VCE Business — Unit 4 AOS 1
Force Field Analysis — Flashcards & Quiz
Force field analysis is Kurt Lewin's model for evaluating organisational change and sits in VCE Business Management Unit 4 Area of Study 1, "Reviewing performance – the need for change". You need to identify driving forces (managers, employees, competitors, legislation, globalisation, innovation, pursuit of profit) and restraining forces (managers, employees, time, organisational inertia, legislation, financial considerations), assign weights to each, and recommend whether the change should proceed. VCAA expects a four-step application: list, weight, evaluate, recommend. Always finish with a justified decision.
Key Points
- Force Field Analysis (Kurt Lewin) evaluates whether a proposed change should proceed by weighing forces for (driving) and against (restraining).
- Driving forces: managers, employees (if engaged), competitors, legislation, globalisation, innovation, pursuit of profit.
- Restraining forces: managers (fear of losing control), employees (inertia, fear of job loss), time, organisational culture, financial cost, legislation.
- Assign weights (e.g. 1-5) to each force, sum each side, and compare. If driving > restraining, the change is likely viable.
- Use as a DECISION-MAKING tool: "list → weight → evaluate → recommend" is the VCAA structure examiners reward.
- Placement note: VCAA puts Force Field Analysis in Unit 4 AoS1 (reviewing performance — the need for change), not AoS2.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating force field analysis as a checklist instead of a weighted analysis.
- Forgetting to assign weights — weighting is what makes FFA a decision tool.
- Mixing up driving and restraining forces.
- Omitting the recommendation step — FFA is meant to support a decision.
- Placing it in the wrong AOS — it's in Unit 4 AOS 1 (Reviewing performance), not AOS 2 (Implementing).
Exam Strategy
VCAA Unit 4 AOS 1 FFA questions give a change scenario and ask you to apply the analysis. Method: (1) list 3-4 driving forces with weights, (2) list 3-4 restraining forces with weights, (3) sum each side, (4) recommend whether to proceed based on the net. Always justify the weights with scenario-specific reasoning.
Revision Tip
FFA application is a 4-step method — drill a Revizi deck of change scenarios and practise applying the list-weight-evaluate-recommend structure.
Last updated: March 2026