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Appreciative Interviews as a strength oriented reflection tool for and by middle managers in organizational change

Russchen, N. (2019) Appreciative Interviews as a strength oriented reflection tool for and by middle managers in organizational change.

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Abstract:Background: Middle managers have a complex position, especially during organizational change because of competing interests. This study is focused on the communication between middle manager and employee, specifically on the role as coach and the role as facilitator of employee participation during organizational change. This study focuses on Appreciative Interviews, based on AI and suitable for individual conversations. Objective: The objective is to gain insights in processes and content of Appreciative Interviews to create a toolbox for middle managers to trigger strength oriented reflection towards positive individual change. This study is twofold: Appreciative Interviews as intervention for middle managers and Appreciative Interviews as a tool to be used by middle managers as coach or facilitator of employee participation. Method: Appreciative Interviews were conducted following a semi-structured interview schema. Twenty middle managers from 11 different organizations within the service sector participated Findings: The findings were twofold: first process findings were shown resulting in a guideline of how to use the Appreciative Interview tool and giving insights in the function of different phases. Second, a double-loop learning process was demonstrated where middle managers not only learned from the process but also learned from reflection on that process. The Appreciative Interviewing style generated awareness, it gave insights in their roles and position, it created energy, it was helpful and it triggered the middle managers to reflect on their position. Conclusion: This work shows that Appreciative Interviews lend very well to the purpose of reflection and sensemaking. Using this tool leads to positive emotions, resilience, more openness and therefore might lead towards a sustainable change. With the double-loop learning process middle managers gained various reflections on their role in combination with organizational change. Keywords: Appreciative Interviews, middle management, intervention, strengths, reflection
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/77943
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