Positive organizational scholarship
Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) is “the study of that which is positive, flourishing, and life-giving in organizations”.
- Positive refers to the elevating processes and outcomes in organizations.
- Organizational refers to the interpersonal and structural dynamics activated in and through organizations, specifically taking into account the context in which positive phenomena occur.
- Scholarship refers to the scientific, theoretically derived, and rigorous investigation of that which is positive in organizational settings.
The use of the term Positive Organizational Scholarship began in 2001 with management scholars at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and was shortly followed by the creation of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarshipin 2002. Its theoretical basis derives from organization theory, psychology, and sociology and its normative approach is directly related to the work of positive psychology. It is also connected to other traditions of positive scholarship such as appreciative inquiry and corporate social responsibility.
What POS is
- The study of positive phenomena within organizations, positive organizational contexts, positive states, positive processes, and positive relationships
- The study of positive human potential, “the best of the human condition”
- Research on “potential patterns of excellence”
- Research on phenomena that are “unexpectedly positive” and “not in accordance with the situation broadly construed”; Positive deviance from expected patterns
- Key interest in “exceptional, virtuous, life-giving and flourishing phenomena”
Qualifiers of POS research
- POS does not reject the value and significance of current scholarship; rather, POS emphasizes phenomena that represent positive deviance
- POS does not accuse traditional studies of focusing on “negative or undesirable states” ; rather, it calls to attention that positive states, dynamics and outcomes currently receive less attending in traditional organizational studies
- POS does not only study “non-linear positive dynamics” or “positive spirals”; rather, it also encompasses the study of typical patterns of behavior and exchange, and “systems in equilibrium”
- POS is not value-neutral. It advocates the position that the desire to improve the human condition is universal and that the capacity to do so is latent in most systems”
- “POS does not exclude phenomenon that are typically labeled ‘positive’ in organizational studies – such as organizational improvement, goal achievement, or making a profit – but it has a bias toward life-giving, generative and ennobling human conditions”
Topic areas of POS research
There are a wealth of topics considered under the POS research umbrella, including:
Organizational Virtuousness
Virtuousness refers to the attributes characterizing the best of the human condition. The study of virtuous in and by organizations is focused on at least four questions: What is the impact of virtuousness on individual and organizational performance? Which specific virtues are associated with flourishing at work? What are the best measures and indicators of virtuousness in organizations? What is different about virtuousness organizations compared to normal organizations? Cameron (2003) outlines three definitional attributes that are associated with organizational virtuousness: human impact, moral goodness, and social betterment.
Resilience
This area of research explores the conditions that cultivate a capability to bounce back from adversity for individuals, groups and organizations. It considers the causes and effects of resilience as a capability of individuals, groups and organizations. (See Sutcliffe & Vogus (2003) and cases: Joe White: Resilience in Action and The Heart of Reuters).
Compassion
This domain of research addresses three questions: What is compassion at work? Why does compassion at work matter? What are the conditions that foster compassion as an individual process and compassion-organizing as a collective capability? (See Dutton, Worline, Frost, & Lilius (2006) and Compassion Lab).
Positive Identity
Individuals and collectives acquire and create different senses of who they are. This domain of research seeks to understand how individuals and collectives (i.e., groups and organizations) build a sense of who they are (an identity) that cultivates optimal functioning (a positive identity). (See Roberts & Dutton (2009)).
Reflected Best Self
The Reflected Best Self (RBS) exercise enables people to identify their unique strengths and talents, making it an excellent tool for personal development. Each participant requests positive feedback from significant people in his or her life and then synthesizes it into a cumulative portrait of his or her “best self.” (See Reflected Best Self Exercise)
Job Crafting
Job Crafting is a process of self-development where people identify opportunities to make positive changes to their own job designs by viewing their jobs in a new way - as a flexible set of building blocks rather than a fixed list of duties. (See the Job Crafting Exercise, and cases Crafting a Fulfilling Job: Bringing Passion Into Work and Job Crafting at Burt's Bees).
Positive Leadership
This area of research seeks to better understand how leaders choose to empower themselves toward the fundamental state of leadership in everyday life (Quinn & Quinn 2003) and to explain how leaders reach beyond ordinary success to achieve extraordinary effectiveness, spectacular results, and "positively deviant performance"--performance far above the norm.
Thriving
Work contexts often have toxic effects on human vitality and health causing workers to languish and feel stuck. This research examines how work contexts can enable positive health, wellness, and positive functioning. Researchers seek to better understand thriving – those times when people feel progress and momentum marked both by a sense of learning (greater understanding and knowledge) and a sense of vitality (aliveness). (See Spreitzer et. al (2005))
Positive Social Capital
Positive social capital (PSC) is the umbrella term for examining positive relationships and networks. Topics and tools in this domain include high-quality connections,energy networks, and generalized reciprocity.