Change Management Theories, Steps, and Principles Report

This report serves as a comprehensive study guide on change management, exploring various theories, steps, and principles essential for effective leadership and organizational transformation. It begins by defining change management and its significance in enhancing business operations, profitability, and the fulfillment of organizational missions. The report delves into key theories such as Kurt Lewin's model, the McKinsleys 7S model, and Kotter's Eight Step model, providing a comparative analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. It then outlines the crucial steps leaders and managers must take to successfully lead changes, including education, communication, employee participation, facilitation, negotiation, and the strategic use of tactics like manipulation and coercion. Furthermore, the report elucidates the fundamental principles underlying successful change management, such as sender-receiver dynamics, resistance management, the role of authority, organizational value systems, and the impact of incremental versus radical change. The report emphasizes that effective change management requires a nuanced approach, tailored to the specific characteristics of the organization and its employees, ensuring that solutions are not only developed but also embraced and implemented by the workforce.

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Key concept one: theories of change management..........................................................................2
Key concept two: steps by which a leader can lead changes...........................................................3
Key concept three: principles associated with change in an organization.......................................4
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................5
References:......................................................................................................................................6

2
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
Change management can be described as the term that is applied to describe the different
essential alterations which is done to an existing business model, a philosophy as well as to a
business approach by an organization (Doppelt, 2017). This is mainly designed in ways that
would help in the improvement of the overall operations of the company, ensuring better profit
making, and developed procedures of meeting the organizational mission and vision (Cameron &
Green, 2015). The leaders and managers should also ensure discussing and aligning individuals
with ways by which the change is going to be implemented. Researchers are of the opinion that
successful change management leadership involves the input as well as the participation of
different subordinates for streamlining changes and thereby integrating them into a new business
model (Hayes, 2014). The following assignment will be developed in the form of a study guide
so that important concepts of effective leading and managing changes can be depicted.
Key concept one: theories of change management
An important change management theory was put forward by a German-American
psychologist namely Kurt Lewin. He was a pioneer in the subject of social psychology as well as
in the fundamentals of change management. He had put forward a change management model
popularly called the Lewin model that is actually based on a repeating cycle of three important
phases. The first phase is called the thaw phase where an individual would be trying to overcome
the resistance to change. Then is the phase of making change where the individuals need to
implement changes through proper training and education to face and handle the changes
effectively (Kuipers et al., 2014). Then is the third phase that is called the refreezing stage where
the changes are finalized and policies are made. Although it is called the grandfather of all
theories, however this takes a lot of time for fighting the different resistance in the fixed cycle
step. The next model is called the McKinsleys 7S model. Researchers are of the opinion that this
model follows less of an order an is rather a holistic approach. Here the manager or the leader
can structure himself in organizing the different aspects that he feels important to address in any
order to meet the success of the approach. The important facets of this order is seen to begin with
an ‘S’ and includes shared value, systems, structures, strategy, style, skills and staffs. This model
is quite open-ended and acts as template. Many suggest that this model is quite ambiguous as
well as confusing. on the other hand many also say that this model do act as a proper basis of

3
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
building something more structured (Hornstein, 2015). Another important theory is the Kotter’s
Eight Step model. The main criterion of this model is to establish and drive up different
urgencies for meeting change. It also involves building of team which is dedicated to change,
creating vision and goals to change, up taking proper communication of the needs of change,
empowering staffs to implement changes and others (Lewis, Passmore & Cantore, 2016).
Key concept two: steps by which a leader can lead changes
Leaders and managers play an important role in managing different changes that needs to
be incorporated in the organization. They have to follow steps that ensure proper alignment of
the objectives of the subordinates with the changed system and thus the organizational mission
and vision. Education and communication is one of the objectives that require educating
people about the change before the implementation of the norms. This also involves the leaders
to help the subordinates understand the logic of the changes. The next step which the managers
and leaders should provide importance is the participation and involvement of the employees.
They should have the goal of allowing the employees and helping them for designing and also
implementing the different types of changes (Pugh, 2016). This procedure mainly helps people in
contributing to different ideas as well as advices about how to complete different tasks forces as
well as with committees who are actually helping in leading the change. The next step is the
facilitation a well as support. This step provides tactics that help in providing both the
emotional and materialistic support to those employees who are having hardships with the
change. Here the manager should actively listen to the problem and complaints. He should
provide competency based training as well as instruction in the new ways thereby helping
employees to overcome performance pressures facilitation and support are required when
employees are frustrated by work constraints and different difficulties that they encounter in the
change process (Lozano et al., 2015). The next step is called the negotiation and agreement
which help the leaders to offer incentives to different sorts of actual as well as potential change
resistors. In this steps, the managers and leaders arrange trade-offs for providing certain kinds of
special benefits. These are usually done in exchange of getting assurances that changes would
not be blocked. This is extremely essential to deal with employees or groups who are on the
verge of losing something of importance and value for these changes imposed. The next step is
manipulation and cooptation. Here the managers use negative tactics where they use covert

4
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
activities for influencing employees. This is done by selectively providing them with certain
amount of data and at the same time consciously structuring events so that the desired changes
occur. This is helpful when other tactics are expensive, there is little time to implement the
change or when other tactics do not work. Another important step is the explicit or implicit
coercion. Here, the managers have to take negative tactic. They have to offend the employees
with the force of authority. This is done to convince people to accept the change. Here, resistors
are often seen to be threatened with different types of undesirable consequences when activities
are not conducted as planned (Captureanu, 2015). This is done in crises mainly when speed is of
the essence.
Key concept three: principles associated with change in an organization
The models and theories that are in use today in change management are mainly step-by-
step procedures and instructions. However, in order to make them work properly, individuals
should know the principles on which the steps are based. Change management cannot be blindly
followed. Managing the employee side and to be effective as a manger, it is important to
customize and scale the change management efforts basing on unique characteristics. The first
one is the sender and receivers. Senders are the one who provides the information about the
change and receivers are the one who receives the information about the change. The second one
is the resistance. Uncertainty of success, fear and anxiety can block change and create
resistance. The third one is authority for change. There should be an executive sponsorship
providing sufficient resources, consistent support, establishing priorities, developing proper
channel for resisting employees and others. The fourth one is value systems (Clegg & Damotss,
2017). Organizational value systems affect the way that change happens. It depicts what is
important to organization, how decisions are made, who is in charge, what behaviors are
rewarded and others. All these directly influence the ways change will be practiced. The next is
the incremental versus radical change. Magnitude of change affects how employees will react.
Incremental change does not cause employees to move far from what they know. Radical change
introduces an extensive dramatic shift. The sixth is the “The Right Answer Is Not Enough”.
Only coming up with solutions cannot ensure that results are achieved. To deliver value,
managers should finalize solutions that employees adopt and embrace. The last one is “change is
a process”. Change should occur not as an event but as a process. Organizational change does

5
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
not take place instantaneously. Treating change as a process is central component of successful
change and successful management (Doppelt, 2017).
Conclusion:
Knowing about the management models will not help managers and leaders in
managing change. They need to know the systematic procedure about how they should handle
change. They should also know about principles on which the management models are created
for successful change management.

6
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
References:
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques o
Ceptureanu, E. G. (2015). Research regarding change management tools on EU SMEs. Business
Excellence and Management Review, 5(2), 28-32.
Clegg, S., & de Matos, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Sustainability and organizational change
management. Routledge.
Doppelt, B. (2017). Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change
management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2),
291-298.
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The
management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public
Administration, 92(1), 1-20.
Lewis, S., Passmore, J., & Cantore, S. (2016). Appreciative inquiry for change management:
Using AI to facilitate organizational development. Kogan Page Publishers.
Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K., & Seatter, C. S. (2015). Teaching organisational change
management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of
Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 106, 205-215.

7
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Pugh, L. (2016). Change management in information services. Routledge.