BUSINESS AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT

by Isabel Rimanoczy

If this statement sounds a bit odd to you, let me share with you the theme of the conference that took place last week in Cleveland, Ohio, entitled "Flourish and Prosper". Organized by Case Western's Weatherhead School of Management, this was the third global forum of this kind.

Over 600 participants from academia, business, consulting practices and students gathered for three days of inspiring stories, interactive workshops and - as always is the case - very exciting interactions during coffee breaks, lunches and dinners.

Business as an agent of world benefit (BAWB is a brainchild of Prof. David Cooperrider, author of the   Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology that has provided help and hope to groups and organizations around the world as they seek to improve their organizational effectiveness. Appreciative Inquiry is based on the belief that we can make more progress to improve effectiveness if we focus on what is going well, on the strengths and assets of an individual and the group, rather than concentrating solely on analyzing the problems and challenges we face.

AI was initially conceived as an OD intervention, then evolved to a whole systems change methodology, became fully systemic by incorporating the ecosystem, and has now integrated the ultimate lever of change energy - the human spirit. Read More...