Dalmar Fisher

Human Development and Managerial Effectiveness

Managerial effectiveness can be explained from a human development point of view. Recent research links structural theories of adult development to decision making and leadership performance. The implications are far-reaching for the management development professions. Applying what is known about human development would mean major changes in goals and methods for management education in universities, management training in organizations, and the practice of organization development.

Meaning Making and Management Action

This research suggests that management styles are shaped by developmental stage, that is, by the way the individual makes meaning of his or her world. Subjects were 49 MBA alumni and students, all of whom held full-time positions in a variety of organizations. Managers at later developmental stages, measured by Loevingers Sentence Completion Test, were more likely to redefine problems on an in-basket exercise than to accept them as presented. The data also indicated, though less clearly, that later-stage managers were more likely to act collaboratively. Implications are offered for leadership theory and management development.

Action Inquiry and Performance Appraisals: Tools for Organizational Learning and Development

Purpose – Introduces the primary concepts behind the practice of action inquiry. Then, examines what current literature suggests about components of the performance appraisal process and identifies areas where applying action inquiry concepts can add a new dimension to our current understanding.Design/methodology/approach – Applies action inquiry, a concept from the organizational learning and change literatures, to suggest ways to infuse meaning and mutuality into appraisal discussions to help organizational leaders and members learn and develop. Ways to do so are demonstrated through a review and discussion of seven principal research streams in the current appraisal literature.Findings – An action inquiry approach can address many of the limitations inherent in the appraisal process and refocus appraisals as developmental tools. Potentially, appraisals can act as forums to open dialogue, invite participation and build relationships around re‐visioning ones work and career. The process can become instr...

Autobiographical Awareness as a Catalyst for Managerial and Organisational Development

This article argues and illustrates that autobiographical research, writing, and conservation that engenders autobiographical awareness, form a significant catalyst for managerial and organisational development toward continual quality improvement and the creation of learning organisations. The article also argues that autobiographical writing and conversation is a key process - indeed, an indispensable process - in social scientific research based on the action inquiry paradigm (Torbert, 1991).