In addition to performing the role of consultant, the manager may function as a
trainer. Here the manager helps organization members learn how to use data to effect
change. The manager, or outside change agent if one is used, has a dual purpose as
trainer: (1) to help organization members derive implications for action from the present
data and (2) to provide organization members with a new set of skills—the ability to
retrieve, translate, and use new data to solve future problems. Several companies have
hired outside consultants to instruct organization members on how to improve the overall
operation of their firms.