking among the relevant stakeholders. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational management are dependent on the business environment that can include the prevailing technology, the size of the organization. The surrounding factors are powerful in determining the change adopted as they affect the operations of the organization. For instance, the organizational change is affected by the socio-political factors, economic factors and cultural factors that determine the need for change. Therefore, the external factors are very significant when formulating the strategies that can positively impact management of change. References Boje, D.M., Burnes, B. and Hassard, J., 2012. The Routledge companion to organizational change. Routledge. Buchanan, D., Fitzgerald, L., Ketley, D., Gollop, R., Jones, J.L., Lamont, S.S., Neath, A. and Whitby, E., 2005. No going back: A review of the literature on sustaining organizational change. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7(3), pp.189-205. Burnes, B., 2004. Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: a re‐appraisal. Journal of Management studies, 41(6), pp.977-1002. Burnes, B., 2005. Complexity theories and organizational change. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7(2), pp.73-90. Burnes, B., 2009. Reflections: Ethics and organizational change–Time for a return to Lewinian values. Journal of Change Management, 9(4), pp.359-381. Burnes, B. and Jackson, P., 2011. Success and failure in organizational change: An exploration of the role of values. Journal of Change Management, 11(2), pp.133-162. Collins, D., 2005. Organisational change: sociological perspectives. Routledge. Morgan, G. and Spicer, A., 2009. Critical approaches to organizational change. The Oxford handbook of critical management studies, pp.251-266. Oswick, C., Grant, D., Michelson, G. and Wailes, N., 2005. Looking forwards: discursive directions in organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18(4), pp.383-390. Skordoulis, R. and Dawson, P., 2007. Reflective decisions: the use of Socratic dialogue in managing organizational change. Management Decision, 45(6), pp.991-1007. Sonenshein, S., 2010. We're Changing—Or are we? untangling the role of progressive, regressive, and stability narratives during strategic change implementation. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), pp.477-512. Todnem By, R., 2005. Organizational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management, 5(4), pp.369-380. Read More