{"id":2377,"date":"2016-03-21T14:45:37","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T19:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=2377"},"modified":"2016-12-29T16:05:35","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T21:05:35","slug":"what-factors-truly-drive-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/what-factors-truly-drive-change\/","title":{"rendered":"What Factors Truly Drive Change?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A couple decades ago, back in 1992, W. Warner Burke and\u00a0George Litwan collated a number of organizational change models into one holistic view of how organizational structure and design affects change. \u00a0With this research, Burke and Litwan developed the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/causal-model-of-organizational-performance-and-change-1982\">Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change<\/a>, otherwise known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/causal-model-of-organizational-performance-and-change-1982\">Burke-Litwin Model<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Their seminal framework achieves 2 things: First, it\u00a0identifies 12 factors of change. \u00a0Note that this model is more comprehensive than the popularly used <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/business-document\/mckinsey-7-s-strategy-model-197\">McKinsey 7-S<\/a> organizational design model, which only captures 7 factors.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, it\u00a0determines that there are certain consistent causal linkages among classes of events.<\/p>\n<p>This model can be leveraged for the following purposes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Analyze Organizational Change<\/li>\n<li>Understand Organizational Change<\/li>\n<li>Manage Organizational Change<\/li>\n<li>Predict Organizational Change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is important to recognize that even Burke and Litwan acknowledge this model is inherently imperfect, as every element affects every other. \u00a0However,\u00a0it is an attempt to provide hierarchy and identify strongest causal relationships, which\u00a0will provide a deeper understanding of what and how change is driven in an organization.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2378\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change1-300x154.png\" alt=\"change1\" width=\"300\" height=\"154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change1-300x154.png 300w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change1.png 616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>The Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change\u00a0is based on opens system theory, which states that all change in an organization stems from external influences. \u00a0In open systems theory, there are 3 distinct elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Input<\/strong> &#8211; The effect of the external environment on an organization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Output<\/strong> &#8211; Includes everything that happens within the organization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Throughput<\/strong> &#8211; Refers to what the organization produces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Throughput element can be further refined into top-level <strong>Transformational<\/strong> factors and day-to-day <strong>Transactional<\/strong>\u00a0factors.<\/p>\n<p>The 12 elements are identified as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Input and Output<\/strong> Elements:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<ol>\n<li>External Environment<\/li>\n<li>Individual and Organizational Performance<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These two represent the input and the output elements of the open systems theory. \u00a0External factors cause change in the organization and the throughput produces performance. Note that Performance and the Environment affect each other equally\u2014e.g., quality of products affecting customer satisfaction, improved sustainability affecting company reputation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Throughput &gt; Transformational<\/strong> Elements:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Leadership<\/li>\n<li>Mission and Strategy<\/li>\n<li>Organizational Culture<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These transformational elements are those deeply embedded within an organization, which require top-level, revolutionary measures to change (i.e. organizational &#8220;transformation&#8221; initiatives). These elements should\u00a0be\u00a0the responsibility of organizational leaders, rather than managers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Throughput &gt; Transactional<\/strong> Elements:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li>Management Practices<\/li>\n<li>Structure<\/li>\n<li>Systems (Policies and Procedures)<\/li>\n<li>Work Unit Climate<\/li>\n<li>Motivation<\/li>\n<li>Task Requirements and Individual Skills\/Abilities<\/li>\n<li>Individual Needs and Values<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The transactional\u00a0elements deal more with the day-to-day operation of the organization, rather than the big picture. \u00a0While they do affect transformational factors, transactional factors are more strongly affected by transformational ones. \u00a0These are the under responsibility of managers (not leadership).<\/p>\n<p>And now, for the big unveil&#8230; \u00a0Visually, this diagram below\u00a0depicts how the 12 elements fit together in our the Burke-Litwin\u00a0Change Model.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/causal-model-of-organizational-performance-and-change-1982\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2379\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change2.png\" alt=\"change2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change2.png 1024w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/change2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Note how when we look at the full model, there is a hierarchical structure with a logical flow of influence from one factor to the next.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, focusing on the central spine, it is evident that a change in the External Environment could cause the Leadership to make changes to management practices. This change would affect the Work Unit Climate, which could directly affect Motivation, thereby influencing Performance.<\/p>\n<p>If we evaluate the grouping at the bottom of the model, the Work Unit Climate, Task Requirements and Individual Skills, and Individual Needs and Values are the elements that have the most direct effect on Motivation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"aside\"><strong>Are you a management consultant?<\/strong> \u00a0You can download this and hundreds of other <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\/frameworks\">consulting frameworks<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\/consulting\">consulting training guides<\/a> from the FlevyPro library.<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change is powerful tool for understanding and driving organizational change, though it does have its limitations. \u00a0Foremost, critics\u00a0feel the model is a bit complex. Secondly, there are organizational changes that may be initiated by leadership or by internal factors rather, than by the external environment.<\/p>\n<p>What are your thoughts on this change framework?<\/p>\n<p>You can download an editable PowerPoint about the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/causal-model-of-organizational-performance-and-change-1982\">Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change<\/a> here on the Flevy documents marketplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A couple decades ago, back in 1992, W. Warner Burke and\u00a0George Litwan collated a number of organizational change models into one holistic view of how organizational structure and design affects change. \u00a0With this research, Burke and Litwan developed the Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change, otherwise known as the Burke-Litwin Model. Their seminal framework&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/what-factors-truly-drive-change\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What Factors Truly Drive Change?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[1081,1082,228,603,1074,1075,116],"class_list":["post-2377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organization","tag-burke-litwan-model","tag-causal-model-of-organizational-performance-and-change","tag-change-management","tag-organizational-change","tag-organizational-design","tag-organizational-performance","tag-performance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2377"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2762,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions\/2762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}