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Process Consultant
{{Refimprove, date=December 2019 A process consultant is a highly qualified professional that has insights into and understands the psychological and social dynamics of working with various client systems such as whole organizations, groups, and individuals. Part of the field called Human Systems Intervention, process consultation is a philosophy of helping, a general theory and methodology of intervening (e.g. Schein 1999). Skills Given the complex nature of intervening, a process consultant's expertise includes the following (and many other) skills: * Works concomitantly with groups and individuals (managers/directors) towards a larger change process such as strategic visioning, strategic planning, etc. * Based on the context, selects from a variety of methods, tools and change theories a facilitative intervention that will most benefit the client system. * Stays aware of covert organizational processes, group dynamics, and interpersonal issues. Role in organizational development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Dynamics
Social dynamics (or sociodynamics) is the study of the behavior of groups that results from the interactions of individual group members as well to the study of the relationship between individual interactions and group level behaviors. Overview The field of social dynamics brings together ideas from economics, sociology, social psychology, and other disciplines, and is a sub-field of complex adaptive systems or complexity science. The fundamental assumption of the field is that individuals are influenced by one another's behavior. The field is closely related to system dynamics. Like system dynamics, social dynamics is concerned with changes over time and emphasizes the role of feedbacks. However, in social dynamics individual choices and interactions are typically viewed as the source of aggregate level behavior, while system dynamics posits that the structure of feedbacks and accumulations are responsible for system level dynamics. Research in the field typically takes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observation
Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during the scientific activity. Observations can be qualitative, that is, only the absence or presence of a property is noted, or quantitative if a numerical value is attached to the observed phenomenon by counting or measuring. Science The scientific method requires observations of natural phenomena to formulate and test hypotheses. It consists of the following steps: # Ask a question about a natural phenomenon # Make observations of the phenomenon # Formulate a hypothesis that tentatively answers the question # Predict logical, observable consequences of the hypothesis that have not yet been investigated # Test the hypothesis' predictions by an experiment, observational study, field study, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Business Process Management
Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company's business processes is BPM. Processes can be structured and repeatable or unstructured and variable. Though not required, enabling technologies are often used with BPM. It can be differentiated from program management in that program management is concerned with managing a group of inter-dependent projects. From another viewpoint, process management includes program management. In project management, process management is the use of a repeatable process to improve the outcome of the project. Key distinctions between process management and project management are repeatability and predictability. If the structure and sequence of work is unique, then it is a project. In business process management, a sequence of work can vary from instance to instance: t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Schein
Edgar Henry Schein (born March 5, 1928) is a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has made a notable mark on the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture. He is the son of former University of Chicago professor Marcel Schein. Model of organizational culture Schein's model of organizational culture originated in the 1980s. Schein (2004) identifies three distinct levels in organizational cultures: # artifacts and behaviours # espoused values # assumptions The three levels refer to the degree to which the different cultural phenomena are visible to the observer. * Artifacts include any tangible, overt or verbally identifiable elements in any organization. Architecture, furniture, dress code, office jokes, all exemplify organizational artifacts. Artifacts are the visible elements in a culture and they can be recognized by people not part of the culture. * Espoused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Block
Peter Block (born 1939) is an American author, consultant, and speaker in the areas of organization development, community building, and civic engagement. He was born to Jewish parents, Ira and Dorothy Block. He currently resides with his wife, Cathy Kramer, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Education and career Peter Block completed his undergraduate studies in industrial management at the University of Kansas in 1961 and obtained a master's degree in industrial administration from Yale University in 1963. He started his career as an organizational consultant in 1963 in the information service department at Esso (today ExxonMobil). In the early 1970s Peter co-founded the consulting firm "Block Petrella Weisbord" with Tony Petrella and Marvin Weisbord. He is also founder of The School for Managing of the Association for Quality and Participation as well as the training company Designed Learning. Peter serves on the board of directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio, the advisory boar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Experiential Education
Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experiential learning; however experiential learning is a sub-field and operates under the methodologies of experiential education. The Association for Experiential Education regards experiential education as "a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities". Experiential education is the term for the philosophy and educational progressivism is the movement which it informed. About John Dewey was the most famous proponent of hands-on learning or experiential education, which was discussed in his book '' Experience and Education'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analytical Skills
Analytical skill is the ability to deconstruct information into smaller categories in order to draw conclusions. Analytical skill consists of categories that include logical reasoning, critical thinking, communication, research, data analysis and creativity. Analytical skill is taught in contemporary education with the intention of fostering the appropriate practises for future professions. The professions that adopt analytical skill include educational institutions, public institutions, community organisations and industry. Richard J. Heuer Jr. explained that In the article by Freed, the need for programs within the educational system to help students develop these skills is demonstrated. Workers "will need more than elementary basic skills to maintain the standard of living of their parents. They will have to think for a living, analyse problems and solutions, and work cooperatively in teams". Logical Reasoning Logical reasoning is a process consisting of inferences, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Body Language
Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. The term body language is usually applied in regard to people but may also be applied to animals. The study of body language is also known as kinesics. Although body language is an important part of communication, most of it happens without conscious awareness. Body "language" must not be confused with sign language. Sign languages are ''literally'' languages: they have (their own) complex grammar systems, and they also are able to exhibit the fundamental properties that are considered to exist in all (''true'') languages. Body language, on the other hand, does not have a grammar system and must be interpreted broadly, instead of having an absolute meaning corresponding with a certain movement, so it is not a language, and is simply termed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Group Learning
Small group learning is an educational approach that focuses on individuals learning in small groups and is distinguished from learning climate and organizational learning. It is also described as a team-based approach to learning where students work together towards shared learning objectives. Concept This model is based on the idea that the small group learning format encourages learners not only to express their understanding of a topic but also compare their ideas, allowing for a deeper and more meaningful learning. It is also expected to develop personal generic attributes such as communication, team-working, presentation, and debating skills. Small group learning can take the form of a classroom-based training through experiential learning activities such as case study analysis, role plays, games, simulations, and brainstorming, among others. These activities require the learners to work together to achieve a learning goal. This is seen as a powerful learning method for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.Fernald LD (2008)''Psychology: Six perspectives'' (pp.12–15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Hockenbury & Hockenbury. Psychology. Worth Publishers, 2010. Ψ (''psi''), the first letter of the Greek word ''psyche'' from which the term psychology is derived (see below), is commonly associated with the science. A professional practitioner or researcher involved in the discipline is called a psychologist. Some psychologists can also be classified as behavioral or cognitive scientists. Some psyc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled carefully when applied to feedback systems: History Self-regulating mechanisms have existed since antiquity, and the idea of feedback had started to enter economic theory in Britain by the 18th century, but it was not at that time recognized as a universal abstraction and so did not have a name. The first ever known artificial feedback device was a float valve, for maintaining water at a constant level, invented in 270 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. This device illustrated the principle of feedback: a low water level opens the valve, the rising water then provides feedback into the system, closing the valve when the required level is reached. This then reoccurs in a circular fashion as the water level fluctuates. Centrifugal governors were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraphrasing
A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral traditions, paraphrasing as a specific educational exercise dates back to at least Roman times, when the author Quintilian recommended it for students to develop dexterity in language. In the Middle Ages, this tradition continued, with authors such as Geoffrey of Vinsauf developing schoolroom exercises that included both rhetorical manipulations and paraphrasing as a way of generating poems and speeches. Paraphrasing seems to have dropped off as a specific exercise that students learn, a drop off that largely coincides with the removal of Classical texts from the core of Western education. There is, however, renewed interest in the study of paraphrases, given concerns around plagiarism and original authorship. Analysis A paraphrase typicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
