Kindred Todd Case
MGT 535: KINDRED TODD ESSAY
MANISH PURI
Organization development practitioners face dilemmas each and every day on the job, whether they are value-based or ethical in nature. In terms of values, OD professionals seek to foster a relationship with a client that is based on trust, collaboration, openness. The ability to incorporate the human aspect into each area of the job is just one of the value-based dilemmas OD professionals face. At any given moment, a OD professional may face conflicts from external sources as well as the companies’ own values for how to resolve issues. Some companies value lateral open exchange of information and problem-solving where as others might have a top-down approach for problem-solving. The OD consultant must work with varying environments to be effective based on the companies’ individual needs. The OD professional is often times challenged with how best to develop a plan based on differing sets of values from the companies’.
Another challenge facing the OD professional is that of ethics. When entering into a situation, the consultant and company have different values, needs, skills, and attributes on how to accomplish the change needed. This can often times translate into role ambiguity or role conflict that is like being in limbo about who is responsible for which tasks. Ethical dilemmas begin to surface once this occurs. Whether it be misrepresentation, misuse of data, coercion, value and goal conflict, or technical ineptness, the OD professional falls into a trap.
The innate need to want to help, the ego of the consultant, and the potential pressure from the consulting company directors, may all play a role in sometimes the consultant falling into an ethical dilemma. The Kindred Todd case did not articulate the exact skills and attributes of both sides; company or the consultant. Their values may very much be different and thus could enter the two sides into role conflict or role ambiguity.
In terms of the
MANISH PURI
Organization development practitioners face dilemmas each and every day on the job, whether they are value-based or ethical in nature. In terms of values, OD professionals seek to foster a relationship with a client that is based on trust, collaboration, openness. The ability to incorporate the human aspect into each area of the job is just one of the value-based dilemmas OD professionals face. At any given moment, a OD professional may face conflicts from external sources as well as the companies’ own values for how to resolve issues. Some companies value lateral open exchange of information and problem-solving where as others might have a top-down approach for problem-solving. The OD consultant must work with varying environments to be effective based on the companies’ individual needs. The OD professional is often times challenged with how best to develop a plan based on differing sets of values from the companies’.
Another challenge facing the OD professional is that of ethics. When entering into a situation, the consultant and company have different values, needs, skills, and attributes on how to accomplish the change needed. This can often times translate into role ambiguity or role conflict that is like being in limbo about who is responsible for which tasks. Ethical dilemmas begin to surface once this occurs. Whether it be misrepresentation, misuse of data, coercion, value and goal conflict, or technical ineptness, the OD professional falls into a trap.
The innate need to want to help, the ego of the consultant, and the potential pressure from the consulting company directors, may all play a role in sometimes the consultant falling into an ethical dilemma. The Kindred Todd case did not articulate the exact skills and attributes of both sides; company or the consultant. Their values may very much be different and thus could enter the two sides into role conflict or role ambiguity.
In terms of the