Force Field Analysis (HL IB Business Management)

• Force field analysis involves managers identifying the driving and restraining forces that surround a strategic change decision
  
  • Once identified these forces can be analysed to determine whether a decision should go ahead
    

Driving forces

• Driving forces are factors that could justify that strategic change is needed
  • Internal driving forces may include:
    • Outdated machinery or product lines
    • Declining team morale
    • The need to increase profitability
  • External driving forces may include:
    • A volatile market
    • Disruptive technologies e.g. AI
    • Changing demographic trends

Restraining forces

• Retraining forces are factors that could prevent or limit change
  • Internal restraining forces may include:
    • Fear of the unknown
    • The existing organisational structure
    • "That's not how things are done here" attitudes
  • External restraining forces may include:
    • Existing commitments to partner organisations
    • Government legislation
    • Obligations towards customers

Weighting the forces

• Driving forces and restraining forces are weighted from 1 to 5 in terms of their relative importance
  • A value of 5 is most important and 1 least important

Diagram of a Force Field Analysis

Force Field Analysis for the Field Above

• Four driving forces justify a decision for change
  • Their weightings are 5, 4, 3 and 2
  • The total value of these driving forces is 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 14
    
    
• Four restraining forces prevent or limit change
  • Their weightings are 4, 3, 2 and 1
  • The total value of these restraining forces is 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10
     
• The relative weight of driving forces is greater than the relative weight of restraining forces
• There is a good chance that this decision would be successful
• To maximise the chance of success driving forces could be further strengthened or restraining forces weakened/eliminated 

• Force field analysis is a valuable technique for assessing the factors influencing a situation
• However it has limitations, particularly in situations where precision is required
• It is most effective when used alongside other decision-making tools to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the situation
• Force field analysis has a range of strengths and weaknesses
   

Evaluating Force Field Analysis