Current Change Management Theories: Research, Analysis & Validity

This report provides an overview of current change management theories, focusing on Lewin's Model, Kotter's Model, and the Nudge Theory. It discusses the core principles of each model, comparing their strengths and limitations. The report also explores the practical application of these theories in organizational settings, using the example of a sports brand industry to illustrate Lewin's theory. The analysis concludes with an assessment of the validity and relevance of these models in contemporary change management practices, highlighting their importance in navigating organizational transformations.

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1VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Theories and models....................................................................................................................2
Lewin’s Model.........................................................................................................................3
Kotter’s Model.........................................................................................................................5
Nudge Theory..........................................................................................................................7
Comparison..................................................................................................................................8
Application..................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11

2VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Change management is a process fashioned from the late 20th century in business and
corporate sectors (Hayes 2014). In a business environment a number of risk factors are
responsible for altering the output for the organisation. Change in terms of process, role of
employees or organisational structures and use of technology are played a pivotal role in
company’s success (Burke 2017). In other words change management is a systematic approach
which is primarily dealt with the organisational objectives (Hornstein 2015). It can be argued
that the purpose of implementing a change management is not only to figure out any loopholes
and drawbacks that can obstruct the growth of the organisation in future but also change
management is helping to take the necessary steps in order to resolve the emerging issues
(Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans 2016). From this point of view it can never be denied the
significance of change management in present case scenario. In response to that the purpose of
this report is to highlight the different theories and models of change management and also put
emphasis on the application of different models. In order to do that the report is also going to
conduct a comparative discussion about different types of change management models.
Therefore, the report will start its discussion with the different kinds of change management
models and gradually make a comparative analysis.
Discussion
Theories and models
Change management has gone through various kinds of models and theories which are
strongly dedicated to the development and sustainable growth of the organisation. In this regards,

3VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
there are three popular theories that are going to be addressed, namely, Lewin’s model, Kotter’s
model and the nudge theory.
Lewin’s Model
In 1947, Kurt Lewin had developed a sequential change model which is popularly known
as the Lewin’s model. The model is primary based on a structure Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze
(Bartunek and Woodman 2015). However, the model kept focus on the group performance and
not solely dealt with the organisational performances. To establish his model with a solid base
Lewin derived the role of emotional experience as a tool to change organisational development.
(Source: created by the author)
According to this theory, unfreezing emerges as a result of dissatisfaction and frustration to meet
the organisational goals (Hossan 2015). In that scenario the management of the organisation
must opt for a strategy to dismantling the status quo. As a result of that the problem will be
exposed and it can able to help the organisation to figure out the root cause of the issue
(Mahmood et al. 2017).
Subsequently, the role of change has come into place. The mode of change is comprised
mainly with semantic redefinition, widening the perception and a set of new judgement and
UnfreezeChangeRefreeze

4VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
analytical process (Lines et al. 2015). In order to increase the analytical power and behaviour
through organisational structure it is imperative for the management to introduce some
development technique. However, there may be some possibilities of facing uncertainty during
the transformation from old to new. Moreover, the process of transformation is lengthy.
Therefore, it can take some time to adapt the new environment. In order to manage this kind of
mayhem continuous communication should be taken. It is the responsibility of the management
to communicate with every people associated with the new environment and acknowledging
them with the reason and effectiveness of this change (Kuipers et al. 2014).
The next stage is related to refreezing. It is more convenient for the management to
understand the perception of the employees and change related workforce. In response to this,
the management will take proper attitude and set values in accordance with the change
environment. The refreezing technique will be taken into action when the structure, people and
strategy elements are seemed fine. In this manner, the Lewin model of Change Management will
be completed (Bartunek and Woodman 2015).
Despite of a well narrated scientific way of changing method the Lewin’s theory is not
free from limitations. Some scholar often argued that the Lewin’s model is advocated against the
continuous change in organisational structure (Worley and Mohrman 2014). It can also be argued
that the Lewin’s model is not well enough to judge the root cause of the problem. The model is
more depend on assumptions rather investigating the real reason of the issue. In fact, during the
process of transformation there are always possibilities for new issues to be erupted which can
obstruct the course of change (Hossan 2015).

5VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Kotter’s Model
Kotter’s change management model is referred as very helpful and systematic approach
to initiate a transformation in organisation. The model encompasses an eight stages structure
which was professed by John Kotter in his book ‘Leading Change’ in the year 1996 (Pollack and
Pollack 2015). The eight steps are:
i. Sense of urgency- It is imperative for the company or organisation to recognize the urge
for change in the structure. In response to this, the management will take necessary steps
to identify the threats and anticipate the opportunities to resolve the issue. After that, the
company can take necessary steps.
ii. Set a powerful coalition- To convince the people with the importance of change the
management should unify the key actors of the project. It can ease the process of
transformation and able to build an emotional commitment which will facilitate the
process of change (Hansen and Clausen 2017).
iii. Develop change strategy- There are ample of strategies and plan for combating a
specific organisational issue. It is the efficiency of the company to find out the perfect
solution strategy which can ensure organisational development.
iv. Communicating the change vision- Discussing the change strategy in a close meeting
cannot be beneficial for the company. Instead daily communication and open
conversation will result an advantage for the organisation.
v. Remove obstacles- It is important for the management to eradicate all the obstacles
related to the change process. By removing the obstacles it can also be beneficial for the
management to execute their mission and vision (Lozano 2015).

6VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
vi. Generate short-term achievements- It is better to achieve short-term targets rather than
fixing long-term goals. Besides this, achieving short-term goals will help to motivate the
company and generate a moral boost up to set foot towards the long-term achievements.
vii. Producing more change through gains- According to Kotter, gaining successively
leads towards producing more change in building new targets on a long term basis.
Nevertheless, it has to be kept in mind that successive gains are not a sign of satisfaction.
Actually, it pushes the person or organisation further to go for more (Pollack 2015).
viii. Anchoring new changes in culture- Change or transformation should be a primary
strategy of any organisation. In fact, change in every aspect of the working environment
should be maintained. It can provide a change in practice that the employees are getting
used to with.
Despite resembling enormous popularity the Kotter’s model also faces some challenges. It
can be alleged that Kotter’s model does not follow the fundamental concept of change
management. The primary concern of change management is to provide information about the
transformation not describing the way to achieve it. It is also true that no single theory will be
effective in all situations and therefore Kotter’s model is not the only model o solve solutions
(Chappell et al. 2016).

7VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
(Source: created by the author)
Nudge Theory
The addition of nudging in change management plan is a recent phenomenon on the
backdrop of the 2008 economic crisis (Grüne-Yanoff and Hertwig 2016). The nudge theory is
principally referred to the behavioural insights if human mind which influences people to choose
their need keeping pace with the change in environment. It is predominantly based on the
rational and pragmatic choices with the help of intuition and impulse (McClelland 2016).
In response to this, nudging in corporate organisation is essentially perceived the decision
taking abilities of the management in order to deal with new issues. The best thing in nudge
Sense of
Urgency
Set a
powerful
coalition
Develop
change
strategy
Co mmu nica
ting the
change
vision
Remove
obstacle
s
Generate
sho rt-term
ach ievemen
ts
Pr o ducing mor e
cha nge t hr ough
gain s
Ancho ring
new
changes in
cultur e

8VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
theory is that spontaneous participation of the members in voluntary and non-coercive manner
(Brooks 2013). However, in the context of organisational implementation the voluntary elements
are referred to the decision making body only. The employees are compelled to follow the
management decisions (Burns, T.R. and Roszkowska 2016). Nevertheless, the decision making
ability of the management body becomes increase due to the use nudge theory (Cornelissen and
Cornelissen 2017). As the nudge theory puts emphasis on the behaviour and cognate topics
therefore by utilising nudge it can generate the clear depiction of the psychology behind the
decision (Kosters and Van der Heijden 2015). In addition to this, the nudge theory can also be
implemented in both short term and long term goals. Hence, the theory is quite relevant in
present day change management.
Nonetheless, there is always a possible threat while using nudge theory. It can manipulate
the decision making power of human beings and exploit the rationality in a given environment
(Neal et al. 2016). It is true that nudging creates fewer alternatives in order to make a good
decision but no all the time little number of alternative will be beneficial for the company.
Comparison
The distinctive nature of the different theories of change management reflects unique
characteristics of each model. For an example, the Lewin’s model shapes the fundamental
structures of the change management strategy. It is evident that no theory can be defined as the
only solution for every problem but still the Lewin’s model is relevant even in present strategy of
change management. The three fold model provides a basic understanding of the organisational
issues.

9VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
In compare to the Lewin’s model, the Kotter’s theory was more structured and helped to
figure out the in depth problem associated with the organisation. The eight stages of change
model encompass both the capability of choosing problems and also identify the success rate of
the taken change decision. However, the change management is not entitled to evaluate the
success rate. It also works as a problem tracking tool. Adding the evaluator mechanism can
perturb the basic purpose of Kotter’s model.
In compare to this, the Nudge Theory is considered to be the recent inclusion in change
management. The primary task of nudging is related to the individual behaviour. In this context,
Nudge theory performs as a device to understand the necessity to change the company structure.
Application
Lewin’s theory can be maintained in a small sport brand industry like Kukri. The
company is well known for their sportswear in Australian rugby, hockey and cricket. Recently
the company is suffering with their market capitalisation. Actually, Australia is very popular for
sports brand industry and giant companies are always wanted to maximize their market holding.
As a result of that, the small and medium enterprises are facing strong competition in Australian
market. In order to change their market capitalisation policy, the Kukri Sports limited is now
searching for possible threats for changing marketing policy. In order to do that using Lewin’s
theory will be the best option as the process is less complex.
For introducing the Kotter’s model in telecom industry like Blackberry will be very
beneficial. In recent times Blackberry has faced a severe threat from mobile companies like
Apple or Samsung. The volatile global market with high competition set the Blackberry
Company back in market capitalisation. Therefore, using the change management tools like

10VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Kotter’s model can help the company to get back its lost glory. The reason behind choosing
Kotter’s model is that the model is detailed and critically identified the success rate of using new
strategies.
The nudge theory will be widely fitted in the health service industry. For an instance,
obesity becomes a grave problem in Australian health care facilities. In combating this growing
tendency the Allamanda Private Hospital of Southport, Australia is going to take a new initiative.
The hospital cafeteria provides fewer amounts of fatty products and as a result the hospital staffs
are also decreased their habit of taking high fat products. This kind of initiative is a reflection of
nudge theory where the behaviour of the people can be exploited by nudging.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that in theory these models are seemed to be different but in
application they perform in the same way and oblige to effect similarly. There is a little
difference in their act of targeting the organisational issue. Despite having similarities these
models can prove to be effective in different business organisation and will be beneficial if they
are being used altogether.

11VARIOUS THEORIES IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
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