Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results

A key change agent role is to help clients understand the systems to which they belong to improve performance. A major challenge is how to facilitate this understanding. Typically, the change agent collects the data and provides an interpretation about its significance for the client organization. T...

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Main Authors: Keith Owen, Norvell Northcutt, A. Steven Dietz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2015-01-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013562521
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author Keith Owen
Norvell Northcutt
A. Steven Dietz
author_facet Keith Owen
Norvell Northcutt
A. Steven Dietz
author_sort Keith Owen
collection DOAJ
description A key change agent role is to help clients understand the systems to which they belong to improve performance. A major challenge is how to facilitate this understanding. Typically, the change agent collects the data and provides an interpretation about its significance for the client organization. This approach, however, often meets with resistance. What is needed is an approach that engages the author of the data in its interpretation and this article introduces just such an approach—PathMAP®. A case study is used to introduce PathMAP® and show how it can be used to engage system agents in a rigorous process of data interpretation leading to an increased understanding of the variables that influence system dynamics and of how to engage the system in change. This article will demonstrate how PathMAP® enables change agents to get an accurate picture of the current state of an organization by identifying the key issues facing the organization and their interrelationship, and using this knowledge to create meaningful action plans that make deep and intuitive sense to organization’s members.
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spelling doaj.art-a3a023b08a484156988940e40245e4782022-12-22T03:44:56ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402015-01-01510.1177/215824401356252110.1177_2158244013562521Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey ResultsKeith Owen0Norvell Northcutt1A. Steven Dietz2Somerset Consulting Group, Austin, TX, USAUniversity of Texas at Austin, USATexas State University, San Marcos, USAA key change agent role is to help clients understand the systems to which they belong to improve performance. A major challenge is how to facilitate this understanding. Typically, the change agent collects the data and provides an interpretation about its significance for the client organization. This approach, however, often meets with resistance. What is needed is an approach that engages the author of the data in its interpretation and this article introduces just such an approach—PathMAP®. A case study is used to introduce PathMAP® and show how it can be used to engage system agents in a rigorous process of data interpretation leading to an increased understanding of the variables that influence system dynamics and of how to engage the system in change. This article will demonstrate how PathMAP® enables change agents to get an accurate picture of the current state of an organization by identifying the key issues facing the organization and their interrelationship, and using this knowledge to create meaningful action plans that make deep and intuitive sense to organization’s members.https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013562521
spellingShingle Keith Owen
Norvell Northcutt
A. Steven Dietz
Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
SAGE Open
title Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
title_full Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
title_fullStr Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
title_full_unstemmed Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
title_short Engaging Employees in Interpreting Survey Results
title_sort engaging employees in interpreting survey results
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013562521
work_keys_str_mv AT keithowen engagingemployeesininterpretingsurveyresults
AT norvellnorthcutt engagingemployeesininterpretingsurveyresults
AT astevendietz engagingemployeesininterpretingsurveyresults