Appreciative Inquiry as a Supportive Tool in Quality Management
— A
Balanced Approach Integrating Risk-based Thinking
************
Symbolic Image Courtesy NightCafe
In
recent days, while reading the Kindle book “Business for Good in Action –
Celebrating AIM2Flourish Stories Through Appreciative Inquiry” by Dr.
Divya Singhal and Crystal Ferro, a thought emerged in my mind: How can
Appreciative Inquiry be effectively applied in Quality Management?
Through
this exploration, I understood that Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a positive
and participative approach widely used by organizations for organizational
development, change management, team building, and individual growth of people.
Instead of focusing on problems and deficiencies, it emphasizes successes,
strengths, and future possibilities.
The
concept of Appreciative Inquiry was developed in the 1980s by Dr. David L.
Cooperrider, associated with Case Western Reserve University (USA),
and originated from his PhD dissertation.
Core
Philosophy of Appreciative Inquiry
The
fundamental idea of Appreciative Inquiry is:“Rather than fixing what is
wrong, build on what works well.” In brief, Appreciative Inquiry is based
on five core principles:
1.
Positivity
Principle –
Positive questions generate positive energy and constructive solutions.
2.
Constructivist
Principle – Our
conversations and language shape our organizational reality.
3.
Simultaneity
Principle – The
moment we ask a question, change begins.
4.
Poetic
Principle –
Organizations are like open books; whichever chapters we focus on, grow
stronger.
5.
Anticipatory
Principle – A
positive image of the future guides present actions.
Benefits
of Appreciative Inquiry in Organizations
When
Appreciative Inquiry is practiced in organizations, it delivers several
benefits:
·
Increased
employee involvement and motivation
·
Encouragement
of innovation and creativity
·
Development
of a positive organizational culture
·
Reduced
resistance to change
·
Stronger
leadership and teamwork
Traditionally,
organizations ask questions such as:“What is wrong with our process?” In
contrast, Appreciative Inquiry asks:“When did our process work at its best,
and why?”
Thus,
Appreciative Inquiry represents a mindset that is strength-based rather than
deficiency-based, making it highly effective for quality, lean,
innovation, leadership, and continual improvement initiatives.
Appreciative
Inquiry and Quality Management: A Critical Reflection
Although
Appreciative Inquiry is a powerful approach for continual improvement, a
legitimate concern arises: Can it lead to ignoring deficiencies and
weaknesses, making it unsuitable for Quality Management? The reality is
that Appreciative Inquiry becomes effective in Quality Management only when
used correctly. Misuse of this approach—not the approach itself—creates
risk.
How
Appreciative Inquiry Supports Quality Management
1.
Building a Positive Quality Culture
Quality
does not emerge from processes alone; it emerges from people’s mindset.
Appreciative Inquiry shifts organizations from a blame-oriented culture to a learning
and improvement-oriented culture. This fosters fear-free reporting,
stronger suggestion systems, and greater employee participation.
2.
Identifying and Expanding Best Practices
Traditional
internal audits focus primarily on identifying nonconformities.
Appreciative Inquiry complements this by asking: Where did the process
deliver excellent results, and why? This
helps organizations identify repeatable best practices, strengthening standardization
and benchmarking in Quality Management.
3.
Energizing Continual Improvement
Continual
improvement is a core requirement of ISO 9001. Appreciative Inquiry
reframes improvement from a corrective burden into a growth
opportunity, encouraging employees to participate voluntarily and
enthusiastically in improvement initiatives.
4.
Enhancing Leadership and Team Engagement
Appreciative
Inquiry views employees not as problem sources but as solution
partners. This strengthens ownership, collaboration, and enables cross-functional
quality improvement across the organization.
5.
Supporting Change Management
In new
quality initiatives, Appreciative Inquiry helps reduce resistance by presenting
change as a continuation of past successes, rather than a response to
failure.
Addressing
the Risks of Appreciative Inquiry
A
common concern is that Appreciative Inquiry may overlook weaknesses. This risk
arises only when the approach is misunderstood. Potential risks of
improper use include:
·
Critical
nonconformities being overlooked
·
Weak
root cause analysis
·
Gaps
in regulatory and customer requirement compliance
Therefore,
using Appreciative Inquiry in isolation can be risky.
The
Solution: Appreciative Inquiry + Risk-based Thinking
The
answer lies in developing a Balanced Quality Improvement Model by
integrating Appreciative Inquiry with Risk-based Thinking, which is a
core requirement of ISO 9001:2015 QMS standard.
This
integration allows organizations to use positive framing along with gap
analysis.
For example, instead of asking only “What went wrong?”, we also ask: “When
did this process operate without defects, and why?” From these insights,
gaps and risks can be identified more constructively.
Integrating
Appreciative Inquiry with the PDCA Cycle
Appreciative
Inquiry can be effectively embedded into the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) cycle:
·
Plan – Identify strengths, successful
experiences, and opportunities
·
Do – Execute processes with
motivation and engagement
·
Check – Review data, conduct audits, and
identify nonconformities
·
Act – Apply AI-based improvement and
standardization
Importantly,
Appreciative Inquiry does not imply avoiding nonconformities. Instead, audit
findings are treated as learning opportunities, and blame-free root
cause analysis is encouraged.
The
Right Place of Appreciative Inquiry in Quality Management
Appreciative
Inquiry is highly effective in:
·
Culture
building
·
Employee
engagement
·
Best
practice sharing
·
Innovation
and continual improvement
However,
its role is limited in areas such as:
·
Regulatory
compliance
·
Safety-critical
processes
·
Legal
and statutory gap management
·
Handling
serious nonconformities
Conclusion
Appreciative
Inquiry is a powerful enabler in Quality Management, but it is not a
substitute for defect identification. The right approach is to identify
problems to correct them, and to identify strengths to make improvements
sustainable. When integrated with risk-based thinking and the PDCA cycle,
Appreciative Inquiry helps organizations evolve into true learning
organizations, capable of sustained excellence.
Best
wishes,
Keshav
Ram Singhal
