Gervase R. Bushe

When Is Appreciative Inquiry Transformational? A Meta-Case Analysis

Twenty 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 use of seven principles and practices culled from a review of the theoretical literature on AI. Although all cases began by collecting stories of the positive, followed the 4-D model, and adhered to five principles of AI articulated by Cooperrider and Whitney, only seven (35%) showed transformational outcomes. Highly consistent differences between the transformational cases and the others led the authors to conclude that two qualities of appreciative inquiry that are different from conventional organizational development and change management prescriptions are key to AIs transformative potential: (a) a focus on changing how people think instead of what people do and (b) a focus on supporting self-organizing change processes that flow from new ideas.

Revisioning Organization Development: Diagnostic and Dialogic Premises and Patterns of Practice

This article identifies a bifurcation in the practice of organization development (OD) that is not fully acknowledged or discussed in OD textbooks or journal articles. Forms of OD practice exist that do not adhere to key assumptions and prescriptions of the founders of OD. Some of these dialogical forms of organization development practice are described and contrasts and similarities with the original, diagnostic, form of OD are analyzed. Practices that define dialogical forms of OD are identified with a call for increased acknowledgment of this bifurcation in OD research, practice, and teaching.

Leadership development training transfer: a case study of post‐training determinants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand what contributes to transfer of soft‐skill, leadership training.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a literature review resulted in five broad factors that may influence transfer of leadership training. These were used to guide a qualitative, exploratory study. Interviews were conducted with 18 participants of an extensive, soft skill oriented leadership development program, along with peer observers. Where possible, quantitative analyses are used to test and confirm qualitative findings.Findings – The results showed substantial transfer of training and suggest that actual utilization of newly learned skills is influenced differently than judgments about the value of the training. The greatest inhibitor to transfer appeared to be fear of breaking cultural norms and the most important remedy, the number of other managers who receive the training. In particular, having ones boss take the same training was strongly associated with post‐traini...

Cultural Contradictions of Statistical Process Control In American Manufacturing Organizations

This 21/2-year study of the implementation of statistical process con-trol in one U.S. location of a large corporation in the automotive in-dustry uncovered cultural barriers to the innovation. A manufactur-ing culture is posited and three cultural themes that impeded implementation are described. Implications for research on use of in-novation and ethnographic inquiry are discussed.

Appreciative Inquiry as a Team-Development Intervention: A Controlled Experiment:

In a controlled laboratory experiment, the effects of a team-development intervention based on the theory of appreciative inquiry were compared with task-oriented team development (TOTD) and lectures on group processes, outcomes, and performance. Undergraduate students (96) in two semesters of an introductory organization behavior course participated in four-person teams and had 13 weeks to complete a task worth 25% of each members final grade. One third of the teams received an appreciative inquiry intervention, another third received a TOTD intervention, and the final third received a lecture on group dynamics (placebo). Pre-and postsurveys assessed group process and outcomes; project grades were used to assess task performance. ANOVAs and ANCOVAs on each of the process and outcome measures showed groups receiving appreciative inquiry, and TOTD scored significantly higher than those receiving the placebo on almost all measures, including task performance. Teams receiving TOTD scored significantly higher than appreciative inquiry on task performance. Implications for organization development and directions for future research are discussed.

Predicting Organization Development Consulting Competence from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Stage of Ego Development

A 77-item Consulting Competence Survey was developed and tested for reliability and validity. During a six-month course designed to help members of a corporate quality staff develop organization development (OD) skills, 64 trainees were each assessed by two of their peers using this instrument. The trainees were also assessed by two trainers using a five-item trainer rating instrument. Two dependent measures-peer rating and trainer rating-were used to test hypotheses about the predictive validity of the eight Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) scales and the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (SCT) of ego development. Only the intuition scale of the MBT1 and the stage of ego development were found to predict consulting competence as rated by the subjects `peers and trainers. When these two measures were entered into the same structural equation, only stage of ego development was found to remain a significant, positive predictor. The studys implications for research and for selecting and training OD consultants are discussed.

Group Development and Team Effectiveness Using Cognitive Representations to Measure Group Development and Predict Task Performance and Group Viability

The authors reconceptualize the theory of group development for application to task groups and propose two key sequential phases: membership and competence. A method for measuring developmental progress in task teams based on congruence in group cognitive representations of the team as it is, the ideal team, and the team as it ought to be is proposed. A system for computing group states based on structural connections among member cognitive representations is offered. Measures of group state representations in 49 project teams were collected at beginning, midpoint, and end of each team and related to team effectiveness. Hypotheses based on group development theory predicting effects of convergence and congruence in group state representations on team effectiveness are supported. Further insights into the developmental process of group states are discussed. The authors conclude by arguing for the return of group development theory as an explanation for disparate findings in team research.

The Dialogic Mindset in Organization Development

Abstract nExtending the argument made in Bushe and Marshak (2009) of the emergence of a new species of Organization Development (OD) that we label Dialogic, to differentiate it from the foundational Diagnostic form, we argue that how any OD method is used in practice will be depend on the mindset of the practitioner. Six variants of Dialogic OD practice are reviewed and compared to aid in identification of a Weberian ideal-type Dialogic Mindset, consisting of eight premises that distinguish it from the foundational Diagnostic Mindset. Three core change processes that underlie all successful Dialogic OD processes are proposed, and suggestions for future research offered.

Generative Process, Generative Outcome: The Transformational Potential of Appreciative Inquiry

Abstract nGenerativity is defined in this chapter as the creation of new images, metaphors, physical representations, and so on that have two qualities: they change how people think so that new options for decisions and/or actions become available to them, and they are compelling images that people want to act on. Research and experiences that suggest “positivity,” particularly positive emotion, is not sufficient for transformational change, but that generativity is a key change lever in cases of transformational change, are reviewed. A model of different characteristics of generativity is offered and ways in which appreciative inquiry can be a generative process, increase generative capacity, and lead to generative outcomes, are discussed. Ways to increase the generativity of appreciative inquiry through generative topics, generative questions, generative conversations, and generative action are offered.

Developing Cooperative Labor-Management Relations in Unionized Factories: A Multiple Case Study of Quality Circles and Parallel Organizations within Joint Quality of Work Life Projects

A study compared the attempts of five different manufacturing plants of a corporation to develop more cooperative labor-management relations, examining results obtained for the first two years of the change projects. Data were collected through interviews with senior and lower-level managers, supervisors, and union officials, and from records on productivity, product quality, and grievances. Based on the numbers of problem-solving groups and reported changes affecting managers and union officials, two plants succeeded in improving labor-management relations, but through processes contrary to prescriptions given in the current literature. The author presents many deficiencies in current conceptualizations related to union-management change efforts. The article suggests topics for future research, especially the utility of an intergroup relations perspective and parallel organizations.