Bolstering Knowledge Management Systems with Appreciative Inquiry

Both Knowledge Management and Appreciative Inquiry attempt to amplify human and organizational capacities by leveraging the best of each. Whereas knowledge management systems aim to help identifying the substantive organizational knowledge in its broadest sense and leveraging it to benefit the organization and its stakeholders, the appreciative inquiry methodology is also about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In their root cause, both knowledge management and appreciative inquiry involve systematic discovery of what gives life to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. Following a brief introduction of knowledge management systems and appreciative inquiry, this essay examines the corollary relationship between the two, and subsequently points to critical areas in which knowledge management practices can benefit from adopting the appreciative inquiry perspective. More particularly, we submit that appreciative inquiry can motivate organization-wide adoption of knowledge management systems and it can provide language-based mechanisms to facilitate effective knowledge exchange. The development of an appreciative-inquirybased mode of knowledge management opens new horizons and uncovers previously overlooked possibilities, which eventually can contribute to the overall organizational performance and wellbeing

Communities of knowledge and knowledge of communities: An appreciative inquiry into rural wellbeing

This article offers a retrospective examination of the use of appreciative inquiry (AI) in a study on rural wellbeing. It provides a reflection on the rationale for choosing AI as a suitable methodology, critiques the application of AI in rural settings and considers its suitability for this inquiry into individual and community wellbeing. The article also considers the value of AI as a participatory research approach for community-university partnerships. A review of the literature on AI is distilled to examine the limitations as well as the utility of AI. Through an effective use of AI, communities of knowledge can be fostered and the knowledge of communities can be valued and harvested to enhance the wellbeing of rural communities.Keywords: appreciative inquiry, wellbeing, rural community, community-university partnership

Keefektifan Panduan Pelatihan Berbasis Appreciative Inquiry terhadap Peningkatan Kematangan Karier Siswa SMP

Career marturity is the ability of individuals to access, direct yourself based career information to make a choice in looking at opportunities that allow it to take decisions realistically. Career marturity of students with the skills of the teacher in facilitating the development of students. Teacher as facilitator required to have professional competence. Through the professional competence of teachers are required to master the substance of the materials provided to the students. But in fact teh observation og interviews with teachers BK junior high school in Kupang, the teacher is less skilled in facilitating the students in improving career marturity. Factors such low competence is part of the goverment, especially through the education department MGBK that have not facilitate teachers through training to the career marturity of students with a training manual. A training manual was development to facilitate all teachers BK in Kupang city, in facilitating students to select and prepare for a career based on talents and interest of students. This training guide was developed using a model adapted the Brog and Gall with just nine steps. Free training is developed to enhance students' career marturity based appreciative inquirry is expected to boost competence BK teacher in improving students career marturity. The result showed that the percentage of data obtained from the assesment of expert BK 79% (decent) and expert media 81% (very decent). Individual test results for 89% (very worthy), based on those results the percentage per component in the asessment guide, described of follows: 86.3% of the manual aspects, aspect of systematics 86%, 94.5% aspects us of language and aspects of the layout 90.5% then the results of the assesment in the guide concluded feasible to implement. The effectiveness of the training given tp students to measure the career marturity based appreciative inquiry is an excellent product and effectively to improve students career marturity. Suggestion put forward with regard to the further development, the training guide can intregrationwith othe competencies related to the student's career, for example design, decission-making studied more in depth so as to produce products that are related to the whole students career marturity.Kematangan karier merupakan kemampuan individu dalam mengakses, mengarahkan diri berdasarkan informasi karier untuk membuat pilihan dalam melihat peluang yang memungkinkan untuk mengambil keputusan secara realistis. Berdasarkan observasi dan hasil wawancara menunjukkan bahwa kurang terampilnya guru dalam memfasilitasi siswa dalam meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Faktor rendahnya kompetensi tersebut ialah pihak pemerintah khususnya dinas pendidikan melalui MGBK yang belum memfasilitasi guru melalui pelatihan peningkatan kematangan karier siswa dengan panduan pelatihan. Panduan pelatihan dikembangkan dapat memfasilitasi guru BK se-Kota Kupang dalam memfasilitasi siswa untuk memilih dan mempersiapkan karier berdasarkan bakat dan minat siswa. Panduan pelatihan ini dikembangkan menggunakan model Borg dan Gall dengan mengadaptasi hanya sembilan langkah. Panduan pelatihan yang dikembangkan untuk meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa berbasis appreciative inquiry diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kompetessi guru BK dalam meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukan data persentase yang diperoleh dari penilaian ahli BK 79% (layak) dan ahli media 81% (sangat layak). Hasil uji perorangan 89% (sangat layak). Efektivitas pelatihan diberikan kepada siswa untuk mengukur tingkat kematangan kariernya meningkat atau tidak, berdasarkan hasil uji Paired Samples t Test menunjukan hasil peningkatannya 59,24%. Simpulannya, panduan pelatihan peningkatan kematangan karier siswa berbasis appreciative inquiry adalah produk yang sangat baik dan efektif untuk meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Saran yang diajukan berkaitan dengan pengembangan selanjutnya, yakni panduan pelatihan dapat diintegritaskan dengan kompetensi lain yang berkaitan dengan karier siswa

Using Probabilistic Feature Models to Determine Success Criteria for ICT Projects

Since the 1960\u27s many authors accepted the triple constraints (time, cost, specification) as a standard measure of success and this still appears to be extremely important in evaluating the success of ICT projects. However, an ICT project cannot always be seen as a complete success or a complete failure. Moreover, the parties involved may perceive the terms “success” or “failure” differently. The authors developed a quasi-experiment (gaming) in order to determine the criteria used by the different parties involved to judge the success of an ICT project. The results of this quasi experiment were analysed using probabilistic feature models for frequency data – PMD-models. This research indicates that the impact of the triple constraints on the judgement of success is rather small. Other criteria, as there are user happiness and financial or commercial success are far more important. Furthermore, parties who’s involvement ceases after the handover tend to concentrate more on budget and satisfying the parties involved, while the other parties concentrate more on time limits, predefined specifications and long-term financial or commercial success

Reimagining the future of a business education program using appreciative inquiry

Rethinking the future of education has fueled momentum for large-scale change after the significant effects of the global pandemic. This momentum for change may require large amounts of positive affect by affirming and appreciating what works well during difficult times rather than identifying and understanding problematic areas. This study made use of appreciative inquiry in reimagining the future of a Business Education program in a private tertiary institution in the Philippines. Using naturalistic approach, 35 business education students and three teachers were interviewed using positive questions that amplify the positive core of the college. The participants unleashed the strengths of the college such as the implemented flexible modular setup, availability of the repository of educational resources, efficient communication during online learning, empowered student council, and group collaborations. Through inquiry and dialogue, participants co-created the reimagined future of the College of Business Administration which is a more flexible and inclusive means of delivering the Business Education Curriculum and upgraded and holistic learning experiences for the learners. Through the use of appreciative inquiry, the participants collectively leveraged the best practices of the college and their envisioned future to design high-impact strategies that can move the college decisively to its reimagined future

Design with a Positive Lens: An affirmative approach to designing information and organizations

Design forms one critical paradigmatic view that pervades organizational studies, management, and information systems research. Building on the discussions in the First Working Conference on Designing Information and Organizations with a Positive Lens, we chart the potential contribution of positive design to the shaping of organizations, work processes, artifacts, communication networks, and information technologies. The figure of speech "Design with a Positive Lens," or in short, "Positive Design," connotes here a distinctive perspective on design that is less focused on the detection of errors associated with gaining control and more concerned with human-centered design associated with the shaping of hopeful organizations and a thriving future. The paper examines how positive design can contribute to the design of information systems and organizations as related to five broad-scale areas: design of high performance work processes; positive design methods and techniques: cooperation and collaboration across boundaries to promote positive change; positive organizational design, and design science and practice. In this paper we aspire to promote the emerging cross-disciplinary discourse between scholars and designers that will foster positive organizational and technological design

KEEFEKTIFAN PANDUAN PELATIHAN BERBASIS APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY TERHADAP PENINGKATAN KEMATANGAN KARIER SISWA SMP

Career marturity is the ability of individuals to access, direct yourself based career information to make a choice in looking at opportunities that allow it to take decisions realistically. Career marturity of students with the skills of the teacher in facilitating the development of students. Teacher as facilitator required to have professional competence. Through the professional competence of teachers are required to master the substance of the materials provided to the students. But in fact teh observation og interviews with teachers BK junior high school in Kupang, the teacher is less skilled in facilitating the students in improving career marturity. Factors such low competence is part of the goverment, especially through the education department MGBK that have not facilitate teachers through training to the career marturity  of students with a training manual. A training manual was development to facilitate all teachers BK in Kupang city, in facilitating students to select and prepare for a career based on talents and interest of students. This training guide was developed using a model adapted the Brog and Gall with just nine steps. Free training is developed to enhance students’ career marturity based appreciative inquirry is expected to boost competence BK teacher in improving students career marturity. The result showed that the percentage of data obtained from the assesment of expert BK 79% (decent) and expert media 81% (very decent). Individual test results for 89% (very worthy), based on those results the percentage per component in the asessment guide, described of follows: 86.3% of  the manual aspects, aspect of systematics 86%, 94.5% aspects us of language and aspects of the layout 90.5% then the results of the assesment in the guide concluded feasible to implement. The effectiveness of the training given tp students to measure the career marturity based appreciative inquiry is an excellent product and effectively to improve students career marturity. Suggestion put forward with regard to the further development, the training guide can intregrationwith othe competencies related to the student’s career, for example design, decission-making  studied more in depth so as to produce products that are related to the whole students career marturity. Kematangan karier merupakan kemampuan individu dalam mengakses, mengarahkan diri berdasarkan informasi karier untuk membuat pilihan dalam melihat peluang yang memungkinkan untuk mengambil keputusan secara realistis. Berdasarkan observasi dan hasil wawancara menunjukkan bahwa kurang terampilnya guru dalam memfasilitasi siswa dalam meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Faktor rendahnya kompetensi tersebut ialah pihak pemerintah khususnya dinas pendidikan melalui MGBK yang belum memfasilitasi guru melalui pelatihan peningkatan kematangan karier siswa dengan panduan pelatihan. Panduan pelatihan dikembangkan dapat memfasilitasi guru BK se-Kota Kupang dalam memfasilitasi siswa untuk memilih dan mempersiapkan karier berdasarkan bakat dan minat siswa. Panduan pelatihan ini dikembangkan menggunakan model Borg dan Gall dengan mengadaptasi hanya sembilan langkah. Panduan pelatihan yang dikembangkan untuk meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa berbasis appreciative inquiry diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kompetessi guru BK dalam meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukan data persentase yang diperoleh dari penilaian ahli BK 79% (layak) dan ahli media 81% (sangat layak). Hasil uji perorangan 89% (sangat layak). Efektivitas pelatihan diberikan kepada siswa untuk mengukur tingkat kematangan kariernya meningkat atau tidak, berdasarkan hasil uji Paired Samples t Test menunjukan hasil peningkatannya 59,24%. Simpulannya, panduan pelatihan peningkatan kematangan karier siswa berbasis appreciative inquiry adalah produk yang sangat baik dan efektif untuk meningkatkan kematangan karier siswa. Saran yang diajukan berkaitan dengan pengembangan selanjutnya, yakni panduan pelatihan dapat diintegritaskan dengan kompetensi lain yang berkaitan dengan karier siswa

Eliciting User Requirements Using Appreciative Inquiry

Many software development projects fail because they do not meet the needs of users, are over-budget, and abandoned. To address this problem, the user requirements elicitation process was modified based on principles of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry, commonly used in organizational development, aims to build organizations, processes, or systems based on success stories using a hopeful vision for an ideal future. Spanning five studies, Appreciative Inquiry was evaluated for its effectiveness with eliciting user requirements. In the first two cases, it was compared with traditional approaches with end-users and proxy-users. The third study was a quasi-experiment comparing the use of Appreciative Inquiry in different phases of in the software development cycle. The final two case studies combined all lessons learned using Appreciative Inquiry, with multiple case studies to gain additional understanding for the requirements gathered during various project phases. Each study evaluated the requirements gathered, developer and user attitudes, and the Appreciative Inquiry process itself. Requirements were evaluated for the quantity and their type regardless of whether they were implemented or not. Attitudes were evaluated for process feedback, as well as requirements and project commitment. The Appreciative Inquiry process was evaluated with differing groups, projects, and project phases to determine how and when it is best applied. Potentially interceding factors were also evaluated including: team effectiveness, emotional intelligence, perceived stress, the experience of the facilitator, and the development project type itself. Appreciative Inquiry produced positive results for the participants, the requirements obtained, and the general requirements eliciting-process. Appreciative Inquiry demonstrated benefits to the requirements gathered by increasing the number of unique requirements as well as identifying more quality-based (non-functional) and forward-looking requirements. It worked well with defined projects, when there was time for participants to reflect on the thought-provoking questions, structured questions and extra time to facilitate the extraction and translation of requirements, and a knowledgeable interviewer. The participants (end-users and developers) expressed improved vision and confidence. End-users participated consistently with immediate buy-in and enthusiasm, especially those users who were technically-inhibited. Development teams expressed improved confidence, and improved user communication and understanding

Better Together: Fostering Student-Level Intercultural Competence Through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and a Collaboratively Created Assessment Tool

Many Japanese universities have been undergoing processes of internationalization to mitigate demographic realities that conspire against robust student enrolments. These internationalization initiatives often attract students from other Confucian-based contexts who are expected to move away from their homeland and fully integrate into an unfamiliar, Japanese environment. Resultantly, international student needs are often camouflaged by cultural similarities that favour group harmony and collectivism over more equitable approaches to learning. Therefore, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to serve student needs by fostering the development of intercultural competencies through a pilot collaborative online international learning (COIL) project open to all students, and the creation and adoption of a context-specific rubric for intercultural competence assessment at a small, private, Japanese university to make the on-campus environment more inclusive for all students. A combined servant leadership and creative leadership approach is a foundational complement to traditional Japanese organizational practices for leading the change effort. Moreover, a context-specific adaptation of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is supported by the Change Leader’s Roadmap (CLR) in the implementation process. A context-specific, critical-theory-supported approach to AI is also fundamental to the monitoring and evaluation process. The resulting project is focused on increasing student-level intercultural interactions to better align the university’s public-facing policy documents with on-campus practices to make the learning environment more inclusive

An appreciative view of the brighter side of terror management processes

Physical death is an inevitable part of life. From the perspective of terror management theory (TMT), people’s efforts to manage the awareness of death can sometimes have harmful social consequences. However, those negative consequences are merely one side of the existential coin. In considering the other side of the coin, the present article highlights the more beneficial trajectories of the terror management process. For example, the awareness of mortality can motivate people to prioritize their physical health; uphold prosocial values; build loving relationships and peaceful, charitable communities; and foster open-mindedness. Further, the article explores the possible balance between defense and growth motivations, including the motivations toward integrative self-expansion, creativity, and well-being. And finally, we tentatively consider the potential positive impacts of direct confrontations with mortality on terror management processes. In sum, the present analysis suggests that although death awareness can sometimes produce some harmful outcomes, at least under certain conditions it can also motivate attitudes and behaviors that have positive personal and social consequences