Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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was born from and has since diverged from Action Research (AR)
approaches to organisational and group development and change
(although AI has also been used as a tool of AR), and puts a ‘positive spin’
on employees’ working lives via the use of appreciative questioning. AI is
a relatively new technique which uses a similar style of cycle to that
utilised by AR practitioners, although it has been criticised (as have many
other change techniques) for its lack of evaluative techniques (Richer et
al., 2010).
The process by which AI is conducted is never as ‘clear cut’ and
‘clean’ as the cyclical processes suggest (see Figure 1). However, for the
purpose of this introductory chapter the AI cycle will be demonstrated as
one overarching cycle. Therefore, below is a demonstration of a general
AI cycle representing the main stages of the project:
2) Dreaming
4) Destiny
1) Discovery
3) Design
Figure 1: The 4 D’s of Appreciative Inquiry
Affirmative
topic choice
AI was originally conceptualised by Cooperrider and Srivastva in
1987, and the model is said to consist of a four-phase cycle, as shown
above, known as the ‘4 D’s’ (McAllister & Luckcock, 2009). These are:
1. Discovery – what’s working well. Discover the positive exceptions
and successes in the employees’ everyday working life.
2. Dreaming – the ideal service. Create a new vision of the future,
thus allowing new possibilities to arise.
3. Design – an innovative service. Translates what was ‘dreamt’ in the
previous stage into specific work design on how a better service
could be designed.