The object of study of this essay is to understand the areas of intervention of the current consultant from a perspective of "Social studies on science, technology and society", which allows identifying social, political and cultural values, since not all Problems can be solved through Science and Technology. We will understand concepts in both a social and cultural context.
Introduction
Below I will explain the importance of consulting with this approach to social studies on science, technology and society. It is of utmost importance that the consultant takes these aspects into account, where companies and / or entities require the consultant's intervention.
Consulting Background
Consulting emerged during the Industrial Revolution due to the need to be efficient in the processes and methods of the production area in industrial organizations and these became increasingly complex, so more complex techniques were developed to make them more efficient. Thus the consultancy arises to achieve a balance of the maximization of the processes and has evolved for the development of any organization.
Those who gave great impetus to the development of consulting through scientific organization are Frederick. W. Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry L. Gantt and Harrington Emerson. They were convinced that applying the scientific method solved the production problems that arose at that time. So they advised and implemented viable solutions to improve the organization.
Taylor was the only one to become a full-time business-oriented consultant.
In 1914 Edwin Booz created one of the first consulting organizations in Chicago, which is known today as the Business Research Service. For the years 1929 and 1930 several countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia and other industrialized countries the consultancy was covering ground. And in the Second World War I formed an important role on behalf of the government and the army. In 1960 large administrative consulting firms emerged, administrators began to take a decisive role in the provision of consulting services, this was because these companies did not have the capacity to meet the needs of client organizations, and in 1975 the field of action with which each profession would contribute to companies began to be defined,For this reason, various multidisciplinary firms began to emerge that excellently cover the different problems that arose in companies.
In our country, Mexico, the profession of consultant was not recognized until the 1960s.
Background of Social Studies on science, technology and society
The origin of Science, Technology and Society (CTS) must be traced back to the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. In Europe, the philosopher of science Karl Popper advocated, against Marxist approaches, "the application of critical and rational methods of science to the problems of the open society" as the basis for democratic organization and social reform.
From the end of the 1960s, the set of these philosophical assumptions was radically questioned within the framework of an interpretative, evaluative and political turn that was socially consolidated, especially in the United States, and subsequently passed to Europe..
In the first third of the 20th century, the first social and historical studies of science were articulated, based on the sociological approaches developed by Marx, Scheler and Mannheim in their research on knowledge in general. Studies like those of Fleck, Hessen or Zilsel were part of an important sociological turn that was clearly manifested at the Second International Congress on the History of Science in London, in 1931.
The new approaches understood science, fundamentally, as the result of social interactions and their study focused on the sociological and economic contexts that shaped their development. With Merton, a sociology of science was established as an academic discipline in the USA, trying to find a compromise between the most critical approaches of the Marxist tradition and the most conservative of Max Weber.
Consulting Definition
The UK Institute of Business Consultants defines business consulting as follows: Service provided by an independent and qualified person or persons in identifying and investigating problems related to policies, organization, procedures and methods; to give appropriate measures and provide assistance in the implementation of these recommendations.
Cuevas Martínez, Ramón, La Consultoría is a professional service to which owners, company directors, public officials, even a single person, can turn if they feel the need for help or advice in solving problems (internal or external) with their environment and business turn.
“Business consulting can be approached as a professional service or as a method of providing practical advice and assistance. There is no doubt that it has been transformed into a specific sector of professional activity and should be treated as such. Simultaneously, it is also a method of assisting organizations and management personnel in improving management and business practices, as well as individual and collective performance. ”
Concept of Social Studies on science, technology and society
Social studies in science and technology, or studies in science, technology and society (CTS), constitute a field of work in the fields of academic research, education and public policy.
Science, technology and society (CTS) originates three decades ago from new trends in research in philosophy and sociology of science, and from an increase in social and institutional sensitivity to the need for democratic regulation of scientific change- technological.
Here it is a matter of understanding the social aspects of the scientific-technological phenomenon, with regard to its social conditioning factors as well as its social and environmental consequences.
The general approach is interdisciplinary in nature, involving disciplines from the social sciences and academic research in the humanities such as the philosophy and history of science and technology, the sociology of scientific knowledge, the theory of education and economics of technical change.
Science, technology and society today define a well-established field of work institutionally in universities, educational centers and public administrations in many industrialized countries.
Content
Today, consulting has been strengthened because it has many areas in which to advise and improve organizations.
The consultant can intervene in several areas, such as in the study of the company, in special investigations, in the elaboration of solutions for specific problems, to help implement a solution, act as an advisor and / or act as a process facilitator..
When the consultant studies the organization's resources, results, policies and management structures, he must take care of the social, political and cultural values, since these can affect the members of the organization.
Remember that the members of the organization are also members of society, a society that is governed by its culture and tradition.
We understand by society the totality of individuals who maintain relationships with each other. Thus, people share a series of cultural traits that allow group cohesion to be achieved, establishing common goals and perspectives.
The consultant, in addition to gathering the necessary elements to give his final result, must evaluate in his research that not all problems can be solved through Science and Technology.
Science and Technology must be understood as an essential part of Society, in both a social and cultural context.
In our country, companies that are dedicated to consulting only focus on reducing costs, managing fiscal operations, some of maintaining quality standards and having efficient production lines. They have neglected the social and cultural aspect, so the social environment must be strengthened as a comprehensive service in consulting.
This is where the Consultancy should favor the development and consolidation of democratic attitudes and practices in matters of social importance with due relation to technological innovation.
Currently, consultants cover a considerable number of services that they provide to their clients, from the processes and functions of senior management to personnel management. In this connection that exists between the different departments of an organization, the level of communication between them loses its social aspect. Technology plays an important role in this process, the use of the internet, short messages, work groups, chat, etc. You can miss the cultural aspects.
Therefore, to be a consultant, it requires preparation and having a social approach to science, culture and technology, both practical and theoretical, which is supported by knowledge acquired in professional life and in the classroom.
conclusion
This essay gave me to understand that consulting is a professional advisory service by qualified personnel and in which solutions are sought, prevent problems and make the systems implemented in an organization efficient.
The areas where the consultant works science and technology are fundamental in the economic development of organizations. Historically, civilizations have existed endowed with developed techniques and with little scientific knowledge. At present, it has become professional and the social and cultural aspects are taken into account. The consultant must address issues of social responsibility and gender equity. It has to be sensitive to the conditions of the organization without taking into account the cultural, social and technological aspect.
I can also conclude that the objective of the consultancy is to help the entrepreneur in advising for the solution to problems and in the processes of his organization, since due to the entrepreneur's lack of vision, he authorizes and holds the consultant responsible for providing efficiently and objectively, and teaches the client to evaluate their internal decisions. Therefore, the consultant must be aware of their social and cultural role within the organization, with respect to both internal and external decisions.
List of the documentary material that was used to prepare the essay
- Michel Crozier (Sainte-Menehould, 1922) French sociologist. Founder of the Center for Sociology of Organizations (1961), professor at the Universities of Harvard and Paris. He has specialized in the sociology of work, analyzing the phenomena of professional mobility and the structural factors of resistance to change. He is the author of The Bureaucratic Phenomenon (1964) and The Blocked Society (1970).Frederick Winslow Taylor, American engineer who devised the scientific organization of work, born in the city of Germantown (Pennsylvania) in 1856 and died in Philadelphia in 1915. From From a wealthy family, Frederick Taylor dropped out of law due to a vision problem and from 1875 he went to work as a laborer in one of the Philadelphia steel and industrial companies.Lillian Moller Gilbreth (Oakland, California, May 24, 1878 - Phoenix, Arizona, January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, whose work was carried out mainly in the area of industrial engineering. One of the first female engineers holding a Ph.D., she is arguably the first true industrial / organizational psychologist. Henry Gantt (Unknown - 11/23/1919) American theorist Born in 1861 in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. Mechanical industrial engineer. He is defined as a humanist, since even being a disciple of Taylor, he felt special sympathy for the underprivileged. He paid more attention to creating an environment that allowed him to get more cooperation from his workers by setting them a well-defined task.Harrington Emerson One of the most important and relevant figures that evolved Industrial Engineering was Harrington Emerson. This prominent personage was born on August 2, 1853 in Trenton, New Jersey and died in 1931. Definition of society: http://www.definicionabc.com/social/society.php#ixzz2O2vlP92YKubr, M., Business Consulting, Third edition, Mexico City, Editorial Limusa SA de CV, 2000.
