Introduction
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 The proprietor of Company A Tech Solutions has requested the assistance of a consultant to implement a new organizational framework and to train staff so that the new and existing teams can function well together. There have been some developments at Company A Tech Solutions over the past few months. The company has expanded from being a completely online business to also operating from a physical store. They also included an added department to their employees to assist with the work of customers. After the additions, the owner discovered that there existed interdepartmental conflict between the two departments, leading to miscommunication and conflict within the organization. Due to communication breakdown within the organization, management was unaware of these issues with the staff members. Teamwork and employee morale have also been mentioned as areas that need improvement.
Case Study
In the transition phase from the disparity between the online support team and the physical support team during the recent sudden change that has been experienced by the company, the majority of the staff members are unaware of what their specific roles are, especially since the majority of them will be working in the same setting and operations managers are undertaking additional roles. The organization’s employees did not embrace the change, according to the organization’s owner. But Company A Tech Solutions has witnessed an increase in customers since the store opened, which amounted to a gain of about 15% of profit in the initial month relative to the median revenue that the organization had witnessed before the opening of the store.
Following increasing internal grievances, the owner of the firm is concerned that if the customers perceive that there is hostile tension among the employees, the firm could become hostile to receive technology repairs. All the decisions, as final as they are, in this small-firm are taken by the owner to whom all employees answer. This person requested help from a consultant and was eager to implement good changes as soon as possible, and therefore they hired a consultant. Through this, we can find out more about both the current organizational setup and the desired end product of their communication.
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
Despite the owner’s vast experience of the day-to-day operations of the company, they have delegated the management of the divisions to two managers, with one being responsible for online support and the other being responsible for in-person support. Being managers, they sit with their teams to ensure day-to-day activities and that all customers are taken care of. Since the owner has employed a consultant to guide the managers and workers in focusing in a better direction, they may not be willing to offer information if they feel that it will make them look like they are not doing their work. The support staff can also offer guidance to the consultant if management is not willing to give information because they already feel unsupported In cases where employees already feel unsupported or are not given guidance, we could possibly give helpful advice.
Consulting: Theories and Their Basis in Evidence
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 As a consultant, application of behavior theories is required in order to thrive because the behavior model provides direct guidelines and a problem-solving approach in goal establishment, attainment, and evaluation (Davis et al., 2015). In the case of Company A Tech Solutions, the good use of the application of utilizing behavioral theories is crucial, as it will aid, not only the consultant, but Company A employees to grasp better what behaviors must change in order for them to move the company forward. Davis et al, (2015), quote “the application of theory is advocated as an integral step in intervention design and evaluation” (p. 323).
Behavior change techniques in interventions are complicated to implement, but theoretical rationales for the implementation of behavior change indicate that behavioral intervention knowledge is important (Davis et al., 2015). Public sector practices tend to prefer increased use of individual and interpersonal factors over more broad social and environmental determinants of behavior in creating change and applying interventions (Davis et al., 2015). Therefore, theories of behavior are necessary to the effective implementation of change in the organization that will bring about enhanced interpersonal communication and stronger organizational framework.
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
The first theory which will guide us with the Company A Tech Solutions case, is that of the Gestalt Theory. A focus on an individual’s experience is at the heart of Gestalt theory, and it favors change in an organization (Nevis, 2010). Gestalt theory, formulated in the 1920s, was informed by modern thought and was explained on the foundation of field theory with the idea that all individuals’ experiences are the outcome of interacting with their environments (Chidiac, 2013). To tackle perception, Chidiac (2013) describes how Gestalt Psychotherapy Theory provides a viewpoint “that could advance thinking and practice concerning such new and emerging aspects” (p. 458). Through letting your employees share your experience with your company, Gestalt Theory will guide the consultant and the management in developing a stronger organization for Company A Tech Solutions.
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been conceived as a psychopathology model of an organized system of beliefs that can be activated and can affect cognitive processes like attention and memory (Hyland & Bodusek, 2012, p. 107).
As stated by Hyland and Bodusek (2012) in an article, the purpose for using CBT is to identify a core belief system which explains many assumptions and attitudes one has, thereby allowing therapists to guide the individual through processes which can be used to facilitate positive change and allow the client to modify their beliefs to modify the behavior. Clients or patients will be provided with exercises through which they can learn coping skills that will help them change their behavior, emotions, and beliefs (Hyland & Bodusek, 2012). Helping Company A Tech Solutions change negative tendencies in the organization and help them learn improved practices with the application of CBT, the consultant can help the organization and management improve.
The majority of consultants, according to Kilburg and Donohue (2011), take borrowings and use a or some central principles of Theoretical Foundations as part of their theory of what practices are effective in consulting with organizations and their needs since theoretical foundations of consultation establish fundamental pillars in leadership.
Gestalt and CBT share similar concepts compared to client-centered therapy and psychoanalysis. The idea is that successful leadership emerges from the personal traits and abilities of the followers, leaders, and other members of an organization through enabling past behaviors to lead and recognize solutions to present problems (Kilburg & Donohue, 2011).
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
Beidas et al., (2013) quote that behavioral therapists “dismiss the concept of the unconscious, rather than working towards changing the target behavior instead of trying to determine what the initiating events were.” The importance of Beidas et al., (2013) article is to show that patients, or even clients, are helped with the learning of coping skills, where they will be able to learn to alter their thinking, maladaptive feelings, and acting.
Unlike other psychotherapies, behavior and cognitive therapy are structured, while the behavior therapists never explain things in order to detect the problem but apply behavior assessment methods to correct the behavior and may include environmental factors (Beidas, et al., 2013). Though most individuals consider Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Gestalt Therapy to be very similar psychological modalities, there are some important differences in the approaches utilized for helping clients achieve goals within both modalities (Kellogg, 2004).
Gestalt is an open-ended style of therapy where issues are worked on as they arise, whereas CBT is highly structured, where Clients are encouraged to discuss a specific issue in CBT terms, which is typically conceived as a time-limited approach (Kellogg, 2004). According to Kellogg (2004), the most effective, evidence-based counseling strategies for a wide variety of psychological concerns can be used in organizational development as well as to give their clients maximum benefit when combined to work together in consultation as in this situation.
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Synthesis of Consulting Theories
Although Company A Tech Solutions is not an established company, it is going through major changes that are affecting the entire organization.
Gestalt theory and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help consultants better understand how they have already learned to adapt to change in their organizations and how they can learn to adapt in the future. The Tsoukas and Chia (2002), article presents the necessity of organizations to embrace changes and react to the present changes because an organization whose culture does not respond to changing situations will not be successful. Since environments under which an organization operates may become dynamic at any time, the organization itself also needs to become dynamic, as an organization is a pattern constructed, created, and arising from change (Tsoukas & Chia, 2002). Change can only be initiated by observing what happens in the present.
By helping a client become conscious of his emotions due to certain situations or environment, a finding can be established that can direct the transformation of their reactions or behavior, and enable their clients to realize that the self is something dynamic and is a product of the surrounding context in which they are (Tsoukas & Chia, 2002). For a poor experience with adapting employees to this current change, the Company A Tech Solutions owner has hesitated to implement other changes for fear of pushing back. Managers in some cases may not be conscious of the effect of how they themselves feel about change on their other employees.
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
Moreover, some of the principles of CBT can be applied to organizational coaching, in order to induce a more favorable climate for change, Egeland et al. (2019) believe that changing mindsets in an organization gets people to think differently about their thinking. Similar to how Gestalt’s theory allows the organization to react to change, cognitive behavior coaching can allow the managers and owners to make decisions based on facts and not assumptions (Egeland et al., 2019). Besides helping them overcome outdated methods, CBT can help them understand what new methods can do for them, further, it can help them identify and reverse limiting beliefs and build effective behaviors (Block, 2011).
Consulting Guidelines
In developing an effective change plan, consulting should instead act as an advisor, advising and mentoring people when necessary.
One good method is to employ a whole-client strategy (Block, 2011). As Block (2011) explains, a whole-client strategy is one that is meant to address a problem by involving most of the people who will be impacted or need to shift in redefining the issue, setting goals, selecting options, and identifying the best course of action. The people who need to adapt and thrive in the long term are the ones who decide what is best for them and what they need to do. It is essential to consulting since they are the ones who will decide what is best. Delivering objectivity and readiness to make clients confront issues they were not ready to confront before are the consultant’s roles (Block, 2011).
Conclusion
Hence, it is important that the consultant implemented Gestalt Theory and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to be able to assist the owner of Company A Tech Solutions effectively.
Both will be useful in helping the consultant and owner bring in an organizational structure and train employees further in an integrated manner. Lastly, the two approaches will allow the consultant to implement measures to allow the owner and Company A Tech Solutions to achieve their ultimate objective of having a well-structured entity with employees who can communicate well among themselves.
References
Beidas, R. S., Edmunds, J. M., Cannuscio, C. C., Gallagher, M., Downey, M. M., & Kendall, P. C. (2013). Therapists’ views on the effective components of consultation after training. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 40(6), 507-517.
Block, P. (2011). Flawless consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used. Center for Creative Leadership.
Chidiac, M. (2013). An organizational change approach based on Gestalt psychotherapy theory and practice. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(3), 458-474.
Davis, R., Campbell, R., Hildon, Z., Hobbs, L., & Michie, S. (2015). Theories of behavior and behavior change across the social and behavioral sciences: a scoping review. Health psychology review, 9(3), 323-344.https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO9320
Egeland, K. M., Skar, A. M. S., Endsjø, M., Laukvik, E. H., Bækkelund, H., Babaii, A., … & Aarons, G. A. (2019). Testing the leadership and organizational change for implementation (LOCI) intervention in Norwegian mental health clinics: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized design study protocol. Implementation Science, 14(1), 1-12.
PSY FPX 6730 Assessment 4 Theoretical Foundations
Hyland, P., & Boduszek, D. (2012). Resolving a difference between cognitive therapy and rational emotive behavior therapy: towards the development of an integrated CBT model of psychopathology. The Mental Health Review, 17(2), 104-116.
Kellogg, S. (2004). Dialogical Encounters: Contemporary Perspectives on” Chairwork” in Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(3), 310.https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO9320
Kilburg, R. R., & Donohue, M. D. (2011). Toward a “grand unifying theory” of leadership: Implications for consulting psychology. Consulting psychology journal: Practice and Research, 63(1), 6.
Nevis, E. C., P.H.D. (2010). Commentary I. A Poetics of Practice: Organizational Consulting from a Gestalt Perspective. Gestalt Review, 14(3), 301-304.
Tsoukas, H., & Chia, R. (2002). On organizational becoming: Rethinking organizational change. Organization Science, 13(5), 567-582.https://positivepsychology.com/strengths-based-interventions/
