Integrative Propositional Analysis for developing capacity in an academic research institution by improving strategic planning

Abstract

Although current systems‐based methods of organization development provide some benefit to improving the ability of organizations to reach their goals, consultants are continually seeking to improve the way they may be used to support internal and external clients. This paper reports on an emerging systems‐based analytical method, “Integrative Propositional Analysis,” and its use for improving strategic plans leading to improvements in the capacity of an academic research institution. This preliminary report suggests a new structural perspective that may be useful for consultants and leaders interested in improving the usefulness of strategic plans for improving organizational effectiveness so that organizations may better fulfil their missions.

Understanding and improving the usefulness of conceptual systems: An Integrative Propositional Analysis‐based perspective on levels of structure and emergence

“…Generally, by using the above structural techniques to understand, evaluate, synthesize and improve conceptual systems, scholars may make more rapid progress in developing theories that are more useful in practical application. Such progress is necessary for overcoming our individual and collective ignorance (Wallis & Valentinov, 2016a) and developing more sustainable theories (Wallis & Valentinov, 2017) that are more easily modelled for experimentation and insight (Wallis & Johnson, 2018) for a more just (Wallis & Valentinov, 2016b) and sustainable world within and beyond our organizations (Wallis, 2020b).…”

Exceeding the limits: Commentary on “The limits of transparency”

“…For a simple, visual, example, Figure shows an abstract theory representing an organization. With no causal connections between the component concepts, this model has a low level of structure (cf, Wallis, ; Wallis & Wright, ) and so is not highly useful for understanding a situation. That is, it is not highly useful for sense making.…”

An Analysis of the Systemic Structure of the U.S. Constitution Providing New Insight into the Fragmentation and Conflict Facing U.S. Society and Providing Guidance Towards More Effective Governance

“…Of that third stream, Integrative Propositional Analysis (IPA) has proven very practical for analyzing the structure of knowledge in a wide range of fields, including physics (Wallis, 2010a), sociology (Wallis, 2015a), psychology (Wallis, 2015b), theories of systems thinking (Wallis, 2006(Wallis, , 2009(Wallis, , 2011b, interdisciplinary (Wallis, 2018(Wallis, , 2020c, business (Wright & Wallis, 2015), developing capacity of research institutions (Wallis, 2020b), policy (De Wee, 2020b;Shackelford, 2014;Wallis, 2011aWallis, , 2016bWallis & Wright, 2015a, 2016, 2019, and others.…”