Brief overview
This article outlines the core principles of the IMO International Foundation’s approach—concepts that were subsequently expanded and refined in many different ways by Adriaan Bekman and other colleagues within the IMO.
In the article, an approach is outlined with which we can research our own creation—the organization—in a “dialogical way”; with a view toward sense-making and finding the next developmental step.
First, it provides a sketch of four relevant scientific approaches that provide the epistemological starting points for this specific methodology. Subsequently, the characteristics of this approach are explained, several action-oriented options are provided as exercises, and an illustrative example is outlined.
This approach is thus made accessible to those involved in the daily practice of organizational development, as well as for interested researchers dealing with issues surrounding the development, change, and innovation of organizations.
Bibliographic Information
This work was published in:
a) M&O, Tijdschrift voor Management en Organisatie, issue 3/4, May/August 2006, leading scientific journal for management and organisation in the Netherlands.
ISSN (Print/Base): 0165-1722; ISSN (Online): 2589-2002
b) In the english version in the book titled: “Intervening and Changing: Looking for Meaning in Interactions” , edited by Professors Jaap Boonstra and Leon de Caluwe
ISBN e-book: 978-0-470-51276-0 ; ISBN print: 978-0-470-51201-2
Publisher: WILEY ALERT publishing house, 2007
Length: 360 pages
About the Author
Adriaan Bekman, born in 1947, is a Dutch sociologist and founder of IMO, the International Foundation for Human and Organisational Development. He studied at Erasmus University in Rotterdam and worked for Shell before joining NPI, where he explored social dynamics in organisations.
Bekman promotes an innovative approach to organisation based on the methodology of horizontal leadership, which, by integrating the vertical and horizontal dimensions, promotes a renewed sense of participation and responsible presence of people within organisations themselves.