Appreciative Inquiry has touched and affected the life of thousands who apply its principles in a wide range of settings including industry, government, spiritual and not-for-profit organizations. "The Advances in Appreciative Inquiry" series advocates an organizational science that focuses on advancing a scholarship of positive human organizations, positive relationships and positive modalities of change, which promise to be of world benefit for individuals, organizations and communities. The book series is dedicated to building such a discipline through the advancement of Appreciative Inquiry as an approach to organizational inquiry and human development, and through the interdisciplinary articulation of non-deficit theories of positive change processes in human systems. Guided by the ethos of Appreciative Inquiry, the book series supports a relentless inquiry into the true, the good, the better and the possible. It is dedicated to advancing a "scholarship of the positive" and "positive scholarship." The book series aims to facilitate an emergent dialogue within the social sciences and to support innovative and challenging work. Setting the stage for the series, the first volume, "Constructive Discourse and Human Organization", revolves around three main themes: we live in worlds our questions create, appreciative discourse and narrative, and the design of inquiring systems.

Organizational Dimensions of Global Change is the first book in a new series designed to facilitate, across discipline and national boundaries, an emergent dialogue around the issue of global change and cooperative potential. Written by an interdisciplinary group of leading scholars, the book explores how organizational scholarship and thinking can inform an understanding of global change issues and examines the potential of cooperation as a practice, an organizing accomplishment, and as a value for understanding issues of global change. It opens up conversations and research paths and addresses basic questions such as: What do we mean by global change research? What can organizational scholarship contribute to understanding the human dimensions of global change? If we were to offer a priority agenda for research and inquiry, what questions would we be asking and what kinds of research would have a high probability of making a large contribution to knowledge as well as a timely relevance for action? Topics discussed include global women leaders, corporations as agents of global change, international networking, the development of global environmental regimes, and collaborative knowledge creation. Organizational Dimensions of Global Change is an essential resource for students and scholars in the fields of organization and management science, policy studies, international relations and development studies, earth systems science, as well as the disciplines of sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, and psychology.

This volume is focused on sustainable value which has become a widespread aspiration in all walks of life. By taking a generative approach and by building on positive design principles inherent in the appreciative inquiry methodology, it proposes moving from sustainable development to sustainable value. Chapters focus on three thematic areas for sustainable value: positive design, appreciative intelligence and social innovation, and social entrepreneurship. Contributions respond to questions such as: How can the design approach help enhance the sustainable value over profit value? And what needs to happen to create a vibrant community of practice among design practitioners, scientists, business and political leaders? Case studies show that by reframing global problems with an appreciative lens, organizations of all sorts can indeed create social innovation and even establish a business case for sustainable value. It provides lessons learned from high impact social entrepreneurship and conceptualizes how this nascent movement with unbridled potential may contribute to the radical shift necessary for moving from sustainable development to sustainable value.

Appreciative Inquiry has touched and affected the life of thousands who apply its principles in a wide range of settings including industry, government, spiritual and not-for-profit organizations. The "Advances in Appreciative Inquiry" series advocates an organizational science that focuses on advancing a scholarship of positive human organizations, positive relationships and positive modalities of change, which promise to be of world benefit for individuals, organizations and communities. The book series is dedicated to building such a discipline through the advancement of Appreciative Inquiry as an approach to organizational inquiry and human development, and through the interdisciplinary articulation of non-deficit theories of positive change processes in human systems. Guided by the ethos of Appreciative Inquiry, the book series supports a relentless inquiry into the true, the good, the better and the possible. It is dedicated to advancing a 'scholarship of the positive' and 'positive scholarship'. The book series aims to facilitate an emergent dialogue within the social sciences and to support innovative and challenging work. This book series is available electronically online.

Transformative Cooperation (TC) presents new ways for individuals and organizations to partner to create a more sustainable future and take people to a higher stage of moral development. This handbook invites readers to consider how businesses can partner with organizations in other sectors of society, including governments and nonprofits, to address global concerns and improve the lives of all. It documents the need for and early examples of cooperative efforts that have transformed the relationships between corporations and the communities in which their employees live and work. The editors begin by issuing a call for TC, explaining the economic and social reasons for working across traditional organizational, national, and international boundaries. The book then goes on to explain the dynamics of transformative cooperation, exploring the leadership characteristics that facilitate the transformation and its social benefits. Throughout this handbook, the editors present some of the best designs in transformative cooperation, and conclude by explaining transformative cooperation as a generative possibility.Overall, the editors and contributors argue that TC is about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them.

Throughout history, humankind has progressed in a somewhat predictable manner. Leaders have been able to leverage the accumulated knowledge residing within the world's organizations to presage tomorrow's demands and make their decisions accordingly. But there are times that defy such extrapolations, and ours seems to be one of them. Faced with a veritable maelstrom of technological innovation and ensuing social upheaval, today's organizational leaders must be risk takers, basing their decisions for the future not on the existing bodies of concrete information, but on an invaluable reserve of organizational wisdom and executive courage. The contributors to this book explore the roles wisdom and courage play in shaping our organizational lives and the implications they hold for the advancement of organizational science and practice. Filled with new thought and compelling insights, Organizational Wisdom and Executive Courage offers executives, educators, and scholars alike the means to broaden their thinking about change and management.

Organizational Dimensions of Global Change is the first book in a new series designed to facilitate, across discipline and national boundaries, an emergent dialogue around the issue of global change and cooperative potential. Written by an interdisciplinary group of leading scholars, the book explores how organizational scholarship and thinking can inform an understanding of global change issues and examines the potential of cooperation as a practice, an organizing accomplishment, and as a value for understanding issues of global change. It opens up conversations and research paths and addresses basic questions such as: What do we mean by global change research? What can organizational scholarship contribute to understanding the human dimensions of global change? If we were to offer a priority agenda for research and inquiry, what questions would we be asking and what kinds of research would have a high probability of making a large contribution to knowledge as well as a timely relevance for action? Topics discussed include global women leaders, corporations as agents of global change, international networking, the development of global environmental regimes, and collaborative knowledge creation. Organizational Dimensions of Global Change is an essential resource for students and scholars in the fields of organization and management science, policy studies, international relations and development studies, earth systems science, as well as the disciplines of sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, and psychology.