| Course | BUSI 335 Leading Change (BUSI335) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 3 |
| Assignment | Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread |
| Paper type | Discussion thread |
| Length | about 409 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of at least 400 words written in the third person, demonstrating course-related knowledge, with a citation from at least 1 peer-reviewed article and 1 citation from a course textbook, in current APA format |
| Format | APA 7 citations and reference list |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 3 in Liberty's published BUSI 335 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 335 Week 3
Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread: Diagnosing the Need for Change
BUSI 335 Leading Change, Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread
Thread by [Student Name]
The forum prompt and the distribution center example are composites; the textbook and research cited are real, and the thread is written in the third person as the guide requires.
Before an organization changes, it needs to understand the situation it is trying to change. Palmer et al. (2016) present several diagnostic tools for this purpose, among them force field analysis, which comes from the work of Lewin (1947) on group dynamics. Lewin described any situation as held in balance between driving forces that push toward change and restraining forces that resist it. Change occurs when that balance shifts, either by strengthening the driving forces or by weakening the restraining ones.
A composite regional distribution center illustrates the tool. Management is considering robots that move shelving units to human pickers. The driving forces are strong: chronic labor shortages, rising wages, customers who expect next-day delivery and competitors who have already automated. The restraining forces are also significant: workers fear losing their jobs, supervisors doubt the robots will handle peak season, the warehouse management system will need costly integration and the center's culture prizes experienced pickers who know every aisle.
Lewin's model has been criticized as too simple for modern organizations, but Burnes (2004) reappraised his work and argued that the planned approach, including force field analysis, was more sophisticated than critics allowed and remains useful when change involves people's behavior and group norms. That is exactly the situation at the distribution center, where the main obstacle is not technology but how workers and supervisors understand the change. Pushing harder against a resisting force usually makes it push back harder.
The analysis suggests that management should concentrate on reducing restraining forces rather than adding pressure. Specific steps follow. Guaranteeing that no picker will be laid off because of the robots, and retraining pickers as robot technicians or quality checkers, would address job fears. A pilot in one zone before peak season would test supervisors' doubts with evidence. Involving experienced pickers in designing the new workflow would honor their expertise rather than dismissing it. Adding pressure through deadlines or announcements, by contrast, would likely strengthen resistance.
Force field analysis does not decide whether a change is wise, but it shows where effort will do the most good. For the distribution center, that is with the people whose concerns hold the current system in place.
The analysis also has limits worth stating. The forces listed here are judgments, not measurements, and two managers could weigh them differently. Repeating the analysis after the pilot, with evidence about the robots' actual performance, would show whether the restraining forces have weakened or merely gone quiet.
References
Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00463.x
Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change. Human Relations, 1(1), 5-41. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872674700100103
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Buchanan, D. A. (2016). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
What the BUSI 335 Week 3 instructions ask
For its third module/week, BUSI 335 assigns chapters 4 and 5 of Palmer, Dunford and Buchanan, on what changes in organizations and on diagnosing the need for change, with a presentation and Connect Quiz 2. Forum 2 calls for a third-person thread passing 400 words that puts those diagnosis chapters to work, supported by Palmer's text and a refereed journal study referenced in APA style. It is worth 50 points, and classmates reply in Module/Week 4. Diagnostic tools lend themselves to threads that walk through a specific organization's situation, naming the actual pressures and obstacles a manager there would face.
How this BUSI 335 Week 3 example is built
The thread introduces force field analysis through the textbook's discussion of diagnostic tools and credits Lewin's original work. It then applies the tool to a composite distribution center, listing driving forces such as labor shortages and customer delivery expectations and restraining forces such as workers' fear of job loss and the cost of integration. A peer-reviewed reappraisal of Lewin's planned approach explains why the tool remains useful. The analysis concludes that the center should reduce restraining forces before increasing pressure, and it closes with specific actions, all written in the third person. The distribution center example is specific enough that classmates replying in the next module/week can test the analysis by suggesting forces it missed.
BUSI 335 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go
Points go to threads that answer the diagnosis prompt, use the two chapters correctly, pass 400 words, stay in the third person and back their claims with a refereed journal article and Palmer's text in APA style. Instructors look for a diagnostic tool applied to a concrete situation with specific forces named, not a general description of the tool. Threads that list forces without drawing a conclusion, use first-person language or cite only the textbook lose points. Credit for course knowledge comes from using the chapters' terms precisely, such as driving and restraining forces, and attributing the tool to its source rather than presenting it as common sense.
BUSI 335 Week 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Choose one diagnostic model from the chapters and explain it briefly with its source. Apply it to a specific organization, naming at least three forces on each side. Use a peer-reviewed article to show how the model has been tested or debated. Draw a clear conclusion about what management should do, and write it in the third person. A diagram may help in planning, but describe the forces in sentences in the post itself. Lewin's 1947 article and the Burnes reappraisal are both available through the Jerry Falwell Library databases, and either can serve as the peer-reviewed source. A short closing paragraph that states what the analysis cannot show, such as whether the change is worth making, adds balance that instructors notice.
Related BUSI 335 sample papers
Other BUSI 335 weeks
- BUSI 335 Week 1: Forum 1 Thread
- BUSI 335 Week 2: Forum 1 Replies
- BUSI 335 Week 4: Forum 2 Replies
- BUSI 335 Week 5: Forum 3 Thread
- BUSI 335 Week 6: Forum 3 Replies
- BUSI 335 Week 7: Forum 4 Thread
- BUSI 335 Week 8: Faith and Leading Change Essay
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BUSI 335 Week 3 questions, answered
What is the BUSI 335 Forum 2 Thread?
A third-person post on diagnosing change that opens the second forum. Students apply a tool such as force field analysis, cite Palmer and one refereed study, and can earn 50 points.
Where can I find a free BUSI 335 Week 3 sample paper?
This page offers a complete BUSI 335 Week 3 thread applying Lewin's force field analysis to a distribution center adopting robots. It recommends reducing restraining forces.
What is force field analysis?
Kurt Lewin's method of mapping what pushes an organization toward a change against what holds it back, so that managers can see which pressures to add or remove to tip the balance.
Is Lewin's model of change outdated?
Critics have called it too simple, but a reappraisal argued that Lewin's planned approach, including force field analysis, remains relevant and was more sophisticated than its critics suggested.
What else is due in BUSI 335 Module/Week 3?
Students also complete Connect Quiz 2 after reading Palmer's chapters on what changes and on diagnosis and watching that module/week's presentation. Replies come next.
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