Premium
Appreciative design a
Author(s) -
Norum Karen E.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.427
Subject(s) - appreciative inquiry , destiny (iss module) , class (philosophy) , process (computing) , sociology , computer science , dream , public relations , psychology , engineering , political science , artificial intelligence , pedagogy , aerospace engineering , operating system , neuroscience
Abstract Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an inquiry into the ‘best of’ what already exists in a system. It is a search to discover the life‐giving forces of the system. Organizations grow in the direction of what they study and, in this sense, invent themselves. AI asserts if good and bad exist in any system, we can choose to study the ‘good’ instead of the ‘bad’. Unfortunately, we are well trained through problem‐solving to study the ‘bad’ instead of the ‘good’. However, by changing what is ‘studied’ in the organization, the system can ‘reinvent’ itself. When using an appreciative inquiry (AI) approach, the questions we ask will determine what we find. Thus, shaping the inquiry is critical. The questions asked will reveal the life‐giving forces of the system. Once those are discovered, the next stage in the process is to dream of what could be. Then comes the design phase: creating the infrastructure that will bridge the best of what is with what could be. The system can then live its destiny by strengthening its affirmative capability. Appreciative Design differs from traditional approaches to organizational design in that it is not a method of problem‐solving; rather it is a way to design a system around identified life‐giving forces. In this paper, the author will present a model for ‘Appreciative Design’. Examples from consulting work and an instructional design class will be used for illustrative purposes. How ‘Appreciative Design’ could be used to reinvent educational systems will also be discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.