Concord Bookshop
HCS/587
December 10, 2012
David Harrell

Concord Bookshop
Concord bookshop was an organization that had challenges. This paper entails the description of the Concord bookshop and its organization. Organizational change process is explained along with Lewin’s Change Model phase; unfreezing, change, and refreezing. The phases of Lewin’s Change Model that Concord did not implement at the time of the change will be described also.
The Concord bookshop was an independent bookstore company that implemented a change during a time when the competition booksellers were chain bookstores and Internet books sales (Spector, 2010). The hire of a general manager caused conflict between the Concord owners and the employees the way the change was presented. Concord owners were set with their decision (Spector, 2010). The company did not listen to the employee’s concerns and told the employee’s the company will do it the way of the company and if he or she did not like it, it was his or her choice to continue or not with the company (Spector, 2010). The employee’s believed they were unimportant and dispensable; this led to the employee’s quitting. Lack of proper change implementation by the owners led to conflict and resistance from the employee’s.
The Concord owner’s did not use the organizational change process or the strategic renewal approach. Strategic renewal helps to redefine the relationship with the employee’s. The organizational change process involves responsibility methods, the presentation, expectations, and insights of all involved parties. This will help prevent resistance of the employees to change and lead to a successful change within the company internally and externally.
This leads to the phases of Lewin’s Change Model; unfreezing, change, and refreezing, which helps to see change as a sequence of powers working in different directions (Borkowski, 2005). Unfreezing is the first phase in which employee’s become displeased with the status quo (Spector, 2010). Concord did not prepare the employees or involve them in the necessary changes to help ease the status quo. Stated by Petrescu and Dinescu (2010), “The unfreezing phase represents the phase when change has been decided to be implemented within an organization, this being the time when strategies are drawn, people are nominated, when teams are formed and when in the end the entire planning has been established” (p. 136). Concord bookstore established needed changes, but failed to develop details to the employees why the changes of the current work ethic. The employees requested to meet with the board, but refused to listen to the employees. Concord management did not implement this phase because they refused to listen and have effective communication with the employees about the change. Change, the next phase, incorporates new behaviors and eases the uncertainty believed by employees. Concord bookstore did not try to ease the uncertainty believed by the employees. Concord stated as quoted by Spector (2010), “We’re going to do it our way, and if you don’t like it, each of you will have to make up your mind as how to proceed” (p. 2). Concord did not take the time to talk to their employees, therefore led to resistance. The employees possibly would have accepted the change if Concord took time to explain the reasoning for the change and how it would benefit them.
Refreezing is the final phase in which group members institutionalize the new patterns of behavior into a new status quo (Spector, 2010). According to Nili, Shekarchizadeh, Baharlouei, and Gorji, refreezing is the stabilization of the change (2012). Concord failed to fully implement the unfreezing and change phase therefore the refreezing phase could not be applied. If Concord properly completed the first two phases refreezing would have taken place next. The employees’ during this phase would have demonstrated the new changes.
Concord bookshop owners did not listen or learn about employees’ hesitations and concerns (Spector, 2010). Time and communication are two key points for the change to occur, neither in which had Concord demonstrated. For Lewin’s Change Model to have been implemented, Concord owners needed to enhance their understanding of the company’s internal and external environment (Borkowski, 2005, p. 384). Concord did not, which led to the failure of change.

References
Borkowski, N. (2005). Organizational behavior in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Publishers.
Nili, M., Shekarchizadeh, A., Baharlouei, M., & Gorji, M. (2012, September). Impact of suggestions system on the speed of organizational changes (Case study: Green pipe industries in Isfahan Province. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4(5), 144-154.
Petrescu, M., & Dinescu, R. (2010, June). Management of change - The art of balancing or the message behind Lewin's Model. Metalurgia International, 25(6), 136-138.
Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change: Theory into practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.