Appreciative inquiry: a positive approach to organizational planning and learning

The primary purpose of the study is to open a new possibility in the planning process of the Technology Centers using Appreciative Inquiry in designing the future directions through the creation of the Development Plan. The discoveries articulated through themes drawn from the use of AI approach as planning process are valuable to support the various applications of AI in organization development. This study uses purposive sampling in identifying the participants who represented the stakeholders of the Technology Centers. The focus group (15-25 members), involved in all the phases of the study, are considered co-researchers in the development of the plan and the generation of the propositions. The study utilizes qualitative methods, namely:- Appreciative Inquiry Approach in discovering and highlighting the strengths and positive experiences of the Technology Centers that are the basis for crafting the organization development plan; and- Grounded Theory Process in generating propositions based on the insights gained from the AI Process. The study employs research tools useful in generating qualitative information, such as questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, field notes, workshops, available organizational data, and feedback data.The creation of the Development Plan’s objectives, plans, strategies formulated aligns the actual organization with the strengths, vision and provocative propositions and builds the AI learning competencies into the culture embodied in the Development Plan for the Technology Centers. Thirteen (13) Grounded Propositions were generated from the insights of the participants from the use of Appreciative Inquiry in the planning process.