Burke Litwin Change Management Model 

Burke and Litwin’s organizational change model focuses on recognizing three levels of change in the company comprising 12 elements, factors, and driving forces of change. Two organizational change consultants, George H. Litwin and W. Warmer Burke developed this model in the 1960 and named it as Burke Litwin change model. Today, we’ll discuss Burke Litwin change management model and; the 12 factors, benefits, and challenges of Burke and Litwin organizational change model.

Burke Litwin Model Outlines Chane at 3 Levels

• Transformation Change – happens due to external environmental change and it has a direct impact on the company’s culture, leadership, strategy, and mission
• Transactional Change – impacts company’s structure, workplace environment, procedures, system, and management strategy
• Transformation & Transactional Change – impacts the company’s performance and motivation level of employees

12 Factors of Burke Litwin Model

Transformational Factors 

• External Environment
• Strategy and Mission
• Leadership
• Organizational Culture

Transactional Factors 

• Structure
• System
• Management Practices
• Workplace Climate

Transformational and Transactional Factors 

• Skills and Tasks
• Values and Needs
• Motivation
• Performance

Elements & Factors of Burke Litwin Change Management Model 

Let’s discuss the 12 elements and factors of Burke Litwin change management model; they’re as follows;

External Environment

The external environment comprises all those forces that would directly impact the company’s performance, strategies, and operations. Comprehending external environmental factors plays a key role in gaining a competitive edge in the market. Some of the external environmental factors are as follows;

• Government regulations
• Technology change
• Industry competition
• Economic growth
• Interest rate
• Inflation
• Socio-political factors
• Change customer market trends
• New technology challenges and opportunities

Strategy and Mission

The mission statement of the company outlines the company’s values, purpose, and direction; the strategy outlines the course of actions that the company would take to achieve its goals, objectives, and mission. However, a well-crafted mission statement and organizational strategy give the company direction and clarity; so that it can streamline its resources, goals, and objectives.

The mission statement helps employees to comprehend the company’s vision and purpose; and how their job would help the company to achieve its goals. The strategic approach helps the company to recognize and prioritize action; and manage resources to analyze its performance. In short, both mission and strategy define how and what the company is.

Leadership

Effective and strong leadership plays a key role in the success of the change project. They’re aware of the fact that their active involvement in the change project would determine their success. However, the role of successful leaders is to perform the following tasks;

• Giving direction to the company
• Communicating vision, mission, and values
• Developing the organization to achieve its goals
• Empowering employees to take responsibility for their work
• Improving their skill and expertise to perform their role better

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture outlines the character and identity of the company and it comprises behaviors, norms, customs, traditions, and beliefs. The organizational culture plays a key role;

• Developing Employee’s commitment to the company’s goals and mission
• Creating a sense of belonging
• How they experience and perceive their workplace environment

While launching the change project, it is significant for the change managers to recognize and comprehend the organizational culture and streamline the changes with the company’s culture. If you comprehend and manage the organizational culture, then it improves the employee’s performance, engagement, and satisfaction level.

Structure

The organizational structure comprises formal and informal responsibilities, roles, and relationships among various teams, units, departments, and employees. The organizational structure could be any of the following;

• Centralized
• Decentralized
• Flat
• Hierarchical
• Functional
• Product-based units

While implementing the changes, the change leaders would make some changes in the structure. They need to streamline the changes with the company’s structure to ensure the success of the change project. For instance, if the company is launching new products, then it needs product-based teaming and divisions.

System

The system comprises routines, procedures, and processes of the company. Different types of systems facilitate the company’s operations and they’re as follows;

• Performance management system
• Financial system
• Information system
• Technology system

The system plays a critical role in the success of the change project. It impacts how the company gathers and analyzes the data and how it makes decisions. Well-organized systems would bring efficiency, quality, and success to the company.

Management Practices

Management practices outline the methods, procedures, and processes that the company employs to plan, direct, control, and manage its resources to achieve its goals and objectives. The management practices of the company comprise of following;

• Management functions
• Performance management
• Strategic planning
• Financial management
• Human resources management

Effective management helps the company to improve the employee satisfaction level, higher performance, and productivity. It impacts the company’s capability and how it reacts to internal and external changes.

Workplace Environment

The workplace environment outlines the attitude, behavior, feelings, and perception of employees towards their working climate. A positive workplace environment would make employees and team members feel valued, supported, and engaged. A negative workplace environment would decrease employee morale, and productivity, and increase the turnover rate.  

Skills and Tasks

Skills and tasks are the required expertise that employees should have to perform their jobs. In order to improve their skills, companies should conduct training programs. For the success of the change project, the change leaders should recognize the required tasks and skills; equipping employees with the same skills and expertise ensures the success of the change initiative.

Values and Needs

Values and needs have a great impact on employee engagement, motivation, and satisfaction levels. It also impacts how the company should respond to the changes. If change leaders comprehend the needs and values of employees and team members, then they will address their concerns and questions effectively.

Motivation

Motivation outlines the commitment of the employees and team members to achieve its goals and objectives. The change leaders should communicate the reasons and benefits of the change project to improve their motivation level.

Performance

The performance is the combination of both individual and organizational performance. Companies could evaluate the performance with various measures and metrics to recognize financial performance, customer satisfaction, quality, efficiency, and productivity.

Benefits of Burke Litwin Organizational Change Model 

Some of the main benefits and advantages of Burke Litwin organizational change model are as follows;

• Differentiates transformational and transactional leadership changes in the company
• Outlines the relationship between cause and effect that is critical to the company’s success
• Comprises all the elements that explain the reason for the change and develop a relevant strategy

Challenges of Burke Litwin Organizational Change Model 

Some of the main challenges and disadvantages of Burke Litwin organizational change model are as follows;

• Puts over-emphasis on the external factors; but sometimes internal factors are critical for the changes
• Focuses on the driving forces of the change; rather than discussing the execution strategy
• Over-simplify various factors

Conclusion: Burke and Litwin Organizational Change Model 

After an in-depth study of the Burke Litwin change management model; we have realized that the Burke Litwin change model offers a key insight about external factors. If you are learning about Burke and Litwin organizational change mode; then you should keep in mind the abovementioned transactional and transformational factors; and their advantages and disadvantages.