Describe
the "calm waters" and “white-water rapids” view of organizational
change.
Answer:
The calm
waters view of organizational change envisions the organization as a large ship
crossing a calm sea. The ship's captain and crew know exactly where they are
going because they have made the trip many times before. Change comes in the
form of an occasional storm, a brief distraction in an otherwise calm and
predictable trip. In the calm waters metaphor, change is seen as an occasional
disruption in the normal flow of events.
It is best
illustrated by Kurt Lewin's 3-step description of the change process.
According
to Lewin, successful change can be planned and requires unfreezing the status
quo, changing to a new state, and refreezing to make the change permanent. The
status quo can be considered an equilibrium state. To move from this
equilibrium, unfreezing is necessary. Unfreezing can be thought of as preparing
for the needed change. It can be achieved by increasing the driving forces,
which are forces pushing for change; by decreasing the restraining forces, which
are forces that resist change and push behavior toward the status quo; or by
combining the two approaches.
Once
unfreezing is done, the change itself can be implemented. However, merely
introducing change does not ensure that it will take hold. The new situation
needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time. Unless this last
step is done, there is a strong chance that employees will revert back to the
old ways of doing things. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize
the new situation by reinforcing the new behaviors.
Lewin's
3-step process treats change as a move away from the organization's current
equilibrium state. It is a calm waters scenario where an occasional disruption
means changing to deal with the disruption. Once the disruption has been dealt
with, however, things can continue on under the new changed situation.
Source: Management, 11e
(Robbins/Coulter)
