Frank Lambrechts

Process Consultation Revisited: Taking a Relational Practice Perspective

Process consultation as conceived and reformulated several times by Edgar Schein constitutes a seminal contribution to the process of organization development in general and to the definition of the helping role of the consultant in particular. Under the pressure of a pragmatic turn in organizational change work, the practice of process consultation was fading away during the eighties and nineties. In some particular training and organizational consulting contexts nevertheless, the foundational principles and practices of process consultation are experienced to be more relevant than ever before. A relational constructionist theoretical lens, an emphasis on joint consultant—client practices, and a proper contextual embedding constitute a relational practice perspective that embodies in a new form and language those foundational ideas.

Barriers and facilitators related to the implementation of surgical safety checklists: a systematic review of the qualitative evidence

Objective The objective of this review is to obtain a better understanding of the user-related barriers against, and facilitators for, the implementation of surgical safety checklists. Methods We searched MEDLINE for articles describing stakeholders’ perspectives regarding, and experiences with, the implementation of surgical safety checklists. The quality of the papers was assessed by means of the Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument. Thematic synthesis was used to integrate the emergent descriptive themes into overall analytical themes. Results The synthesis of 18 qualitative studies indicated that implementation requires change in the workflow of healthcare professionals as well as in their perception of the checklist and the perception of patient safety in general. The factors impeding or advancing the required change concentrated around the checklist, the implementation process and the local context. We found that the required safety checks disrupt operating theatre staffs’ routines. Furthermore, conflicting priorities and different perspectives and motives of stakeholders complicate checklist implementation. When approaching the checklist as a simple technical intervention, the expectation of cooperation between surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses is often not addressed, reducing the checklist to a tick-off exercise. Conclusions The complex reality in which the checklist needs to be implemented requires an approach that includes more than eliminating barriers and supporting facilitating factors. Implementation leaders must facilitate team learning to foster the mutual understanding of perspectives and motivations, and the realignment of routines. This paper provides a pragmatic overview of the user-related barriers and facilitators upon which theories, hypothesising potential change strategies and interactions, can be developed and tested empirically.

Learning to Work with Interdependencies Effectively: The Case of the HRM Forum of the Suppliers Teams at Volvo Cars Gent

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to profile the way that Volvo Cars Gent (VCG) Belgium and its suppliers succeed in managing their interdependencies on HRM issues through a shared HRM collaborative, called the Suppliers Team Volvo Cars HRM forum (STVC-HRM). Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach is used to develop understanding of the critical factors that contribute to the forum’s success. Findings – It was found that the critical success factors concern the way STVC-HRM members enacted trust, common ground, leadership, shared responsibility, and representative-constituency dynamics. Research limitations/implications – To understand the Toyota system of successful collaboration and learning with suppliers, it is necessary to look into the actual assembler-suppliers relationships and practices developed.Practical implications – Building lasting manufacturer-supplier relationships is considered to be one of the elements that contribute to Toyota’s competitive advantage in supply chain management. However, other organizations struggle to improve manufacturer-suppliers relationships despite applying seemingly similar principles. This paper helps in recognizing and managing the main collaboration issues at hand. Originality/value – Our work informs how to build and maintain deep mutually beneficial manufacturer-suppliers relationships through the VCG-suppliers case. Other organizations that want to develop those much-needed relationships may learn from the successful VCG-suppliers way of doing things.

Building Psychological Capital With Appreciative Inquiry Investigating the Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is growing in popularity as a strength-based approach to organization and whole system development. Despite numerous accounts on AI’s outcomes positively impacting on organizations and persons, a dearth of quantitative studies exists measuring AI’s impact on individual-level outcomes. This quantitative study investigates how participating in AI impacts on individuals’ psychological capital (PsyCap) through fulfilling their basic psychological needs (BPN) for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Results, based on data from 213 participants who worked in social profit organizations and either belonged to a group with AI experience or without AI experience, indicate that satisfying the need for competence mediates the relationship between participating in AI and the PsyCap dimensions self-efficacy, optimism, resilience, and hope. Furthermore, results show that participating in AI satisfies the three BPN. Next to theoretical implications, the article provides insights into how leaders of change can build organizations in which people thrive.

In-depth joint supply chain learning: towards a framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework for understanding how in-depth joint supply chain learning can be successfully developed. This kind of learning is becoming increasingly important in highly turbulent and uncertain economic environments of new and growing interdependencies and complexities. Design/methodology/approach – Using a “synthesizing” or “bricolage” approach, key insights, now dispersed over a variety of literatures and disciplines, are integrated to develop the framework. Findings – The leading facilitative actor’s orientations, competencies and behavior play a significant role in enhancing the relationships between the supply chain actors shaping in-depth joint learning. Starting with establishing interaction boundary conditions by the leading actor, this process is likely to lead to system-level generative outcomes. These outcomes, in turn, serve the process cycle of in-depth joint learning as inputs for the relationship building process among all the actors. Research limitations/implications – By centering on the actual shaping of in-depth joint learning, and the concrete enactment of roles by protagonists enhancing this process, the paper has opened the black box. Future research should refine the framework. Practical implications – Apart from giving insight into the repertoire of relational competencies and behaviors needed to enhance the relationship building process conducive to in-depth joint learning, the paper addresses how these skills can be developed in practice and education. Originality/value – The paper identifies several implications for research, practice, and education. Instead of focusing predominantly on the content, procedure, levers, or outcomes of learning, the relational construction of the learning process itself is clarified.

A tailored intervention to improving the quality of intrahospital nursing handover

INTRODUCTION Nursing handover is a process central to the delivery of high-quality and safe care. We aimed to improve the quality of nursing handover from the emergency department to ward and intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS A quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group pre-test - post-test design was applied. Handover quality was measured using the Handover Evaluation Scale (HES). A tailored intervention, inspired by appreciative inquiry, was designed to improve the implementation of an existing handover form and procedure. RESULTS In total 130 nurses participated, 66 before and 64 after the intervention. Initial structure of the HES showed no good fit to our data; the questions were reshaped into 3 dimensions: Quality of information, Interaction and support, and Relevance of information. Following the intervention, mean changes in HES factor scores ranged from -3.99 to +15.9. No significant difference in factor scoring by ward and ICU nurses was found. Emergency department nurses, however, perceived Interaction and support to be improved following the intervention. CONCLUSION The intervention did not result in an improved perception of handover quality by ward and ICU nurses. There was improvement in the perception of Interaction and support among emergency department nurses. The intervention positively effected teamwork and mutual understanding concerning nursing handover practice amongst emergency nurses. In order to improve intrahospital nursing handover, hospital-wide interventions are suggested. These interventions should be aimed at creating a generative story, improving mutual understanding, and establishing a supportive attitude regarding standardised procedures to reduce human error.

Inquiring Into Appreciative Inquiry: A Conversation With David Cooperrider and Ronald Fry:

David Cooperrider and Ronald Fry are professors of organizational behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). CWRU’s Department of Organizational Behavior is consistently acknowledged as one of the best in the world by the Financial Times. Together with their mentor, Suresh Srivastva, they created Appreciative Inquiry (AI) over 30 years ago. Since then, AI has been extensively applied worldwide, and many exciting results have been achieved and published. This article is grounded in an in-depth conversation with David and Ron at the World Appreciative Inquiry Conference 2012, and subsequent discussions between 2012 and 2016. It focuses on how AI has been contributing to a generative scholarship and what new possibilities are on the horizon to strengthen these efforts. In the epilogue, we highlight contributions to current debates around generative scholarship, and offer recommendations to heighten the generative potential of AI and our field.