Organization development entails the procedures and ways used to enhance the effectiveness and the productivity of an organization. Organization development involves the techniques which aid the organization and the workers to adjust to the changes in circumstances in a proper way. This makes it possible for the organization to meet their targets and objectives within a short period (Cummings & Worley, 2014). Even in the health care system, it is vital for the management and health workers to adapt to change geared at offering quality health services. One of the Organizational development models that can be applied is the Lewin's Change model.
Lewin's Change model was developed by Kurt Lewin. This model illustrates a practical and simple way for approaching and comprehending the process of change. In this model, the process of change involves creating the notion that change is necessary, then embracing the move towards the behavior level that requires the engaging in that behavior as the new routine of the organization. Lewin's change model involves three steps namely unfreezing, changing and refreezing (Shirey, 2013).
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The first step of this model is unfreezing. It is the nature of many people always to resist change. Unfreezing key role is to illustrate how the level of operation and acceptability within the organization is hindering progress and development. In this process, the thinking ways, the past behaviors, the structures of the organization and the people are all scrutinized so that it can be possible to illustrate to the employees that it is necessary for changes to be done in the organization so that the organization can remain relevant in the market (Shirey, 2013).
This will also show that it is essential for changes to occur so as the organization can have a competitive edge over their competitors in the marketplace (Manchester et al., 2014). It is essential to communicate adequately with the employees during unfreezing so that they can be informed about the change that is about to occur, the reasoning behind that change and how they are going to benefit from that change. This principle works on the basis that the more people know about the change, the more they will feel that the change is crucial and urgent. Thus, they will be motivated to accept the change.
Changing is the second step. This step entails a stage where the organization must undergo transition. The idea of change becomes a reality. However, most people also struggle to cope up with the new reality. This is a difficult step to overcome since it is characterized by fear. In this step, the people begin to learn new processes, new thinking ways, and new approaches. The duration that this step will be completed will be dependent on how prepared the people are to learn (Shirey, 2013). When employs are familiarizing themselves with this change, communication, support, time and education are of great importance. The process of change has to be carefully planned and implemented. Throughout this step, it is important to remind the employees the reasons of the change and the benefits that will come along with the change.
The final step is called refreezing. This term illustrates the act of stabilizing, solidifying and reinforcing the state of operations after the change has taken place in the organization. The changes were done to the structure of the organization, the organization's goals, people, processes, and offerings are refrozen and treated as the usual occurrences or as the status quo. This method of refreezing is an important one since it ensures that people do not go back to their old ways of doing things and thinking before the change had been implemented. There must be efforts done to issue that the change made is not disregarded (Manchester et al., 2014). The change should be treated as the mode of operation of the organization, and it should be cemented to become the culture of the organization. People should be rewarded due to personal efforts in applying the changes. This appreciation will lead to the repetition of the behaviors that illustrate that the changes have been accepted and implemented.
Change is an inevitable aspect in the current world. Various models can be used to explain the process of change in an organization. Organizations must look for ways to carry out this change smoothly so that their activities are not affected. Organizations offering different services such as health should always aim to keep in touch with the changes if they want to develop and remain competitive in the marketplace.
References
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change . Cengage learning.
Manchester, J., Gray-Miceli, D. L., Metcalf, J. A., Paolini, C. A., Napier, A. H., Coogle, C. L., & Owens, M. G. (2014). Facilitating Lewin's change model with collaborative evaluation in promoting evidence-based practices of health professionals . Evaluation and program planning , 47, 82-90.
Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewin's theory of planned change as a strategic resource. Journal of Nursing Administration , 43(2), 69-72.
