Plexus Institute webinar with Nancy Dixon

Organizational Studies that Don't Just Sit on the Shelf

Register for Free Program

Wednesday March 17, 2010 @ 11:00 AM eastern, 10:00AM central, 9:00 AM mountain, 8:00AM pacific

“Lessons learned” studies, “evaluation" and "assessment” don’t have a very good track record for making a difference in organizations. There are lots of reasons for this. Sometimes the findings are not credible, or are too abstract – but in the end, all too frequently, the recommendations are never carry out. In most situations in which an organization asks or is required to take an in-depth, objective look at an issue, the study report is more likely to be the end rather than the beginning of change.

Participatory Action Research is a way to conduct an organizational study that has a very different outcome, that is, change starts to happen while the study is still being conducted. By the time the study is completed there is already a buzz in the organization about the issues and people are trying out changes. Participatory Action Research is, at its heart, a conversational process, not an impersonal survey, nor an experimental design with “subjects;” rather it is a conversation between organizational members. That conversation takes place between interviewer and interviewee, between members of the interview team, and between organizational members in the conversations set up to discuss the findings. All of the conversations are a part of the change. In the end all change is a result of organizational conversation – the only question is who is invited into the conversation. Participatory Action Research is a methodology to focus the organization on conversations that matter and invite into the conversation those whose work will change.

Join us for a conversation about participatory action research with Nancy Dixon sponsored by Plexus Institute. Nancy has an in-depth understanding of tacit knowledge, that includes:

1) how it is developed within each individual's mind and
2) the processes that enable it to move from one mind to another.

She is expert at analyzing conversations to discover why the transfer of critical organizational knowledge is blocked or is occurring effectively.

Nancy is a prolific writer with eight books and over 50 articles on the topic of knowledge transfer and organization learning including:

Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know (Harvard Business School Press, 2000)

CompanyCommand: Unleashing the Power of the Army Profession By Nancy M. Dixon, Nate Allen, Tony Burgess, Pete Kilner and Steve Schweitzer, Center for the Advancement of Leader Development & Organizational Learning, West Point, NY.

This webcast is part of the Plexus Institute Organizational Consultants’ Learning Network series on Liberating Structures. Can't make the date? No problem! This program will be available on-demand after the live program date, so please register anyway and we will send you a link to the on demand recorded program.