Process consultant

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Process consultant

In organization development

Organization development

As defined by Richard Beckhard, "Organization development" is a planned, top-down, organization-wide effort to increase the organization's effectiveness and health....
, a process consultant is a facilitator

Facilitator

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....
who helps a group deal with issues involving the process in a meeting

Meeting

In a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a predetermined topic such as business or community event planning, often in a formal setting....
, rather than the task

Task

In common language, a task is part of a set of actions which accomplish a job, problem or assignment. Task is a synonym for activity although the latter carries a connotation of being possibly longer duration....
s. He or she is a specialized type of consultant

Consultant

A consultant is a professional who provides advice in a particular area of expertise such as management, accountancy, the environmental consulting, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, economics, Public administration, communication, engineering, Audio engineering, graphic design, or waste managemen...
.

ocess consultant may be used at any time during the Stages of Group Development. Occasionally, a process consultant is used when a group is either in its formative stage, or normative stage.

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Encyclopedia

In organization development

Organization development

Facilitator

Meeting

Task

Consultant

Role in Small Group Development

A process consultant may be used at any time during the Stages of Group Development. 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

Conflict is a part of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, Value s and interests. A conflict can be internal or external ....
.

Role in Conflict Resolution

Often a group finds itself in conflict

Conflict

Conflict is a part of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, Value s and interests. A conflict can be internal or external ....
over fact

Fact

A fact is something said to be true or supposed to have happened, example: Kiira is mean, FACT. An idea becomes a fact after competent people have tested a hypothesis through the scientific method....
s, goals, methods

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to techniques for investigating phenomenon, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and Measure evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning....
or values

Value (personal and cultural)

A personal and cultural value is a relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated. A value system is a set of consistent value and measures....
. It is the role of the process consultant to help the group reach consensus

Consensus

Consensus has two common meanings. One is a general Wiktionary:agreement among the members of a given group or community, each of which exercises some discretion in decision making and follow-up action....
over the type of conflict it faces.

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

Consequentialism

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....
of its decision.

Role in Conflict Management

Occasionally, due to the nature of conflict, the process consultant may need to guide the group toward conflict management

Conflict management

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 what they consider to be right and against what they consider to be wrong....
rather than conflict resolution

Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution is a range of processes aimed at alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict. The term "conflict resolution" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution....
.

Techniques Used

Initially a process consultant will not lead or participate in a group meeting, but rather will act as an observer

Observation

Observation is either an activity of a living being , consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments....
. During this time, he or she is observing the group dynamics

Group dynamics

Group dynamics is the study of groups, and also a general term for group processes. Relevant to the fields of psychology, sociology, and communication studies, a group is two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships....
to determine what interpersonal relationships may be contributing to the group's issues.

At some point, s/he will begin to actively participate in the meeting, by asking clarifying questions or paraphrasing. Eventually, s/he will make his/her observations known by giving the group feedback

Feedback

Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence the same event/phenomenon in the present or future....
.

Education Required

To enter this field, a background in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
and small group learning

Small group learning

Small group learning is a useful educational approach. The Group therapy work has to be carefully planned and frequently requires a facilitator to ensure group progress....
is helpful. Experience in reading body language

Body language

Body language is a term for communication using body movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language or other communication....
and possessing analytic

Analytic

Generally speaking, analytic refers to the "having the ability to analyze" or "division into elements or principles."It can also have the following meanings:...
skills is also useful. However, receiving some training in experiential education

Experiential education

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 and content....
will probably be the most beneficial.