Organization Change by W. Warner Burke

Author:W. Warner Burke
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2017-03-15T18:30:00+00:00

Transformational and Transactional Dimensions

Key to understanding change according to the model is the top half compared with the bottom half. Borrowing language and concepts from James McGregor Burns (1978) and his distinction between two primary forms of leadership—transformational and transactional—we have conceived of the model similarly. Burns classified transformational leaders as being those who bring about change; they never leave a situation the way they found it, and the “situation” (organization, community, nation, etc.) will be different as a consequence of this kind of leader being in charge. He classified as transactional leaders those who see the leader–follower relationship as just that, a transaction: “If you do such and such for me, I’ll see that you (follower) get rewarded” (promotion, bonus, time off, etc.). This latter form of leadership may involve change, but not change that is sweeping or transformational in nature (change in the deep structure of the system; see Chapter 5). Transactional leaders are more interested in maintaining the status quo, but if change is necessary, they would argue that it should be gradual and evolutionary, not sudden and revolutionary.

The categories or boxes in the top half of the model—external environment, mission and strategy, leadership, and culture—are referred to as the transformational factors. Changes in these boxes are likely to be caused by direct interaction with external environmental forces and will as a consequence require significantly new behavior from organizational members. Figure 10.3 is a display of these transformational factors. It is similar to Burns’s conception of transformational leadership, but of course, in an organization context, a change in any of these boxes or organizational dimensions means that the entire organization or system is affected and that the change is discontinuous and revolutionary in nature (see Chapter 5), that is, affecting the deep structure of the system and requiring visionary leadership.

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