Consultant Roles, Interventions, and Organizational Diagnosis
Key Functions of a Consultant
- Provide information that is not obtainable from other sources.
- Analyze information using complex methods that are not accessible to clients.
- Diagnose complicated commercial or organizational problems.
- Empower clients.
- Listen, offer support, encouragement, and advice in difficult times.
- Help implement difficult and unpopular decisions.
- Provide feedback regarding certain types of behavior, using their external perspective.
- Provide unbiased information.
- Make decisions and give orders about what to do if the manager, for whatever reason, cannot.
- Take responsibility for decisions, absorb the anxiety of uncertainty, and provide emotional support to help others in difficult situations.
When and How to Use Internal or External Consultants Effectively
External consultants can provide objective, expert knowledge and new approaches. Internal consultants provide knowledge and understanding of the organization’s procedures, information about pending issues, and continuity of service.
What is an Intervention in Organizational Development?
It is the planned interruption of a process to effect change. In Organizational Development (OD), interventions are structured sets of work in which selected organizational units (individual, group, intergroup, or total system) undertake a task or series of tasks whose objectives are linked directly or indirectly to organizational improvements.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an OD Strategy
- There must be knowledge and consideration of the demands of the organization and whether the time is ripe to implement an intervention.
- Do not intervene beyond what is required to produce real solutions to the problems.
- Intervene at an energy level no higher than the client has to develop an intervention strategy.
- Start where people are, i.e., their level of cultural, social, and individual development, not where you think it should be.
Intervention Approaches in Organizational Development
The main approach is based on theories and methods of intervention. The basic assumption is that the client has the necessary internal resources for change if one is needed.
How to Carry Out Organizational Development Operations
Most organizations address the issue of tasks, be they technical, structural, or administrative, as a means of increasing their effectiveness in achieving organizational goals. But focusing only on those aspects is incomplete, as it is essential to understand the processes that occur among individuals and groups.
The Importance of Organizational Diagnosis
The diagnosis is to obtain valid information about the organization. It involves collecting and analyzing information about the culture, processes, structure, and other elements of the organization. Its importance lies in that it:
- Helps to identify areas that can be improved and areas of opportunity.
- Helps to determine which type of interventions are best to apply.
- Provides the foundation to identify, clarify, and prioritize the problems identified.
- Is the first step to finding the effectiveness of the organization.