■

• Shani, A. B. and M. T. Basuray (1988). "Organisation Development and Comparative Management: Action Research as an Interpretive Framework." Leadership & Organization Development Journal 9(2): 3.

Many experts argue that cross-cultural comparative management studies can provide useful information for the effective management of multinational corporations. An approach known as Action Research (AR) provides an interpretive conceptual framework through which an understanding of management systems can be achieved. AR incorporates several related principles: 1. a scientific approach, 2. an action management approach, 3. a mechanism for creating and reinforcing a learning system, 4. a holistic approach, and 5. a management philosophical view. The AR process is applied to Japanese and US management characteristics, where it offers several insights. The critical ideology underlying AR is the perception of organizational change as an anthropocentric process. AR is characterized by: 1. the emergent enquiry process, 2. the coenquiry process, 3. the integration process, 4. the experimentation process, and 5. the diffusion process.