Force Field Analysis (DP IB Business Management)

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Lisa Eades

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Force Field Analysis

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  - Outdated machinery or product lines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: force field analysis

6-1-force-field-analysis-1-ib-hl-business-rn

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

Worked Example

After several years of poor financial performance the owners of Lujosa Ltd are considering the relocation of their factory from Spain to Indonesia.

Department managers have provided feedback on the idea. They have identified the following driving and restraining forces.

Force	Description	Weighting
Driving	Need to reduce production costs to increase profitability	5
	Outdated production machinery in Spanish factory affects volume and quality of output	3
	Difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled employees in Spain	1
Restraining	Costs of relocation including construction and fitting of a brand new factory in Indonesia	4
	Employee resistance to job losses	2
	Disruption to production during the change period	4

(a) Use force field analysis to determine whether Lujosa's owners should go ahead with the decision [4]

Step 1: Construct the force field analysis

6-1-force-field-analysis-2-ib-hl-business-rn

[1]

Step 2: Calculate the relative weight of driving forces

5 + 3 + 1 = 9

[1]

Step 3: Calculate the relative weight of restraining forces

4 + 2 + 4 = 10

[1]

Step 4: Compare the relative weights of driving and restraining forces

The relative weight of restraining forces (10) is greater than the relative weight of driving forces (9)
There is little chance that this decision would be successful and should be abandoned

[1]

(b) Identify two actions Lujosa's owners could take to allow the move to Indonesia to go ahead [2]

Relevant actions include
- Outsource production during the relocation process
- Research ways to reduce costs of building and fitting of the new factory
- Consult and engage with workers to reduce fears of redundancy

[2]

Evaluating Force Field Analysis

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

Strengths	Weaknesses
Simple and Visual Easily understood by stakeholders Simple diagram makes it accessible	Subjective Relies on perceptions/judgements of individuals or teams Can lead to bias in the analysis
Comprehensive Considers both the driving forces and restraining forces This helps in understanding the complexity of a situation	Lacks Quantitative Data Challenging to assign specific weights or measures to the forces which limits the precision of the analysis
Identifies most critical factors Visualising/ranking helps clarify which forces have the most significant impact on the desired change	Snapshot Does not account for how forces might change over time This is crucial in dynamic/evolving business environments
Assists Decision-Making Provides a structured way to evaluate pros and cons of a proposed change or decision	Doesn't Provide Solutions It is a diagnostic tool not a prescriptive one Managers need to develop appropriate strategies
Aids Communication Teams discuss and share their perspectives on the driving and restraining forces Leads to a shared understanding/better collaboration	Limited in Complex Situations Oversimplifies analysis and fails to capture the intricacies of the problem

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