Lewin and Kotter Case

There are many theories on changes. Two of the more prominent models for change were created by Kurt Lewin and John Kotter. While they both build toward the same goal, successful change, they are also different in some ways. For example, they were created in different generations by men with different backgrounds, and one is far more in depth than the other.

Kurt Lewin was a German-American psychologist in the early nineteen-hundreds. He is considered a pioneer in the field of applied psychology in the United States. His theory is commonly referred to as the Unfreeze, change, refreeze theory. It contains only three steps which is likely why it is often criticized for being too simplistic. The first stage of is theory, or the unfreezing, requires creating an atmosphere which can allow for change. It also would ideally create an atmosphere in which change is desired or even made to feel required or urgent. Stage two is the actually change. This phase is fairly self explanatory; the changes will be made to move toward the desired results. This stage may seem easy, but it is very important. Ultimately how well you set the stage for change with stage one of the theory will probably have a big effect on whether or not stage two would be successful. Stage 3, or refreeze, is the ultimate goal as it deals with sustainability of the changes made. In this stage the changes that were made will ideally become accepted as the new normal protocol. Without this step changes will never be able to last.

John Kotter, who was born in the year Lewin died, 1947, provides a longer eight step change theory. Kotter is a professor at the Harvard School of Business and his theory was released in his 1995 book, Leading Change. The eight stages of Kotter’s Theory are; create urgency, form a powerful coalition, create a vision for change, communicate the vision, remove obstacles, create short term wins, build on the change, and anchor the changes in corporate culture. Before even going in depth on any of the stages it is evident that Kotter incorporated some ideas from Lewin while also trying to expand on them.

Kotter’s stage one is very similar to the beginning of Lewin’s theory, create urgency. Much like Lewin, Kotter