Employee perception on transactional and transformational changes in a public organization

Transactional changes alter only certain aspects of the organization. Transformational changes are more radical, involving the organization as a whole. The existence of capacity factors for organizational change in an organization can influence the occurrence of these types of changes. Change occurrences can be hindered or enhanced due to some organizational capacity factors, including information flow, organizational strategy, coalition dynamics, turbulence in the external environment, group autonomy, bureaucracy and managerial practices. The present paper aims to appraise whether these factors influence or not the way individuals perceive transformational and transactional changes in an organization. The data (N=340) have been gathered from a number of questionnaires applied in a public organization that has undergone management changes and had some of its areas restructured. The Organizational Capacity Assessment Scales for Changes and the Change Perception Scale have also been used. The results point out that organizational strategy, coalition dynamics and communication flow (R2 = 0.35; p = 0.011) are predictors for Transformational Changes perception. As for Transactional Changes, group work (R = 0.16; p = 0.001) is barely considered a predictive factor. The relevance of this research is directed toward those who are responsible for the management process in public institutions.