Based on the case study, answer these questions:Describe the major strength of the internal consultant in the case.Describe the key strength of the external consultant in the case.What are the primary benefits of internal and external consultants, like those in the case, working together on an OD project? CASE 1: PERSONAL VIEWS OF THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONSULTINGPOSITIONSThe Internal Consultant's ViewI am an agent of change. I am also a member of this organization. I was hired formy OD skills, but also for the fact that I was seen as a "cultural fit." Sometimes Istruggle between my dual roles of "team member" and "free radical." After all, itis my job to disrupt the status quo around here, helping leaders to find ways tomake the organization more effective.I have the great advantage of knowing and understanding how my organizationworks-its processes, policies, norms, and areas of resistance. I can usuallyanticipate how difficult a given change will be for members of the organization,and where the resistance will come from. Because I believe in the mission of myorganization, I am able to cope with the inevitable challenges of the changeprocess. Still, I am frequently a magnet for resistance and a receptacle ofinstitutional anxiety. While I understand how people can be frustrated andfrightened by change, it can still be difficult for me to bear the disruption I help tocreate.To keep myself sharp and healthy, I breathe, run, meditate, and read. I take everylearning opportunity that comes my way, and work diligently to create andmaintain a network of colleagues who can support me through the rough patches.I find that my best support comes not from friends, but from people who knowand understand the hard work of planned change.As an internal consultant, I have exposure to many of the same people overtime-executives, managers, and employees get to know who I am and what I do.I get to know who they are and what they do. I have the opportunity to leveragemy executive relationships from project to project; over time the executives herehave come to understand my work and trust my skills as a consultant. Thiswysounderstanding and trust saves us time and energy each time we work together. Ofcourse, I realize that if I fail one of my executive clients, my life in thisBorganization could become less pleasant. That can stress me out when I'morganworking on a messy or unpopular project. After all, my performance review iseffortaffected by client feedback, and my compensation is tied to people's perceptionsof my performance. This can make it difficult to press forward with riskyinterventions. I am proud of my reputation around here-proud of the fact that Ihave built solid relationships at the executive level, that managers respect mywork, and that employees value having me in the organization. Still, I am everaware that I must walk the fine line between "respected insider" and "paidagitator."Sometimes I'm lonely-often I'm the only OD person working in an organization;sometimes there are two or more of us, but we're always spread so thin thatconnecting is difficult and truly supporting one another is virtually impossible. Imay work with other staff people-HR for instance-but they don't alwaysunderstand my role and can't really relate to my challenges. Sometimes they canbe resentful of my relationship with the client, which makes me feel alienated. Ienjoy my client groups, but I must be careful not to over-identify with them; thegreatest value I bring to my clients is a clean "outsider" perspective. I can't dohard change efforts with them if I'm worried about them liking me. Being a loneranger can be thrilling, but being an outsider can get tiring.POccasionally I bring in an external consultant to work on a specific project orproblem in my organization. This can be both challenging and rewarding for me. Itis time-consuming to bring an outsider up to speed on my organization's business,processes, and politics. I seek external consultants who will fit in our culture,while helping us see our issues more clearly and realistically. I enjoy the processWHICHof partnering with people who have exposure to other organizations, who possessdifferentdifferent skills and strengths from mine, and who understand the inherentdiscomfort of the change process. Still, this can be risky, because my reputationwill be affected by this person's work and the outcomes we are able to achieve.When it works best, my partnership with the external consultant leads toimproved effectiveness for my organization, while affording me a valued learningopportunity and professional support.The best thing to me about being an internal consultant is knowing that I amcontributing to the mission of my organization with every client I work with, everyday.The External Consultant's ViewI am an agent of change. I work for many different organizations of varying sizeswith different missions and goals. I spend most of my time helping managers, HRpeople, and internal consultants initiate and manage change-both planned and unplanned. I enjoy the variety in my work and the learning that comes fromseeing the way change happens in different organizations and contexts.But it is hard being an "outsider." I must work quickly to understand each neworganization I work with. As an outsider it can be frustrating to navigate the innerworkings of the organization-its politics, pecking order, and culture and to rootout what's important and what's not. In my role, I'm not around while theunglamorous, time-consuming, and important work of nurturing a change along isbeing done. So, although I experience the risk and excitement of some part of thechange, I do not always get to experience the whole change process from start tofinish. I rarely get to see the project bear fruit and the organization become moreeffective as a result of the work I've done. Sometimes the process feelsincomplete, and I almost always wonder how much I've actually helped.Being an external consultant s both rewarding and risky work. On the one hand, Iam seen as an expert. I am appreciated for my assistance, applauded for myknowledge, and liked for my interpersonal skills. I have the benefit of manyrevenue sources, so I'm never overly dependent on one client. I am oftenrewarded handsomely for my time and effort, although mostmost people mistake"daily fee" asfee" as actual income and forget aabout:self-employment taxes as and thehealth benefits I have to pay myself. The other truth is that I am always at risk-economic crises, budget cuts, personnel changes, executive shake ups,organizational politics, and the occasional hostile HR person are but a few of theland mines an external consultant faces. For the most part, I feel pleased andrewarded for my work as a consultant. But I always know that my situation isdependent on my client's situation, and I can never afford to get too comfortable.When I'm hired by an executive manager, sometimes the HR person or internalconsultant may be resistant, feeling threatened by my presence. When thishappens, I have to find ways to address their concern, partner with them, and stillthe important work of organizational change. Sometimes just creating spacefor the conversation by using simple probes-"You seem very concerned aboutthis situation" or "You must feel pretty unsupported right now"-help meuncover their discomfort so we can move forward. Sometimes these relationshipsare difficult throughout the engagement. It's the downside of being brought in asan "expert."I am asked by clients to perform a wide variety of tasks ranging from contentexpert to process expert to personal coach. Regardless of the request, however, Iam frequently aware of an unspoken need on the part of the client-manager, HRperson, or internal consultant-to have me support his or her project, position, orperson. When the request is to support a project, it is usually clear. When therequest is to support a position, it is less clear but typically surfaces during thecourse of our work together. However, when the request is to support theindividual personally, the request is almost never overt. This is where my self-as-instrument work serves me best, helping me to understand the unspoken-thequestion behind the question. While my goal is always to help my clientorganizations become more effective, I never forget that change can happenmany different ways and at multiple levels of the system. It is my work to beaware of opportunities to intervene, and to have the skill and courage to do so asan outsider.Questions:1. Describe the major strength of the internal consultant in the case.2. Describe the key strength of the external consultant in the case.3. What are the primary benefits of internal and external consultants, likethose in the case, working together on an OD project?

Question

Based on the case study, answer these questions:Describe the major strength of the internal consultant in the case.Describe the key strength of the external consultant in the case.What are the primary benefits of internal and external consultants, like those in the case, working together on an OD project? CASE 1: PERSONAL VIEWS OF THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONSULTINGPOSITIONSThe Internal Consultant's ViewI am an agent of change. I am also a member of this organization. I was hired formy OD skills, but also for the fact that I was seen as a &#34;cultural fit.&#34; Sometimes Istruggle between my dual roles of &#34;team member&#34; and &#34;free radical.&#34; After all, itis my job to disrupt the status quo around here, helping leaders to find ways tomake the organization more effective.I have the great advantage of knowing and understanding how my organizationworks-its processes, policies, norms, and areas of resistance. I can usuallyanticipate how difficult a given change will be for members of the organization,and where the resistance will come from. Because I believe in the mission of myorganization, I am able to cope with the inevitable challenges of the changeprocess. Still, I am frequently a magnet for resistance and a receptacle ofinstitutional anxiety. While I understand how people can be frustrated andfrightened by change, it can still be difficult for me to bear the disruption I help tocreate.To keep myself sharp and healthy, I breathe, run, meditate, and read. I take everylearning opportunity that comes my way, and work diligently to create andmaintain a network of colleagues who can support me through the rough patches.I find that my best support comes not from friends, but from people who knowand understand the hard work of planned change.As an internal consultant, I have exposure to many of the same people overtime-executives, managers, and employees get to know who I am and what I do.I get to know who they are and what they do. I have the opportunity to leveragemy executive relationships from project to project; over time the executives herehave come to understand my work and trust my skills as a consultant. Thiswysounderstanding and trust saves us time and energy each time we work together. Ofcourse, I realize that if I fail one of my executive clients, my life in thisBorganization could become less pleasant. That can stress me out when I'morganworking on a messy or unpopular project. After all, my performance review iseffortaffected by client feedback, and my compensation is tied to people's perceptionsof my performance. This can make it difficult to press forward with riskyinterventions. I am proud of my reputation around here-proud of the fact that Ihave built solid relationships at the executive level, that managers respect mywork, and that employees value having me in the organization. Still, I am everaware that I must walk the fine line between &#34;respected insider&#34; and &#34;paidagitator.&#34;Sometimes I'm lonely-often I'm the only OD person working in an organization;sometimes there are two or more of us, but we're always spread so thin thatconnecting is difficult and truly supporting one another is virtually impossible. Imay work with other staff people-HR for instance-but they don't alwaysunderstand my role and can't really relate to my challenges. Sometimes they canbe resentful of my relationship with the client, which makes me feel alienated. Ienjoy my client groups, but I must be careful not to over-identify with them; thegreatest value I bring to my clients is a clean &#34;outsider&#34; perspective. I can't dohard change efforts with them if I'm worried about them liking me. Being a loneranger can be thrilling, but being an outsider can get tiring.POccasionally I bring in an external consultant to work on a specific project orproblem in my organization. This can be both challenging and rewarding for me. Itis time-consuming to bring an outsider up to speed on my organization's business,processes, and politics. I seek external consultants who will fit in our culture,while helping us see our issues more clearly and realistically. I enjoy the processWHICHof partnering with people who have exposure to other organizations, who possessdifferentdifferent skills and strengths from mine, and who understand the inherentdiscomfort of the change process. Still, this can be risky, because my reputationwill be affected by this person's work and the outcomes we are able to achieve.When it works best, my partnership with the external consultant leads toimproved effectiveness for my organization, while affording me a valued learningopportunity and professional support.The best thing to me about being an internal consultant is knowing that I amcontributing to the mission of my organization with every client I work with, everyday.The External Consultant's ViewI am an agent of change. I work for many different organizations of varying sizeswith different missions and goals. I spend most of my time helping managers, HRpeople, and internal consultants initiate and manage change-both planned and unplanned. I enjoy the variety in my work and the learning that comes fromseeing the way change happens in different organizations and contexts.But it is hard being an &#34;outsider.&#34; I must work quickly to understand each neworganization I work with. As an outsider it can be frustrating to navigate the innerworkings of the organization-its politics, pecking order, and culture and to rootout what's important and what's not. In my role, I'm not around while theunglamorous, time-consuming, and important work of nurturing a change along isbeing done. So, although I experience the risk and excitement of some part of thechange, I do not always get to experience the whole change process from start tofinish. I rarely get to see the project bear fruit and the organization become moreeffective as a result of the work I've done. Sometimes the process feelsincomplete, and I almost always wonder how much I've actually helped.Being an external consultant s both rewarding and risky work. On the one hand, Iam seen as an expert. I am appreciated for my assistance, applauded for myknowledge, and liked for my interpersonal skills. I have the benefit of manyrevenue sources, so I'm never overly dependent on one client. I am oftenrewarded handsomely for my time and effort, although mostmost people mistake&#34;daily fee&#34; asfee&#34; as actual income and forget aabout:self-employment taxes as and thehealth benefits I have to pay myself. The other truth is that I am always at risk-economic crises, budget cuts, personnel changes, executive shake ups,organizational politics, and the occasional hostile HR person are but a few of theland mines an external consultant faces. For the most part, I feel pleased andrewarded for my work as a consultant. But I always know that my situation isdependent on my client's situation, and I can never afford to get too comfortable.When I'm hired by an executive manager, sometimes the HR person or internalconsultant may be resistant, feeling threatened by my presence. When thishappens, I have to find ways to address their concern, partner with them, and stillthe important work of organizational change. Sometimes just creating spacefor the conversation by using simple probes-&#34;You seem very concerned aboutthis situation&#34; or &#34;You must feel pretty unsupported right now&#34;-help meuncover their discomfort so we can move forward. Sometimes these relationshipsare difficult throughout the engagement. It's the downside of being brought in asan &#34;expert.&#34;I am asked by clients to perform a wide variety of tasks ranging from contentexpert to process expert to personal coach. Regardless of the request, however, Iam frequently aware of an unspoken need on the part of the client-manager, HRperson, or internal consultant-to have me support his or her project, position, orperson. When the request is to support a project, it is usually clear. When therequest is to support a position, it is less clear but typically surfaces during thecourse of our work together. However, when the request is to support theindividual personally, the request is almost never overt. This is where my self-as-instrument work serves me best, helping me to understand the unspoken-thequestion behind the question. While my goal is always to help my clientorganizations become more effective, I never forget that change can happenmany different ways and at multiple levels of the system. It is my work to beaware of opportunities to intervene, and to have the skill and courage to do so asan outsider.Questions:1. Describe the major strength of the internal consultant in the case.2. Describe the key strength of the external consultant in the case.3. What are the primary benefits of internal and external consultants, likethose in the case, working together on an OD project?

Accepted Answer

Organizations may choose to use internal or external consultants, or a combination of the two, for…