CONSULT

CONSULT

1. CONNECT WITH AN ISSUE

   • Testing the assumption that (say) managers have an adequate knowledge of their own systems.
   • Diagnosis of the situation; costs and benefits of intervention.
   • Determining the entry point for initiating change.

2. OPEN THE DOORS

   • Contract negotiation
   • Define how the succeeding stages of the planned change process will be carried out
   • Continuing the process of sharing the expectations of the consultant and the client system
   • Developing understanding of the continuing process of contract re-negotiation.

3. NEW UNDERSTANDING

   • Develop and understanding of core issues which go beyond the symptoms
   • Identification of resources that will be needed for implementation
   • Identification of forces that resist and enable change

4. SPECIFY NEED FOR ACTION

   • Starting point for this planning phase in which the client and consultant begin to specify needed actions
   • Sound understanding of the issues is the basis for action.
   • Intervention plans
     • who has power to influence events
     • ensure key members are committed to action in specific ways. (Power Maps)
     • understanding of the different aspects of organisation interaction.(Org. System)

5. UNDERTAKE NEEDED ACTIONS

   • Encompasses a wide range of activities
   • Required action(s) arising from diagnostic and specified needed actions
     • management training
     • creation of new information systems
     • changes in organisation structure
   • Resistance to change can become of high significance

6. LOCATE GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES

   • Evaluation of the action strategy is conducted in terms of
     • specific objectives defined during the planning phase
     • Interim task goals designed to determine if the change is progressing as desired
   • From consultant’s perspective
     • an ambition to develop within the system
     • the ability to use the information generated for self-analysis
     • Monitor progress of the action phase and evaluate the data itself

7. TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE INTO THE ORGANISATION

   • Projects rarely terminate - they become part of the fabric of the organisation as the new ways of doing things become institutionalised
   • Explicit process or procedures for setting priorities for improvement should be agreed and instituted
   • There should be systematic and continual process of feedback in order to develop further learning