Strategic Approaches to Change
5CO01 – Organisational performance and culture in practice
This CIPD Level 5 video on Strategic Approaches to Change supports unit 5CO01 – Organisational Performance and Culture in Practice, specifically addressing assessment criteria AC 2.3 on explaining different approaches to managing change. The video explores established frameworks including Lewin's three-step model and Kotter's eight-stage model, alongside reactive, proactive, planned, and emergent change strategies. It also examines drivers of change across the wider environment, task environment, and internal environment, helping you distinguish between radical and incremental change approaches. By watching, you'll develop the analytical skills needed to evaluate change management strategies and apply them effectively in organisational contexts.
What this video covers
Covering Assessment Criterion 2.3 of 5CO01, this video examines the strategic choices that organisations face when deciding how to approach change, going beyond individual models to consider the broader landscape of change management thinking. It addresses planned change and emergent change as contrasting philosophies, situates Lewin's three-step model and Kotter's eight-stage model within the planned change tradition, and explores how emergent change frames organisational adaptation as a continuous, organic process rather than a controlled event. The video also considers the drivers of change operating across the wider environment, the task environment, and internal organisational factors, all of which shape which strategic approach is appropriate in a given situation.
The reactive and proactive distinction receives dedicated attention, with the video examining how reactive change unfolds under external pressure and the consequences that can follow for planning quality and stakeholder engagement, alongside the challenges that proactive change presents when current performance appears satisfactory and the case for action is harder to make. These two orientations are treated not as abstract categories but as genuinely different postures that influence how organisations position themselves relative to competitive, technological, and environmental forces. The video is careful to present these as levers for thinking rather than fixed prescriptions, reflecting the complexity of real change initiatives.
Incremental and radical change form the third major axis explored, with the video distinguishing gradual refinement of existing practice from the kind of transformational shift that alters strategy, structure, culture, or processes in a fundamental way. Technological disruption and existential competitive threats are named as contexts in which radical change may become the only workable option, whereas incremental approaches are examined in relation to circumstances where the underlying strategic direction remains sound. The video draws all three dimensions together to support the kind of contextual judgement that AC 2.3 requires: identifying which combination of approaches fits the particular conditions an organisation faces.
Assessment Criteria 2.3
Explain different approaches to managing change.
Indicative Content
Change management approaches: for example Lewin’s three-step model of change; Kotter’s eight-stage model; reactive approaches, proactive approaches; planned change, emergent change; radical, incremental change; levers for change; drivers of change: wider environment, task environment, internal environment.
What You'll Learn
Video covering: Strategic Approaches to Change
About 5CO01 – Organisational performance and culture in practice
This unit examines the connections between organisational structure and the wider world of work in a business context. It highlights the factors and trends, including the digital environment, that impact on business strategy and workforce planning, recognising the influence of culture, employee wellbeing and behaviour in delivering change and organisational performance
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