Read thesis here: Francois Jacobus Retief Thesis

The business management focus of this study is on researching the attitudes of members of an organisation towards the implementation of a change in strategic focus. The organisation studied had been a congregation in Ermelo, South Africa. The possible contribution of a lesser known change management model called Appreciative Inquiry formed the basis of this study.
The research had been done as a qualitative study using Thematic Analysis. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain the data.
The study findings had indicated that the AI model has the potential to elevate the change conversation to a higher level where resistance and cautiousness no longer have the final say in determining members' reactions to the change in sttategic focus. The change conversation began to focus on topics such as purpose, opportunities,and continuity. Interviewees had experienced that discovery of the Positive Core had indeed helped them to embrace the proposed change.