Which change management concept means reducing the forces resisting change by presenting provocative problems to spark new solutions?

• A. Organizational Development
• B. Executive Coach
• C. Refreezing
• D. Unfreezing

Answer: (D)

Unfreezing is the stage that prepares an organization for change by disrupting the comfort of the status quo and reducing resistance to new ways. Presenting provocative problems challenges current assumptions and existing routines, making people uncomfortable enough to rethink processes and consider new solutions. This agitation lowers the psychological and organizational barriers to change, creating readiness for the subsequent steps of change and, eventually, refreezing.

Refreezing, by contrast, is about solidifying and stabilizing the new behaviors once change has been adopted. Organizational Development is a broader field of planned interventions for improving effectiveness, not a single step. An executive coach is a practitioner who guides leaders, not a change-management stage.