This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Marshak, R. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Lewin Meets Confucius: A Review of the OD Model of Change

Marshak Associates and American University

Questions have been raised in recent years about the cultural limits and overall efficacy of organization development (OD) to address the current and emerging problems of contemporary organizations. This discussion attempts to speak to both issues by examining the OD model of change, that is, Lewin's three-stage change process of unfreezing, movement, and refreezing. When the OD model is compared to the model(s) of change based in East Asian and Confucian cultural traditions, different assumptions about change are revealed. The analysis suggests that different culturally based models of change exist and are likely to lead adherents to employ different change methods and approaches. Consideration of both models as valid points to a possible synthesis that would address developmental and transformational change processes. More research into the change models and assumptions inherent in different cultures and cosmologies is needed not only to inform current OD practice but to expand the range of change theories and methods available for dealing with contemporary organizational issues.

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 29, No. 4, 393-415 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/0021886393294002


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Jabri Narrative genre, social context, and the management of people: Intimations from the PRC Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, December 1, 2006; 44(3): 364 - 373. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. E. Purser and J. Petranker Unfreezing the Future: Exploring the Dynamic of Time in Organizational Change Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, June 1, 2005; 41(2): 182 - 203. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. M. Danielson A Theory of Continuous Socialization for Organizational Renewal Human Resource Development Review, December 1, 2004; 3(4): 354 - 384. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. S. Whelan-Berry, J. R. Gordon, and C. R. Hinings Strengthening Organizational Change Processes: Recommendations and Implications from a Multilevel Analysis Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, June 1, 2003; 39(2): 186 - 207. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. M. Srinivas Achieving Excellence in Indian Organisations: New Opportunities for Psychologists Psychology Developing Societies, September 1, 1995; 7(2): 185 - 216. [Abstract] [PDF]