Wk4 - Client/Consultant Relationships Flashcards
Who is a change consultant?
- leads or guides process of change
- create planned change within organisation
- trained in behavioural sciences - define and clarify problems, issues, values, resources
What sort of people can be change consultants?
- external specialists
- internal consultants
- line managers
- teams
What are the three types of consulting as defined by Schein?
- purchase of expertise
- doctor-patient
- process consulting
Explain the purchase of expertise consulting type?
- paid to investigate and report to the business
- assumes management knows what they are looking for
- needs must be accurately communicated
Explain the doctor-patient consulting type?
- external consultant brought in to diagnose problems
- based on diagnosis course of action recommended
- ‘patient’ may not accept recommendations
- needs accurately determined, right consultant and accuracy of information all important
Explain process consulting as defined by Schein?
- focus on joint diagnosis
- hybrid of other approaches - purchase of expertise and doctor-patient
What are the elements of process consulting?
- process - how things are done
- content - what is done
What are some of the strategies used in process consultation?
- clarifying/summarise
- synthesising and generalising
- probing and questioning
- listening
- reflecting feelings
- providing support
What are the benefits of using a consultant?
- specialist knowledge and skill
- intensive professional help on temporary basis
- impartial outsider
- justification of management decisions
- learning and competence development
What are some of the influence strategies that may be used?
- rational persuasion
- inspirational appeal
- consultation
- ingratiation
- personal appeal
- coalition
- legitimating
- pressure
- exchange
What are the advantages of using external consultants?
- objectivity
- external viewpoint
- degree of influence and status
- freedom of operation/independence
- can support internal consultant
What are the disadvantages of using external consultants?
- limited knowledge of clients systems
- difficult to gain information
- unfamiliar with business - culture, communication networks, politics/power distribution
What are measured on the axes of the consultant style matrix?
- emphasis on morale
- emphasis on effectiveness
Explain the consultant style matrix and it’s five change consultant styles?
- cheerleader - high morale, low effectiveness
- pathfinder - high morale, high effectiveness
- stabiliser - low morale, low effectiveness
- analyser - low morale, high effectiveness
- persuader - in the middle
What are the characteristics of the following consultant style: cheerleader
- focuses on motivation and morale
- non confrontational
- assumes high employee satisfaction leads to effectiveness
- avoids conflict and smoothes over differences
What are the characteristics of the following consultant style: pathfinder
- high emphasis on morale and effectiveness
- problems solved through teamwork
- confrontation and conflict may improve effectiveness
- collaborative problem solving approach
What are the characteristics of the following consultant style: stabiliser
- low profile
- emphasis on survival
- follows top management direction
What are the characteristics of the following consultant style: analyser
- emphasis on efficiency rather than employee satisfaction
- rationalist approach - facts lead to solution
- maybe confrontational
- technical specialist - expertise to solve problems
What are the characteristics of the following consultant style: persuader
- low risk approach as mid point on both dimensions
- aim is to satiate - something is good enough
- satisfies different forces so outcome may be ‘weak’ or watered down
Explain Nielsen’s model of client practitioner relationships?
- apathetic mode
- gamesmanship mode
- charismatic mode
- consensus mode
What are the axes of Nielsen’s client practitioner relationship model?
- feelings and assumptions: kept to self, open to others
- responsibility for behaviour: given to others, take by self
Explain the following mode of client practitioner relationships: apathetic
Do as they are told.
Sharing ideas have little value.
Change comes from higher authority, and viewed with skepticism.
low responsibility, low sharing
Explain the following mode of client practitioner relationships: gamesmanship
Favours change when aligned with personal interests.
Manipulate strategic factors to own advantage.
high responsibility, low sharing
Explain the following mode of client practitioner relationships: charismatic
responsibility is low - look for cues from leaders to provide direction
high sharing, low responsibility
Explain the following mode of client practitioner relationships: consensus
perceptions and ideas shared openly.
differences are resolved through collaboration.
high sharing, high responsibility
What are the eight rules of thumb for change agents?
- stay alive
- start where the system is
- never work uphill
- innovation requires good idea, initiative and friends
- load experiments for success
- light many fires
- keep optimistic bias
- capture the moment
What is the Lewinian view of change?
- linear
- destination focused
- create disequilibrium
- planned and managed by people separate from client system
What is the East asian view of change?
- cyclical
- journey orientated
- restoring/maintaining equilibrium
- at one with client system
