Styn Grieten

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.

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.

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.