TABLE OF CONTENTS In the orientation phase, we have now come to the point where the relevant external developments, and the wants and expectations of the assignment principal, are known. Many people will now want to start working on the contract and the fieldwork assignment. As a student, however, you are still lacking several important items of information. There is no or hardly any insight into the:
primary processes of the organization
views of the other people involved
organization culture
differences and similarities in opinions about the problem and the readiness within the organization to contribute to working on a solution
extent to which people within the company have already worked on the problem and the reason they have not been successful
available research data
nature and size of the consulting work to find a solution for the formulated problem
support for the assignment and the approach.
Naturally, one can take the point of view that these matters will become apparent during the execution of the fieldwork assignment. This may well be so, but then you, as a consultant or fieldwork student, often find yourself in the middle of an area of tension, and your room to manoeuvre to clear up any misunderstandings or differences in expectations will be considerably less than at this point in the orientation phase. An example is given in Case 6.1.
A consultant was asked to take on an assignment by a canning factory. During the intake meeting he met the managing director, who told...
