Enabled by new technologies, firms are starting to shift from selling products to selling outcome-based services. In an outcome-based business model, providers deliver outcomes and work in close cooperation with end-customers to create superior value, more efficient and more sustainable solutions. Research has explored the boundaries to the adoption of outcome-based business models, but does not provide an approach to overcome these boundaries. To address this research gap, this degree project examines how the consulting industry can boost outcome-based business models by facilitating their adoption. To explore how consultancies can profit from projects related to outcome-based business models by generating valuable services to clients, a representative case study at Capgemini Invent, a large strategy and technology consultancy, was conducted. Semi-structured interviews with twelve experienced consultants from different backgrounds lead to the finding, that the shift of industrial firms towards selling outcome- based services, provides large potential for consultancies as they can sell a full range of services related to generating an understanding for the value created by outcome-based business models, supporting the value definition and value proposition within such a business model, and delivering alternative services in the post-implementation-phase of an outcome-based business model. I also find that consultancies have the capabilities and, due to the existent potential, motivation to offer services to facilitate the adoption of outcome-based business models but are nevertheless focused on generating short-term profits rather than actively trying to promote solutions because they provide social value. This project contributes to literature, by providing a perspective on how the development of outcome-based business models can be facilitated, which in turn is likely to lead to increased sustainability and social value. It also points out that consultancies – as knowledgeable leaders - have a major responsibility to take a lead on developing sustainable business practices to help solve some of our generations most difficult challenges. Let us hope they take on this responsibility.

The general aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between organisational culture and organisational commitment in a consulting firm in South Africa. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used on a non-probability sample (n=68) from an identified consulting firm in South Africa, utilising the Organisational Culture Questionnaire (Harrison & Stokes, 1992) and Organisational Commitment Scale (Meyer & Allen, 1997). The results were analysed using Pearson’s correlation analysis and indicated that there is no relationship between organisational culture and organisational commitment in the consulting firm / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Consulting engineers in South Africa are currently faced with numerous trends that have a negative impact on their business. The volatility of world and especially SA markets have caused investors to adopt a "wait and see" approach as to investing in large developments. The result was that private sector developments were lagging behind and forced consulting engineers to compete for the available work and inevitably suffer from reduced turnover. A further trend, and maybe more serious one for some traditional consulting engineers, was the change in focus by the newly elected Government in the mid nineties. With the focus on social and upliftment issues, government funds were allocated to new infrastructure developments associated with these issues. This caused a radical reduction of funds allocated to traditional areas like roads and bridges, an area where traditional consultants were predominantly positioned. Government also introduced various other policies, like allocating work to affirmative business enterprises, in order to level the playing fields. This, combined with the reduced available funds, compounded the situation for traditional consulting engineers. The above situation created many challenges for consulting engineers, of which the most important one is that of securing work for the future and competing for the reduced amount of available work. This brought to the fore the issue of marketing, an area that was not previously given too much attention. Market orientation is therefore proposed in this study as a solution to the problems faced by consultants. This study will examine the present situation, provide a literature background to marketing orientation, consider the relevance of market orientation to the consulting engineering industry, and then finally if it is accepted that market orientation is relevant, propose a model that could be used in addressing the situation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Raadgewende ingenieurs word tans aan verskeie tendense blootgestel wat 'n negatiewe uitwerking op hul besigheid het. Die onbestendigheid in wêreld markte, en spesifiek die Suid Arikaanse mark, het veroorsaak dat beleggers 'n "wag en kyk" benadering begin volg het met betrekking tot grootskaalse ontwikkelings. Die resultaat hiervan was dat privaatsektor ontwikkelings tot 'n groot mate afgeplat het en raadgewende ingenieurs gedwing is om mee te ding vir die beskikbare werk en onvermydelik gebukkend te gaan onder verlaagde omset. 'n Verdere tendens, en moontlik meer ernstige een vir sekere raadgewende ingenieurs, was die verandering in fokus deur die nuut verkose Regering gedurende die middel negentien negentigs. Met die nuwe fokus op sosiale aangeleenthede en opheffing van agtergeblewe gemeenskappe, word regerings fondse hoofsaaklik toegewys aan nuwe infrastruktuur onwikkelings wat verband hou met die nuwe fokus. Dit het 'n radikale verlaging in beskikbare fondse veroorsaak wat tradisioneel aan areas soos paaie en bruê toegewys was, 'n area waarin raadgewende ingenieurs oorwegend gepositioneer was. Die Regering het ook verskeie ander beleidsmaatreëls ingestel, soos die toekenning van werk aan regstellende besighede, ten einde die speelveld gelyk te maak. Dit, gepaardgaande met die verlaagde beskikbare fondse, het die situasie verder vererger vir tradisionele raadgewende ingenieurs. Bogenoemde omstandighede het baie uitdagings aan raadgewende ingenieurs gestel, waarvan die belangrikste waarskynlik die sekerheid aangaande toekomstige werk en die gepaardgaande mededinging ten opsigte van die verminderde hoeveelheid beskikbare werk. Hierdie omstandighede het die bemarkings-kwessie na vore gebring, 'n area waaraan nie veel aandag in die verlede gegee is nie. Mark oriëntasie word gevolglik voorgestel in hierdie studie as 'n oplossing vir die probleme waarmee konsultante gekonfronteer word. Hierdie studie sal die huidige situasie waarin raadgewende ingenieurs hul bevind ondersoek, 'n agtergrond van mark oriëntasieliteratuur verskaf, die relevansie van mark oriëntasie vir die raadgewende ingerneurs bedryf ondersoek en dan laastens, indien dit aanvaar word dat mark oriëntasie relevant is, 'n model voor te stel wat gebruik kan word om die situasie aan te spreek.

Marketing has traditionally been understood from the perspective of marketing management. This causes problems when we study marketing practices because the normative discourse of marketing management is not particularly useful for describing the day-to-day work of marketing practitioners. This calls for marketing research from new perspectives. Rhetorical business – A study of marketing work in the spirit of contradiction investigates marketing work in professional service organizations from a rhetorical perspective. The overall research question – What do marketers do when they do marketing work? – is explored empirically through conversations, observations and daily interaction and argumentation with professionals involved in the marketing of consulting services. The rhetorical theory applied in the analysis builds on the assumption that every reasonable argument can be met with an equally reasonable counterargument, which is not only how we argue but also a representation of how we gain knowledge of the world – namely, by contradicting it. The analysis is organized in three themes – situation, strategy and subject – that address questions such as Where and when do marketers argue for business purposes? What rhetorical strategies are used?, and How can the subjects of marketing work be portrayed? This is followed by a discussion of the analysis under the two headings persuasive marketing talk and marketing work “in-between”. This book concludes that marketing work is accomplished by self-reflexive marketers who argue for business purposes in, through and in-between meetings as they employ versatile and expansive language and enact contradictory selves. In so concluding the book contributes a multifaceted account of marketing work beyond the framework of normative marketing management. It also shows how rhetorical theory can be used in marketing research to analyse aspects of marketing practice that would otherwise have been poorly accounted for. Finally, the book is written as a “confessional tale” by an author with long experience of marketing work, in the hope that it may encourage self-reflexive inquires among professionals involved in marketing.

Applications of Telehealth in the practice, upgrading of knowledge, and communication of physicians with their colleagues and patients in Canada was explored in this study. The research used exploratory-grounded theory to investigate the opinions of practicing clinicians regarding the use of Telehealth. The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with physicians who were using or might in the future use Telehealth in their practice. This study was designed to assess the major advantages and shortcomings that Telehealth has to offer in the field of medicine. The research found that clinicians predominantly had a very positive view of Telehealth, although some minor concerns were expressed with respect to the use of Telehealth in private offices and the home (rather than in the hospital). The data indicated that Telehealth can improve overall patient care by bettering the speed and accuracy of communication and diagnosis and the subsequent treatment of patients, saving physicians and patients time and money, reducing waiting lists, aiding the environment, reducing emergency visits and hospitalizations, addressing shortages of physicians (particularly in rural areas), increasing access to specialists, and enabling convenient distance education. These are just some of the many benefits of Telehealth which outweigh its disadvantages. This study also was designed to extract clinicians’ opinions on avenues for improving Telehealth, which thus led to implications for future research. Barriers to the use of Telehealth were found to include concerns about security and IT support, lack of public knowledge of Telehealth’s existence, and installation and maintenance costs for the necessary equipment in the private sector. The study suggests that Telehealth will become more widely available and accessible to the general public. The study also proposes that, through increased governmental support and funding, Telehealth should be advertised and promoted, researched in more depth (in part, to discourage misconceptions regarding Telehealth), collaborated on by stakeholders, and expanded. / Graduate

Frågeställningar: Hur påverkas deltagarnas kreativitet när agila metoder används i praktiken? Hur påverkar agila arbetsmetoder innovationsförmågan? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur ett litet IT-företag arbetar med att främja kreativitet genom att arbeta enligt det agila arbetssättet, för att på så sätt kunna påverka innovationsförmågan. Metod: Denna studie baseras på en fallstudie. Företaget är ett litet IT-konsultföretag som arbetar med systemutveckling. Företaget har 15 anställda och arbetar enligt det agila arbetssättet och de har två Scrum-team. Detta arbete har sin grund i den kvalitativa metoden med influenser av ett deduktivt förhållningssätt, då studien huvudsakligen baseras på semi-strukturerade intervjuer och observationer. Slutsatser: Slutsatserna som kan dras är att det agila arbetssättet påverkar kreativiteten genom att öka deltagarnas motivation. Det agila arbetssättet påverkar kreativiteten hos de anställda, då det är fritt att plocka de uppgifter som man själv vill i varje sprint bidrar det till att det kan öka både motivationen och nyfikenheten. En annan slutsats är att det agila arbetssättet påverkar deltagarnas kreativitet då det ger de anställda en mer frihet att planera sitt arbete och ger de möjligheten att själva lösa sin arbetsuppgift på sitt sätt, genom att exempelvis testa nya tekniker. Det agila arbetssättet påverkar deltagarnas kreativitet på så sätt att det kan minska stressen utifrån för själva arbetsgruppen. Detta på grund av att det är produktägaren som har den främsta kontakten med slutkunden.Det agila arbetssättet påverkar innovationsförmågan genom att i och med att det ständigt kommer in nya arbetsuppgifter som arbetsgruppen ska lösa och då arbetsuppgifterna skiljer sig mycket åt, bidrar det till en ökad dynamik och utmaning. En intressant slutsats var att produktägarna skapade en ometveten utmaning kopplat till de anställdas arbetsuppgifter då de anställda ansåg att kravspecifikationerna som de fick var svåra att förstå. Sista slutsatsen som kan dras är att det agila arbetssättet skapade en frihet hos de anställda att själva kunna prioritera bland sina arbetsuppgifter och metoden som de ska lösas på. / Research questions: How are participants' creativity affected when agile methods are used in practice? How do agile methods affect the ability to innovate? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how a small IT company works to increase creativity by working according to the agile approach, in order to be able to affect the capacity for innovation. Method: This study is based on a case study. The company is a small IT consulting company that works with system development. The company has 15 employees and works according to the agile approach and they have two Scrum teams. This work is based on the qualitative method with influences of a deductive approach, since the study is mainly based on semi-structured interviews and observations. Conclusions: The conclusions are that the agile methods affect creativity by increasing the participants' motivation. The agile way of working affects the creativity of the employees, as it is free to pick the tasks that you want in each sprint, it contributes to increase both motivation and curiosity. Another conclusion is that the agile methods affects the participants' creativity as it gives the employees more freedom to plan their work and gives them the opportunity to solve their task in their own way, for example by testing new technologies. The agile methods affect the participants' creativity in such a way that it can reduce the stress from outside the workgroup itself. This is because it is the product owner who has the main contact with the end customer.The agile way of working affects the ability to innovate because it is constantly entering new tasks that the working group has to solve, and the tasks are very different to each other, it contributes to increased dynamism and challenge. An interesting conclusion was that the product owners created an unconscious challenge linked to the employees' tasks, as the employees felt that the requirement specifications that they received were difficult to understand. The final conclusion is that the agile methods created freedom for the employees to be able to prioritize themselves among their tasks and choose how to solve the tasks.

É inegável a importância das micro e pequenas empresas para a geração de riqueza destinada à nação brasileira. As micro e pequenas empresas brasileiras são responsáveis por uma parcela expressiva do PIB nacional e dos empregos formais no país. Porém, estudos demonstram que uma grande parte destas empresas são encerradas em um período curto de operação, não passando pela fase de crescimento e maturidade, por causa, basicamente, de falhas em sua gestão. A organização objeto desta pesquisa, da qual o pesquisador é sócio, passou pela transação de micro para pequena empresa durante o processo de pesquisa dessa dissertação e enfrenta o desafio de crescer. Desta forma, surgiu a questão desta pesquisa: \"Como tratar os fatores limitantes e impulsionadores de crescimento de uma consultoria e assessoria empresarial?\". E o seu objetivo foi de propor uma sistematização das iniciativas que iriam suplantar as limitações identificadas e que possibilitariam o crescimento da consultoria e assessoria empresarial. Inicialmente levantaram-se as causas observadas das restrições ao crescimento desta organização, elaboradas entre o pesquisador e sua equipe, são elas: recursos limitados, baixo nível de padronização e posicionamento sem clareza. Quanto ao método de pesquisa escolhido utilizou-se de pesquisa bibliográfica para atender ao objetivo secundário de identificar os fatores limitantes e impulsionadores de crescimento na bibliografia, assim como soluções para o crescimento. Dentre o referencial teórico se utilizou dos seguintes temas: as particularidades da pequena empresa e o seu ciclo de crescimento, as características empreendedoras, melhores práticas de crescimento observadas nas pequenas e médias empresas, especificidades da prestação de serviço em consultoria e estratégia e posicionamento. A fim de pesquisar melhores práticas para crescimento existentes em consultorias ou assessorias empresariais realizaram-se 6 entrevistas semiestruturadas com proprietários de empresas prestadoras de serviço e correlatas ao segmento da organização estudada que passaram por um processo de crescimento. Da teoria e das entrevistas foram elencados 9 limitadores do crescimento empresarial. Das entrevistas elencaram-se 23 impulsionadores de crescimento e estes foram relacionados aos limitadores, gerando uma matriz relacional. Por fim, para elaborar uma sistematização das iniciativas que iriam suplantar as limitações identificadas e que possibilitariam o crescimento da consultoria e assessoria empresarial foi utilizado o método de pesquisa-ação. Através dos limitadores e impulsionadores identificados, além dos exemplos práticos citados pelos entrevistados, o pesquisador listou 17 iniciativas que compuseram um plano de intervenção, ou seja, uma sistematização. Ao longo da pesquisa, 5 das 17 iniciativas foram implantadas na organização estudada e os resultados observados. A média do faturamento bruto mensal da organização dobrou entre o período anterior ao início da pesquisa e o período posterior ao início da pesquisa, denotando uma correlação positiva às implantações de algumas iniciativas do plano de intervenção, não se limitando apenas às interferências destas variáveis. As limitações constatadas para esta pesquisa foram a falta de tempo (por se tratar de um mestrado) de aplicar o plano de intervenção na íntegra e também uma pesquisa quantitativa para validar este plano. Como contribuição desta pesquisa, espera-se que empresários ou aspirantes, que passam por situações semelhantes às enfrentadas pelo pesquisador, possam utilizar-se das evidências práticas deste material aplicando-o em suas próprias organizações. / The importance of micro and small companies for the generation of wealth destined for the Brazilian nation is undeniable. Brazilian micro and small enterprises are responsible for a significant share of national GDP and formal jobs in the country. However, studies show that a large part of these companies are shut down in a short period of operation, do not cross the growth and maturity phase, basically due to failures in their management. The organization object of this research, of which the researcher is a partner, went through the transaction from micro to small company during the research process of this dissertation and faces the challenge of growing. In this way, the question of this research appeared: \"How to deal with the limiting factors and growth promoters of a business consulting and advisory?\". Its objective was to propose a systematization of the initiatives that would overcome the limitations identified and that would enable the growth of business consulting and advisory services. Initially, it raised the observed causes of restrictions of growth of this organization, elaborated between the researcher and his team, it are: limited resources, low level of standardization and positioning without clarity. Regarding the chosen research method, a bibliographic search was used to meet the secondary objective of identifying the limiting factors and growth promoters in the bibliography, as well as solutions for growth. Among the theoretical references, the following themes were used: the particularities of the small company and its growth cycle, the entrepreneurial characteristics, the best practices of growth observed in small and medium enterprises, the specifics of the service rendering in consulting and strategy and positioning. In order to research best practices for growth existing in consultancies or business advisors, six semi-structured interviews with owners of service companies and correlated to the segment of the organization object of this research, which underwent a process of growth, were carried out. From the theory and the interviews were listed 9 limiters of business growth. Of the interviews, 23 growth promoters were listed and these were related to the limiters, generating a relational matrix. Finally, in order to elaborate a systematization of the initiatives that would overcome the identified limitations and that would allow the growth of the consulting and business consultancy, the action-research method was used. Through the identified limiters and drivers, in addition to the practical examples cited by the interviewees, the researcher listed 17 initiatives that comprised an intervention plan, that is, a systematization. Throughout the research, 5 of the 17 initiatives were implemented in the organization object of this research and the results observed. The average gross monthly turnover of the organization doubled between the period prior to the start of the survey and the period after the start of the survey, indicating a positive correlation to the implementation of some initiatives of the intervention plan, not limited to the interference of these variables. The limitations found for this research were the lack of time (because it is a master\'s degree) to apply the intervention plan in full and also a quantitative research to validate this plan. As a contribution of this research, it is expected that entrepreneurs or aspirants, who undergo similar situations to those faced by the researcher, can use the practical evidence of this material applying it in their own organizations.

O presente trabalho tem como principal objetivo estudar a influência da consultoria em iniciativas de Fuzzy Front End (FFE). Para tanto, conceituam-se os principais constructos que sustentam a análise, quais sejam: FFE, Nebulosidade, Modelo de Gestão de FFE e Modelo de Tomada de Decisão. Com o intuito de entender melhor o fenômeno em questão, o FFE, avalia-se, através de revisão bibliográfica, quais sãos os principais elementos capacitadores em gestão de FFE para os processos de inovação de produtos em empresas. Nesse sentido, foi elaborado um modelo de gestão FFE, com base em modelo preexistente, aprimorado com modelos de tomada de decisão. Foram empregados a metodologia de Estudo de Caso e o método de Extended Case Method, aplicado a consultorias que executam iniciativas de FFE em empresas clientes. A questão de pesquisa a ser respondida foi: Qual a influência das consultorias em iniciativas de FFE de empresas clientes? Foi construído também um modelo de geração de ideia para entender a gênese do surgimento da ideia em iniciativas de FFE. Da mesma forma, foi realizado o mapeamento do FFE dentro da ciência da administração, mostrando que o FFE deve ser entendido como o motor de geração e seleção de ideias para quaisquer tipos de mudança, e, para isso, recorreu-se à Teoria da Decisão, a fim de fazer a integração do FFE com os demais temas de ciências. Como resultado, este trabalho traz uma visão do FFE, verificando a aplicabilidade prática dos elementos capacitadores levantados na revisão da literatura; um modelo de gestão da dinâmica de interação e geração de competência entre consultorias e empresas clientes; bem como o reconhecimento do valor gerado pelas consultorias em iniciativas de FFE. / The main objective of this work is to study the influence of consulting on Fuzzy Front End initiatives (FFE). For this, the main constructs that support the analysis are: FFE, Fuzziness, FFE Management Model, Decision Making Model and Consulting. In order to better understand the phenomenon in question, the FFE, it is evaluated, through a bibliographic review, which are the main enablers in FFE management for the processes of product innovation in companies. In this sense, an FFE management model was elaborated, based on a preexisting model, improved with decision-making models. We used the Case Study methodology and the Extended Case Method, applied to consultancies that execute FFE initiatives in client companies. The research question is: What is the influence of consulting companies in FFE of client\'s enterprises? A model of idea generation was also designed to understand the genesis of the idea\'s emergence in FFE initiatives. In the same way, the mapping of the FFE within the science of administration was carried out, showing that the FFE should be understood as the engine of generation and selection of ideas for any type of change, and for this, we used Decision Theory, In order to integrate the FFE with other science subjects. As a result, this work brings a complete view of the FFE, verifying the practical applicability of the enablers in the literature; A management model of interaction dynamics and competence generation between consultancies and client companies; as well as the recognition of the value generated by consultancies in FFE initiatives.

Bakgrund: Telefonrådgivning är ett av distriktssköterskans arbetsområden inom primärvården och innebär ett komplext och kort möte. Brister i kommunikationen är den vanligaste orsaken till att vårdskador uppstår och bristande kommunikation vid telefonrådgivning kan leda till felaktiga eller försenade diagnoser.     Syfte: Syftet med studien var att utifrån kärnkompetensen säker vård beskriva distriktssköterskors upplevelser av telefonrådgivning inom primärvården. Metod: Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med elva distriktssköterskor på fem olika vårdcentraler i södra Sverige. Intervjuerna spelades in, transkriberades och analyserades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys med inspiration av Graneheim & Lundman. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i fem kategorier. Tillit till erfarenhet, utbildning och kollegialt stöd som distriktssköterskorna upplevde som en trygghet och som ett stöd. Att inte räcka till handlade om distriktssköterskornas upplevelser av att inte kunna hjälpa patienterna som de önskade och att inte kunna motivera dem.  Tillit till digitalt stöd innefattade att distriktssköterskorna upplevde tillgång och tillit till den digitala journalen och riktlinjer. Tidens betydelsefullhet handlade om att tidsbegränsningen och att kunna ta sig tid är betydelsefulla faktorer. En säkerhetsrisk att inte ha patienten framför sig handlar om att det är svårt att göra bedömningar när visuell kontakt med patienten saknas och/eller vid kommunikationssvårigheter. Slutsats: Studien kan bidra till en ökad medvetenhet om möjligheter och hinder i arbetet för distriktssköterskor i telefonrådgivningen inom primärvården samt att det finns förbättringsområden för att kunna säkerställa en säker vård.   Nyckelord: distriktssköterska, innehållsanalys, säker vård, telefonrådgivning, upplevelser / Background: Telephone consulting is one of the district nurses area of work within primary care and involves a complex and short meeting. Shortcomings in communication are the most common reason why healthcare injuries occur and lack of communication in telephone counseling can lead to incorrect or delayed diagnoses.    Aim: The aim of the study was to describe, based on the core competence of safe care, district nurses´ experiences of telephone counseling within primary care.   Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven district nurses at five different health centers in southern Sweden. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to qualitative content analysis inspired by Graneheim & Lundman.   Results: The analysis resulted in five categories. Confidence in experience, education and collegial support showed that the district nurses experienced these factors as a security and as a support. Not being enough was about the district nurses´ experience of not being able to help patients as they would have wanted and not being able to motivate them. Trust in digital support included that district nurses experienced access and confidence in the digital journal and guidelines. The significance of time is about the fact that time constraints and time are important factors. A safety risk not to have the patient in front of you is about the difficulties to make judgements when visual contact with the patient is lacking and/or communication difficulties. Conclusion: The study may contribute to an increased awareness of opportunities and obstacles in the work of district nurses in telephone counseling in primary care and as it shows that there are areas for improvement in order to ensure a safe care.   Keywords: district nurse, content analysis, experiences, safe care, telephone consulting