Positive organizational change does not have to be planned or managed top down in a linear, urgent manner. Rather, it can be "unleashed" or discovered by helping people within organizations to identify their own best experiences in the past, and then use them to imagine, design, and bring into being the organization they most want and which works best. The method is called "Appreciative Inquiry." The volume editors and their panel of experts examine how AI works in practice, and how its many (and often surprising) benefits can be realized in just about any organization. The result is a major explication and source book for HR and organizational development specialists and upper level management trying to lead effective change. Detailed case reports from the field show how this unique approach is actually applied and what its consequences are. Readers will learn to identify the "positive core" of any system--the practices and principles that encourage the best in organizational capacity and performance. They will find not only specific outcomes but also some detailed reflections by practitioners on the use of Appreciative Inquiry. A volume summary lays out the themes and lesson that span the cases. Also presented are powerful and novel propositions on how to approach the crucial issues in organizational change. The result is a major explication and source book for HR and organizational development specialists.

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.

This book provides a concise introduction to and overview of the growing discipline and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). If you are intrigued by the prospect of mobilizing rapid, positive change with multiple stakeholders in a human system that is important to you, this book is for you.