Patterns of interaction between consultants and consultees in Israel

Each year, doctors, engineers, economists, scientists, educators, and technicians of all kinds go from the United States into underdeveloped areas in South America, Africa, and Asia, to act as consultants in planning programs of development in these countries. The success or failure of these plans does not depend entirely on the technical abilities and skills of the consultant, but is affected—sometimes adversely—by the emotional factors present in patterns of interaction between consultants and consultees. This paper discusses the problems of such emotional interaction in Israel, and describes methods for solving them.