Illustrations
Chapter 3
Role of OD practitioner
The role of the OD practitioner is varied and dynamic. Descriptions include; helper, advisor, sounding board, navigator, coach, facilitator, designer, developer, leader, consultant, expert, partner, problem solver, diagnostician, process specialist and collaborator. These roles can be practiced as an employee within the organization or as an external consultant. Internal consultants are the members of the organization and may be located in the human resource department. They perform the OD role exclusively and combine it with other tasks such as compensation practices, training or employee relations. The internal consultants have a variety of clients that includes both line and staff departments. External consultants are not the members of the organization. They typically work for a consulting firm or are self-employed. External practitioners are generally hired to provide a particular expertise that is unavailable internally to bring a different and potentially more objective perspective into the organization development process, or to signal shifts in power. Internal consultants have an advantage over external consultants because they have ready access to and relationship with the client, know the culture of the organization and have insight about the root cause of the problem. Apart from this, internal consultant have vast amount of information, reports and direct observations. External consultants, however, have the advantage of being able to select the clients they want to work with according to their own criteria. The contracting phase is less formal for internal consultants and there is less worry about expenses, but there is less choice about whether to complete the assignment. During the diagnosis process, internal consultants already know most organization members and enjoy basic level of trust and