In 1951, a sociologist by the name of Kurt Lewin developed what is referred to as the
force field analysis.
What Lewin believed was that any state of equilibrium or level of performance was the
result of a combination of driving and restraining forces at work.
Driving forces represent those forces that encourage change in some way.
For example, if an organization was adopting a new inventory management system, supervisor
encouragement, monetary incentives, and even training could be considered driving forces.
The second forces at work are restraining forces.
Restraining forces represent those forces that help maintain the status quo and make
the implementation of change much more difficult.
For example, worker's habits, hostility towards management, or even past experiences can serve
as forces that prevent or at least lessen the likelihood of the new system being adopted.
Now this constant interaction between driving and restraining forces produces what is known
as an equilibrium.
This equilibrium can represent either the current level of performance or simply the
current state of being.
So according to Lewin's force field analysis, in order to implement change we would need
to increase those driving forces, decrease those restraining forces, or both.
Now that we know a little bit about the model lets walk through some steps that management
can take to increase the rate of adoption to change.
A few days ago Comcast announced an offer to buy competing cable provider Time Warner
Cable for $46 billion in stock.
Although the deal may not go through due to anti-competitive concerns, lets use it as
an example as we conduct a force field analysis.
First lets outline the driving and restraining forces that are likely present in this scenario.
This is unlikely to be an exhaustive list, but at least you'll get a feel for how to
conduct the analysis.
Driving forces may include the enthusiasm and commitment of top management, the approval
of the board of directors, and even the support of the investment community.
These forces are considered driving forces because they encourage the change and a departure
from the current state of equilibrium.
But are they enough to move the equilibrium?
Well the may in fact not be.
Working against those driving forces could include: employees who are concerned of layoffs,
customers who are fearful of paying higher prices as cable options decrease, and even
established operating procedures that would need to change.
In addition to these changes, the U.S. government can always file suit and attempt to block
the acquisition under grounds that it harms competition and subsequently consumers.
Now each of these forces doesn't affect the situation the same, but all play some part
in the current situation.
Now that we've conducted a brief analysis of the present situation we need to develop
a change strategy.
The first question that we should ask is do the driving forces far outweigh the restraining
forces?
If so, management would need to do very little to see the adoption of the change.
In our situation this is unlikely given the nature of our restraining forces.
The second question we should ask is: Are the restraining forces much stronger than
the driving forces?
If the answer is yes, we have a couple of options.
First we could do nothing.
We come to the realization that attempting to change the status quo would be far too
difficult and give up altogether.
The second option is that we can pursue the change effort by maintaining those driving
forces, while attempting to minimize the impact of those restraining forces.
And the last possible situation occurs when the driving and restraining forces are similar
in size.
In this case, management can push the driving forces while slowly attempting to lessen the
restraining forces.
Regardless of which option we choose, lets look at how we can increase those driving
forces and decrease the restraining forces in our example.
One of the first things that likely needs to be done is to educate and communicate with
our workforce.
They probably have a lot of concerns, and rightfully so.
By educating them about the acquisition and what the new company would look like we can
slowly start to chip away at those restraining forces, making change much more likely.
It would also be important to educate consumers and government officials, and inform them
of how the company would operate post-acquisition and what the potential impact would be on
prices.
The next action that we can take is to allow employees to actively participate in the change
process.
Research shows that people are far more willing to go along with a course action if they've
been given the opportunity to voice their opinion.
Even if the decided course of action is against what they proposed.
So by involving employees in the process and allowing them to make certain decisions on
how jobs will be performed this may lessen some of the restraining forces at work.
Providing managerial support in the form of training, added incentives, and other actions
can also decrease restraining forces and make the possibility of an acquisition more of
a reality.
Change of course ins't a guarantee.
But organizations today operate in environments that require them to be nimble.
That require them to be able to leverage opportunities in the market.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to do those things if your workforce is set on maintaing
the status quo.
So by using techniques such as Lewin's force field analysis, organizations can better implement
change and increase their chances of success.
Thank you for watching this video on the Lewin's force field analysis.
In next week's video, we're going to talk about some of the different characteristics
that lead to more satisfying and motivating jobs in the workplace.
For questions, please leave them in the comment box below and I'll do my best to get back
to them in a timely fashion.
If you want more from Alanis Business Academy you can subscribe to our channel or go the
alanisbusinessacademy.com where you'll find additional content, quizzes, and more.
Thanks for watching.