Using Appreciative Inquiry to Change Perceptions Concerning the Satisfaction of Organization Members' Needs (original) (raw)

This study explored the innovative use of appreciative inquiry (AI) in the organizational environment for changing the perception concerning the satisfaction of its members’ needs. The experiment started from the assumption that organizations are social constructions generated by the interpretations social actors have about this entity and about themselves, being the result of human interactions. The experiment used the appreciative inquiry as form of intervention, run in the four stages of the 4-D cycle. The results of the intervention show that, although appreciative inquiry was directed chiefly towards changing the perceptions concerning the satisfaction of the need for security, the interpretations given by organization members changed with regard to the satisfaction of all needs (security, basic needs, belonging, esteem and self-actualization). The study shows that motivation can be changed through an appreciative approach of events, through their reinterpretation within a proc...