| Leadership Centre student presents two papers | | Print | |
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A masters student at the Leadership Centre, Ms Cecile Gerwel, presented two papers at the Business Management Conference in November. Both papers were co-authored with her supervisor, Mr Shamim Bodhanya. Organisational transformation and generative action: The Power of Appreciative Inquiry, was the title of the first paper which described Appreciative Inquiry as a form of whole systems change, which focuses on changing important aspects of a system as a whole. The focus is on the positive and on that which already works. This is in contrast to the traditional problem- solving and deficiency orientation which is often undertaken in organisations. Important principles of systems thinking and wholism underpin this approach in that the focus is on engaging as many parts of the system. It is therefore a mechanism of involving everyone in a meaningful way from the beginning in conceptualising and implementing change. Benefits of utilising Appreciative Inquiry are that levels of trust and accountability can increase, thereby positively impacting on organisational culture, structure and processes. The title of the second paper was: An orientation and roadmap to Simulation and Gaming, which highlighted the usefulness of simulations in decision making. Ms Gerwel explained that a simulation essentially was an interactive, experiential, practical exercise allowing participants to engage in meaningful learning, in a safe environment where they made decisions and experienced the consequences. "The ultimate goal is to have participants make connections between their experiences in the simulation and then transfer learning lessons to the real world. " - Hazel Langa |
