A New Paradigm of Organizational Transformation: Wholeness Praxis in the Inherent Oneness of Problem and Possibility

Abstract

In view of the emerging complicated global problems intertwined with the degradation of the natural environment, we need to probe the nature of the problems caused by human thinking and action in order to find new possibilities and opportunities for our future. In this paper the authors analyze the ‘problem maze’ humans create to depict the nature of organizational problems across public, private, and the third sectors. In order to cultivate the capacity to envision the possibilities inherent to organizational problems, we approach organizational transformation from the perspectives of epistemology, ontology, methodology, and practicalogy. We also propose four approaches to organizational transformation, namely involutionary, evolutionary, revolutionary, and, holo-volutionary transformation. We expect that by highlighting the oneness of problem and possibility, and by characterizing “wholeness praxis” of organizational transformation, we would probably offer a new path of sustainable organizational development. We also use three social enterprises to demonstrate how social and organizational problems might be transformed into possibilities and opportunities.