Illustrative Case Studies

Abstract

In this chapter, I provide case studies to illustrate the use of each of the broad categories of methodological approaches outlined in Part II of the book. These cases are meant to draw out the strengths of the different approaches and, at the same time, hint at their weaknesses. In order to consolidate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies, each case is analyzed according to the theoretical schemata set out in Chapter 2—to see, for example, what metaphors are being employed to understand the organization in that intervention. The first two cases are well-known and documented in the literature; the other three stem from my own consultancy experience, and the names of the organizations and some of the circumstances of these interventions have been changed. In all instances, the space available makes it impossible to give a detailed account of what actually happened. The purpose of the chapter, in any case, is to demonstrate the logic of use of the methodologies rather than to seek to provide a thorough and “accurate” exposition of the events that took place. What the reader gets lies somewhere between description of actual interventions and what Ackoff (1989) calls “fables.”