Kurt Lewin's Force Field Theory of Change analyzes driving and restraining forces that affect organizational change. It involves three steps: unfreezing by reducing restraining forces, moving to develop new values and behaviors, and refreezing to stabilize changes. The theory helps identify and prioritize solutions by analyzing forces for and against change, and recognizes what can and cannot be changed. It provides a means to minimize barriers and bring open factors influencing the gap between the current and desired state.

1. LEWIN’S FORCE FIELD THEORY OF
CHANGE
PRESENTED BY
SASIKANTH CHILLA

2. INTRODUCING KURT LEWIN
• American social Psychologist (1890-1946)
• Argued that successful businesses tend to be constantly adapting to their
environment and changing, rather than being inflexible

3. LEWIN’S CHANGE MODEL
• UNFREEZING – Reducing strength of forces which maintain current equilibrium
• MOVING– Developing new organizational values, attitudes and behaviours to
help move the organization on
• REFREEZING – Stabilizing after the changes have been made so that there’s a
new equilibrium

4. PURPOSE
• Identify the forces which support change and as well as those which will act
against it
• Evaluate the relative strength of forces that affect alternative solutions to perform
problems or business opportunities
• Help analyze and prioritize solutions to problems or areas needing improvement
• Assess the causes of performance problems or inhibitors to business
opportunities

5. ADVANTAGES
• Provides a means to analyze ways to minimize or eliminate barriers to goal
attainment
• Helps to recognize circumstances which can and cannot be changed
• Identified by a needs analysis
• Brings into the open factors which will work for and against the closing of a gap

6. STEPS
• Describe your plan
• Identify forces for change
• Identify force against change
• Assign scores
• Analyze and Apply

7. DRIVING FORCE
• Force affecting a situation that are pushing in a particular situation
• It is the positive force for the change
• It works as an aid
Ex: Improving productivity in a work group, competition and pressure from
supervisor

8. RESTRAINING FORCE
• Forces acting to decrease the driving force
• It is the obstacle to change
• It works as a barrier
Ex: Poor Maintenance of equipment. Lack of training

9. EXAMPLE

10. EXPLAINING FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
• There are forces driving change and forces restraining it
• Where there is an equilibrium between the two sets of forces there will be no
change
• In order for change to occur the driving force must exceed the restraining force

11. CONCLUSION
• This tool has a long history and still maintains it’s utility. Use it when your team is
blocked in some way or you need to see the wider picture in a change program. It
is an essential tool and it’s simplicity is a profound way of looking at an
organization

12. THANK YOU