Title: Positive approaches for organisation development: a case study

Authors: Beverley E. Powell III; Tojo Thatchenkery

Addresses: Colorado Technical University, 8084 Lodi Lane, Fountain, Colorado, 80817, USA ' School of Public Policy, George Mason University, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201, USA

Abstract: Top management in a government-related accounting and finance firm faced various crises related to high turnover and low morale. An organisation development (OD) intervention called appreciative sharing of knowledge (ASK) was deployed to counter the negativity in the organisation. The ASK approach brought to surface several core values of the organisation. Subsequent interventions in the organisation built on these knowledge enablers (another term for core values in the context of knowledge management) and generated several future-present scenarios which are akin to recommendations in a traditional OD intervention. Using the synergy emerged for employee engagement as a result of ASK, these concrete action ideas were prioritised and delivered to top management for further implementation. Modest success was reported as the leadership tried to put into practices several of the recommendations. The case study shows the power of Appreciative Intelligence^® and positive approaches in bringing about sustainable changes in organisations and to effectively deal with resistance to change.

Keywords: Appreciative Intelligence^®; appreciative sharing of knowledge; ASK; knowledge sharing; organisational development intervention; negativity; knowledge management; employee engagement; organisational change; change management; resistance to change.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2013.055411

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2013 Vol.13 No.2/3, pp.95 - 106

Published online: 19 Jul 2014 *

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