C4C Ch 5 Understanding the client system (varied)

The process of examining how an organization operates in practice and its impact.

The unspoken rules, relationships, power dynamics, and agendas that influence an organization's behavior.

The impact of political and religious forces on how an organization functions and serves its beneficiaries.

A detailed analysis of an organization's financial records to understand its income, expenses, and overall financial health.

An instance where an organization, in its desire to maintain a positive image, may overemphasize its positive aspects and downplay its challenges or shortcomings.

The process of examining and understanding an organization's financial reports and accounting information to gain insights into its operations and decision-making processes.

Using financial statements to gain an understanding of the influence of donors on an organization's actions and policies.

An analysis of an organization's finances that can reveal internal conflicts, leadership issues, and other hidden aspects of organizational life.

Understanding and analyzing the broader context in which a client organization operates, including its external connections and internal culture.

Identifying and understanding the real, deeper currents of an organization's culture, which might not be immediately apparent.

Inspiring positive change within a client organization by creating a shared vision and motivation for improvement.

Planning and outlining the detailed steps and strategies for implementing change within an organization.

Supporting and guiding the client organization through the process of implementing the planned changes.

Engaging with the client organization, understanding their needs, establishing trust and building a collaborative relationship.

The role of the consultant in facilitating and guiding organizational change processes.

A collection of best practices and principles for effective consultancy, emphasizing a thorough understanding of the client system and the importance of a collaborative approach.

A structured process for gathering data from a group, often involving a series of questions. Used to understand overall trends and opinions, and to provide a starting point for deeper exploration.

A planned series of steps designed to address a specific goal. It involves defining the problem, gathering information, developing solutions, and implementing them.

Open-ended interviews conducted in a semi-structured manner, allowing for in-depth exploration of specific topics. Provides rich qualitative data and allows for probing deeper into the participant's perspectives.

A process of reviewing past events, activities, and decisions to identify key moments or turning points. Provides insights into how an organisation has developed and what factors have influenced its current state.

The systematic process of collecting and analysing data to understand and interpret information. It aims to be objective, rigorous, and relevant to the research question.

Open-ended questions that probe deeper into the participant's thoughts and experiences. Used to encourage reflection and uncover nuances in understanding.

Combining different methods to gather data, such as surveys, interviews, and observations. Provides a comprehensive understanding by leveraging different perspectives.

The process of adjusting and modifying existing strategies or processes based on new information and insights gained through analysis and evaluation.

Organizational assessment tools are valuable instruments for analyzing an organization's strengths and weaknesses, offering insights into areas like governance, leadership, mission, vision, staffing, structures, systems, and funding.

Several models exist for analyzing and understanding organizations, ranging from popular frameworks like McKinsey's 7-S Model to more specialized approaches.

The Onion Model, a popular framework, visualizes an organization as a layered structure, with each layer representing different aspects of the organization.

The outermost layer of the Onion Model represents the organization's tangible resources, including physical assets and financial capital.

The second layer of the Onion Model focuses on human capital, encompassing the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of the organization's workforce.

The third layer of the Onion Model encompasses systems and structures that enable the organization's operations, including processes, policies, and organizational frameworks.

Organizational assessment tools are most effective when used in conjunction with other approaches and insights, rather than relying solely on their numerical output.

Organizational assessment tools do not fully capture the dynamic and evolving nature of organizations, potentially overlooking the impact of external factors and internal change.

Identifying the most crucial aspects or issues that require immediate attention.

A method of analysis that focuses on identifying successful practices and envisioning future improvements.

Understanding an organization's unique context and internal dynamics to effectively support it.

External factors like cultural context and relationships that influence an organization's functioning.

Understanding the connections and power dynamics within an organization.

Processes within an organization that are working well and contribute to its success.

Envisioning how processes could work even better in the future for improved performance.

Planning and designing workable processes to bring about the envisioned future.

Gathering information from people through conversations to understand their thoughts, facts, concepts, arguments, ideas, and the principles behind them.

Observing and understanding people's emotions, feelings, moods, experiences, and the underlying values driving them.

The process of obtaining insights from people's intentions, energy, direction, motivation, and will regarding a particular issue.

A method of gathering data through structured conversations with individuals, such as staff, leaders, board members, donors, beneficiaries, or stakeholders.

Questions that encourage thoughtful responses without being aggressive or accusatory.

Using pauses in conversation to allow individuals to think and share further insights.

The level of impact on a person based on the strength of their feelings or how strongly they deny them.

Observing nonverbal cues like voice tone, facial expressions, and gestures to understand emotions and feelings.