Organizational Assessment: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Consulting

Organizational Assessment is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to assessing the health of an organization. Drawing on over 40 years' experience, Harry Levinson shows consultants and business owners what symptoms of the ailing organization to look for and how to analyze the resulting data. Using an "open systems" approach to diagnosis, Levinson teaches his readers how to apply this technique to the problems of any malfunctioning organization-be it a business, hospital, school or church. In the process, he manages to communicate not only the basics of his craft, but also the challenges, rewards, and subtleties of this important specialization. Both beginners and experienced consultants will find plenty of food for thought in this manual.

This volume is a substantially updated and distilled version of the author's classic, Organizational Diagnosis, which was in print for 23 years. It covers getting started and drawing up an agreement with an organization, as well as data gathering, classification, interpretation, and presentation. A case summary provides a real-life example of the author's approach in practice. Most importantly, the book includes a complete outline of the assessment process, which consultants will find themselves referring to again and again. Appendixes also include a sample final report and other material that will help the reader use the outline more effectively. This book will become the "bible" of organizational assessment both for consultants and for businesses interested in self-diagnosis.