A weblog for Pete Ellertsen's mass communications students at Benedictine University Springfield.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Appreciative Inquiry: An article and a website - emphasis (bold ital) mine

When is Appreciative Inquiry Transformational? A Meta-Case Analysis

Author: Gervase Bushe , Aniq Khamisa

Academy of Management Conference Presentation 2004

Date: 01/01/2004 Annotation: Abstract

20 cases of the use of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) for changing social systems published before 2003 were examined to look for the presence or absence of transformational change and the utilization of 7 principles and practices culled from a review of the theoretical literature on AI.Though all cases began by collecting “stories of the positive”, followed the “4-D model” and adhered to 5 principles of AI articulated by Cooperrider & Whitney (2001), only 7 (35%) showed transformational outcomes. In 100% of cases with transformational outcomes, the appreciative inquiry resulted in new ideas and knowledge and a generative metaphor that transformed the accepted beliefs of system members. In none of the non transformational cases was new knowledge created and in one a generative metaphor emerged.Instead, non-transformational AI focused on changing existing organizational practices.In 83% of the transformational cases, the “destiny” or action phase of the appreciative inquiry was best characterized as “improvisational”.In contrast, 83% of the non transformational cases used more standard “implementation” approaches to the action phase in which attempts were made to implement centrally agreed upon targets and plans.The authors conclude that these two qualities of appreciative inquiry, a focus on changing how people think instead of what people do, and a focus on supporting self-organizing change processes that flow from new ideas rather than leading implementation of centrally or consensually agreed upon changes, appear to be key contributions of AI to the theory and practice of large systems change that merit further study and elaboration.This paper is the only empirical assessment of AI published in a research journal and was the runner up for the Douglas McGregor memorial award in 2005.

Online Resources: Article Online at Gervase Bushe's website

Emphasis (bold italics) mine.

Link to this article: http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/classicsDetail.cfm?coid=5218


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Claiming the Light: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Transformation

Author: Paul Chaffee

Paul Chaffee is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio. This Web resource is based on an essay he wrote for the 2004 book published by Alban, http://www.congregationalresources.org/.

Introduction

Re-Grounding Relationship

AI's Potential

How to Begin

Social Constructionism

Quantum Physics

Pastoral Leadership

AI Principles

AI Practice

AI Culture

AI in the House of God

Learn More

Bibliography

Resources

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About Me

Springfield (Ill.), United States
I'm a retired English, journalism and cultural studies teacher at Springfield College in Illinois (acquired by Benedictine University and subsequently closed). I coordinate jam sessions for the "Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music" at Clayville Historic Site and the Prairieland Strings dulcimer club, and I sing in the choir and the contemporary praise team at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. On Hogfiddle I post links and video clips for our sessions and workshops on the mountain dulcimer (a.k.a. "hog fiddle"), as well as research notes on folklore and cultural studies, hymnody and traditional Anglo-Celtic and Scandinavian music. I also posted assignments and readings in my interdisciplinary humanities classes. The Mackerel Wrapper (now on hiatus), carried assignments and readings for my mass comm. students. I started teaching b/log when I chaired SCI-Benedictine's assessment committee, and reopened it as the privatization of public schools grew increasingly troubling and closer to home.