|
Organization Development Consulting
As part of a field project assignment, a number of graduate student
teams are available for no-fee consultation to business and non-profit organizations.
These Organization Development (OD) projects guide the manager and members of a work
unit toward improved team and organizational effectiveness. The consulting team helps
the client group to identify possible areas for improvement, and then to design and
implement more effective work methods and arrangements.
Our mid-career students are pursuing a Psychology Department MA in Organization Development.
They are enrolled in a Seminar in Organization Development, and a Seminar in Socio-Technic
Systems Design. Their field work is supervised by faculty members who are also experienced
consultants.
Each team of consultants provides between 30 and 45 hours of on-site consultation
during the spring semester. Projects whose scope requires a longer commitment may
also be considered, to be carried out in phases over more than one semester. The
consultants typically interview work unit participants, present a summary of interview
data to the manager and the work group, and facilitate a series of work sessions
with the whole client group. These sessions may include problem-solving, work redesign,
training, implementation planning, and concluding project evaluation.
Our confidentiality agreement for these projects is as follows: Feedback of interview
data to the work unit summarizes interview statements but does not attribute statements
to individuals. For the purpose of training and supervision, there is detailed discussion
of each situation within our seminar sessions, but this information is not disclosed
outside of the seminar. The consultants' written class report may be shared with
succeeding classes to support their learning process. It may disguise the name of
the organization and individuals involved if the client prefers.
Each consulting team negotiates the purpose and terms of the project with the client.
The resulting agreement and responsibility for project outcomes are thus between
the client and consultants, and not faculty members or the University. At the conclusion
of the project, the client writes a brief evaluation letter about the consultants'
work during the project.
Past projects have been very successful in meeting the needs of both the client organizations
and the consultant trainees. Further information is available from the faculty supervisors:
|