Overview

In moving from Step 6 to Step 7, we leave behind the orientation phase and proceed to the research and solution phase. The orientation phase focused entirely on arriving at a good starting position for an effective consultancy process. The investigation contract must now be carried out and produce solutions for the specific problem. A working plan has been drawn up and approved, and will act as a guideline.

There are so many different types of fieldwork project that it is impossible to study them individually and give specific instructions for each. For example, an assignment to reduce the stocks held by a wholesale company requires a completely different research approach from an assignment to develop a marketing plan for a new type of photocopier paper. For this reason, we will restrict ourselves in this chapter to a number of themes that generally apply, such as:

• Formulating the research questions

• Choosing methods for collecting and analysing information

• Dealing with a number of problems that occur frequently

• Supervising work groups.

Before we start, a completed checklist for Step 7 is shown in Table 10.1. This checklist does not give details of the extensive research process. The project planning described in Step 6 is the guideline. The objective is to at least obtain the information required to reach satisfactory solutions. The completed checklist is taken from a fieldwork study by a student in an R&D organization. To make sure the answers are properly understood, we also provide some concise background information...