The organizational consulting process

SUMMARY

Organizational consulting is practiced in many different ways, those ways reflect the diversity of organizations and the environments in which they operate, their own consultants and the various approaches to do it that they are willing to accept as valid and will certainly be highly influenced, for the approaches and methods of intervention proposed by the internal consultants.

This material aims to give an overview of the CONSULTING PROCESS as well as an overview of ITS STAGES GENERALLY ACCEPTED, based essentially on what is referred to in contemporary literature and the ideas that are used in our experience, which may be of interest to consultants, teachers, researchers and students.

Business or organizational consulting in general has long been recognized as a highly useful professional service to help organization managers identify and define the main problems affecting their organizations to achieve their fundamental purposes, their objectives emanating from the mission, analyze the causes that provoke it, identify the root causes and plan actions for its improvement and that these be implemented. The consultant's current work as “agent of change” implies the transfer of knowledge, Know How and the training of the personnel of the organizations, implicitly or explicitly.

The current consultant's action and the approach that is generally used is intended to intensively and temporarily support organizations to carry out this project and not execute it on their own, so that their managers and workers acquire knowledge and skills that make it a true internal consultant, endogenous agent of change in a process of continuous process improvement and its results, this “new” modality has been called collaborative (or participatory) consulting (Sherwood (1989), Doyle (1989), Portuondo (1992), Codina (2003). Collaborative consulting should tend to fix the changes, the solutions they adopt, because they must make them emerge from the organization itself,by its own conviction about the need and the goodness of such changes and its essence is to create the capacity for own change that the entire organization demands that seeks to improve its processes and results continuously.

Currently, the modality of Collaborative Comprehensive Consulting is generally accepted as a form of intervention, it will imply the Involvement and even more the commitment of the internal consultants, and of all the staff of the organization, which demands a strong work from the consultant. and the unconditional support of its managers and especially of the top management of the client organization.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONSULTING PROCESS AND ITS STAGES GENERALLY ACCEPTED

There is an extremely wide range of consulting approaches, techniques, methods, modes, and styles. This diversity is one of the most interesting characteristics of consulting, since even clients with very specific problems can find a consultant that suits their organization and particular situation. However, consulting is characterized not only by diversity, but also by certain common principles and methods. Some of them are applied by the vast majority of consultants.

THE CONSULTING PROCESS

The consulting process is a joint activity of the consultant and the client aimed at solving a specific problem and applying the desired changes in the client's organization. This process has a beginning (the relationship is established and the work begins) and an end (the consultant's departure). Between these two extremes, the process can be subdivided into several basic phases, which induces the consultant and the client to be systematic and methodical and to move from one phase to another and from one operation to another, following a logical and temporal sequence.

Many different ways can be found in the bibliography to subdivide the consulting process, or cycle, as some authors call it, into main phases. Various authors suggest models that comprise three to ten phases. It is useful to use a simple model of five main phases, which considers: (basic source Kubr

PHASES OF THE CONSULTING PROCESS

Obviously, a universal model cannot be applied in a form, indiscriminate to all problems, but it constitutes a good framework to structure and plan particular tasks and projects. When applying the model to a specific situation, certain phases may overlap; for example, the application can start before the planning of the measures is finished. It is also possible to go from a later stage to an earlier one. For example, evaluation serves not only to make the final determination of the task's results and the benefits to be derived from the change (completion phase), but also to decide whether to go back and take corrective action. Each phase can be subdivided into several sub-phases or parallel activities.

You probably thought that this consulting process model is similar to problem solving models, whose various variants can be found in the existing literature. In reality, consulting is essentially a way to solve problems. The differences from other forms of problem solving lie in the participation of a consultant. Therefore, this material contains a good amount of information and indications of how to handle problem solving at the Organization level, the specific characteristics of the general problem solving process. The success of the consultant will depend to a large extent on his mastery of it and its associated techniques, as well as its transfer as a method, to the managers and workers of the client organization,They will have to apply it day by day in their daily work.

The consulting process model also includes activities related to the arrival and departure of the consultant, as well as various aspects of the consultant-client relationship in the course of the process.

It is possible that the UD also knows various models of planned changes in the organization and may be interested in comparing them with the model that is proposed. In this sense it is good to mean that the consulting process can be considered as a variant of the change process, in which the need for change is determined and concrete measures of change are prepared and applied with the help of a consultant. The planned change process and the consulting process follow the same fundamental logic.

Regarding the consulting process, it will be useful to make a brief description of its five basic phases. In the remaining chapters, issues that complement these assessments will be addressed.

INITIATION; INITIAL PREPARATION

In this the consultant begins to work with a client. This phase includes your first contacts, conversations about what the client would like to change in your organization and how the consultant could help you, clarifying their respective roles, preparing a task plan based on a preliminary analysis of the problem and the negotiation and conclusion of a consulting contract. This is a preparatory and planning phase. However, it is often insisted that this phase establishes the foundations for everything that will follow, since the following phases will be strongly influenced by the quality of the conceptual work carried out and by the type of relationships that the consultant establishes with his client from the Start.

In this initial phase it can also happen that a task proposal is not prepared to the client's satisfaction, or that several consultants are asked to present proposals, among which one will be chosen to carry out the task.

The initial preparation, initiation or entry stage should allow the client and the consultants a mutual learning, it is an adaptation phase, but it also begins the exploration of the client organization and the plan to follow in the intervention will be formulated.

The success of the consulting process depends in good measure on the existing mutual trust and the integration of the team of internal and external consultants, so this is transcendental for both parties and the consultation must have the skills to facilitate it.

It is advisable to start the Information / Training work by initial contacts with the top leader of the organization and close collaborators where issues of broad interest to the work are formalized, expectations are investigated and roles are clarified taking care that at all times it is clear that the work of the consultants is advisory, training and aid technology transfer… etc. and will never have the authority to make decisions about what to do and others are the responsibility of the managers.

Several reasons for this could be argued in the first place that the consultant does not have real authority in the client organization, but in our opinion the essential thing will be to demonstrate to the client that they can and must make decisions, that they are capable of doing so and that they do so. It will improve the result of the organization, its main task is to train them, help them to do better and acquire their own capacity for change, demonstrate that systematically applying techniques and procedures can do their job better.

In these exchanges that can be sensitization sizes, they will be clarified

Meaning of concepts, current work philosophies, methodological approaches, etc.

The exchange with the boards of directors or boards of directors will enable both tasks and will allow an initial diagnosis to be made, which the team will then complement.

It is important in this beginning to prepare the workers and managers in the solution of problems and to introduce them in the use of techniques that will be useful in all work, special dedication should be made to the preparation of internal consultants who will be the seed of the continuous improvement and her leaders in the organization.

These Engagement / awareness / training sizes will never end; we will not go into specific techniques now which will be covered in the troubleshooting chapter.

In summary, what should be achieved at this stage:

1. Exchange of expectations of goals, roles and responsibilities.

2. Agreement on terms, methods and techniques to use.

3. Initial preparation of all those involved and especially the teams of internal consultants.

4. Top-down actions starting with senior management (workshops, work sessions…)

5. Carrying out a preliminary diagnosis together by internal and external consultants.

6. Preparation of a planning of the task to be carried out and to discuss and approve the proposal.

Arranging the formal hiring and ensuring that the psychological contract advances the experience gives us some ideas of how to do the job after the initial meetings with the Manager, director (top management), this may vary depending on the case but from the beginning you can make a introductory session with the board of directors where:

1. Clarify and update on current terms and trends.

2. Explain and discuss some concepts, methods, and techniques.

3. Conduct a problem identification workshop using some techniques (brainstorming, idea writing, colormap).

Example: Review mission, vision, current status and restrictions to move forward.

This must be reiterated at other levels and will enrich the initial diagnosis and continue to commit and train the organization's staff.

At this stage, training, team integration and making the preliminary diagnosis have a special meaning that will allow planning the work and concluding the contract.

There are some things that the consultant should keep in mind.

1. Everything you do in team building and formation (which may seem waste of time) will consolidate and accelerate future progress.

2. The client is not always clear on what he wants:

When asked what do you want?

Improving results can be a repetitive response; but what does this mean; In this case, it is recommended to write the desired state, thus clarifying the situation and learning to do it systematically.

Example: Increase profits by 10%…

Increase sales 20%… (There may be conditions that would be good to include).

Remember that you will not commit to success itself, but to increasing the probability of success. Success in itself will defend the skills and commitment that we are able to help develop, the participation of the workers and managers of the organization in it will say the last word. The great end of life is not knowledge, training and the acquisition of skills, but the results of the quantitative and qualitative changes that they cause.

3. The biggest brakes today are ideological, changing ideas is the most difficult task that any consultant or manager will face.

4. Resistance to change always appears and it is not about winning, but convincing, only conviction will lead us to move in the direction and magnitude desired.

5. As a general rule, everyone who uses consultants is in a situation where needs exceed current possibilities.

6. There will always be a better way to do things and get better results.

Finally you will surely have understood the importance of this phase that although in a consulting process formally ends, in a continuous improvement process it never ends, there is always something to do in training, information and involvement if clients understand this, they have advanced a good way on the road to success.

DIAGNOSIS

The second phase is an in-depth diagnosis of the problem to be solved, based on a thorough investigation of the facts and their analysis. During this phase, the consultant and the client cooperate to determine the type of change that is needed. Is the fundamental problem of change of a technological, organizational, informational, psychological, or other nature? If it has all these dimensions, what is the essential? What attitudes prevail in the organization regarding change? Is the need for change understood, or will members of the organization need to be persuaded to change? The results of the diagnostic phase are used and conclusions are drawn on how to guide the work with respect to the proposed needs so that the real problem is solved and the desired benefits are obtained.During this phase some possible solutions can be glimpsed.

Investigation and diagnosis of events often receive little attention. However, decisions regarding what type of data to look for, what data to omit, what aspects of the problem should be thoroughly examined, and what facts can be left aside predetermine the relevance and quality of the data. solutions to be proposed. On the other hand, with the collection of data the consultant is already influencing the client's system, and the members of the organization will have to start changing as a result of the consultant's presence.

The topics of this material related to organizations, their problems and the solution of problem solving complement what we intend to take into account in the diagnosis, so in this we will limit ourselves to general questions to be kept in mind by the consultants and highlight those of more significance. The diagnosis truly constitutes the first fully operational phase of the consultancy work and is preceded by the preparation carried out and the initial preparatory diagnosis.

The objective of the diagnosis is to DEFINE THE PROBLEMS that the client faces, TO EXAMINE IN DETAIL THEIR CAUSES and to prepare all the necessary information to guide the decisions that must be made for the solution. In principle, the diagnosis does not include the activity aimed at solving the Problems, this will be carried out in the next phase, and even the diagnosis itself may lead to the conclusion that some problem cannot be solved or is not worth doing for various real and even unfounded or light reasons. However, in practice it is very difficult to establish a strict dividing line between diagnosis and action planning. Frequently it happens that in the diagnosis possible variants of solution are being determined and studied.

The experience of the consulting work indicates that although the independent action of the problem is addressed methodologically, in different phases, as you interact with men in interviews, exchanges etc., these sometimes and not infrequently address possible solutions, it is impractical and It is impossible for you to prevent them from being stated, so you must be prepared to organize the information you receive in a pragmatic way in such a way that the result of the work is as effective as possible and the workers and managers approached feel comfortable, useful and remember that many times from this come the basic ideas for the best solutions that after fertilized will be the definitive solutions.

Our recommendation is that you handle this situation with intelligence, do not incite yourself, but take advantage of it proactively, demonstrating to people the usefulness of your contribution and ensuring that your contributions and contributions will be taken into account at the time, recommending that they continue to deepen and improving them.

Another important issue of the diagnosis is that the very fact that the consultant and the team begin to investigate, ask, question, sets in motion a process of change that can have an immediate impact on the organization. Many people do not have to be told what to do, it is enough to ask them a question that implies the possibility of doing it in another way, bringing about changes in ideas, reflections that may have implications and form of changes.

According to the type of consultancy that we recommend, the collaborative, where the internal / external consultants form a team, the work of the consultant influences the activities to be modified and can cause concrete changes, there is also a useful learning effect if the client and its workers consider that they are learning and discovering the truth for themselves, that the consultant is helping them to do so, that they are one of their group, that they share their “Know How” with them in order for them to learn to identify, define, analyze and finally solve the problems by themselves. The consultant should take this opportunity to increase the participation request, which will have a very positive influence on this and the next stages, as a final result,The diagnosis should not only show Problems and Causes, but also that the organization (its workers) come out stronger and better prepared to plan and face the changes that are coming in the immediate future and at all times.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, there may also be negative effects

Staff who:

Try to keep secrets, reservations, which makes work difficult and creates doubts about the consultant, affecting his ability to act efficiently and negatively influencing the organization. The system has not been prepared to cooperate and multiple barriers appear, the management It has not prepared its managers and workers for this previously. That when discovering painful situations, irritations, altercations and in general rejections of the "strange agent" that discovered the facts that would have been better to hide from an outsider occur. That there be improvements spontaneous changes that do not result in real improvements and, in some cases, the opposite, although their intention is good.

To avoid these errors, there are some things that the consultant must do, but especially, he must act with senior management, creating a conviction that will lead him to previous action in the organization and convince his team and workers about:

The need for consulting to catalyze change The certainty about the professionalism, experience and results of the team of consultants and your confidence in them as well as in the designated internal consultants The need to cooperate and integrate with the consultants to acquire their own capacity for change. That no changes are made in parallel and individually, and that all actions must be coordinated in order to have more effectiveness, efficiency and an integral conception as a system. That having problems is normal and that the important thing is to act to solve them, being decisive for this as they are and depersonified, they will seek facts, causes and not those responsible

It will remain for the consultant with his tactful and ethical preparation reinforced with his systematic acting with professionalism, helping to avoid greater evils and earning the trust of all the managers and workers of the Organization.

A question that the consultant must not forget is that he must contribute and confront information, frequently about the research and its results, which will avoid doubts about the purposes of his work and will allow everyone to participate more actively and commit to what is being done. happening and with the future, this also gives the consultant feedback on how the client reacts and assessing the change in the activities of all participants.

Truth, grounded, proactively presented, depersonified, consulted and approved by all is a weapon of incredible effect to decide and implement actions for its transformation, we insist that only conviction induces actions to be truly effective.

The experienced consultant will teach all who are related to how to work, will incite them to look for problems, investigate the causes, this will involve them, compromise them and prepare them for the future, in addition to training them, it must make them discover their truth rather than looking for it, remember that the real experts are the people in the organization.

The consultant must ensure that the diagnosis has been clearly defined

The problem The causes of the problem The customer's potential ability to solve the problem The possible directions of future measures

The diagnosis will require a characterization of the organization and its results and a study by the consultant of the organization and its organizational culture in order to understand it and be able to help it in the process of change.

Regarding the problem and its causes, as well as analyzing them, the next topics will be studied in depth, however, we will make some clarifications at this time.

THE PROBLEM must be identified and defined (each one of them) according to 4 fundamental dimensions.

1. IDENTITY: what?, What result is the unwanted? What is the fault?

2. MAGNITUDE: how much does it affect?

Here we will take into account the importance of the problem in absolute and relative terms and what level of damage it causes in the organization. In order to define the magnitude of a problem it is necessary to have default reference states (Desired States), the absolute magnitude is the difference between the desired state and the current one.

3. LOCATION: (physical and in the organization)

Where does it affect? It can be general, particular, affect other areas or impact them; in short it is about locating it in generic

4. TIME: (chronological perspective) since when does it affect?

What periodicity does it have, with what frequency of repetition does it appear, in short, it is always convenient to analyze the temporal perspective and can contribute elements in its analysis and solution.

Some authors also recommend incorporating a fifth dimension; the tenure that is related to the people who are affected by the problem and have more interest and possibility to participate in its solution, in order to be able to work more directly with them, since they surely have greater potential possibilities to contribute to its solution. In summary, the definition of the problem that is the first stage in its solution implies:

Check the undesirable effects. (PROBLEMS) Verify their real existence (AND THE BELONGING OF THEIR SOLUTION) defining the 4 or 5 dimensions described and comparing the current State with the desired one. Clearly define the problem with the help of the dimensions and socialize this definition. Define a new state desired (if the previous one is maintained it will not be necessary)

Example:

20% decrease in sales in Oriental management in the last 3 quarters of 2002.

Sometimes it is very useful to classify the problems into internal and external, being the internal those who are under the authority of the organization's management (or unit under analysis), the external ones will be those that are outside their authority and / or that their existence is difficult to control by them although in general, there are no pure problems, this qualification helps, because the inmates, who should be under control, are quite frequent and qualitatively important, and the strategy for solving external problems is not the same to that of the inmates, may require other analysis and search for alternatives.

Finally regarding the problems and when choosing the problems to solve, we recommend following the indications provided and taking into account the rule of 20 by 80 (PARETO) since there will always be a minimum of problems that their solution will impact on a maximum of results for the organization; approximately 20% of the problems will generate an 80% increase in results with your solution, this can help define priorities, for which you can use

other techniques that are explained in this material and that generally seek consensus of experts and / or senior stakeholders.

Since any undesirable effect could be seen to be a problem and could be defined as such, it is possible that in their interconnection some are effects and other causes, it is worth recognizing this that, as will be seen, has a great methodological importance in the solution of problems.

THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM

You cannot act on the effect (PROBLEM) you have to act on its causes or the factors that cause them. In any organization, causal factors are hypothetically defined in one way or another and have to do at that level with the MEANS OF WORK, THE OBJECTS OF WORK AND THE FORCE OF WORK AND ALL ALSO RELATED IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WITH FINANCIAL RESOURCES and Furthermore, as it is an open system, there may be external inhibiting factors (threats) that must be taken into account.

Based on this, at least we have a general orientation, but it is about going to the essential, specific to be able to act, the hypotheses about the causes will allow the consultant to gather information, verify or refute them and define the root cause (basic or primordial) that ultimately it is the one that when acting on it has the greatest effect (being able to work on others depending on the possibilities) in this aspect the PARETTO analysis is also valid and we recommend that you bear it in mind, in the causal analysis a group is deployed of information gathering, analysis and presentation techniques.

The synthesis and presentation of results is particularly important in this, it is useful to use the cause-effect diagram and cause / effect analysis in general.

Let's define the problem referring to the 20% decrease in sales in the Eastern Management in the last 3 quarters of 2002.

Why can this happen? Let's see some hypotheses:

Motivation status / worker satisfaction Poor market management policy Increased profits from competitive offer

And so on we could list new hypotheses.

We have for example that when checking we see that in the lists with 2 and 3 we do not see great significance and that the essential question lies in MOTIVATION / SATISFACTION.

Why does this happen? What is wrong?

Poor Stimulator System and we continue to deepen.

Where are your differences?

There is no incentive to increase sales (or it was suppressed in the last quarter). Human memories staff do not react to this. Recognition of sales and their increase is different. sale. Little participation of the workers in the Management of the Organization.

As you can see we are facing a cause / effect chain where each cause can be and is, a new problem will have several causes and also the same cause can have several effects. The study in detail of all this skein or interweave is what allows the consultants to find possibilities to propose actions that tend to the solution of the problem.

In the existing bibliography you will be able to appreciate that as a result of the investigations a certain structure has been reached in these cause / effect analyzes, with the appropriate adaptations you can take advantage of them and use them. By applying the techniques yourself, you will already have preconceived causes (or hypotheses about it), for example:

(Deficient Stimulator System)

IF you apply a survey, if you carry out interviews or both are complemented with other insurance techniques, you will investigate these 5 factors and continue to break them down in your analysis. For these types of situations we have defined a survey complemented by interviews that have allowed the analysis to a certain extent, which must be appropriate to each organization in its specific conditions and culture. When techniques are addressed, you will be able to appreciate the usefulness of all causal analysis and may broaden your horizon in this regard.

THE CLIENT'S POTENTIAL ABILITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

The potential capacity of the client has several dimensions. It is necessary to know if you have the material, financial resources and technical knowledge and, in general, the necessary skills to solve the problem.

- The time frame is also important.

Experience in solving other problems and programming change. Organizational culture regarding change. Future evolution of customer resources and can mobilize others. What attempts have been made in the past and their results?

- Attitudes towards problems is also a matter to pay attention to.

How are the problems perceived? Is there an awareness of the problems and is there a desire to change the state of things? They have become accustomed to the problem by living with it.

We must remember that in order to produce irreversible changes, it is necessary to create in managers and workers changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes that generate successful behavior in decisions and problem solving.

When diagnosing this potential capacity, the consultant will take into account the Human Factor, from which actions will be derived, but also must assess what potential resources exist or can be mobilized, altogether all this may give more clarity in future actions.

POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS OF FUTURE MEASURES.

The diagnosis is the preparation of the action, throughout it will gather, record and analyze data and ideas that will help guide the actions regarding how to solve the problems. In this way a link will be established with the next phase.

Although ideas emerge in the diagnosis and this will be unavoidable, the consultant must keep in mind how dangerous it can be to make premature changes without having identified, identified and verified causes and drawn the conclusions of the diagnosis. Each stage is not a straitjacket but methodologically they are very convenient to respect and take advantage of.

In the planning of the diagnosis it is essential to determine the form and degree to which the client will participate, in the recommended way, the collaborative the consultant is a catalyst contributing to the client's understanding of the adapted method, signaling their attention to questions and facts that may escape.

The main responsibility for the collection and analysis of data will be the client, this will prepare them to develop their own capabilities that are very useful in the future success of the organization.

Four main stages are developed in the organization of the diagnosis:

1. definition of the framework and the decision of the Information to be collected and how to do it.

2. Research, Data Collection and Preparation of Information.

3. Analysis of the Facts

4. The Conclusions of the Diagnosis the analysis and discussion with senior management according to the participation that we can achieve in the client (internal consultants) will be more or less fluid these stages and their results will depend on it.

To carry out the diagnosis, the consultant and the work team will apply various techniques for recording, analysis, identification and verification of problems / causes, presentation of the information, search for consensus, etc., will use the various group techniques and all the tools that are available. your disposition. In this material we present a summary of a group of them that can be useful at work.

If you delve into the bibliography you will be able to obtain more information, so we recommend some sources that may be useful.

Business Consulting. Guide for the profession (Kubr; editions 0IT Switzerland 1994).Introduction to the Study of Work (0IT; 1986) Circles of Quality in Operation (Bar) Guide of Quality Control (ISHIKAWA) Committee of Solutions (MES; Cuba, 1990) The new rational manager (Kepner and Tregoe. 1983) Productivity and Quality. Consultant Manual. (CAF Venezuela 1990) Productivity and quality. Techniques and tools. (CAF Venezuela 1990)

In all this work it is recommended to use the process approach that reports such good results.

ACTION PLAN

The third phase aims to find the solution to the problem. It encompasses the study of the various solutions, the evaluation of the options, the elaboration of a plan to introduce the changes and the presentation of a proposal to the client so that he can make a decision. The consultant can choose from a wide range of techniques, particularly if the client's participation in this phase is active. Action planning requires imagination and creativity, as well as a rigorous and systematic approach to determining and studying possible options, eliminating proposals that could lead to minor and unnecessary changes, and deciding which solution to adopt. An important aspect of the action plan is to develop a strategy and tactics for introducing changes,in particular to address foreseeable human problems and to overcome any resistance to change.

The design team must prepare the specific action plan that the organization will adopt to act on the causes that affect the detected problems in one way or another, prioritizing, of course, these according to the state in which they were diagnosed, giving preference to Critical, to those that have a greater impact and that have greater possibilities of success in the objective and subjective conditions existing in the environment as well as in the cultural context of the Organization, the solutions or actions that are projected in a general sense can be classified in a general in two groups.

1. Direct actions.

2. Indirect actions

The direct actions usually have the following characteristics.

They depend on an internal decision, their origin usually being derived from objective factors that for the most part have an overwhelming consensus. They are directed at one or a few very specific essential dimensions. They are generally corrective or generalization, and do not require additional studies. Deep and / or complex, being mostly structured. As a general rule, their results are immediately or shortly palpable. They do not represent large investments in human, material and / or financial resources.

These types of actions can be cited as an example.

Allocate financial frameworks and / or resources to improve food, transportation, personal protection, specific working conditions, etc. Coordinate actions with suppliers of products and / or services that do not exist or have deteriorated. Reinstate, revitalize mechanisms to serve certain and certain functions or addresses where deviations are detected that cause Problems with leaving the Organization with the satisfaction of workers.

This classification criterion may seem trivial, since it has to do with issues that had to be done previously, that there was evidence and clarity to make the decision, even in many cases the decision was adopted, its implementation began and its consistency is not maintained, but It is interesting to note that a high percentage of dissatisfactions come from here and also that the impact they will cause will be palpable immediately or in the short term, which will have a significant influence on the perception of workers, managers and an impact on behavior. and surely in the results quickly..

Actions classified as indirect generally have the following characteristics:

They depend on an external decision, the action itself consists of convincing, substantiating the need, seeking support, approval at the highest levels. They depend on an internal decision but the final actions will emerge after a more in-depth study, which is generally Complex and does not have structured solutions. They require prior preparation, which requires normally medium or long terms, the action itself is the preparation of these conditions, which not infrequently require multidisciplinary efforts.

Actions such as:

- Prepare the Designs and Specifications of positions or occupations with an approach to enrich the work…

- Prepare a proposal for a payment system with incentives linked to the final results of a process.

- Do a study to support the required work-rest schedules and regimes.

- Prepare and implement a training program for managers and workers aimed at improving participation and promoting a qualitatively superior organizational climate.

- Implement a Quality System based on ISO 9000

They can be considered in this group, note that the indirect nature is given essentially because they in themselves are problems that require investigation and subsequent presentation of a project of actions that are generally direct and may in turn contain indirect.

In this type of actions, it is very important to specify as clearly as possible the objectives that are being pursued, these will guide the work of the team that will undertake them, leaving the team more criteria for the methods and techniques that must be used to achieve them. As a general rule, when carrying out these studies, various causes will be revealed, which will result not in one, but in several direct and / or indirect actions for their solution.

For example, when investigating the problem related to the high rate of labor fluctuation of the cashiers of a chain of stores, they are found as fundamental causes of dissatisfaction:

- Working conditions and rest work regimes are unfavorable.

- Monotonous, excessively repetitive and alienating work.

- Existence of methods and management styles of supervisors that cause dissatisfaction.

- Payment system and incentives not linked to specific results.

In this case, in order to improve external and internal customer satisfaction and the economic results of the chain, it is necessary to comprehensively attack this work system, focus the process as a whole and consider the payment and incentive system that best favors it.

Once these general observations have been made, it is convenient to delve into the content, the components of the actions.

The question to answer in this case is. What should each action contain in its definition?

The answer to this question forces him to define what?, Who? (runs and directs), when?, What budget and resources needed? And what benefits should be expected from its application? If the design team specifies these aspects well, the action plan will be of higher quality and those responsible for the analysis and approval will have more elements to make the final decision?

The what? action implies specifying what needs to be done specifically, who? it must specify who or who will execute it and who will be responsible for its compliance, when? Will you specify the date, the time in which the action in question must be carried out? A transcendental aspect of the actions is the precision of the budget and what is necessary for its execution.Any action that does not have precise financing, has a high probability of not being executed or failing, this aspect being one of the most recurrent in cases of failure. When addressing the issue of resource budgeting, not only money financing should be considered, but also organizational and personal support, the dedication of time, the required participation, remember that many actions will demand a majority of this. It should be noted that in some cases it is even important to specify the How?, so this can be kept in mind.

Another relevant aspect that a good action plan must have is the assessment of its impact, of the benefits that it will pay to the organization, its workers and society. When focusing on this aspect, it is convenient to do it in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, commitment… etc. that it will generate in the organization, in the highest level of precision that can be estimated by the team, this favors decision-making.

The planning of the implementation of the actions is also an important issue at this stage, the consultant and team must plan taking into account the multiple existing techniques in this regard and considering the most successful in the specific case of the organization and the problem in question.

STAGE 4. APPLICATION, IMPLEMENTATION OR IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation, which is the fourth phase of the consultancy, constitutes a definitive test regarding the relevance and feasibility of the proposals prepared by the consultant in collaboration with his client. The proposed changes begin to become a reality. Things begin to happen, that have been planned or that are beyond planning. New unforeseen problems and obstacles may arise, or the erroneous nature of certain assumptions or planning errors may become apparent. Resistance to change may be very different from that anticipated in the diagnostic and planning phase. It may be necessary to correct the original design and action plan. As it is impossible to accurately predict all relationships, events or attitudes,And the reality of implementation often differs from the plan. Monitoring and administration of the application are very important. This also explains why professional consultants prefer to participate in the implementation of the changes that have helped to identify and plan.

Once the design team prepared the action plan and it was submitted to the top management of the organization and approved, the implementation stage begins. The implementation aims to implement the changes, that is: implement the actions derived from the solution strategy.

The tasks or activities to be carried out at this stage are as follows:

1. Prepare the conditions for implementation.

2. Implementation of each action.

The implementation stage in general is an execution stage where those involved and responsible must ensure that the planned actions are carried out in fact as approved in the most rigorous way possible.

Firstly, it is necessary to prepare the conditions required to implement each action according to the established deadlines, depending on the type of action the task will have different nuances.

The creation of conditions to implement actions classified as direct consists essentially of guaranteeing the necessary resources and the preparation of personnel for their implementation, and once this is completed, implement it.

In the case of indirect actions, the situation is a little more complex since it can practically lead the team that executes them to initiate a specific investigative process with particular procedures to be able to specify direct actions, that is, which practically involves everything. an informative / formative / engaging design jobhigh that has to be taken into account if you want to achieve success in it. For example, if the action consists essentially of applying a certain incentive system, the preparatory activities should guarantee that all those involved are informed and the final executors are prepared to carry them out systematically. In this case, in general, training actions must be implemented for managers and staff where each one acquires the knowledge and develops the skills to use it as it was conceived. The implementation as a whole will be marked by a component / Informative training / compromising of great weight.

In the implementation stage, various techniques can and in fact must be applied, giving priority to helping to plan and control progress, such as the Gant diagrams, those of the sequence or flow of activities and documents, as well as techniques of support for the presentation of ideas to be used in training. The implementation team must also ensure that all required documentation is prepared and made available to workers and managers, in terms of standards, procedures, etc. Finally, the follow-up actions necessary to assess the progress made in the execution and to correct any possible deviations are very important.

The top management of the organization must maintain control over the execution of the action plan and systematically evaluate its progress, for which it will use the normal mechanisms available as the case may be, and may establish others, if it so considers. It is recommended to prepare a central or general schedule that includes all the actions and facilitates the follow-up task.

STAGE 5. TERMINATION, EVALUATION AND ADJUSTMENTS

The fifth and final phase in the consulting process includes several activities. The consultant's performance during her assignment, the approach taken, the changes introduced and the results achieved will have to be evaluated by the client and by the consulting organization. Final reports are presented and approved. Mutual commitments are established. If there is an interest in continuing the collaborative relationship, an agreement on follow-up and future contacts can be negotiated. Once these activities are completed, the consultant leaves the client's organization and the consulting task or project is mutually agreed upon.

The stage also known as evaluation and adjustments as the last stage of the continuous improvement cycle has the characteristic of being practically the one that opens a new cycle. The objective of this stage is to assess whether the expected results are achieved with the application of the action plan in terms of organizational, personal and social objectives, as well as making the necessary adjustments to the action plan.

The stage of evaluation and adjustments in its content will therefore contain the fundamental aspects of the previous stages and it is the one that will keep the cycle of continuous improvement open forever. As the specific actions are diverse and generate expectations of results in different time frames, the results should be systematically evaluated from the existing information that is normally collected, this will allow senior management to have the necessary basic feedback.

External consultants will be able to participate if so arranged and agreed to in the follow-up, but they may perfectly well not do so and this task of continuing in the process of continuous improvement will be left to the managers, workers and internal consultants of the Organization.

No further study will be carried out at this stage because, as mentioned, its content is essentially similar to the previous stages. However, it is necessary to make some observations that can be useful at work.

In the first place it is necessary to internalize the need not to overlook this important stage because:

A great majority of the continuous improvement processes that fail are the result of the lack of consistency and improvement of their actions. The needs and therefore the reasons as well as the stimuli that satisfy them vary with time, the level of satisfaction and are heavily influenced by the changing environment, which implies new changes, adjustments to satisfy them, there are actions that are necessary at one moment and from an instant cease to play their role, and must be eliminated and replaced by another. the stimuli do not respond to a known mathematical equation and their appearance and systematization is generally not short-term, they require cut-off points, reflection points, and analysis points.It is vital that all the workers and managers of an Organization clearly perceive that the process of improving the stimulator system is alive, it is continually being perfected.

In the second place this enables systematic point of cutting evaluate and adjust cohesion of policies and actions of stimulation relative to and inside the internal environment - of the external stimulator system.

Taking into account these general basic considerations, the team and the management of the Organization will decide the procedure required to maintain and perfect the improvement program, and it is recommended that this process have a leader, a person in charge within the Organization, “owner” of the process.

Currently, it can be said that there are multiple approaches to develop the processes of change, but what is summarized here appears in a recurring way, sometimes with details or essential distinctions. In our personal experience and the analysis of various focuses, we observe some coincidental aspects, which are a regularity in all the focuses.

COINCIDENT ASPECTS OF THE APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

1. Consider the organization with a SYSTEMIC, INTEGRAL, STRATEGIC, AND ADAPTIVE APPROACH.

2. Put special EMPHASIS ON DEPARTURES, MISSION, OBJECTIVES FOCUSED ESPECIALLY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

3. Use the PROCESS APPROACH where everyone is a client and at the same time they have the next process as a client.

4. They adopt A CERTAIN MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY (TOC, Total Quality, Business Improvement…) with A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT APPROACH where senior management leads the process and all managers are committed to it.

5. SPECIAL ATTENTION is placed on the HUMAN FACTOR AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM with a strong emphasis on competencies and commitment; everyone's participation in management is an essential condition for success and training, continuous learning is its essential foundation.

6. A PROCEDURE is adopted to implement the process of continuous improvement (Know How) and a coordinating team is created.

7. Emphasis is placed on SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, taking advantage of the main tools and techniques available according to the possibilities, special meaning is the use of “cutting-edge (hard and soft) technologies such as IT, automation, systems and more current approaches such as DPO, Strategic Planning, JIT and ISO 9000.

8. Considering THE CHANGE with a CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT APPROACH makes this process permanent, consistent and all the actions are integrated into the daily work of the organization's management and therefore will become its management philosophy.

Consulting firms or groups develop and generalize methodological approaches of various kinds according to their experiences and theoretical foundations.

Today, the TOTAL QUALITY approaches are known and widely accepted with their different exponents, the approach of WORLD CLASS COMPANIES, THE THEORY OF RESTRICTIONS, THE COLLABORATIVE INTEGRAL CONSULTING, to name just 4 of the best known.

There are others such as the PERMANENT PROGRAM OF PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT (PPMP) (Pacheco 1991), the focus of PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF THE ANDEAN DEVELOPMENT CONFEDERATION (CAF) (Rodríguez and Gómez 1990) and that of CUBAN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT (CECM 1998) that have been so successful and widespread in Latin America in the 1990s and today. Other approaches such as the ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT / PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (DO / PMR) (Abramsom 1993) promoted by the ILO.

In our opinion, a competent consultant should be informed about these approaches and other advanced technologies in the field of organizational management and make the best of the contributions of the different approaches, which are generally compatible, although in practice Have a preference for a specific one of them or for a specially developed one, which must continuously adapt and improve it in order to be competitive in your environment and be able to better serve your clients. In this material and in the bibliography some of these main approaches are referred to, so that there is an approach and arouses interest in approaching them in a critical and constructive way. In our opinion, in this matter, nobody has the magic formula and the absolute truth,therefore it is valid to take into account the state of development of this matter and its main exponents.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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