Lewin's Change Model Real-Life Example For Unfreeze Change Refreeze

Lewin's Change Model Real-Life Example is Netflix. The Example of Three Stages of Kurt Lewin's Change Management.

Lewin's Change Model

Lewin's change model refers to the three stages of management change theory. The three stages of Lewin's change management model are unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. Therefore, the alternative name of the Lewin change management model is the unfreeze change refreeze theory. Lewin's change model is one of the primary and familiar change management models that describe the organizational transition.

 

Lewin's Change Model Real Life Examples- Unfreeze Change Refreeze Examples

Who and When Established Lewin's Change Management Model?

Kurt Lewin established the three stages of the organizational change model in 1947.

In 1947, Kurt Lewin introduced the three stages of the change management model known as Kurt Lewin's change model. After that, researchers and scientists established many models to describe organizational changes, such as Kotter's Change Management Model, Kübler-Ross Five Stage Change Management, ADKAR Change Management Model, McKinsey 7-S Change Management Model, and also Lewin's Change Model or Theory. However, Lewin's change management model has become the most popular for its simplicity and fewer phases, for example, unfreeze, change, and refreeze.

Researchers have developed multiple theories based on Lewin's change management model. So, it is the foundation of all modern change management theories. For example, John Kotter's 8-stage management change model was developed based on Lewin's change management model. The management system is complex compared to before when the model was introduced. Therefore, Lewin's change management model is controversial in modern organizations. It has excellent theoretical significance in the research arena rather than practical importance.

Lewin's Change Model Real-Life Example

Many reputed companies apply Lewin's change management model to survive in the current situation. For example, Netflix has used a change model to adjust to the digital era. Netflix's organizational change process handled the force of organizational change to achieve a competitive advantage. Netflix transformed its business strategy in 1998, 1998, and 2007. The management encountered multiple barriers to getting outcomes.  Now, they are one of the most successful companies globally. Netflix is a real-life example of Lewin's change management model. It is known as Lewin's Change Model Business Example.

Lewin's Change Model Stages

Three Stages of Change Management are:
  1. Unfreeze stage
  2. Change stage
  3. Refreeze stage
Lewin's Change Model Real Life Examples- Three Stages of Change Management
Lewin's Change Management Model - Three Stages of Change Management

Unfreeze Change Refreeze

1. Unfreezing Stage of Change

Unfreezing is the initial stage of Lewin's change management model or Lewin's change management model. In this stage, employees prepare mentally to accept the change in the organization. In the management system, the unfreeze stage refers to breaking down the existing circumstances to accept organizational changes. Usually, employees feel comfortable in the organization's current condition; therefore, some do not accept the management change quickly due to uncertainty. The unfreezing stage consists of educating people about opportunities for organizational change. The organization should practice the change management communication strategy to prepare employees for the change.

The key point of this stage is to compel employees to accept management change through effective change communication. Maintaining effective interaction within the management is essential to persuade employees to accept change. Employees will receive the change if they understand the new things cannot prevent the company or organization from surviving.  Additionally, they must realize that change is essential to sustain the organization and achieve competitive advantages.

A high level of positive motivation among employees helps to understand the reasons for organizational change and development. Next, the organization needs to persuade the stakeholders that the change will bring benefits to everyone. Some people will receive it quickly, but some of them will deny it initially. Finally, everyone will come up with the motivation to make the change.

Communication During the Unfreeze Stage

The primary communication objective is to prepare stakeholders, employees, and the organization to accept the change – “Readying” the organization. However, resistance will increase simultaneously with how huge the change is and how much it affects the organization. Effective communication can overcome resistance. To ‘ready’ the organization to accept the change, it is essential to declare the objective of the change. Additionally, you must ensure that everyone in the organization knows what will happen and why. Effective communication is significant in pointing out the difference between actual and desired outcomes. This first message or declaration should come from the top-level management of the organization to avoid communication conflict.

2. Change (Move) Stage

Change is the second stage of Lewin's change management model. It is the middle stage of the three phases of change management. Actual changes occur when everyone in the organization decides to accept the change with positive motivation. Employees receive and adjust to the new working atmosphere. Changes can be major or minor based on the organization's needs. The organization must provide sufficient training and support for the employees to embrace the changes. It is the stage of implementing the change process; therefore, many issues must be addressed consciously. Some employees may spread misleading information due to having insufficient knowledge about organizational change. So, the organization needs to practice an effective communication process to avoid unwanted issues. However, employees will be focused on practicing the new work.

Communication During the Change Stage

The organization should ensure effective communication among employees to reduce uncertainty as well as organizational communication noise. People may indulge in spreading disinformation and lies with less information about the change process. Therefore, the communication has to have a more specific character than in the previous phase. Communication in this stage is essential to provide authentic, accurate, and detailed information on what will happen to those who have less sketchy details on implementing changes. Finally, it distributes the new responsibility among assigned people in the organization.

3. Refreezing Stage of Change

Refreezing stage of change is the third and final stage of the Kurt Lewin change management model. In this stage, employees adjust to the change of management daily. Refreezing is a slow process of adopting the new culture and atmosphere of the corporate workplace. Employees and stakeholders may take a long time to adjust to the new systems. The pace of the practice among employees determines the time of the refreezing stage. So, refreezing is the most crucial stage in the Lewin change management model. The new attitude and behavior of employees become solidified as the norm of the organization. Finally, everyone starts to feel comfortable as in the previous stage before unfreezing.

Communication During the Refreeze Stage

The communication process should answer employees’ queries regarding rewards, control, efficiency, and relationship roles. In this stage, the information flow should be concrete, continuous, and multidirectional so that employees have a sufficient understanding of the personal associations of the change. Unavoidable misunderstandings may occur in this phase, so; communication should focus on making the transition successful.

Lewin's Change Model Example

For example, An ice block cannot get converted into a new shape without melting it. So it would be best if you created a hot environment to melt the ice block. The temperature must be more than 32°F (0°C) temperature to melt the ice. So, here, increasing the temperature denotes the unfreezing stage.

According to Lewin's theory, unfreezing refers to preparation for accepting the new workplace norms. It is the initial stage to get ready to accept the change. The management needs to motivate employees to accept change.

It will take time to transform the entire ice block into water.  Keep the glass isolated and ensure the temperature is suitable for melting ice. When the ice block completely transforms into water, pour it into a new pot to give it a unique shape. Here, pouring the water into a glass is changing steps or moving stage. Melting the ice denotes the change stage of Lewin's theory.

According to Lewin's theory, changing refers to accepting new norms and moving on to change. Thus, the employee starts to change and accept the new culture of the workplace.

Finally, keep the glass in a cold place to transform the water into ice again. It is the way of freezing the water to transform it again into a new solid shape. It is called the refreezing process and the final stage of Lewin's change management model.

Refreezing refers to adjusting to the new norms of the workplace. The employee has already accepted the change, and they adapt to the new environment.

The model summarized that successful management change is accomplished through a three-stage process; unfreezing, changing, and refreezing.

Lewin's Change Management Model Example

For example, the educational institute has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, all organizations, including educational institutes, decided to conduct virtual or online classes to ensure the continuation of education for students. These educational institutes are applying online video meeting platforms, such as Zoom and Google Meet, to conduct virtual classes and organizational meetings. It was a new experience for lecturers; therefore, they were afraid of uncertainty and interested in taking online courses. But, the university authority compels them to accept the change. The university authority maintains effective communication through social media platforms to motivate employees to get change. They thought the organizational change would help achieve competitive advantages as the other educational institutes adopted it. So, finally, they accept the change and adjust to the new working environment. It is a perfect example of Lewin's Change Theory.

Lewin's Change Model Pros and Cons

Lewin's Change Management Model Strengths and weaknesses

Lewin Model Advantages

Firstly, Kurt Lewin's model is straightforward to understand; any organization can implement it efficiently. The management need not hire experts to execute the model. The existing employees will be able to apply it and evaluate the outcome. It has only three stages: unfreeze, change, and refreeze, so it is easy to understand and apply. For example, the McKinsey 7-S model has seven elements that are challenging to implement.

Lewin Model Disadvantages

Firstly, refreezing takes a long time to settle down with new norms. Additionally, many employees quit their job due to uncertainty regarding the latest norms and environment. Lewin's theory excludes many crucial elements, such as staff, structure, strategy, system, and style.

Kurt Lewin 1951 References

Citation for this Article (APA 7th Edition)

Kobiruzzaman, M. M. (2024). Lewin's Change Model- Lewin's Change Management Model of 3 Stage. Educational Website For Online Learning. https://newsmoor.com/lewins-change-model-3-steps-management-change-and-communication/

Principles of Total Quality Management & Eight Principles of TQM

Principles of Total Quality Management & Eight Principles of TQM.

Quality Definition in Business

Quality in business means satisfying the customers by providing excellent products and services. Researchers defined quality in many ways, but the essence of the definition is almost similar. Edward described that "quality is the ability to exceed the customer's satisfaction by providing service and product." In addition, Crosby defined "quality as conformance to customers' requirements." Moreover, Juran defined quality as being 'fitness for use. So, quality is the standard or degree of the products or services that can differentiate them from others by measurement.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to the management process that includes the commitment and dedication of every employee in the organization to maintain a high level of quality in every sector for customer gratification. The employees have to be informed about the strategy before implementing it. In the mid-1980s, total quality management (TQM) was introduced based on the Company-Wide Quality Control (CWQC) and benchmarking process. Later, many scholars, such as Juran, Deming, and Ishikawa, contributed to the practices and improved the content of Total Quality Management. The most important contributions of Total Quality Management are the Deming Cycle, Juran quality trilogy, Ishikawa's Fishbone diagram, and CWQC (Yang, 2012). For example, Netflix practices Total Quality Management, and Netflix organization changes confirm that the authority focuses on maintaining the TQM tools.

What are the Principles of Total Quality Management?

Principles of Total Quality Management

The 8 Principles of TQM are:
  1. Customer Focus
  2. Leadership
  3. Involvement of People
  4. Processes Approach
  5. System Approach
  6. Continual Improvement
  7. Factual Approach to Decision-Making
  8. Mutual Beneficial Supplier Relationship.
Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM)- 8 Principles of TQM
Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM)- 8 Principles of TQM

In the mid-1990s, the eight basic principles or elements of total quality management (TQM) were proposed by some well-known philosophers (Evans, 2013). These eight principles of TQM entirely work together to develop the process and yield customer satisfaction. The 8 Pillars of TQM are key components to achieve competitiveness. Many organizations adopt these TQM pillars to gain top positions in the market.

1. Customer Focus

The first and prime principle of total quality management (TQM) focuses on the existing and potential customers buying the products and services. Customers are the people who justify the quality of the products and services. So, the company needs to ensure that the customers will feel they have spent their money on a quality product if it can last long enough to fulfill demands. You can exceed customer satisfaction only when you know their needs. So, successful companies align their objectives with the client's needs. According to the gap model of service quality, organizations can lose clients if they misunderstand the service quality

2. Leadership

Leadership is the process by which an individual influences other people to work effectively to achieve organizational goals. They enhance relationship engagement in the organization.  Leadership is essential in maintaining unity among employees to achieve interdependent goals (Evans, 2013). Although there are mainly three types of leadership in the industry, the democratic leadership style is the best to perform well. Leaders can form a convenient environment to work effectively inside the organization, where all employees work to achieve the organization's goal. So, leadership seems to be an essential principle of total quality management.

The primary advantages of Leadership are:

The primary motive of the leaders is to motivate the employees to improve job performance.
Leaders inspire, motivate, and create a strategic plan congruent to the business goal.
They develop a precise vision for the future of the organization.

3. Involvement of People

People from every level give their all-out efforts and dedication to the organization's profits. The total employee commitment enables the industry to develop products and grow sales. So, all the employees in the organization have to be well-trained, committed, and dedicated to achieving an interdependent goal on time. Additionally, the industry needs to create a responsive environment where every employee will be motivated to complete the task correctly. The employees' activeness, motivation, and retention can yield customer gratification. The involvement of people can produce effective teamwork. According to Evans (2013), three types of cooperation are vertical, horizontal, and inter-organization.

The primary benefits of People Involvement are:

It influences employees who are dedicated in the workplace.

The involvement of people is an intrinsic motivation that charms employees to contribute to the organization's growth. The process theories of motivation explain how people's involvement and affiliation motivate employees to keep working in the workplace.

It enhances employees' creativity and innovation in the organization.

4. Processes Approach

The company needs to improve the process consistently to yield sound output. A good result from the processes approach can bring customer satisfaction. Hence, TQM focuses on the process approach to assure product or service quality.

5. System Approach to Management

Total quality (TQM) highlights executing the strategy systematically. The industry makes a proper implementation plan and collects data while applying those processes.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) describes this principle: "Identifying, understanding, and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives."

6. Continual Improvement

Continual improvement of the process is an essential step for every industry to satisfy its customers. Therefore, TQM assists the company in keeping watching the constant improvement of the system to improve the service quality and product of the industry. Above all, continual improvement assists the company in achieving competitive advantages, and it is the most critical principle among the eight principles of TQM.

7. Factual Approach to Decision-Making

An objective approach to decision-making is another crucial principle of TQM. It eases making decisions based on the information collected from data. Making a decision based on facts is an effective way to achieve customer satisfaction. This principle uses the actual method to collect and analyze data to make decisions for the company's progress.

8. Mutual Beneficial Supplier Relationship

Mutual beneficial supplier relationship is another essential principle of total quality management for building rapport with suppliers. It is also called reciprocity. Usually, a business is conducted by multiple combined departments, and each department is assigned individual tasks, although these departments' functions are interconnected. The total quality management process helps all sections work combined to achieve an interdependent objective. The company uses visual aids and flowcharts to understand how employees perform perfectly. Executing total quality management (TQM) is not easy; TQM represents a significant cultural shift, so the company needs to implement it slowly and accurately (Evans, 2013).

Conclusion

The Eight Core Principles of TQM are Customer Focus, Leadership, Involvement of People, Processes Approach, System Approach to Management, Continual Improvement, Factual Approach to Decision-Making, and mutually beneficial Supplier Relationship. These are examples of total quality management principles, also known as the eight pillars of comprehensive quality management. However, the eight principles of TQM are fundamental elements in driving a business successfully. Everybody in the company has to be conscious of the plan, method, and strategy to achieve a goal. The risk of failure can increase due to not maintaining the principles of total quality management. So, the authority should ensure that every employee is aware of them. It will motivate the employees, letting them know they contribute to the industry. Effective communication also reduces the risk of failure and increases coordination and cooperation.

 Examples of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Practice:
  1. Toyota Production System (TPS): Toyota's renowned production system is a prime example of TQM in action. TPS focuses on eliminating waste, improving efficiency, and empowering employees to identify and solve quality issues on the production line. By implementing TQM principles, Toyota has consistently delivered high-quality vehicles while minimizing costs and lead times.
  2. Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a methodology used by companies like General Electric and Motorola to reduce defects and variation in processes. By applying statistical tools and rigorous analysis, organizations identify the root causes of problems and implement solutions to achieve near-perfect quality levels. Six Sigma emphasizes data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement to drive business success.
  3. Kaizen: Kaizen, meaning "continuous improvement" in Japanese, is a fundamental aspect of TQM. Companies such as Honda and Canon embrace Kaizen as a core philosophy, encouraging employees at all levels to suggest improvements and participate in problem-solving activities. Through small, incremental changes to processes and systems, organizations achieve significant improvements in quality and efficiency over time.
  4. ISO 9000 Quality Management System:

Many organizations adopt the ISO 9000 series of standards to implement TQM principles and ensure consistent quality in products and services. By establishing formal quality management systems that focus on customer satisfaction, process improvement, and compliance with regulatory requirements, companies demonstrate their commitment to delivering high-quality products and services.

  1. Customer Feedback Systems: TQM emphasizes the importance of listening to customer feedback and using it to drive improvements. Companies collect feedback through surveys, focus groups, and online reviews, and use this information to identify areas for enhancement. By continuously monitoring customer feedback and responding to their needs, organizations strengthen customer relationships and enhance overall satisfaction.
  2. Employee Training and Empowerment: TQM recognizes the critical role of employees in achieving quality objectives. Companies invest in training programs to ensure that employees understand quality standards and are equipped with the necessary skills to contribute to continuous improvement efforts. By empowering employees to participate in problem-solving and decision-making processes, organizations foster a culture of engagement and ownership for quality.

These examples demonstrate how TQM principles can be applied across various industries to drive continuous improvement, enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve sustainable business success, all while ensuring the originality and authenticity of the content.

Practices of Total quality management (TQM)
Total quality management (TQM)
The Advantages of Total Quality Management Principles

Although Japan identified total quality management (TQM) advantages in the mid-1950s, now the benefit of the TQM is disclosed worldwide. The most important benefits of the TQM are:

The TQM principles develop the quality of products and services to satisfy customers; it motivates employees naturally and boosts their productivity.

Additionally, the principles of TQM reduce production costs and faults and make processes more efficient and reliable.

Moreover, it improves the condition of the work environment and the communication process.

Finally, the core principles of TQM raise the profit margin.

Total Quality Management Tools

The researchers introduced many tools of the TQM that help the industry operate smoothly with profit. These tools can help the industry in many approaches. For example, the fundamental strategies are; identifying difficulties with quality, analyzing data, collecting information, identifying the leading causes of the problems, and assessing the results.

Quality Strategy to Profitability in the Organization

Since the 1980s, researchers have represented diverse quality management systems to maintain the quality of the products and services in the organization, such as total quality management system (TQM), Six Sigma, reengineering, skeletal system, and so on. The company has executed the most quality improvement strategies worldwide to yield good results by solving problems or faults.

The History and Evolution of Quality Management Strategies
  • Inspection quality control (IQC), since 1910
  • Statistical process control (SPC), since 1930
  • Total quality control (TQC), since 1950
  • Company-wide quality control (CWQC), since 1970
  • Total Quality Management (TQM), since 1985
  • Six-Sigma (6σ), since 1986
  • Business Excellence Model, since 2000
  • The development and implementation system of the DMAIC Six Sigma program
References

Evans, J. R. (2013). Quality & performance excellence. Cengage Learning.
Yang, C. C. (2012). The integration of TQM and Six Sigma. Total Quality Management and Six Sigma, 219.

Citation for this Article (APA 7th Edition)
Kobiruzzaman, M. M. (2024). Principles of Total Quality Management & 8 Principles of TQM. Newsmoor- Best Online Learning Platform. https://newsmoor.com/total-quality-management-tqm-eight-principles-and-practices-of-tqm/