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Change approaches & management tools SeCtion tWo
Use
In common with similar approaches such as PESTELI and SWOT, the model is intended to be used as a means to facilitate discussion between stakeholders and diagnose aspects of the organisation that require improvement. It highlights the factors that it sees important within an organisation and is primarily concerned with coordination of tasks and staff relationships.
Strengths and limitations
As with all such ‘checklist’ approaches, its strength lies in its potential to stimulate reflection on a range of factors potentially important to organisational performance. The danger common to such approaches is that once an entry is made under each heading this may be considered to be the end of the process of reflection, bringing discussion to a premature close before the full complexity of a factor has been considered. Similarly, a common mistake is to make entries under the headings without reference to the underlying objectives of the organisation, and without informing any change programme. While the tool may be used to promote reflection, these insights will be of little consequence unless they inform wider organisational change processes.
In relation to social care change, Wiesbord's model will be primarily be of help in discussions with internal stakeholders in an organisation. It could be adapted to have a broader view which incorporates the perspectives of external stakeholders include people accessing services.
Further reading
1. Weisbord M (1976) Organisational diagnosis: six places to look with or without a theory, Group and Organisational Studies, 1, 430–47.
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