How to Decide OD Consultants Competencies
The process of choosing the correct Organizational Development consultant for a particular company can be very stressful and time consuming. Many factors may come into play such as are they detailed, how is the consultant known (good or bad), and how do their specific skills fit your companies needs. All of these are questions a company should ask and research when looking for the proper Organizational Development Consultant. Research has shown several methods on how to get the right fit for your company and I’ve narrowed down eleven of the best ways for a firm to choose their consultant and this is what was found.
The first competencies that a company should look at when selecting an Organizational Development Consultant is whether or not they have the necessary skills required for the job the client needs completed. All consultants vary in skills and their skill level so it is important to look into their skills thoroughly because if someone seems overqualified and they aren’t well known then it may be too good to be true. The second competency to look for is whether the consultant gathers complete and accurate information on the problem (Consulting Process in Action). Good things to look for in a consultant are do they apply affective questioning, observation, and feedback processing skills. How do the OD consultants analyze the data collected and interrelate it to quantitative, descriptive statistics such as means and coefficients using numerical data (OD and Change pg. 126), or qualitative, theoretical analogies of a problem (OD and Change pg. 123), information about the clients company. When this practice is done by the consultant it determines the types and amount of data needed for the appropriate collection process, which means the better the collection process is done by the consultant the better results will be. After this is done the consultant should assist the client in interpreting the data for effective results and move them into the directions of the intervention planning stage. This gives the client an idea on how they can make changes to certain things to improve their company and clear up any questions they may have with the process.
Another competency to use when evaluating a consultant is, whether or not they consult with the proper employees about the Organizational Development problem or situation. (Consulting Process in Action) Does the consultant look at just the problem or does he go into depth and look into those around who could be influencing it.
Many nursing experts believe that evaluation is the most crucial part of employee development. Debate the pros and cons of this statement and decide whether the statement is true. If it is not true, then what constitutes the most important part of employee development?
Brown, D. & Harvey, D. (2006). An experiential approach to organization development. (seventh edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
The ASTD Competence Model serves to identify the competencies training and development professionals must exhibit in order to be successful in the field. The model consists of six foundational competencies, which include “business skills, global mindset, industry knowledge, interpersonal skills, personal skills, and technology literacy” (Anderson, Rothwell, & Naughton, 2013, p. 17). The model also identifies ten areas of expertise, which include “performance improvement, industrial design, training delivery, learning technologies evaluating learning impact, managing learning programs, integrated talent management, coaching, knowledge management, and change management” (Anderson et al., 2013). Each of the foundational competencies identifies
Management and leadership skills in nursing and other healthcare professions are becoming a more and more widely spoken of subject, as they are essential skills for everyday practice in delivering care (Gopee and Galloway, 2009). Effective management requires the nurse to be able to draw on evidence based knowledge and experience to develop the ability to manage competently during practice. Skills without knowledge, appropriate attitude and understanding will not equate to competency (Watson, 2002).
A report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) introduced five core competencies for health professionals: provide patient-centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, employ evidence-based practice, apply quality improvement, and utilize informatics (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2003). The objective of the report was to improve the United States health care system. IOM proposes that if all five core competencies are utilized by health professionals, quality patient care can be achieved.
People who want to have a successful organization in business world; first they should be able to define OB which helps the organizations to be more effectively. “Organizational behavior is a study and an application of knowledge about how people, individuals and groups act in organizations” (Clark, 2000). Frankly, OB can help to indentify people behavior and to have a work relationship among the worker. Moreover, it can affect an organization to enhance its profitability and innovation by showing organization resources which can depends on customers. As well, it helps to achieve a job satisfaction by understanding the importance elements of motivation, communication and leadership.
Many Scholars characterize the core qualities and skills necessary for an effective leader. Useem defines leadership as “Creating a vision and translating that vision into actions”. Historically, an effective leader was assumed to be exceptionally knowledgeable, authoritative, and dominate. Those leaders applied the command and control method to lead an organization. With the passage of time, this definition has been changed. The modern definition of an effective leader is honest, courageous, trustworthy, inspirational, and result-oriented. Today’s leaders create shared values and vision, and empower others to achieve their targets.
From Childhood, we grew up with a dream to become a respectable person and hold a responsible position in a prestigious firm. To me, I always dreamt of holding a managerial positions handling people and driving the Organization. I started understanding the in and out of becoming a Manager after enrolling in Engineering Management Graduate program, especially Organizational Behavior.
Consultants must possess a variety of skills that help to enable them to provide the best advisory services to their clients. Two of the important skills that contribute to their profession and ability to perform the required work are data gathering and presentation skills. Exceptional presentation proficiency is especially necessary because it is essential throughout the engagement. These skills are used to pitch to clients, communicate to the staff especially in the data gathering period, to present their recommendations and persuade their clients to implement their proposal, and also to speak at conferences, workshops and training sessions.
Management is not just about making decisions, watching over employees, and bossing others around. Good management result is satisfied customers, who provide better customer service. In order for new managers to be successful they need to be about to have good communication, human skills, and ability to motivate others. The ability to do these skills effectively makes a big difference in a manager and the company’s overall success. Companies depend on managers to fulfill skills and knowledge to help their company excel. The knowledge managers need to possess is technological inclined and globalization. Effective management can enhance a company’s performance by contributing to employees and customer satisfaction, productivity, development (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2010).
First, success is not always guaranteed. This creates stress, as each project is different in terms of objectives and how the job should be delivered. (Jane, Chorus HR, 2014) In order to succeed or overcome that hinders success, one must learn from the past. Kolb’s learning theory expands on this. A HR Consultant using Kolb’s learning theory would first want to know about another consultant’s experience. Then they would reflect on them and see how they compare or contrast to determine their success rate. The conclusions from the previous stage would create further experience and allow them to improve (Inkson, K., Dries, N., & Arnold, J, p.). From the interview conducted, it was found that HR Consultant’s performance after specified time spans could get them either promoted or fired. Hence, the Kolb’s learning theory can be connected to the individual to use it as a learning experience when fired or promoted. Job security is a disadvantage within this career. According to the research and interviewing, HR consultants receive low salary at the start of the career; and it can sometimes be very difficult to get your clients to pay either on time or at all. HR Consultants must be prepared to bear the risk of loss from untrustworthy clients (Jane, Chorus HR, 2014) As a result; stress is very prominent in HR consultant. Hence, before applying, one can consider a self-assessment test, which builds on the Holland Theory. The self-assessment test would be able to notify the kind of person you. Holland’s theory complements the self-assessment test as this theory states that most people have one of the six personality traits: realistic, investigate, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional. Realistic, investigate, or social, personality traits are some traits that a HR Consultant should receive from the self-assessment since HR consultants have the opportunity to talk to the ‘decision-makers’ and turn
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall.
Cummings, T. G. (2008). Organizational Development Diagnosis. Handbook of organization development (pp. 137-147). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
The manager should be able to select and know these factors. As organization is created systems by people, the internal factors are mainly the result of management decisions. Not all of the internal factors are completely controlled by the management. Organization is influenced by many environmental factors. In the new millennium we have to learn how to live in a market economy. And the most important condition for this is a highly skilled managers. Ability to identify and analyze the internal elements of the organization and external factors is the key to the success of the business. The main factors in the organization that require management attention are objectives, structure, tasks, technology and people. An organization can be seen as a means to achieve the objectives that allows people to perform collectively what they could not carry out individually. Goals are desired outcome, which aims to achieve a group working together. The main objective of most organizations is profit. Income is a key indicator of the organization. People are the basis of any organization. Without people there is no organization. They shape the culture of the organization and its internal climate. They determine what the organization is. Manager generates frames, establishes a system of relations between people and include them in the process of
In this process, a mutual agreement is established between the OD practitioner and the members of the client system in how the OD consultant will work on the problems within the organization. Hence, during entering and contracting, the organization’s problems and opportunities for growth and improvement are discussed between these two parties. During this process, the limitations are set on how the consultant can execute the different phases of the OD process.