Dialogue in Working Life Research and Development in Finland

This book opens a view into the dialogical methods used in national policy programmes and in local action research projects in Finland. On the basis of versatile academic and facilitator experience the authors shed light on the theoretical-philosophical backgrounds of the methods and analyze the prerequisites and the challenges of dialogue in case studies in different work environments from day care to new technology. Dialogue is seen both as episodic situations and as continuous processes that may promote the quality of working life and the effectiveness of organizations. The creation of permanent development structures by using dialogue as a driver of learning, action and change is proposed to be one of the most challenging aims of the research-assisted development activities.

Autorentext

The Editors: Jarmo Lehtonen (MPoISc) runs a research and consultancy agency in Helsinki (Finland). Formerly he was a high-level trade union official. His academic interests are participatory leadership, dialogical processes and language as a societal phenomenon. Satu Kalliola (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Social Policy at the University of Tampere (Finland). She specializes in action research (with focus on municipal service organizations), labour policy and the role of industrial relations.

Inhalt

Contents: Satu Kalliola: Foreword - Jarmo Lehtonen: Introduction - Olav Eikeland: Afterthoughts on ethics and action research - Pekka Kuusela: Dialogue and change in organizations - Jukka Sädevirta: The emergence and development of institutional dialogue - Maarit Lahtonen/Nuppu Rouhiainen: The role of dialogue in a national workplace development programme - Satu Kalliola/Risto Nakari: Dialogues with an impact on development - Robert Arnkil: Remembering the future: future dialogue and the future of dialogising - Arja Ala-Laurinaho: Dialogue in a knowledge production process - practitioners and experts designing a technological environment - Sirpa Syvänen: Development structures and dialogic processes in research-assisted development of services for the elderly - Taina Tuomi: Dialogue through group learning - Helena Rajakaltio: Finnish School - The PISA star and dialogical paradox - Jarmo Lehtonen/Teijo Räsänen: Dialogue as a method of learning and constructing development structures - Jarmo Lehtonen/Risto Nakari: From episodes to dialogue driven change and action.