Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015) describe different organizational change types, change enablers and change methods as a means of developing a roadmap for successful organizational change. They stress that there needs to be some flexibility -- a one-size-fits-all approach to change will often lead to failure, as there will typically be some misalignment between the method of change and either the organization's conditions or the objectives of the change program. This paper will examine the prevailing models of organizational change, seeking to understand how the models fit within the study of change and its practical application. Kotter

The Kotter model of organizational change is known as the leading change method. This method is an eight-step method, noting that organizational change works best when it is holistic. That is to say, change cannot be implemented only in one part of an organization, because the organization is a whole unit, each component effected by what happens with the other components. Kotter advocates creating a sense of urgency, then building a trusted team, having a vision, and a coherent strategy for achieving that vision. In other words, a mix of pathos and logos. This approach also emphasizes creating...

The Kotter approach is well-established as a paradigm for effective organizational change because it shakes the organization out of the inertia (complacency) of its day-to-day routine, but quickly replaces the old routine with a new vision, and a coherent strategy to get to that vision.
Lewin

An older model for organizational change is that of Kurt Lewin, who proposed that organizational change works by "unfreezing" the organization, making the change with incentives and then "refreezing the organization." This approach sees unfreezing as akin to creating urgency, but for the fact that this is almost entirely logos-based; there is little attempt on the part of managers to create an emotional response among the workers and use that response to motivate them. This is likely a reflection of the time difference -- when Lewin was writing in 1948 management was almost strictly command-and-control, but by the time Kotter was writing in 1996 the workplace environment had shifted away from that style of management, to one where motivation mattered more.

Punctuated Change

The punctuated change model holds that organizations go through stable periods with no change, then are forced to make a change in order to adjust to a new equilibrium. Thus, the change…