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(I-Newswire) December 10, 2009 - Professional bodies and the professions face a variety of pressures at a time when resources are stretched. A new white paper “Revitalising Professional Institutes and Associations” suggests a realistic and affordable way ahead that could benefit both the professions and the many members of the public they serve.
The white paper’s author Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas points out that: “The various professions impact upon just about all of us at many points in our lives. We use or benefit from their services on a daily basis. Starting from scratch and re-inventing a new form of professional organisation could be a mammoth and risky enterprise.”
The Professor has drawn upon his research to assess current ways of operating and find a more effective way of undertaking the traditional activities of professional bodies and supporting professionals in the field. The new model of operation he advocates could simultaneously address multiple challenges and improve performance and standards in a number of areas. The model is based upon an established framework and the successful experience of early adopters in the corporate sector
The integrated and comprehensive approach uses a new way of managing the knowledge base of a profession, and associated tools to support the training, assessment and qualification; continuing professional education and development; communications; member updating; practice support; compliance and standards; and other activities of a professional body.
Coulson-Thomas has investigated practical ways of capturing and sharing what top professionals do differently. He has found: “A new generation of support tools can provide practicing professionals with easy access to the information and knowledge they require and day to day support to help them to adopt the approaches of high performers when confronted with difficult tasks.”
Support tools can be used to capture and share best practice and built-in checks can ensure compliance with relevant standards. They can also be designed to raise professional standards by ensuring that users learn with each application, while on-line up-dating ensures they are kept current with regulatory and other developments.
The new approach could both embrace and offer a more accessible and cost-effective channel for the delivery of many of the core activities of a professional body. Experience suggests that once set up a profession’s knowledge repository and support tools could be easily updated and managed by a relatively small team.
Coulson-Thomas’ investigations have found: “Implementation is manageable, affordable and achievable within an acceptable timescale. Benefits include greater understanding, improved performance, reduced costs, quicker responses, less stress, higher standards and enforced and evidenced compliance.”
The Professor believes: “Professional knowledge frameworks and support tools do more than enable existing activities to be undertaken more quickly and effectively at lower cost and offering a noticeably enhanced service to members. They also provide a new rationale for the professions and a new purpose for professional bodies.”
Coulson-Thomas is convinced that: “Professional bodies can be revitalised to such an extent that the heyday of many of these institutions that originated in the Victorian age may be yet to come. They can be instrumental in creating a better future for their members and the wider public.”
The new white paper “Revitalising Professional Institutes and Associations” can be obtained from http://www.cotoco.com/white_papers_cotoco.php. Examples of how support tools can be used to help average professionals to adopt the superior approaches of high performers can be found in ‘Winning Companies; Winning People’ by Colin Coulson-Thomas, which is published by Policy Publications and available from http://www.policypublications.com.
Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas is chairman of adaptation and an active international adviser and consultant. A fellow of seven chartered bodies he has served as Chairman and President of professional and representative bodies. His PhD was a comparative study of professional bodies and he was the founder director of the Centre for the Study of the Professions.
Colin is the author of over 40 books and reports, including ‘The New Professionals’, and has helped over 100 organisations to improve director, board and corporate performance and spoken at over 200 national and international events in some 40 countries. He can be contacted via http://www.coulson-thomas.com and his recent publications can be obtained from http://www.policypublications.com.
About Adaptation Ltd:
Overview
Adaptation Limited is a specialist director, board and business development consultancy which develops and implements corporate programmes and processes to enable organisations to become more flexible and adaptable in creating and delivering value to their customers. Hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals have benefited from approaches, methodologies, programmes and courses the company has developed.
Adaptation helps people and organisations to transform their performance in areas such as winning business, building customer relationships, and creating and exploiting know-how. It has particular expertise in supporting boards, reviewing processes and practices for winning business, building new models of organisations and introducing more creative and fulfilling ways of working and learning.
The dictionary defines 'adaptation' in terms of change or adjustment to new circumstances, ie. a change in structure, function, process, role, attitude, behaviour, etc., that produces better adjustment to the environment. The company Adaptation has helped directors, boards and management and entrepreneurial teams in locations from South Africa to Siberia and from Canada to China.
Services
Adaptation services to corporate clients committed to fundamental change include:
Strategy Reviews and Strategic Business Development
Corporate Transformation
Corporate Learning
Business Restructuring and Redesign
Executive, Director and Board Development
Coaching of Senior Executives and Directors
Knowledge and Process Management
Winning Business Reviews
Business Development Services
Clients
Adaptation clients include multi-national, international, European, North American, Middle Eastern and Japanese corporations, international professional firms and consultancies, entrepreneurial businesses, Government departments and public bodies.
Assignments include over 100 winning business reviews, process vision holder roles, director and board development activities, the re-design of the management processes of a well known financial services company, reviews of re-engineering and change strategies and programmes, and various board and strategy reviews. A portfolio of Presentations, Courses and Seminars are based upon this work
Adaptation has developed a complete range of corporate transformation assessment and review techniques, and implementation tools and methodologies, including a suite of process re-engineering tools, for a well known international company. Several thousand consultants in a leading international consultancy firm employ a techniques/tools manual edited by Adaptation.
Publications
Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas of Adaptation led and co-ordinated the European Commission's COBRA project which examined how organisations across Europe use process management, new ways of working and learning, and emerging technologies. Resulting methodologies include "The Responsive Organisation: Re-engineering new patterns of work" and "The Competitive Network" published by Policy Publications.
Findings of surveys undertaken by Adaptation for national, international and Governmental organisations have been disseminated through over 30 research reports, thirteen books, including Winning Companies; Winning People and Developing Directors, a handbook for building an effective boardroom team, and over 300 Seminars, Workshops and other Events.
Courses
Learning materials, presentations and over 20 course modules based upon Adaptation’s work and investigations into critical success factors and what high performers do differently in areas that are vital for corporate success are available for those designing corporate, executive and management education programmes.
International collaborations
Adaptation has operated strategic partnerships, and has co-operated with world class institutions covering corporate transformation and process and knowledge management which operate world-wide and across all EU member countries.
Presentations and courses have been given in some 40 countries.
Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas of Adaptation has held professorial appointments in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, India and China
Further information
Details of Adaptation services can be found on www.adaptation.ltd.uk
Details of publications based upon adaptation’s work can be found on www.policypublications.com
Company Contact Information
Adaptation Ltd
Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas
Mill Reach, Mill Lane,
Water Newton, Cambridgeshire, UK
PE8 6LY
Phone : +44(0)1733361149
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