APPRECIATIVE DESIGN

摘要

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is 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 exists 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 "re-invent" 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 re-invent educational systems will also be discussed.