what would be a good conceptual framework for analysing the transformation of organization?

Answer 1

It depends on what sort of "organization" you are referring to. Some organizations are assembled for a purpose – a house, for example, is an organization of building materials in accordance with some sort of blueprint, or at least a general plan. On the other hand, some organizations arises spontaneously due to the nature of matter and energy. The universe itself is essentially a self-organizing system composed of innumerable lower levels of self-organization. In a self-organizing system, complex patterns form out of relatively simple rules applied to whatever elements are determined to be the basis of the system. (These elements can, in themselves, be complex systems, but so long as they behave like holistic units, and so long as you are able to identify the basic rules of their behavior, this lower-level complexity does not matter.)

To understand a planned organization that is meant to serve a purpose, you need to understand the function of each part, so the conceptual framework would be that of engineering. You would understand such an organization in essentially the same way in which you understand a machine. Some folks who don't understand the concepts of self-organization think that the universe is like a big machine and God is like a divine "watchmaker" so that every part of the universe serves some functional purpose. Transformation within such a system is something that happens at part of the master plan. When you start you car's engine, the car transforms from a static set of structural relations into a dynamic system that, among other things, turns liquid fuel into gaseous emissions and travels through spacetime, all more or less in accordance with the master plan that is responsible for the car's creation.

Self-organizing systems, on the other hand, do not have a master plan. You can still view the system's parts in terms of functions, but without a master plan it becomes impossible to predict what the system will do in the long run. In this case, a transformation of organization might not be in accordance with any particular purpose, and the meaning of all possible transformations is not determined ahead of time. A car engine either works like it is supposed to, or it does not, and if it does not, then it is simply broken. But in a self-organizing system there is no absolute criteria for how it is "supposed" to work, so a transformation may radically alter the functioning in such a way as to create a "new purpose" so to speak. Self-organizing systems are fundamentally creative, and any purpose that they happen to have at any given time is self-created. Thus, self-organizing systems can re-create their purpose, grow, evolved, and some can eventually even re-create the very nature of their being On a self-organizing system model, a business that started out as a mom & pop operation selling widgets can become a multinational corporation that doesn't even bother to make their original widgets any longer and is now more focused on global profits, influencing national and international politics, and basically feeding and perpetuating the administrative bureaucracy that now serves as its essential structure.

Almost any system that involves human beings as the elements of the system are best thought of in terms of the principles of self-organizing systems. Even just a few basic elements (people) and a few initial conditions (a particular vision for the future) can transform into an incomprehensibly complex system with completely different visions for a completely different future than was ever envisioned before.

And since the human body is also a self-organizing system, the human body may someday transform in ways that current humans cannot imagine, and along the way, the very nature of what it means to be human may change as well.

Answer 2

I do not follow the question exactly, meaning "conceptual" is more of a theory, however, analysis is dealing with facts. If this is in regards to business (any business) then look to TQM (total quality management like ISO 9000 or Six Sigma (which analysis more information). It is the results from the analysis (if utilized) that will transform an organization and/or direction in which the said organization needs to take. These organizational tools can also be used to "analys" the change of an organization as well.