Company Profile
What is osb international?
osb international Consulting AG is one of the leading systemic consultancies in the German-speaking world and a pioneer in the field of systemic organizational development. Thanks to intense research and numerous publications, osb has stayed at the forefront of innovation in its field during the last 20 years.
The roots of our activities go back to 1985. That was when the former Research Institute for Organizational and Institutional Consultation became osb Vienna. At that time, our work was strongly influenced by the U.S. tradition of organizational development and group dynamics, Scandinavian labor sociology, and Systemic Family Therapy. In cooperation with leading experts on systemic theory, e.g. Niklas Luhrmann, Helmut Willke, Heinz von Foerster, and Dirk Baecker, we developed the term "systemic organizational consulting."
As our company grew, we developed different fields of expertise that allowed us to deal with a broader range of business issues.
In the late 1990s, we realized that we had to meet international standards in order to succeed in assisting our clients and in managing projects of a large scale. To meet these new requirements, we started to think about repositioning ourselves and began to look for suitable partners. This process resulted in the osb international Consulting AG.
The newly created joint-stock company and corresponding management structures made it easier to integrate further locations beyond the German-speaking world. Due to a larger regional presence and more personnel, we can now rely on our own resources when it comes to dealing with extensive projects. Moreover, we can support existing and new clients more effectively in their attempts to expand internationally.
Who is osb international?
If you take a look inside the company, you will find accomplished and experienced consultants. Their educational backgrounds range from Anglistics, architecture, Germanistics, psychology, psychotherapy, and teaching, to engineering, law, economics, and ethnology. All of our consultants have years of experience in the field of systemic organizational consulting. Some have worked in this field for decades.
To best meet our clients’ needs, we also work in a professional network of numerous national and international organizations, e.g. the Austrian Society of Group Dynamics and Organizational Consulting (OEGGO), the oldest German private university Witten/Herdecke, the Management Center Witten (Managementzentrum Witten), and the National Training Laboratory (NTL) Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, Alexandria, VA.
How does osb international support its clients?
osb international offers systemic consulting. This means that our consultants focus on the specific context of our clients’ particular needs.
- Our consultants are unbiased. They focus on the most efficient solution to a specific problem.
- Our consultation is based on scientific research. At the same time, we never lose touch with the practical and actual use of our findings.
- We employ innovative methods, without falling prey to every new management fad.
Our consultants consider themselves as managers’ sparring partners, and not as distanced know-it-alls. They help managers to help themselves, drawing their attention to problems, however unpleasant, and building on target-driven development impulses. As a general principle, they do not take on a leadership role. Decisions need to be made within the company.
We find it important that our consultants are able to switch between the process level (How?) and the content level (What?), depending on the corporate issue at hand. It is also essential that they are able to apply the appropriate tools to deal professionally with all related questions. One of our consultants’ key competencies is the ability to handle emotionally challenging situations without losing touch with the actual problems to be solved.
Continuing education and internal quality management guarantee that our clients constantly benefit from these competencies.
How do osb international consultants work?
Our consultants apply sound knowledge, high process competence, and proven content expertise as their main tools. Furthermore, they carry out their contracts with wit, humor, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, curiosity, calm, and confidence. In short: They have that little extra something.
Our clients can count on reliable, certified, and professional methods of scientifically based expertise. We are experts in building target-oriented social relations as well as in dealing with content issues on different management levels.
Our consultants not only apply effective management tools. They also make use of personal qualities when handling difficult situations.
Who are osb international’s clients?
Our clients are business managers who, during consulting or qualification processes, are willing to look at delicate issues and can cope with a certain amount of unknown elements.
For the most part, we work with international corporations as well as with medium-sized companies and non-profit organizations. We also provide consulting services to family businesses. Furthermore, we offer coaching for individual executives in highly demanding situations.
In which situations does osb international provide assistance?
osb international responds to inquiries made by (potential) clients. We determine the special requirements of a project in close cooperation with the client and adjust the time frame and location of our assistance accordingly. Depending on the project, we also assist our client with the process of internationalization.
osb consultants are capable of conducting consulting projects in intercultural settings and in different languages. They deal with cultural differences in a sensitive and constructive way, without losing sight of the entrepreneurial context.
Satisfied clients usually recommend our consultants to other potential clients. Consequently, most of our clients contact us directly. We are committed to a professional consulting process that results in a satisfactory solution. This explains why we prefer to turn down requests that we cannot fulfill or that would not provide any added value or benefit for the client company.