DMay Sundberg Positive Org Scholarship Final

8/13/2019 DMay Sundberg Positive Org Scholarship Final

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Douglas May/Jonathan Sundberg


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WHAT is Positive Organizational

Scholarship?


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A blend of theories Core of ideas developed in parallel to the Positive

Psychology Movementinitiated in 1998 Shift focus from mental illness to mental health

POS broadens focus Examines thriving and generative dynamics within

organizations

Also provides theoretical grounding for organizationaldevelopment

Appreciative Inquiry

Tap into the existing strengths of an organization and tofigure out how to perpetuate them on a broader level

Exploit employee strengths rather than dwell onlimitations


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Positive Seeks to understand positive states

Resilience

Meaningfulness

Gratitude Excellence

Virtue

Strength

Reflectedbest self

the time when employees were attheir personal best

Understand how to exploit strengths


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Organizational

Highlights how generative dynamics unfold withinand across organizations

Understand, explain, and predict the occurrence,causes, and consequences of positivity Finding the positive example:

Determining success through corporate downsizing asopposed to focusing on the negatives

Fostering employeecalling

instead of focusing solely onproductivity or morale


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Scholarship

Emphasizes theoretically-informed conclusions,backed by data and analysis

Results suggest implications for organizationalfunctioning, practice, and teaching

Uncovers new ways of interpreting antecedents andoutcomes of career development


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The POS Perspective First Same factors that create problem states arent

necessarily same ones that create positively deviant

state(above normal, extraordinary states that are

good, honorable or virtuous)

Promoting positive deviance may require new oraltered theoretical lens or explanation focus in

different areas


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The POS Perspective Second

POS - re-emphasizes the importance of outcomes such aswell-being, citizenship, and health

POS - focuses on the positive in analyzing organizationalconditions that account for valued human virtues andstrengths: Resilience Vitality Thriving Fulfillment Transcendence Courage Wisdom


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The POS Perspective Third Organizational scholars benefit from considering how,

why, and when positive states shape individual, group,

and collective behavior

POS lens considers how life-giving dynamics inorganizations (positive emotion, positive meaning, andpositive connections) can contribute to the overall

well-being of individuals, groups, and leaders


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The POS Perspective Fourth POS emphasis is on positive states and dynamics as a

corrective way to offset the tendency to focus on the

negative more than the positive

We are more deeply concerned about losing$50 thangaining$50...RIGHT??


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The POS Perspective

Amplify the Positive!!


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Domains of POS Inquiry

One Involves virtuous processes, strengths, and positive

organizing: Works on individual and organizational virtues,

integrity, compassion, resilience, wisdom, strength,and positive identity


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Two The study of upward spiralsand patterns of positive

change Includes work on appreciative inquiry, positive deviance,

positive emotions, knowledge creation, and positiveleadership development


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Three Focus on positive meanings and connections

Includes work on the dynamics of vitality and energy inorganizations, relationships, cooperation, and creativity


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Four Focus on institutional and structural aspect of POS

Includes work on developing and reproducingorganizational designs that enable positive dynamics andoutcomes


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New frontiers for Career Development

Opens up possibilities for career research by posinginnovative questions that redirect and motivatestudies Invites researchers to consider dynamics of positively

deviant career-relevant outcomes

Redirects attention to focus on peoples capacity forgrowth and resiliency, discovering new or unexploredcareer possibilities

Encourages ways to have positive rebounds aftercareer calamities and promotes creative careerredirections


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POS Approach

Can shift our view of career development inorganizations

Career choices of individuals are re-directed towardsbuilding humancapital

Creates environment that encourages

the best of the

human condition


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Question What does the acronym POSstandfor (no not that!)

Answer Positive Organizational Scholarship


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Question Define Positive OrganizationalScholarship?

Answer POS is concerned primarily with the studyof especially positive outcomes, processes, andattributes of organizations and their members. POS does not represent a single theory, but it focuses on

dynamics such as: excellence, thriving, flourishing,abundance, resilience, or virtuousness.


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True or False Positive Organizational Scholarshiprejects the view that organizations are typified bygreed, selfishness, manipulation, secrecy, and asingle-minded focus on winning.

Answer False. It does not reject the view, ratherit chooses to emphasize positive deviance

instead.


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Question: What concept does positiverepresentin the label PositiveOrganizational Scholarship(POS)?

Answer The positiveconcept emphasizesaffirmation, resilience, excellence, gratitude, etc.


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Question: What concept does organizationalrepresent in the label Positive OrganizationalScholarship (POS)?

Answer The Organizationalconcept focuses onpositive processes that occur in anorganizational context.

It highlights how these positive dynamics unfoldwithin organizations.


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Question: What concept does scholarshiprepresent in the label Positive OrganizationalScholarship(POS)?

Answer The scholarshipconcept focuses onempirical credibility and theoretical explanationsfor how and why the prescriptions work.


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True or False Positive Organizational Scholarshipis distinguished from traditional organizationalstudies in that it seeks to understand what

represents the best of the human condition.

Answer True


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Question What is one advantage to a PositiveOrganizational Scholarship Perspective?

Answers Include: Fresh perspective

Building the best self(instead of countering the worst)

Developing capabilities rather than simplycompensating for shortcomings


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Question An interest in positive phenomena is not uniquewithin social sciences. Name one other literature/traditionthat examines positive dynamics (example PositivePsychology).

Answers Include Appreciative Inquiry

Community Psychology

Humanistic Organizational Behavior

Organizational Development Prosocial Motivation

Citizenship Behavior

Corporate Social Responsibility


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True of False The Positive OrganizationalScholarship perspective is a relatively newperspective.

True: The POS perspective is relatively new,although its core ideas were seeded by the ideasof earlier scholars.

POS origins developed in parallel though a few yearsbehind the Positive Psychology movement, initiated in1998.


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Video Clip of Positive OrganizationalScholarship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-jMWHdpeos


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Positive Organizational Scholarship: Meet theMovement Susan D. Bernstein, Jane Dutton and Robert Quinn

http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/POS/Pos%20Organ%20Scholar.pdf
http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/POS/Pos%20Organ%20Scholar.pdfhttp://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/POS/Pos%20Organ%20Scholar.pdfhttp://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/POS/Pos%20Organ%20Scholar.pdfhttp://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/POS/Pos%20Organ%20Scholar.pdf


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Positive Organizational Scholarship

References

Cameron, K., Dutton, J., Quinn, R., (2003) Positive OrganizationalScholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Dutton, J., Glynn, M.A., Spreitzer, G., (2013) PositiveOrganizational Scholarship,Encyclopedia for Career Development,Sage Publications

Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A. (2013) Organizational Behavior(15thEdition)

Documents

DMay Sundberg Positive Org Scholarship Final