21 Day Unit v Consultant Client Relations

7/26/2019 21 Day Unit v Consultant Client Relations

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Consultant-Client Relationship

Issues and Facts

Consultant in the context of organization and OD, is a professional people may be from

inside or outside of the organization, who applies or provides or helps behavioral science

knowledge or services in the client system/organization with the objectives of managing

change and improving its effectiveness

Client, the simple meaning of!lient is the person seeking assistance, service, advice

from other In the context of OD, Client is an organization or its working divisions/units,

or groups/teams, or systems and sub"systems, or persons/employees or manager who is

being assisted or getting professional services/helps for the purpose of change and

development Client

In the process of consulting, client and consultant both involve for organizational change

and development #t is assumed that both sides do their best efforts to achieve the same

purpose

According to Lippit, $consulting relationship can be defined as a voluntary relationship

between a professional helper %!onsultant& and help"needing system %!lient & in which the

consultant is attempting to give help to the client in solving of some current or potential

problems and the relationship is perceived as temporary by both parties$

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Consultant-Client Relations

Consultant with the purpose of OD engages in wide variety of activities/actions

which are also called interventions such as problem diagnosis, team and inter"group

activities, survey feedback, training for managerial effectiveness, restructuringorganizations, role negotiation, planning and goal setting, counseling, coaching,

advising, mentoring, conducting training, and career planning etc

The Role of OD Consultant is to assist change in client system/organization

!onsultant/s work with manager and executives as change agent partners to help theorganizations in achieving its goal and objectives

According to Maheswari, the role of an OD consultant is of a guru %teacher& who

needs to posses the knowledge, wisdom, and sensitivity vis a vis the problem of

organization On the basis of his wisdom, he may advise the client %Organization and

its sub"systems & to implement certain changes$

The role of OD consultant is to adise the client to ta!e appropriate actions,

conince the client for the re"uired changes, and helps the client to #odif$ the

attitude%#indset &'owever, implementation of advice given by consultant is the sole

responsibility of the client

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Differences 'etween Traditional Consultants

and OD Consultants

Traditional Consultants OD Consultants

( )raditional consultants work moreas the expert of subject matter toadvise

( OD consultant works more as thefacilitator rather than being subjectmatter expert to advise

* )hey more focus on telling anddirective approach with clients

* OD consultants more focuses oncollaborative approach with client andits members

+ )raditional consultants create asituation of dependency between themand clients

+ OD consultants create a situation ofinterdependency moving toindependence for the clients

)raditional consultants try to ownand manage process and outcomes ofchange

OD consultants facilitate clients toown and mange process andoutcomes of change

- )raditional consultants transfer lessskills of organizational changes to

clients

- OD consultants transfer as much asmore skills of organizational change to

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Consultant-Client Relationship Development of client"consultant relationship is an important factor for the success or failure of

an OD Therefore, categories of clients is i#portant while ta!ing consultant serices&

.ollowing are the major categories of clients service system while deeloping relationship(etween consultant and clients&

)& Contact Clients* !lient initially contacts!onsultant

+& Inter#ediate Clients* !lients participate with consultants in various meetings for fact findings

of problems, assignment planning, and reviewing alternatives etc& ri#ar$ or rincipal Clients*)hese clients are the main collaborators of consultant who need

to own the problems and need to help consultants proposal of solution

.& Contract Clients*!lients play a key role in consultant selection process and negotiation

/& 0lti#ate Clients* hose interest will ultimately be affected, they must be considered when OD

interventions activities are planned, though they may not directly work with the consultants

1& 2ponsoring Clients* )hose clients who provide financial resources to consultant, but may or

may not play key role in choosing consultant and approving and implementing interventions

proposals and their monitoring execution

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Consultants and Client

#n !onsultant" !lient 0ystem, Client #a$ (e an indiidual e#plo$ee, single

#anager, #anage#ent tea#, organi3ational units, and finall$ a total

organi3ation who are getting helps, adice, inputs, assistance fro# OD

professional for desira(le changes in organi3ation are the Clients&

The Client s$ste# is the process of see!ing supports and inputs fro# other for

OD actiities& Organization can get importance inputs from both the internal andexternal environment that is also important for OD

The underl$ing philosoph$ of OD is the s$ste# concept& #n system approach,

OD is based on linkages between the individual goals and the goals of theorganization Therefore, OD is open and adaptie in nature& Inputs fro#

Consultants enrich organi3ation for good outputs&

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Consultant-Client

2$ste# Theor$ suggests that OD !onsultant/1rofessionals or 1ractitioners shouldidentify thei#portance internal parts of the organi3ations such as goals, tas!s,

structures, process, cultures, technologies, coordinating #echanis#s,

leaderships as the su(4ects of the Cliental serices for OD&

0imilarly, OD !onsultant/1rofessionals and 1ractitioners should also interact with thee5ternal eniron#ent factors influencing organi3ation as a whole& Organi3ation

as a Client should learn fro# the e5ternal eniron#ent for enriching the

organi3ation&

)he !onsultant"!lient 2elation is about assisting individual employee, working units,

teams and organization for the OD activities )herefore, Client 2$ste# needs to

see! inputs fro# internal and e5ternal eniron#ent through

consultants%professional for the purpose of OD&

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Documents

21 Day Unit v Consultant Client Relations