Burke-Litwin Causal Model - questionnaire

To run a Burke-Litwin causal model diagnostic, use this step-by-step questionnaire to evaluate your organization across its twelve causal dimensions, scoring alignment and health from 1 (strong misalignment, dysfunctional) to 5 (strong alignment, optimal).

See burke-litwin-causal-model.

Evidence: Mixed. The transformational versus transactional distinction is the best-supported element and is what makes this questionnaire worth the effort. The full twelve-factor causal structure has not been confirmed, so treat the individual causal paths as hypotheses to test rather than as established routes.

Step 1: Input (External Driver)

1. External Environment

• Question: How well does leadership monitor and respond to external shifts (market trends, client demands, technology, regulations, and competitors)?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

Step 2: Transformational Factors (Deep Culture & Direction)

1. Mission and Strategy

• Question: Is our core purpose and strategic direction clear, inspiring, and understood by everyone in the organization?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

2. Leadership

• Question: Do executive leaders model the behaviors, values, and accountability they expect from the rest of the company?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

3. Organizational Culture

• Question: Do our unwritten rules, daily norms, and shared values foster trust, collaboration, and high performance rather than politics or fear?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

Step 3: Transactional Factors (Everyday Operations & Climate)

1. Structure

• Question: Are our reporting lines and functional boundaries clear, allowing decisions to be made without excessive bureaucracy?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

2. Management Practices

• Question: Do middle managers allocate resources, plan workloads, and coordinate projects effectively to support the strategy?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

3. Systems (Policies & Procedures)

• Question: Do our standard operating procedures, HR systems, and IT tools facilitate smooth workflows rather than adding friction?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

4. Work Unit Climate

• Question: Do individual teams experience psychological safety, cooperation, and positive working relationships day-to-day?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

5. Task Requirements & Individual Skills

• Question: Do employees have the exact training, competencies, and tools required to perform their specific job duties successfully?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

6. Individual Needs & Values

• Question: Do our reward, recognition, and workplace flexibility structures match what our employees personally value and need to feel fulfilled?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

7. Motivation

• Question: Are employees genuinely energized, engaged, and willing to go above and beyond in their daily work?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

Step 4: Output (Performance Result)

1. Individual and Organizational Performance

• Question: Are we consistently hitting our key performance indicators (productivity, quality, retention, and profitability goals)?
  • Rating (1–5): [ ]

Step 5: Causal analysis

• Trace the cascading flow. Look upstream. If performance (12) or motivation (11) is low, trace backward to see whether the breakdown originates in transactional elements (structure, systems, climate) or transformational root causes (mission and strategy, leadership, culture).

• Target the right level. Do not try to fix a low score in culture (4) with a tweak to structure (5). Transformational gaps require executive-level intervention and years, not a process change and a quarter. Applying a transactional fix to a transformational problem is the most common expensive failure in organizational life, and this questionnaire exists mainly to prevent it.

• Motivation is a mediator, not a target. A low score on 11 is almost never treated at the motivation layer. It reflects how people experience the upstream structure, climate, and management practices.

• Check item 1 before anything else. If the external environment score is low, the organization is being changed by forces it is not tracking, and internal alignment work will be aimed at the wrong target. Follow up with pestle-analysis-questionnaire.

• Run it at two levels and compare. Leadership and frontline scores on the transformational factors typically diverge sharply, because leaders have been discussing mission and strategy for months. The gap is more informative than either score.

• This is a slow instrument. If you need a diagnosis this week, use weisbord-six-box-model-questionnaire and come back here when a specific breakdown is flagged.