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- Weatherhead Doctor of Management Programs
Weatherhead Doctor of Management Programs
Show moreThe intention of this research project is to explore linkages which exist, both in theory and in practice, between Appreciative Inquiry and social network theory. The approach employed here is to design a multidimensional organizational intervention using socialconstructionist concepts and approaches from appreciative inquiry, positive psychology and social network theory. The intention of this study is to explore the proposition that social innovation, as opposed to traditional problem solving techniques, can be an effective means of addressing challenges of team building, group learning, and organizational renewal and performance improvement. The intervention will be conducted with a newly formed unit of a midsize health care organization, which has recently implemented an enterprisewide software system and new work procedures, as well as a downsizing program. While limited in scope to observation of a single organization, the hope is that the study will provide insight to: the practical working of Appreciative Inquiry; the dynamics of development and change of relatively small scale intraorganization social networks; and the efficacy of conscious evolution in organizational renewal.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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Show moreCell phone density in G8 countries ranges between 80 and 90 percent – except in the US where some 35 % of Americans have failed to adopt the technology. The relative reluctance of US consumers to embrace cellular technology is puzzling given that the barriers for use appear to be low and the benefits high. If rejection was the simple inverse of adoption, we would expect people to reject cellular telephony based on negative evaluations of usefulness and ease of use, dominant constructs in technology acceptance models. This research suggests, however, that barriers to cell phone rejection transcend those traditionally tapped in the vast literature that explains adoption. We used qualitative semi-structured interviews and a written survey instrument to probe the attitudes and beliefs of cell phone rejecters and discovered that personality attributes and powerful social/psychological perceptions about consequence of use may better explain rejection. Our findings imply that beliefs about dystopian consequences to self and society as a result of cell phone usage trump perceptions of convenience and efficiency in the formation of attitudes that drive the adoption decision.
Doctorate of Management Programs
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