Empowering Managers through Action Research: Skills and Strategies

The document outlines a study conducted through action research aimed at empowering managers by enhancing their skill set and effectiveness within organizations. The research process involved 11 group members who participated in workshops focused on building essential managerial skills such as interpersonal communication, leadership, and problem-solving. Over the course of one year, participants engaged in various sessions that included reading materials, case studies, role plays, brainstorming exercises, and presentations. Each manager produced over 10 reflexive writings, with a total of more than 300 texts analyzed for developing new strategies and ideas beneficial to their communities within organizations. The research highlighted the positive impacts of action research methodologies on managerial practice, making it an empowering experience for practitioners and ensuring relevance in organizational development.

Running head: APPLYING CRITICAL REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Applying Critical Reflective Practice
Name of the student:
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Table of Contents
Part A...............................................................................................................................................2
Part B: Reflections on research methods:........................................................................................5
Part C: Critical incident analysis.....................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................13
Appendix........................................................................................................................................15

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Part A
Introduction:
The complex business environment, has increased trouble for the organizational
managers and has forced the managers to take decisions in a chaotic situation. Block (2016) has
stated that knowledge and practice is necessary to narrow the gap between the several worlds of
the practitioners and researchers. The communication gap between academics and researchers
has often resulted in difficulties in knowledge integration. This issue can be solved by initiating a
proper communication between the research subject and the research actor. In this manner, the
practitioners as well as the researchers can explore the manner in which things work within an
organization and reframe the knowledge to come up with something new.
Research Aim:
The aim of the research is to increase self awareness and to understand the problem of
developing relevant knowledge and learning by the means of integrating theories and practices
through the process of reflexive dialogical action research. The research shall aim at creating
collaborative dialogue and supplementing it with the integration of proper reflexive writing,
which shall help in the creation of generative moments for the purpose of learning. The reflexive
writing method provides the opportunity of engaging the managers in the research process as co-
researchers so that they are able to create meaningful change. Firstly, the research shall mention
the reflections with respect to the issues of sustainable management practices by the means of
action research.

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Literature review:
 Meaning of complex environment:
According to Block (2016), complex environment refers to the area wherein the
society faces severe challenges and issues that are more pronounced. Additionally, in
complex environments, it is difficult to manage those issues and challenges as the
capacity of managing those issues is almost negligible. These challenges might be socio-
economic issues such as high rate of unemployment, low level of education, fast pace of
urbanization, labor unrest and inequality among people. The challenges might also be
socio- political issues in the form of national or local unrest, religious competition,
discriminations, grievances and disagreements. The other issues might involve
inappropriate legal system, human right abuses, corruption, policy volatility, armed
conflict, criminal networks, terrorism and many others.
The negligible capacity to manage the factors causing stress in a complex
environment results in a continued complex environment. This might be due to the
absence of appropriate government legitimacy from the viewpoint of the majority of the
population. This diminished capacity might also be a result of the distrust among the
people after a conflict. This usually impacts the possibilities of the parties to join hands
and come together to face the common challenges and find the appropriate solutions.
Each environment faces its own set of challenges and issues in terms of social,
economical and political problems, which they solve in their own unique ways.
 Factors causing complex environment:

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The managers are required to analyze the factors that cause complex environment
before attempting to find the solutions. It becomes necessary to understand the
geography, politics and economy around an organization and what the expectations of an
organization are. It is necessary to keep in mind that there are several other factors that
try to shape an organization. The major critical task of a manger is to identify the
environment in which an organization operates (Novak 2017). It is necessary to
understand the human resources and the place around an organization in order to identify
the sound strategies, human resource management strategies, stakeholder relations,
political risk mitigation and the social responsibility of the organization.
 Concept of organizational learning:
Organizational learning refers to “the process of creating, retaining and transferring
knowledge within an organization” (Sohi and Sohi 2016). An organization is able to
improve its activities by learning from the past experiences and from the past
experiences; it is able to develop knowledge. The organizational learning might involve
the understanding of the manner in which an organization can improve its productivity or
manage its human resources in a better manner. Organizational learning can be easily
measured by the use of learning curve. The learning curves show the relationship
between production of an organization and its efficiency. The difference in the learning
rates result in the differences in the learning curves. The organizational learning is highly
influenced by the changes in the technologies, individual proficiencies and the
improvements in the coordination. Organizational learning enables an organization to
remain ahead of the competitors even in a challenging and complex environment.
Organizational learning helps in improving the efficiency and profits of an organization.

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Part B: Reflections on research methods:
Research methodology:
The research methodology used in this research is action research. Action research refers
to the process of investigation, which is conducted for and by those people who take an action.
The major reason behind using an action research methodology is “to assist the actor in
improving and refining his or her actions”. This research methodology turns out to be an
empowering experience for the practitioners, who use this particular research methodology. This
methodology has several positive impacts as the method always maintains its relevance with the
participants. This method guarantees relevance as the major emphasis of the research project is
identified by the researcher, who is basically the main consumers of the final findings (Taylor,
Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Action research enables the managers to become more efficient in
their management process and the overall development of the organization. The action research
comprises of seven steps namely:
 Selecting a focus: The action research involves identifying a proper topic that shall be
worth researching. This shall involve identifying the elements of organizational
management, which the manager shall be willing to investigate. Considering the complex
business environment nowadays, nothing is worth doing until and unless it guarantees to
make the central activities of a manager’s work more satisfying and successful.
 Clarifying theories: This step involves identifying the values and believes along with the
theoretical perspectives that the researchers can relate with the focus identified in the step
one. For instance, if the managers are concerned about making more appropriate
decisions in the complex business environment, he or she shall attempt to clarify he
approaches of related to the management practices and the leadership styles (Flick 2015).

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 Identifying research questions: This step involves preparing a set of “personally
meaningful research questions” that helps the researcher during the entire research
process.
 Collecting data: It is necessary for the action researchers to ensure that the data utilized
by them justifies their action as valid and reliable. The managers are required to be
confident that the conclusions drawn from the data obtained appropriately align with the
organizational environment.
 Analyzing data: Analysis of the data usually involves the utilization of complex statistical
calculation however; in case of action research, the researcher can use user- friendly
methods for identifying the patterns in the data obtained.
 Reporting results: This step involves reporting the findings and these findings are
reported in an informal setting, which turns out to be more attractive that the scholarly
research (Silverman 2016).
 Taking informed actions: In this step, the managers develop appropriate plans and
programs that help them take appropriate decisions in complex business environment.
Diagnostic approach:
Diagnostic approach refers to the approach wherein the root cause of an issue is identified
appropriately before taking any corrective actions. This begins with the identification of the
factors that have given rise to a particular issue or problem within an organization. The data
related to the causes of an issue are collected and tested. Only after obtaining the test results, the
researcher takes the appropriate actions to overcome an issue or problem. Diagnostic approach
helps the researcher to understand the root cause of an issue with the use of active imagination
techniques.

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JOHARI Window:
JOHARI window refers to the technique that enables the individuals to understand the
relationships between themselves and others in a better and more effective manner. The analysis
of personal data shall be done using the technique of JOHARI window. This model contains four
quadrants that indicate arena, blind spot, façade and unknown (Saxena 2015). The test conducted
indicates the person intends to be adaptable to the changes and has an extroverted approach. The
person is logical and sensible in his or her approach. He or she is trustworthy and carries rational
thinking. However, the unknown traits comprise of calm, caring, confident, happy, helpful and
energetic.
Research design:
The research design based upon Johari window used action research with diagnostic
approach. According to Wahyuni (2015), the action research involves both narrative and
discursive approaches that further involve the use of narrative interviews, dialogic encounters,
critical incident techniques, video diaries and group discussions. In this case, the writings of the
practitioners become the focus of debate related to the exploration of the ways in which the
professional practices are linked or related with the organizational discourses.
On the contrary, according to Mackey and Gass (2015), the written accounts become an
effective means of involving the participation of the practitioners in the action research in the
form of co- researchers. This enables the co- researchers to take active participation in the data
collection process, reflective confrontation and the changes. Although narcissism can be avoided
by the means of collective forms of meaning- making however; it might involve risk of avoiding
the individual perspectives of the participants resulting in inappropriate results.

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Part C: Critical incident analysis
The action research project was conducted in a Federation of banks of Hong Kong, which
comprised of 15 banks that are involved in providing financial services to the population of
Hong Kong. The Federation coordinated the activities of the 15 banks. In the beginning of the
research, the networks were coordinated by administrative managers. The administrative
managers were responsible for providing assistance and advice that helped in the smooth running
of the organizations. However, with the passage of time, the federation has become larger and
complex, which required changes in the management for dealing with the issues. There were
issues of improper communication between the management and the employees and absence of
proper flexibility for handling complex situations. This indicated that there was a requirement of
a new role, which would result in new responsibilities, new action plans and a proper structural
and cultural change. However, it would be difficult to implement the new role as the managers
have been using well- defied processes, proper work division and appropriately defined role
boundaries in the past. Therefore, the managers were required to go beyond the boundaries and
improve their expertise in the process in order to analyze the complex situations and utilize the
networks and relations in a better manner for developing the skills of the other organizational
members in terms of problem- solving (Block 2016).
Keeping into consideration the complex environment and the changes necessary to be
implemented, the managers and researchers were invited for taking part in the action research
process in order to help in building up new managers and interpreting their new role. At first, a

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consultancy project was initiated by the Board for helping the managers in the process of
interpreting their new role. However, identifying and sharing the knowledge that would be
required for the new role was equally important. The knowledge about the new role would help
the managers in understanding the new practices and their new role in a better manner. For this
purpose, an action research was proposed wherein the researchers shall work in coordination and
cooperation with the managers, who shall act as co- researchers. The managers were included in
the research process as they had greater knowledge of the organizational processes and the
management tools and techniques. The managers have greater skills, experiences and knowledge
when it comes to management practices and handling an organization. It was decided that the
researchers and the co- researchers (managers) shall share the responsibilities while working as a
research team and the others would be responsible for coordinating the research process and
produce the final reports to the Board (Novak 2017).
With the help of the board, a group of 30 managers were recruited in order to take part in
the action research project. Each of the managers belonged to different backgrounds, cultures
and positions but the common factor within them was that each of them was previously an
administrative manager. The managers were chosen from different backgrounds in order to
ensure that several creative and different ideas could be obtained, which would ensure a better
quality research. The major challenges of the project were: (a) to aid the managers reflect on the
manner in which their daily activities or practices were communicated by several logics as
compared with their past expertise, (b) to enable them share the ideas and knowledge that are a
result of their previous experience and expertise and (c) to reframe the knowledge and practices
in accordance with the changes in the organizational needs. Ten meetings were scheduled and
conducted with the managers having an experience of more than one year. Only the experienced

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managers were involved in the research process as they were capable of producing better quality
solutions and strategies while utilizing their personal experience and knowledge in the process
(bt Zakaria et al. 2015). Out of the 30 managers, 20 managers had managerial experience of
more than 3 years. This indicated that they have been a part of the complex environment for a
relatively longer period of time and have faced several complex situations and handled them
accordingly. These managers were asked every month to pen down a minimum of one account
related to their experience so that it could be shared and discussed in the group meetings. These
were properly organized and collected within a blog. Every month the writings were nominated
and the best two writings were selected on the basis of the votes received. These two writings
were considered to be the most meaningful and representative cases and were further discussed
in detail in the group meetings (Divleli and Ergun 2015). In this manner this strategy enabled
both the groups to select the issues that required urgent attention. The issues were properly
identified so that they can be discussed in the long- run. A certain level of vulnerability was felt
from the researcher’s view point while handling the choice of problems to the managers as the
issues chosen would not have been those if it were chosen by the researchers (Wahyuni 2015).
This indicated that the identifying the requirement of relinquishing the control we feel oftentimes
we require to possess over our research, and ensure that we are responsive to the co- researchers.
While the meetings were conducted and the selected writings were read out and
discussed, we ensured some sort of scaffolding function. This helped the managers to establish
proper connections of their previous experiences with the so that they are able to explain several
types of ideas and action strategies. This also enabled the managers to question the lesser
emphasized knowledge and expertise coming from their specific accounts in a critical manner.
After every session, it was ensured that the group was invited for helping the author while

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editing the next collective column. The results of the group discussions were properly reported in
the third column along with the new learning and insights. Therefore, the manner in which the
the new practices were identified and built collaboratively was represented by this moment. This
shall enable the shaping of the newly identified knowledge and agreements around the
alternative methods of visualizing and performing the new managerial role. This particular step
has enabled the validation of the new reflexive writing, which can be further discussed. This
method resulted in diverse findings as the findings of the managers highly differentiated from the
findings of the researchers. This was a result of the knowledge gap and the lack of experience in
the managerial activities of the researchers. This gap was fulfilled by the co- researchers, who
were the managers of different organizations and possessed proper knowledge of the complex
business environment along with the ways of handling the issues. The experienced managers
have proper organizing skills, proper time management skills, good interpersonal skills,
relationship- building skills, proper delegation skills, forward planning skills, strategy
formulation skills, appropriate communication skills, problem solving approach, administrative
skills, financial skills and proper leadership skills (Puteh-Behak 2014). The managers are
involved in this research process due to the skill and knowledge possessed by them, which helps
in improving the quality of the research process and obtaining reliable results.
It was found at the end of the research that more than 300 reflexive writings were
obtained and edited out of which mere 40 were discussed in the group meetings. On an average
every manager wrote 10 texts however; every text of the managers was not discussed in the
meetings. At the end, we were successful in analyzing all the 300 reflexive writings in order to
prepare a final report that could be presented to the managers and discussed with them. The
entire action research process enabled the group members to identify and analyze the new areas