In organization development, a process consultant is a facilitator who helps a group deal with issues involving the process in a meeting, rather than the tasks. Organization development (OD is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to most efficiently and effectively provide its mission work and to sustain itself A facilitator is someone who helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to plan to achieve them without taking a particular position in the discussion In a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a (usually predetermined topic such as business or community event planning often in a formal setting He or she is a specialized type of consultant. A consultant (from the Latin consultare means "to discuss" from which we also derive words such as consul and counsel) is a Professional
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Role in Small Group Development
A process consultant may be used at any time during the Stages of Group Development. The Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of Group development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases Occasionally, a process consultant is used when a group is either in its formative stage, or normative stage. However, more often than not, she or he is brought in when the group is in conflict. Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of Needs values and interests
Role in Conflict Resolution
Often a group finds itself in conflict over facts, goals, methods or values. Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of Needs values and interests Generally a fact is defined as something that is true something that actually exists or something that can be verified according to an established standard of evaluation A goal or objective consists of a projected state of affairs which a Person or a System plans or intends to achieve or bring about — a personal or Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena A personal and cultural value is a Relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated It is the role of the process consultant to help the group reach consensus over the type of conflict it faces. Consensus has two common meanings One is a general agreement among the members of a given group or Community, each of which exercises some discretion in
Once the type of conflict is identified, the process consultant then helps the group work through the steps required to break the impasse.
It is important to note that the process consultant's role is not to solve the problem, but to help the group solve its own problem. The reason for this is because it is the group, not the consultant who will have to live with the consequences of its decision. Consequentialism refers to those moral theories which hold that the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action
Role in Conflict Management
Occasionally, due to the nature of conflict, the process consultant may need to guide the group toward conflict management rather than conflict resolution. Conflict management refers to the long-term management of intractable Conflicts It is the label for the variety of ways by which people handle grievances — standing up for The term "conflict resolution" refers to a range of processes aimed at alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict
Techniques Used
Initially a process consultant will not lead or participate in a group meeting, but rather will act as an observer. Observation is either an activity of a living being (such as a Human) which senses and assimilates the Knowledge of a Phenomenon, or the recording of data During this time, he or she is observing the group dynamics to determine what interpersonal relationships may be contributing to the group's issues. Group dynamics is the study of groups and also a general term for group processes An interpersonal relationship is a relatively long-term association between two or more people
At some point, s/he will begin to actively participate in the meeting, by asking clarifying questions or paraphrasing. Paraphrase ( IPA: /ˈpærəˌfreɪz/ is restatement of a text or passage using other words Eventually, s/he will make his/her observations known by giving the group feedback. Feedback is a circular causal Process whereby some proportion of a system's output is returned (fed back to the Input.
Education Required
To enter this field, a background in psychology and small group learning is helpful. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Small group learning is a useful Educational approach The group work has to be carefully planned and frequently requires a Facilitator to ensure group Experience in reading body language and possessing analytic skills is also useful. Body language is a term for Communication using Body movements or Gestures instead of or in addition to sounds verbal language or other communication However, receiving some training in experiential education will probably be the most beneficial. Experiential education is a philosophy of education that focuses on the transactive process between teacher and student involved in direct experience with the learning environment
References
- Block, Peter (1981), Flawless Consulting, University Associates, Inc
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