Real-Life Examples of Lewin’s Change Model – Top 5

Businesses and organizations are always in the process of change for continuous growth and development. The concept of change may be different for different organizations, but the objective is the same and that is growth and development. Today, we’ll discuss real-life examples of Lewin’s change model.

Lewin’s Change Model Theory 

Kurt Lewin believed that there are various forces acting on the behavior of a person, and they’re pulling an individual in different directions. Those resistant forces stop a person from making change; if the change-driving forces are strong, then change would happen. However, if the driving and resistant forces are equally pulling in a different direction in equilibrium, then change won’t happen either.

Lewin’s change model theory has got three stages, and they are as follows;

• Unfreezing – planning to change
• Change – executing changes
• Refreezing – develop a new culture or status quo

Real-Life Examples of Lewin’s Change Model – Top 5

Some of the top real-life examples of Lewin’s change model are as follows;

Nissan – Automotive Company

Nissan is a Japanese automobile brand and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy and decreasing its market share consistently. Change leader, Carlos Ghosn influenced the company Nissan to develop a strategic alliance with Renault. The objective of Renault was to amplify its market share, and Nissan wanted to get rid of its debt.

Carlos, the change leader was dealing with the challenge of executing transformational changes within the organization. His objective was to make the automotive company profitable by changing its operations and modes of doing work. He developed different cross-functional teams and focused on a robust action plan in various functional areas in order to decrease the employees’ reactions.

Carlos also created change management strategies to deal with different types of organizational challenges and issues. However, it focused on increasing employee engagement and involvement in the transition phase through positive reinforcement and an effective communication plan. In order to refreeze the behavioral changes of employees and the team members, he took the following steps;

• Launched a performance-based pay system
• Empowering employees to embrace modern and non-convention methods and strategies
• Executed open feedback system to facilitate and support employees in the workplace

Netflix – Online Video Streaming Platform

Netflix is among those companies that have successfully implemented Lewin’s change model theory and transformed itself into the digital era. The platform was under great pressure to bring transformational and organizational changes in order to gain a competitive edge in 1998 and 2007. However, the company’s leadership faced a lot of challenges in order to achieve the desired results. Nowadays, Netflix has become the world’s leading paid online video streaming platform.

Educational Institutes During Pandemic

The pandemic crisis in 2020 forced schools, colleges, and educational institutes to go online and conduct virtual classes without disturbing the classes of studies. The educational institutes were employing virtual meeting tools and platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, and others to conduct online classes and meetings.

However, it was a new mode of teaching and learning and they were uncertain about the change to taking online studies and classes. The educational institute management and authority made it mandatory to accept the change. In order to boost the morale and confidence level of students, they employed various social media platforms to communicate effectively. Finally, other educational institutes, teachers, and students have accepted the change to the new environment.

Ice Block

You cannot change the shape of the ice block without melting it first. In order to melt the ice, you need to create a hot atmosphere and the temperature should be more than zero degrees centigrade. When you start increasing the temperature, it is the state of unfreezing.

The transition phase of melting the ice block would take some time to become water. You should make sure that the temperature remains stable throughout the process of melting the ice block. The melted ice block or water state is the changing state of Lewin’s change model theory.

When the ice block becomes water, then you should pour it into the new shape of equipment whatever you want; it is the transition phase in Lewin’s change model. You should keep the new water glass in a cold place so that it would become ice again. It is the refreezing in Lewin’s change model.

Chemical Product Manufacturing Company

John has recently taken the role of CEO in a chemical manufacturing company. His objective is to decrease the total number of incidents and improve health and safety standards. He noticed that the company is facing three types of incidents; small, moderate, and serious. First of all, he arranges a meeting with his staff and employees and discusses with them the shared company’s vision and mission. He also develops a plan of launching new health and safety policies, procedures, and training programs to safely operate the machines and equipment.

After planning, John executes the changes by conducting training sessions, and seminars, introducing new policies, and purchasing the latest equipment. In order to increase their participation level in the safety protocols, he offers incentives and bonuses for those employees that are following the safety protocols.

In the refreezing stage of Lewin’s change model theory, he makes sure that the new policies and processes stay in the minds of employees and team members for a safe workplace culture.

Conclusion: Real-Life Examples of Lewin’s Change Model – Top 5

After an in-depth study of the real-life examples of Lewin’s change model; we have realized that various types of businesses and organizations have implemented Lewin’s theory. If you are learning about the practical application of Lewin’s change model theory, then you should keep in mind the abovementioned examples.