Here are some typical problems that organizations have invited Clay Alderfer to solve.
1. Two university officials representing different institutions are cooperating on a joint international venture for undergraduates. They are friends of long standing and find aspects of their friendship are impeding their work together.
2. A police department has recently undergone a major change in leadership-in both personnel and style--from passive and status quo to active and progressive. The department faces conflict between those identified with the old and new leadership groups.
3. A major corporation finds its diversity program is satisfying neither people of color nor whites. Both groups believe the other receives unfair advantages in how the program takes place.
4. A corporate information technology group is in conflict with the sales department it serves. The leaders of both groups act in ways that undermine the other.
5. A countywide social service agency faces conflict between business-oriented members of the board and human service-focused senior staff. The board wants more attention paid to financial numbers; the professional leadership is concerned about the effects of too much bottom-line attention on the quality of service.
6. Members of a consulting firm working with different parts of the same organization find themselves in conflict. The individual consultants re-enact perspectives of their respective subunits in their relationships with each other.
7. A family business is struggling with helping the younger generation (ages from late 20s to mid 30s) develop cooperative relations with one another in the business. The oldest and best-prepared male sibling has recently left the firm.
8. A university facilities administration department faces criticism from clients for poor service quality. There is tension among the top leadership team about the appropriate leadership style to employ with staff members.
9. A corporate board finds its meetings disrupted by a subset of directors who regularly leave meetings early. The practice prevents the new CEO from functioning effectively as the board leader and undermines the board’s confidence in his leadership.
10. An inexperienced younger organizational consultant seeks individual assistance to manage his relationship with the older head of the firm. The younger consultant is periodically subject to behavior from his boss that he does not understand.
