...Phases of Change and the Concord Bookshop HCS/587 Creating Change Within Organizations Phases of Change and the Concord Bookshop The need for organizational change is inevitable. Technological advances, variations in the consumer marketplace, and evidence-based research dictate that in order for an organization to remain viable, it needs to be amenable to change. This does not mean, however, that organizations change effectively (Spector, 2010). Scientists have formulated many theories for describing processes to implement change in an organization, in hopes that understanding change and forces that resist it will lead to effective strategies. In this paper, I will review one of these theories and apply it to an actual organization that attempted to implement change. Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory One of the best known theories, and still applicable after 66 years, is Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory. Lewin “offered…insights that, to this day, shape our understanding of how to alter patterns of behavior” (Spector, 2010, p. 26). According to Ford, Lewin’s theory was linear and process driven (2009). It was based on the idea that variable forces acting upon a group can modify individual behavior. Therefore, as Burnes stated, Lewin believed that individuals affected by change would resist less if the organization involved them in the process (2007). Additionally, Lewin identified three distinct phases of change. During the first phase, unfreezing, the equilibrium of the...
Words: 1032 - Pages: 5
...ensuring proper planning or implementation. Many theoretical models have been established to ensure that organizations have references to use when implementing change in an organization. Below Kurt Lewin’s change model will be explained and used to analyze the change that occurred several years ago at successful independent bookstore called Concord Bookshop. The Concord Bookshop is a 64-year-old independent bookstore in New England that underwent big changes. Kurt Lewin was a psychologist who studied change implementation. Lewin’s change model includes three phases the unfreezing, changing, and refreezing stage. The first stage in Lewin’s model is the unfreezing stage. In this stage the individual or individuals are proposing a process to change and have to provide the individuals affected with an understanding of why this change is necessary. Nancy Borkowski (2005) states that the unfreezing stage is when the, “workers involved in perpetuating resistance acquire an understanding of variances that exist between current practices and behavior and desires activities and behavior” (p.384). This stage did not occur during the Concord Bookshop change process because management did not effectively communicate the need for change. Workers at the bookstore were unhappy with the changes management implemented because they were not involved in the change process. Employees of the bookstore started to resist the changes because management ignored the concerns they voiced. Managements response...
Words: 816 - Pages: 4
...Concord Bookshop Concord Bookshop is a local jewel of the New England (Spector, 2010). It is one of the last independent bookstores that is deeply rooted in the literary culture of its town. Unfortunately, as technology has advanced, it has become easier to order a book online or go to a big chain store to find a book. The competition from the Internet and chain stores has eaten away at the revenue of Concord Bookshop. With decreased revenue the board has decided to implement a management change. This move caused several employees to quit and the local authors to take up the pen and write the board in protest. In reading the story of the Concord Bookshop it is easy to see that a change was needed for the store to be profitable. It is not known if the board’s decision to change management was the correct one, but it is easy to see that the board grossly underestimated the resistance they would receive. The Board decided to change management and the structure of management without warning or input from present management. If the board would have followed Kurt Lewin’s Change Model the change in management and restructuring would have been better received. First, the Board would “unfreeze” the staff and notify them of the decline in revenue and profits. This would have created dissatisfaction with the status quo (Spector, 2010). With this information the Board could have engaged the staff, and asked for recommendation on improving revenue and becoming more efficient....
Words: 507 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop Paper Horace Steward III HCS 587 May 12, 2014 Debra Kent Concord Bookshop Paper Concord Bookshop is a small family owned and operated bookstore located in New England. Faced with increasing financial hardship and competition from megastores and online competitors, members of the Concord board made the decision to make major business changes. Hiring of an outside general manager was the spark that ignited the ensuing firestorm, and resulted in eight seasoned employees quitting or planning to resign. Faced with pressure from unhappy employees and local authors, members of the board met to provide an opportunity for employee concerns to be vented. The meeting resulted in board members giving employees an ultimatum and employees leaving with a sense of betrayal. A brief synopsis of the events that occurred at the Concord Bookshop might have been avoided by the adoption and implementation of organizational change process. The phases in the organizational change process are strategic responsiveness, behavioral change, employee participation and resistance to change (Spector, 2010). Strategic responsiveness involves recognizing the need to make changes by an organization as the result of internal or external factors. In the case of Concord, financial pressures caused by competition was a catalyst for change. According to Spector (2010), “Behavioral change directly targets patterns of employee actions and interactions in order to meet the company’s strategy...
Words: 430 - Pages: 2
...Concord Bookshop Organizational Change In today’s unstable economy many organizations are under tremendous pressure to advance and survive. The Concord Bookshop is one of these small organizations that needed to make a change to better compete with the innovation of their competitors. With the rise in larger bookstore chains and Internet sales the small bookstores future is uncertain. Without some interventions the bookstore would not survive. The implementation of a new organizational model will ensure that the company survives and becomes profitable. Strategic renewal requires organizational change, reinvention, invention, and redesign of business process and organizational structure (Spector, 2010). Kurt Lewin’s change three stage model offers an effective approach to strategic change. In the first stage of the theory, which is the Unfreezing. In this stage group members become dissatisfied with the status quo (Spector, 2010). The second stage of the theory which is moving. During this stage the group members alter their behaviors and patterns (Spector, 2010). The final stage is refreezing. It is during this stage that the group members institutionalize the new patterns of behavior into a new status quo (Spector, 2010). In the final stage of Lewin’s theory this is when lasting changes are implemented and become permanent. In the case of Concord Bookshop the board recognized that it needed to compete with the large bookstore chains and book sales on the...
Words: 549 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop Paper The article “Tales of Woe at Concord Bookshop” is about a small town bookshop that has been in existence for 64 years. Many people of the town enjoyed using the bookshop. The bookshop’s financial situation was considered to be the worst it had ever been, so the board of directors made a drastic decision to hire a new general manager. No changes were going to be made to any current employee. This paper will show the organizational change processes that were not implemented at the Concord Bookshop, which led to the change failure. The phases in an organizational change process are strategic renewal and organization change, behavioral changes, and employee participation and resistance to change. According to Spector (2010), strategic renewal requires organizational change and demands “wide-scale invention, reinvention, and redesign of business processes and organizational structures” (p. 4). For strategic renewal to be successful, organizations need to create new business models. The business model is the organizations approach to generating revenue and making a profit. Changing an existing business model is more difficult than starting a new one because changing an existing model requires organizational changes. These changes usually affect behavior patterns of existing...
Words: 501 - Pages: 3
...Organizational Change and the Concord Bookshop Organizational change is a process by which a business makes changes to improve themselves. The world is constantly changing and evolving and businesses need to find a way to keep up. How businesses manage change varies depending on what type of business it is. The model of change developed by Kurt Lewin in the 1950s consists of three stages of change-unfreeze, changing, and refreeze (Medley & Akan, 2008, p. 485). An example of organizational change is the Concord Bookshop. The Concord Bookshop is a 64-year-old bookstore in New England (Spector, 2010). The owners found it necessary to makes changes because of the current market for book sales. The change was not well received by the staff and conflict developed between the owners and the staff. “For strategic renewal to be effective, organizations need to do more than announce a new strategy. Leaders need to align internal processes, structures, and systems with demands of the new strategy” (Spector, 2010, p. 3). Phases of Organizational Change Kurt Lewin’s model of change consisted of three stages of change. The first stage is the called the Unfreeze, the organization accepts change is required. “To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core – you need to challenge the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that currently define it” (Mind Tools, 2010, p. 2). The second phase people accept change will happen. “In order to accept the change...
Words: 681 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop Introduction As the world is changing with Technology, many companies are finding themselves struggling to stay afloat in competitive market. Whenever new business strategy is introduced in a company, a change has to take place. The way changes are introduced and implemented, determines the success of the change. Before change is introduced, there must be need for change and after implementation of change; there is expectation (Vaughn, 2012). Change is not an easy process; it requires team work in planning, organizing and implementation. Organizational change is successful when it is effective and yield growth, but a failure when is unproductive. This paper will discuss the phases in the organizational change process and what lead to the change failure at the Concord Bookshop. Phases of Organizational Change Process Change is trying to do things in a different way for a better result or outcome. (Spector, 2010). Kurt Lewin’s three stage theory of change are Unfreeze, Change and Freeze. The Unfreezing stage is the understanding of the need for change and preparing for it. It requires moving away from the comfort zone of the old norms. The Change stage or Transition is the most difficult time of the change. At this stage reaction to change are displayed, people are frustrated and fearful. Support is need at this stage either in form of training, or in-services and mistakes are expected...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop HCS 587 Georgetta Baptist The concept of change is vital to the survival of all forms of life; it is nearly impossible to remain stagnant and unchanged when inhabiting a round sphere that is in constant motion. Today’s society thrives on competition, speed, and convenience. Long gone are the days of mom and pop stores and consumers actually enjoying to shop in person. Instead, physical stores are being replaced by the convenience of virtual shopping from your cell phones, Ipads, computers, etc. This is the case of the Concord bookshop, whom in its hay day was a highly regarded community jewel in Boston, known for their customer service and vast knowledge of books. The last few years have been financially difficult for the bookshop and in a last ditch effort to remain open, the owners have decided to enforce a new business model much to the dissatisfaction of their employees. I will focus on two phases of the organizational change process that were not implemented by the Concord bookshop that ultimately led to their failure. The first failure occurred when the new general manager and the owners decided to change the business plan without consulting the three current store managers or the employees. “Change imposed from “above”-top executives telling employees that they must alter their behaviors in order to implement a new strategy or perform better under the old strategy-is likely to engender resistance” (Spector, p.11, 2010). Getting people to change...
Words: 582 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop Paper According to the famous phrase “the only constant in this world is change”. Life changes constantly and changes happen either it is with a positive or with a negative outcome. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” according to Charles Darwin. With organizations, change is constant. Organizational change is inevitable in order to cope with competitors. The private owned business Concord Bookshop is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has been the pride of the town for years. According to the reading, Concord Bookshop is considered as one the best in New England. The Concord Bookshop develops a change due to the bookstore’s financial state. This essay will discuss the phases in the organizational change process and discusses the phases that were not implemented at the concord bookshop that resulted to company’s business failure. The three phases of organizational change are turnaround, tools and techniques, and transformational behavioral change. In turnaround phase, implementing cost effective measures are, usually, the first step in most recovery approach as they can be accomplished quickly and generally needs little or no capital or investment of any resources. Another phase of organizational change is the tools and techniques that aims on improving internal organization processes. Changes on the organizations processes are being made without affecting behaviors of employees...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 790 - Pages: 4
...most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” stated Charles Darwin. The Concord Bookshop went through changes as many other companies are faced in today’s recession, fierce competition, innovative technology, and restructuring needs. According to Kurt Lewin there are three phases of change implementation: freezing, moving, and refreezing. In this paper, I will describe phases that Concord Bookshop failed to complete that lead to change failure. Phases of Organizational Change Before the change occurs, there are techniques a company can use to minimize resistance. These include good strategic planning, commitment to leadership and team-building skills, and good communication skills (Gambrel & Stevens, 1992). Concord Bookshop failed to use any of the said techniques. According to Spector (2010), a new organizational model is necessary for a business to gain profit and survive in the market. When Concord management hired new general manager there is no strategic planning done. Although the management attempts to hire new manager is needed to keep updated with technology and the ability to competition, management’s approach to change implementation led to resistance and resentment. Concord management failed to involve employees in the proposed change. There is no team building, when Concord management decides to adapt change; it was done as management prerogative. Concord Bookshop did not give the employees any input into the change process at all, nor did they listen...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...Phases of Organizational Change: Concord Bookshop Conflict University of Phoenix Phases of Organizational Change: Concord Bookshop Conflict Organizational change is a never-ending process. Knowing how to approach, present, and effectively implement change depends on several factors. The three phases of Lewin’s Force Field Model: unfreezing, change, and refreezing allow the change process to take place (Borkowski, 2005). Using these phases change can be presented, discussed, and ultimately implemented with success. For organizations to continue to grow and become ever more prosperous, change has to be continuously refined. In this paper, a brief discussion of the phases of organizational change as well as an examination of the organizational change processes not implemented in the Concord Bookshop conflict will be conducted. Lewin’s Phases of Organizational Change Unfreezing Borkowski (2005) states, “The forces and workers involved in perpetuating resistance acquire an understanding of variances that exist between current practices and behavior and desired activities and behavior” (pp. 384-385). The organization must perform an investigation to see what type of resisting forces they may face in regard to the proposed change. An organization will not be effective in creating change unless motivation within the organization is manifested. Understanding that change requires some new knowledge to be learned and some old knowledge to be unlearned. This fact is...
Words: 930 - Pages: 4
...The Concord Bookshop and the Change process Tara Buckenmyer HCS/587 March 17, 2014 Carol Rohrback Organizational Change and the Concord Bookstore Change is inevitable for business owners. External forces like technological advances and consumer demands often places financial hardship on a company. The success of online shopping has forced bookstore owners to become creative in competing with Internet companies. To remain competitive and maintain viability, bookstore owners must be able to adapt quickly and implement organizational changes. Organizational change means introducing a new enterprise resource planning system to co-ordinate and standardize internal process (Spector, 2010). Businesses often turn to strategic renewal changes to improve profit margins and customer relations. An independently owned bookstore, The Concord Bookshop, underwent organizational change processes that led to failure. The Concord Bookshop The Concord Bookshop was a thriving bookstore in Boston, Massachusetts, until national bookstore chains and the availability of online shopping affected its financial status. To improve the store’s financial position, the owners represented by a board president, elected to implement organizational changes. The owners no longer wanted to use a three-way management system. They elected to demote the existing managers into different positions and hire a new general manager. This came as an abrupt surprise to the current employees. Employees...
Words: 745 - Pages: 3
...Concord Bookshop Paper HCS/587 Organizational change is a process by which a business makes changes to improve themselves. The world is constantly changing and evolving and businesses like healthcare industry need to find a way to keep up. How businesses manage change varies depending on what type of business it is. The model of change developed by Kurt Lewin in the 1950s consists of three stages of change: unfreeze, changing, and refreeze (Medley & Akan, 2008, p. 485). An example of organizational change is the Concord Bookshop. The Concord Bookshop is a 64-year-old bookstore in New England (Spector, 2010). The owners found it necessary to makes changes because of the current market for book sales. The change was not well received by the staff and conflict developed between the owners and the staff. “For strategic renewal to be effective, organizations need to do more than announce a new strategy. Leaders should align internal processes, structures, and systems with the demands of the new strategy” (Spector, 2010. p.3). Phases of Organizational Change Kurt Lewin’s model of change consisted of three stages of change. The first stage is the called the Unfreeze, the organization accepts change is required. “To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core – you need to challenge the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that currently define it” (Mind Tools, 2010, p. 2). The second phase people accept change will happen, “In order to accept...
Words: 722 - Pages: 3
