Jason Nickels - Improving my professional practice as an action researcher/organisational psychologist: Facilitating the organisational development of a National Health Service Trust.

This inquiry seeks to critical analyse the ways in which I can improve my professional practice as a facilitator of organisational development. In so doing, I desire to explore the 'living contradictions' (Whitehead, 1993) between adopting a realist ontology, which underpins my spiritual development, whilst, at the same time adopting a socially constructed ontology, when working with multi-professional groups as part of my role as an internal change agent.

Throughout this inquiry I aim to adopt a dialectical 'epistemology of practice', that I have simply called 'critical: appreciative inquiry'. I hope this title captures and signifies the dialectical tensions between critical (Carr & Kemmis, 1985) and appreciative (Cooperrider et al., 1994) forms of action research.

Throughout this inquiry I hope to be able to appreciate and critically analyse the role of action research within the domain of organisational development, particularly within an 'organised anarchy' (Cameron, 1982) such as a National Health Service (NHS) Trust. One of the many ways, in which large bureaucratic organisations, such as NHS Trusts, can be characterised, is through the analysis of power-relations. This is seemingly pertinent when linked to the notion of 'professionalism'. As such, this inquiry will address the issue of power through a number of theoretical strands. These theories will be placed within a critical: appreciative 'lens' of analysis.