The purpose of this study was to replicate a study on consultation skills, done by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey (1995) while expanding the sample base to include teaching assistants and parents. The Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES), a questionnaire consisting of 75 consultant skills and characteristics, was used to survey the perceptions of 75 consultants and consultees (18 consultants, 23 teachers, 17 teaching assistants, and 17 parents) regarding the degree to which they believed each skill was important to the effectiveness of consultation. Results were examined for differences across groups, for consistency with the factor structure obtained by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey (1995), and to determine the impact of demographic variables. A follow-up telephone interview was conducted with 2 consultants, 3 teachers, 3 teaching assistants, and 3 parents to verify questionnaire results. The ratings of respondent groups were compared and contrasted across the top 15 ranked items and several consistencies were found to exist across groups. Parents were found to have rated all items generally lower than consultants or teachers. A factor analysis was completed using the 52 items from the original four factors (Knoff, Hines, & Kromrey, 1995) and resulted in a high degree of consistency with the original factor structure generated by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey. A one-way ANOVA was conducted and significant differences were found on three of the four factors with the consultants rating the items higher than the parents (p <.05). No significant differences were found across demographic variables. The results of the telephone interviews were consistent with the high ratings of many of the interpersonal and relationship-building skills and content skills identified in the questionnaire responses. Recommendations are made calling for future research to further validate the scale, and to confirm differences between respondent groups. The value of the scale and its contents are highlighted in the context of preservice and in service training for consultants. / Graduate

The high failure rates of new business ventures (NBV) negatively affect employment and potential contributions to the economic health of communities. The high NBV failure rate is essential, as NBV sustainability influences job creation and increases employment rates in communities surrounding the NBV. The purpose of this qualitative single case study, using the effectuation conceptual framework, was to explore strategies organization leaders in the state of Missouri used for sustaining NBV operations beyond 5 years. The sample consisted of 6 NBV consultants from a single Missouri NBV consulting firm who have sustained NBVs beyond 5 years. The 6 NBV consultants answered standardized open-ended questions via semistructured interviews. Documentation served as a second data collection source. Data analysis included Yin's 5-step process, a thematic analysis by coding interview text, reducing themes based on redundancies, and combining common themes. The data revealed mindset as a meta-strategy and included three subordinate themes of knowledge-based strategies, network strategies, and systems strategies. The findings from this study can benefit NBV consultants and managers to assess mindset strategies as a foundation for developing subordinate sustainability strategies. The implications for positive social change include the potential for generating tax revenues to strengthen communities and increase support of quality education, contributions to infrastructure and public service expansions, and collaborations for community partnerships.

Background: Digitalization and digital technologies are of significance to management consultant firms since they influence them and force them to reshape and improve their business processes. For that purpose, firms can use Business Process Improvements methods, such as process mapping, benchmarking and maturity models. The authors identified multiple gaps in literature which this thesis aims to address. One gap was the lack of literature focusing on the industry of professional service firms, like management consultant firms. Another gap was on a standardized management consulting process, and the knowledge of how digital technologies are being used within it. There was also a lack of knowledge about what performance improvements management consulting firms can expect when using digital technologies in their management consulting process. Lastly, there is no digital maturity model that is focused towards management consultant firms, that can identify management consultant firms' level of digital maturity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore, describe and explain digital technologies used within a standardized management consulting process, expected performance improvements through the use of digital technologies and the levels of digital maturity through a maturity model for management consultant firms. Method: A qualitative study with an exploratory and explanatory research strategy was used. An abductive approach was applied for this multiple case study, which was based on semi-structured interviews with nine different Case Firms. Findings and Conclusion: The results of the study developed a standardized management consulting process including following activities; initial contact, background research, current status assessment, present project plan, developing solution, closing project by implementing solution and follow up, feedback and lessons learned. Across the standardized consulting process, the firms used technology types of artificial intelligence, analytical applications, cloud computing, automation and web-based applications. The digital technologies are used for collecting information, collaborative presentations, communicating, collaborating to develop consulting solutions, storing and managing documents, managing projects, tracking time, analysing information, developing and sharing insights, and customer relationship management. Seven key categories of performance were identified, which could be improved through the use of digital technologies. The categories include improved knowledge transfer, increased efficiency, measurable value based impact to client, increased quality of consulting, increased competitive advantage, improved knowledge management, increased client reaction and satisfaction. Each of these categories of performance improvements can be further categorized into improvements of efficiency and effectiveness for the consulting process. Improvements in efficiency relate to improvements in the utilization of resources. Improvements in effectiveness relate to improvements in quality of the resulting client solution. The study defined four levels of digital maturity for management consultant firms, including researchers, beginners, adopters and leaders. The key dimensions for assessing their digital maturity include culture, strategy, organization and operations, technology and insights. Across the dimensions there are 15 sub-dimensions and 52 statements for self-assessing digital maturity. The maturity model may be applied by future management consultant firms for benchmarking position within the industry and identifying gaps, opportunities and vision for improvement in their own consulting process and performance through leveraging digital technologies.

Effektiva planprocesser är ett debatterat ämne till följd av bland annat stor tillväxt i landets storstadsregioner och ökande bostadsbrist. Debatten handlar om att det tar för lång tid att ta fram detaljplaner, där kommuner ofta skuldbeläggs. Många kommuner har svåra förutsättningar för samhällsplanering med tidspress kombinerat med tillväxt och höga målsättningar om produktion av planer. Denna studie undersöker vad effektiva planprocesser är, varför det eftersträvas och hur kommunal verksamhet kan effektiviseras. I särskilt fokus är Nacka kommun som står inför de svåra utmaningarna, men även två andra kommuner och statligt perspektiv vägs in. Metoden är kvalitativ genom litteratur-, dokument och intervjustudie. Resultatet tyder på att effektivitet inte endast handlar om tid utan även kvalitet, demokrati och genomförbarhet av en plan. De flesta samhällsmedborgare gynnas av effektiva planprocesser. Detta kan uppnås genom att kommunal verksamhet har tydlig organisation, arbetsmodeller, förmedlade prioriteringar, givande politisk process samt god relation och planering vid anlitande av konsulter. Slutsatsen är att effektiva planprocesser inte handlar om att kommuner tar fram detaljplaner snabbt eftersom långsiktighet krävs, men att effektivisering av kommunala verksamheter är möjliga. / Efficiency in the planning process is an issue for debate in Sweden resulting from, among several aspects, major growth of urban regions and increased demand for housing. The debate points at municipal planning offices and local authorities as being too slow in producing local plans. Many municipalities though operate planning under difficult circumstances with time pressure combined with growth and ambitious political goals on producing plans. This study investigates what efficient planning process is, why it is strived for and possible efficiencies in municipal planning operation. Nacka municipality is in focus as it stands before those challenges, but also two other Swedish municipalities and a national perspective are included. A qualitative method is applied with literature, document and interview studies. The result indicates that efficiency does not only include time aspects, but also quality, democracy and feasibility of a plan. Most citizens benefit from efficient planning processes. They can be achieved by municipal operations being clear in organization and working models, mediated priorities, useful political process and good relation and planning of hired consultants. The conclusion is that efficient planning process is not about municipalities producing local plans quickly since long-time perspective is required, although efficiency and streamlining of the municipal operation is possible.

Entreprenörer har egenskaper och förmågor som är attraktiva för många företag, bland annat har de ofta en kreativ sida som kan utveckla mycket innovativa produkter och tjänster. Samtidigt är entreprenörer drivstarka, kundorienterade, har ett uttalat affärssinne och ser oftast möjligheter istället för problem. Detta arbete gjordes för att undersöka hur entreprenörer skulle kunna påverka företag och om de skulle vara intresserade av att anlita en entreprenörkonsult. Man skulle alltså kunna placera en entreprenör i en konsultroll, för att sedan hjälpa företag att utveckla nya, innovativa produkter och tjänster. Undersökningen har gjorts genom en blandning av litteraturstudier och intervjuer, där personer från företag som Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Ericsson och Oracle har fått ge sin syn på området. Arbetet har utförts med hjälp av Semcon AB, där även intervjuer har gjorts med konsulter för att undersöka problemet från olika vinklar. Resultatet definierar hur en entreprenör kan användas som konsult och vilka egenskaper som är attraktiva för företag att ta till vara på. Dessutom berörs begrepp som intraprenörskap och innovation, där kopplingar görs till hur dessa förstärker företagens konkurrenskraft samtidigt som det underbygger entreprenörkonsultens möjligheter. / Entrepreneurs have characteristics that are extremely attractive for many companies, amongother things; they often have a very creative side which can produce innovative products and services. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are driven to succeed, customer-oriented and do usually see possibilities instead of problems. This study was done to investigate how entrepreneurs could affect companies and if they would be interested in hiring an entrepreneur-consultant. The study was conducted through a combination of literature studies and interviews, where people from companies such as AtlasCopco, Electrolux, Ericsson, and Oracle have given their view of the subject. The study  has been performed with help from Semcon AB, where interviews were conducted with consultants to examine the problem from different angles. The results define how an entrepreneur can be used as a consultant and the skills that are attractive for companies to take advantage of. In addition, terms like intrapreneurship and innovation are analyzed. Connections are made between these two and how they enhance  he competitiveness of firms at the same time as it enhance the possibilities of the  entrepreneurconsultant

This diploma thesis on the topic of the recovery process in individuals with a schizophrenic disorder presents the stories and experience of people suffering from schizophrenia and their road to recovery. The thesis describes the recovery process in selected areas of life - health, partner and family relationships, work, housing and spirituality. The theoretical part consists of three chapters and is focused on describing what a schizophrenic disorder is, the stigmatization of people with mental disorders, the topic of peer consultants and the approach to recovery. The practical part consists of qualitative research; data were acquired in the form of a semi-structured interview. The Clustering Method was chosen to analyse the data. The result of the thesis is a description of the recovery process in selected areas of respondents' lives.

Background: Due to the increased knowledge gaps that originate from rapid technological change, many organizations are in need of consulting services. As of this, the consulting market has had rapid growth, which has caught the attention of scholars. Previous research has identified an interface between knowledge and identity as two prominent concepts when analyzing the client-consultant relationship. Despite this, there is still a great lack of empirical insights regarding how these two concepts might affect this relationship. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore knowledge transfer within the client-consultant relationship by applying the lens of role identity. Furthermore, the research aimed to increase the understanding of the barriers to knowledge transfer, where they originate from,and how to overcome them. Method: This research is of a qualitative sort, where abductive reasoning has been applied in order to fulfill our research purpose. Furthermore, a single case study approach was conducted and data was gathered from interviews with both consultants and clients. The gathered data was analyzed by using grounded analysis, where insights have been identified by creating 1st order concepts, 2nd order themes and aggregated dimensions. Conclusion: The result of this study indicates that different idiosyncratic and conventional role identity meanings create mismatches within the client-consultant relationship. The concept of role identity ambiguity creates barriers for securing knowledge transfer within the client-consultant relationship, and knowledge transfer outcomes affect future role identity meanings. The result of this study contributes to already existing literature regarding role identity, knowledge transfer and the client-consultant relationship. Furthermore, the study presents managerial implications that will increase consultants' understanding of the barriers and suggestions for how to overcome them.

Denna fallstudie syftar till att undersöka effekterna av ett intelligent beslutsstöd på beslutsprocessen i en konsultverksamhet. Vi har utvecklat ett intelligent beslutsstöd och sedan undersökt beslutsprocessen vid kompetensmatchning av konsulter och kundförfrågningar. Vår forskningsfråga är således: Hur kan beslutsprocessen vid kompetensmatchning påverkas av ett intelligent beslutsstöd i en konsultverksamhet? Det finns studier som visar effekten av ett vanligt beslutsstöd och beslutsforskaretror att mer utvecklade beslutsstöd har potential. Dock studeras inte denna typ av intelligent beslutsstöd vanligtvis i kombination med beslutsprocessen. Syftet med studien är att bidra till forskningsläget, på grund av bristen på forskning inom detta område. För att undersöka detta fall behövde vi samla in kvalitativa data, som gjordes med semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer, före och efter införandet av ett intelligent beslutsstöd. När vi analyserade den insamlade datan användes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys för att hitta teman och kategorier, som vi sedan jämförde resultaten före och efter meden teoretisk referensram. Vi fann att det intelligenta beslutsstödet kunde tillgängliggöra informationen i beslutsprocessen som kunde frigöra tid. Utifrån det kunde tiden istället fokusera på utvärdering. Detta ledde till att beslutsprocessen blev mer rationell i tre av fyra steg. Avslutningsvis fann vi att det intelligenta beslutsstödet hjälpte beslutsprocessen att bli mer rationell. / This case study aims to investigate the impact of an intelligent decision support system on the decisionmaking in a consulting firm. We have developed an intelligent decision support system and then investigated the decision-making when competence matching consultants and customer requests. Thus, our research question: How can the decision-making process when competence matching be affected by an intelligent decision support system in a consulting business? Studies shows the effect of an ordinary decision support system, and decision scientists thinks that more evolved decision support system has potential. However, this type of intelligent decision support system is not usually researched in combination with the decision-making process. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the gap of missing research in this area. To investigate this case, we needed to collect qualitative data, which was done with semi structured interviews and observations, before and after the introduction of the intelligent decision support system. When analyzing our data, we used a qualitative content analysis to find themes and categories, which we then compared the before and after results with theoretical input. We found that the intelligent decision support system could enable the information in the decisionmaking process which could make more time available. With that extra time, the focus of the time could shift to evaluation. This led the decision-making process to become more rational in three of four steps. In conclusion we found that the intelligent decision support system helped the decision-making process to become more rational.

El presente estudio de investigación es para identificar qué canales de compra son los más utilizados por las mujeres que adquieren productos de Belleza y Cuidado Personal a través de catálogos en Lima Metropolitana. Se utilizó el tipo de investigación de alcance descriptivo con un enfoque mixto, con el objetivo de identificar los canales de compra que utilizan las mujeres y cuál es el de mayor relevancia y frecuencia. Asimismo, el tipo de diseño utilizado es No Experimental, Transeccional que ayudará con la recolección de información a la investigación. En el enfoque cualitativo, se desarrolló dos tipos de entrevistas en profundidad. La primera entrevista se aplicó a expertos en la venta de catálogos de belleza y que cuentan con consultoras a su cargo; nos ayudarán a comprender su opinión y su perspectiva sobre el tema estudiado y el mercado actual. La segunda entrevista en profundidad se aplicó a consultoras de belleza para conocer el modelo de venta y su influencia sobre las herramientas digitales. Con los resultados de los dos tipos de entrevistas se logró elaborar el cuestionario para el enfoque cuantitativo, con la información procesada se realizó un análisis descriptivo, de fiabilidad y factorial. Por lo tanto, se concluye que para las mujeres de 20 a 59 años que adquieren productos de Belleza y Cuidado personal a través de catálogos en Lima Metropolitana, el canal más utilizado es mediante una consultora de belleza; empleando las herramientas digitales como un refuerzo en el proceso de compra. / This research study is to identify which purchase channels are the most used by women who purchase Beauty and Personal Care products through catalogs in Metropolitan Lima. The type of descriptive research was used with a mixed approach, with the aim of identifying the shopping channels used by women and which one is the most relevant and frequent. Also, the type of design used is Non-Experimental, Transectional that will help with the collection of research information. In the qualitative approach, two types of in-depth interviews were developed. The first interview was applied to experts in the sale of beauty catalogs and who have consultants in their charge; They will help us understand your opinion and your perspective on the subject studied and the current market. The second in-depth interview was applied to beauty consultants to learn about the sales model and its influence on digital tools. With the results of the two types of interviews, the questionnaire for the quantitative approach was prepared, with the information processed a descriptive, reliability and factor analysis was performed. Therefore, it is concluded that for women aged 20 to 59 who purchase Beauty and Personal Care products through catalogs in Metropolitan Lima, the most used channel is through a beauty consultant; using digital tools as a reinforcement in the purchase process. / Tesis

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the different contract changes that potentially could be added to projects made on the road. For this study specifically, a project where a traffic circle is produced, is used as a reference. This is then further investigated by how these contract changes occurred and what type of temporal, economical and technical influence each and every contract change has on the project. By knowing why and how these contract changes occur, there is an evaluation made to list the different factors that entail the contract changes and different methods to prevent these factors which results in less appearing contract changes. Methods: The methods used in this study contains literature studies and case studies as well as analyzing documents regarding the project, calculations made and measurement values and lastly interviews with the different members that are involved in this project. Results: The results gave a perspective of what types of contract changes the project had and how each one affected the project temporally, economically and technically. The results also included answers from the entrepreneur, the client and the consultant for the interviews. It gave a perspective of their view on the project and their thoughts on the contract changes. By compiling their opinions and views one could detect the similarities and the differences. Further after gathering all of the previous results and comparing them, one could identify a common denominator where there clearly is a mismanagement and find ways to fix and evade the problems which results in less contract changes arising. Conclusion: All of the contract changes has been summurized and conlcuded in a UR-sheet. The following conclusions could be drawn from the framing of questions and results: there were a total of 18 different contract changes where as two of these were regulated from outsider factors. The rest were regulated through factors within the project itself, meaning they could have been either prevented or some what predicted and could have had a less of a effect on the project. All of the contract changes had some type of technical effect on the project however not all of them had an effect temporally or economically. The one that had most effect was UR_ÄTA_006 where this was regulated because of a previous project that wasn’t completed in time and stood as a hindrance for the roundabout. This contributed in extra charges, more time spent of certain moments and changes in the timetable. Based on the answers from the interviews, one could conclude that all of the people who are involved in the project think that there are some deficient working power in the project planning. As a solution to the issue, they sugested that one of the people from the entreprenuer side and the client should be some what involved in the early stages and work as a helping hand for the project planning side of the project since they have more experience in how the actual production of a project is done, thus resulting in less contract changes.  Keywords: Contract changes, roundabout, entreprenouer, client, consultant, temporal, economical, technical,, documents / Oftast inte