Customer Reviews

Process Consultation Revisited: Building the Helping Relationship (Prentice Hall Organizational Development Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A very helpful book in explaining the concept of process consultation. This is one of the course texts for a nursing consulting course that I am currently taking. The author, a social psychologist, describes the differences between process consultation and 2 other models that are commonly used in consultation known as the Expertise Model and the Doctor-Patient Model. There are 10 principles that describe the essence of PC, according to Schein: Always try to be helpful, always stay in touch with the current reality, access your ignorance, everything you do is an intervention, it is the client who owns the problem and the solution, go with the flow, timing is crucial, be constructively opportunistic with confrontive interventions, everything is a source of data and when in doubt share the problem. The book describes all of this and more with excellent case studies.

This is the best book on "helping" I have ever read. I use it constantly in my work as an organizational change consultant.

I highly recommend Edgar Schein's work to every manager and consultant I meet. Schein's work is amazingly insightful.

Buy this one today!

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

This is the mandatory textbook for my Collaborative Learning Class at DePaul University. While it is mandatory, I would read this book independent of the class. Schein gives you a whole new way of looking at the consultative relationship. His method fosters better results for both the consultant and the client. A must read!

I thought this book was fantastic. It was so great to sit down and read almost the entire book in one setting. I took the entire Martin Luther King holiday and devoted it to this book with amazing results.


Not only was it refreshing to read such a small (but powerful) book, but I loved the authors avid use of short, paragraphs, acronyms (examples: p-c, OD, etc.) as well as, bulleted and numbered items. I thought this worked really well for providing the reader with vast information in an easy to read and understand format.


It was interesting that the books author; Edgar Schein, spent quite an amount of time in the book describing process consultation and the role it plays in organizational development by outlining his own experience. By utilizing this form of writing I was able to pull together ample information from both the concepts outlined in the book and practical application of them.


I really enjoyed Chapter Fours section entitled; Types of Coping Responses to Emotional Issues. After reading through the three basics kinds of coping patterns observed; I began seeking out indviduals in my work environment who fit particular patterns.

It was interesting to read that once individuals within a group open the lines of communication they can determine whether or not sharing personal feelings regarding other group members and work might be effective.

Within Chapter Seven, the thing that caught my eye was the author's avid use of powerful words to grasp the readers attention; such as; trust subordinates, professionalism, ambivalent, total leader and total group.

I am very impressed at how succinctly each topic has been explored and explained in depth with the help of real-life case studies. I would highly recommend it.

I'm a new grad going into OD work and I found this book very helpful. I plan to implement process consultation into the professional and non-professional areas of my life.

Ed Schein's book gives a very nice and easy to understand intro to Process consultation. It should be read by more consultants out there. I found his formulations simple and easy to understand and easily recognizable. I have sometimes wondered why I do the things I do in a certain matter - now I understand it better thanks to this book. It was a confirmation for me that what I do and how I do it is "OK" and I can carry on doing it. The book also gives insights into ways of experimenting with your style. Towards the middle section I found the book to be somewhat (over) detailed but for many readers this might be the right thing.

The book has pragmatic information that can be applied, and explains enough theory for anyone to understand where the consulting model is coming from. Well written by a leader in organizational development.

This little book is a gem. Always was and always will be.

Take off a weekend. Turn off the phone. Shut your email.
Take a big notebook and an big fat easy to-handle pen
and refurbish you mind gears.

A month or two later do the same with Career Anchors: Participant Workbook (Pfeiffer Essential Resources for Training and HR Professionals)

Shien shines on.. and so will you after letting his special sanity into your neurology. At One Big Idea Consulting Limited NZ Schein is always on our 100-Day Action Projects menu. Nutritional Food for thought as well as organisation processing.

This book is a "must have" for anyone who works with individuals in a coaching role.