• Political environment - changes in government or as a result of government influence
• Knowledge - changes in the amount and type of information available

Using H.L. Leavitt's research as a base, Martin identifies four key organizational variables that can be affected by external or internal change pressures.

1. People
2. Programs
3. Structure
4. Technology

Martin (2001) contends that a change to one of these variables can also result in an impact to one or more of the other variables as the organization tries to address the changes. Additionally, using a change matrix, he argues that change can be experienced in one of four different ways, depending on the impact of the change and the level of planning the organization uses to address the change.

Scale of impact		Fracturing	Crisis - unexpected and serious change to the organization (e.g., a chance occurrence such as the destruction of a building by a storm or earthquake)	Strategic - major changes that are planned in advance (e.g., restructuring the organization in light of proposed government changes)
		Adaptive	Surprise - changes that are unplanned and minor in impact (e.g., a minor supplier of materials goes out of business)	Incremental - minor changes that are anticipated (e.g., adjusting a workspace to accommodate new computer equipment)
			Unplanned	Planned
			Degree of Planning

Impact of change on the individual

As Martin (2001) indicates, it is not surprising that most people resent changes at work because it "invariably means having to take on more work, stress or even losing one's job, hardly positive reward for accepting change."

Scott and Jaffe (1995) argue that even positive changes can elicit feelings of stress because the individual is going through the process of leaving the familiar environment and entering one that is unfamiliar. Bridges (1988) contends that people go through a three-stage process when they experience significant change.