Various Change Theories - Essay Example

There was the way the production process was organized before the change; the plan embodying the new method of production; a period of transition during which new procedures and equipment would be put in place; and the final new procedure reinforced by training and reward which would supersede previous practice and bring about the newly expected yields anticipated by the change in the first place. Devolving a plan of action for such change underpins many different planned change schemas.

They often involve steps that are offered to the prospective manager of change and relate quite well to problem-solving schemas, too. This study highlights that too often signals for change occur without leaders noticing. Or leaders may receive a signal for change and act on it without fully understanding its implications, or worse, without appreciating what change in the organization the signal is requiring. These shortcomings limit leaders’ ability to define the change needed and the outcomes for it.

How do leaders explore these signals and accurately interpret their meaning? How can they be more certain that they are asking their organizations to change in the ways that are really needed? This is why we need to explore the different change theories and compare them. These theories are critical for leaders to understand what drives change. Lewin's Three-Step Change TheoryIn Lewin's view, implementing change is a three-step process: (1) unfreezing the organization from its present state, (2) making the change, and (3) "refreezing" the organization in the new desired state so that its members do not revert to their previous work attitudes and role behaviors.

Lewin warned that resistance to change will quickly cause an organization and its members to revert to their old ways of doing things unless the organization actively takes steps to refreeze the organization with the changes in place. It is not enough to make some changes in task and role relationships and expect the changes to be successful and endure. To get an organization to remain in its new state, managers must actively manage the change process. In their article, Suderman et al. (2000) used Lewin's three-step change theory in their action research project.

Their case was conducted to explore parents' perceptions about discharge preparation for a child with a respiratory problem. According to the researchers, action research was chosen as the process for their study because it best describes the relationship between changing practice and action research as a "bottom-up" approach specifically designed as a response to the theory-practice gap. This is because knowledge is context-specific and situational, and there is a sense of ownership among those involved in the endeavor.

Thus, the information gathered through parents, coupled with that of the nurses, using Lewin's three-step change theory could provide a solid foundation on which healthcare professionals could construct a discharge program.