Dialogic democracy meets command and control: Transformation through the Appreciative Inquiry Summit

Academy of Management Executive

Volumn 18, Issue 3, 2004, Pages 67-80

  Powley, Edward H ^a,b,c   Fry, Ronald E ^a,f,g   Barrett, Frank J ^a,d,e   Bright, David S ^a,h  

^a CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c WORLD BANK   (United States)

^d NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL   (United States)

^e Fielding Institute   (United States)

^f Dept of Organizational Behavior ^*  (United States)

^g MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^h BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 8344280802     PISSN: 10795545     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5465/AME.2004.14776170     Document Type: Review

References (45)

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2. Bowen, D. E., & Lawler, E. E., III. 1992. Total quality-oriented human resources management. Organizational Dynamics, 20(4): 29-42; Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. 1993. Organization development and change (6th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: West Publishing Company; Joiner, C. W. J. 1985. Making the "Z" concept work. Sloan Management Review, 26(3): 57-63.
3. Bowen, D. E., & Lawler, E. E., III. 1992. Total quality-oriented human resources management. Organizational Dynamics, 20(4): 29-42; Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. 1993. Organization development and change (6th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: West Publishing Company; Joiner, C. W. J. 1985. Making the "Z" concept work. Sloan Management Review, 26(3): 57-63.
4. Bass, B. M., & Shackleton, V. J. 1979. Industrial democracy and participative management: A case for synthesis. Academy of Management Review, 4(3): 393-404; Bowen, & Lawler; Joiner.
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7. Melman, S. 2001. After capitalism: From managerialism to workplace democracy. New York: Alfred Knopf.
8. Hackman, J. R., Pallak, M. S., & Perloff, R. O. (Eds.). 1986. Psychology and work: Productivity, change, and employment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; Losada, M., & Heaphy, E. 2004. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6): 740-765; Orsburn, J. D., et al. 1990. Self-directed work teams: The new American challenge. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones Irwin; Walton, R. E., & Lawrence, P. R. 1985. HRM, trends and challenges. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
9. Hackman, J. R., Pallak, M. S., & Perloff, R. O. (Eds.). 1986. Psychology and work: Productivity, change, and employment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; Losada, M., & Heaphy, E. 2004. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6): 740-765; Orsburn, J. D., et al. 1990. Self-directed work teams: The new American challenge. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones Irwin; Walton, R. E., & Lawrence, P. R. 1985. HRM, trends and challenges. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
10. Hackman, J. R., Pallak, M. S., & Perloff, R. O. (Eds.). 1986. Psychology and work: Productivity, change, and employment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; Losada, M., & Heaphy, E. 2004. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6): 740-765; Orsburn, J. D., et al. 1990. Self-directed work teams: The new American challenge. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones Irwin; Walton, R. E., & Lawrence, P. R. 1985. HRM, trends and challenges. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
11. Hackman, J. R., Pallak, M. S., & Perloff, R. O. (Eds.). 1986. Psychology and work: Productivity, change, and employment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; Losada, M., & Heaphy, E. 2004. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6): 740-765; Orsburn, J. D., et al. 1990. Self-directed work teams: The new American challenge. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones Irwin; Walton, R. E., & Lawrence, P. R. 1985. HRM, trends and challenges. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
12. Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. A. 1991. Implementing global strategies: The role of procedural justice. Strategic Management Journal, 12(4): 125-144.
13. Fishman, C. Engines of democracy. Fast Company. 1 October 1999, 174.
14. Ulrich, D., Kerr, S., & Ashkenas, R. 2002. The GE Work-Out. New York: McGraw-Hill.
15. Ackoff, R. L. 1994. The democratic corporation: A radical prescription for recreating corporate America and rediscovering success. New York: Oxford University Press.
16. Ackoff, R. L. 1989. The circular organization: An update. The Academy of Management Executive, 3(1): 11-16.
17. Ackoff, The democratic corporation.
18. Isaacs, W. N. 1993. Taking flight: Dialogue, collective thinking, and organizational learning. Organizational Dynamics, 22(2): 24-39.
19. Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. 2000. A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry. In D. L. Cooperrider, et al. (Eds.), Appreciative inquiry: Rethinking human organization toward a positive theory of change: 3-28. Champaign, IL: Stipes.
20. Cooperrider, D. L. 1999. Positive image, positive action: The affirming basis of organizing. In S. Srivastra, & D. L. Cooperrider (Eds.), Appreciative management and leadership: 91-125. Euclid, OH: Williams Custom Publishing.
21. Cooperrider & Whitney. A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry; Powley, E. H., Cooperrider, D. L., & Fry, R. E. 2002. Appreciative inquiry: A revolutionary approach to strategic change. In P. Goett (Ed.), Handbook of business strategy: 165-172. New York: EC Media Group; Weisbord, M. R., & Janoff, S. 1995. Future search: An action guide to finding common ground for action in organizations and communities (1st ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler; Whitney, D., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1998. The appreciative inquiry summit: Overview and applications. Employment Relations Today, 25(2): 17-29.
22. Cooperrider & Whitney. A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry; Powley, E. H., Cooperrider, D. L., & Fry, R. E. 2002. Appreciative inquiry: A revolutionary approach to strategic change. In P. Goett (Ed.), Handbook of business strategy: 165-172. New York: EC Media Group; Weisbord, M. R., & Janoff, S. 1995. Future search: An action guide to finding common ground for action in organizations and communities (1st ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler; Whitney, D., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1998. The appreciative inquiry summit: Overview and applications. Employment Relations Today, 25(2): 17-29.
23. Cooperrider & Whitney. A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry; Powley, E. H., Cooperrider, D. L., & Fry, R. E. 2002. Appreciative inquiry: A revolutionary approach to strategic change. In P. Goett (Ed.), Handbook of business strategy: 165-172. New York: EC Media Group; Weisbord, M. R., & Janoff, S. 1995. Future search: An action guide to finding common ground for action in organizations and communities (1st ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler; Whitney, D., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1998. The appreciative inquiry summit: Overview and applications. Employment Relations Today, 25(2): 17-29.
24. Cooperrider & Whitney. A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry; Powley, E. H., Cooperrider, D. L., & Fry, R. E. 2002. Appreciative inquiry: A revolutionary approach to strategic change. In P. Goett (Ed.), Handbook of business strategy: 165-172. New York: EC Media Group; Weisbord, M. R., & Janoff, S. 1995. Future search: An action guide to finding common ground for action in organizations and communities (1st ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler; Whitney, D., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1998. The appreciative inquiry summit: Overview and applications. Employment Relations Today, 25(2): 17-29.
25. Burke, W. 1987. Organization development: A normative view. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
26. Barrett, F. J., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1990. Generative metaphor intervention: A new approach for working with systems divided by conflict and caught in defensive perception. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 26(2): 219-239; Cooperrider, D. L., & Srivastra, S. 1987. Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. Research in Organizational Change and Development 1: 129-169.
27. Barrett, F. J., & Cooperrider, D. L. 1990. Generative metaphor intervention: A new approach for working with systems divided by conflict and caught in defensive perception. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 26(2): 219-239; Cooperrider, D. L., & Srivastra, S. 1987. Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. Research in Organizational Change and Development 1: 129-169.
28. Fry, R. E., et al. (Eds.). 2002. Appreciative inquiry and organizational transformation: Reports from the field. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
29. Ludema, J. D., et al. 2003. The appreciative inquiry summit: A practitioner's guide for leading large-group change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Powley, Cooperrider, & Fry.
30. Information available on the Internet at http://www. navy.mil.
31. Theme taken from field notes, Norfolk, Virginia, September 2003.
32. Ludema, et al.
33. The activities of the Summit include ways to involve all participants. Appreciative interviews occur between pairs of participants who do not know each other. The interviews focus on the high moments of the past, the best of what exists presently, and hopes or dreams of the potential future. The proudest prouds are themes that are generated as people discuss their high-point stories. The Positive Core refers to the traits and characteristics of the organization that people most want to preserve as they move into the future. The driving activity calls for organizational members to focus on identifying the root causes of success in the organization, in contrast to the root causes of failure analysis that is a common strategic practice in many organizations.
34. An Opportunity Map is a collective mind map, a tool for clustering action ideas into groups of similar themes. In the typical approach, participants vote for the ideas in which they have the strongest interest. Votes are often recorded as colored stickers or dots next to the cluster or theme of interest. A completed Opportunity Map provides visual representation of the cognitive and emotional energy that resides in the room at a given moment in time.
35. Quotation taken from field notes, Norfolk, Virginia, September 2003.
36. Quotation taken from field notes, Norfolk, Virginia, September 2003.
37. Prior to the December 2002 meeting, the authors conducted a mini-study in which they identified various success factors in the action teams. Findings pointed to the involvement of senior leadership, regular communication through a variety of mediums, synergy with regular responsibilities, and clarity in group task lists.
38. See Maznevski, M. L., & Chudoba, K. M. 2000. Bridging space over time: Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. Organization Science, 11(5): 473-492. These authors conducted an extensive study of three virtual teams in which they discovered and described success factors related to task complexity, message complexity, and rhythm.
39. Theme taken from field notes, Norfolk, Virginia, September 2003.
40. Powley, E. H. 2004. Underlying ritual practices of the appreciative inquiry summit: Toward a theory of sustained appreciative change. In D. L. Cooperrider & M. Avital (Eds.), Constructive discourse and human organization: Advances in appreciative inquiry, 1: 241-261.
41. In the anthropological literature, this condition is noted as communitas, which emerges where normal social structure is absent and differs from structured, differentiated, and hierarchical systems in that these make distinctions of more or less. The Summit space where communitas forms exposes an underlying social bond that no longer exists and is not completely undone and is "not a matter of giving a general stamp of legitimacy to a society's structural positions." Therefore, communitas is an experience of anti-structure where participants come out of structured roles to form equal, collaborative, and deeply connected relationships. See Turner, V. W. 1969. The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
42. Srivastva & Cooperrider.
43. I b i d.
44. Whitney, D., & Trosten-Bloom, A. 2003. The power of appreciative inquiry. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
45. I b i d.