1. Action and Case Research in Management and Organizational Contexts

2. Models of research engagement Model 1: The purchase of information or the Expertise model: Selling and Telling. Model 2: The Doctor-Patient model. Model 3 The process consultation model. (Schein,1999)

3. Process Consultation: “A set of activities on the part of the consultant that help the Client to perceive, understand and act upon the process events that occur in the client’s environment in order to improve the situation as defined by the client”. (Schein,1999)

4. Process consultancy: Assumes that “one can only help a human system to help itself”. (Schein,1999) The goal is the development of an effective helping relationship; Process: i.e. How things are done between people and in groups is as, or more, important than what is done; Often clients do not really know what they want. Part of your consultancy relationship is helping them define the problems and issues.

5. 10 Principles of process consultancy: 1.Always try to be helpful; 2.Always stay in touch with the current reality; 3.Access your ignorance; 4.Everything you do is an intervention; 5.It is the client who owns the problem and the solution; 6.Go with the flow; 7.Timing is crucial; 8.Be constructively opportunistic with confrontive interventions; 9.Everything is data, errors will always occur and are prime sources of learning; 10When in doubt, share a problem. See also Schein’s article on clients which also discusses process consultation.

6. Communications: Observe, Identify, Interruptions; Member roles and functions: group building and maintenance functions, individual functions; Problem- Solving and decision making, group consensus; Group norms and growth; Leadership and Authority. (Harvey & Brown, 1996)

7. References Harvey, D.F. & Brown, D.R. (1996). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Englewood Cliffs NJ:Prentice-Hall 5th edition. Schein, E.H., (1999). Process consultation revisited: Building the helping relationship, Reading, Mass: Addison- Wesley.