The study aimed to develop the knowledge and provide a broader understanding of how management consultants (MC) manage strategic change, by examining their approach in relation to their function in strategic change processes. The literature review explored the function of MCs as change agents from four perspectives: standards setters, information sources, knowledge integrators, and knowledge brokers. Highlighting the client-consultant relationship as an aspect within their function. Additionally, the planned and emergent approach to change was presented. Based on the presented concepts, a conceptual framework was developed. A qualitative approach was taken where semi-structured interviews were conducted with MCs from different consulting firms to gather relevant data. Finally, the data was structured and thematically analyzed through our conceptual model.   There is no one-size-fits-all regarding managing strategic change. MCs focus on recognizing the unique context of each change process and client, implying that the MCs can function differently in different change processes. Furthermore, MCs approach strategic change processes in relation to their function as change agents by utilizing activities from both planned- and emergent activities, depending on the specific function they perceive they have.

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Många ERP-implementeringsprojekt går över planerad budget och planerade tidsramar. Tidigare forskning har resulterat i ett ramverk av kritiska framgångsfaktorer som bör beaktas under ett implementeringsprojekt. Hur väl stämmer denna tidigare utvecklade teoretiska bild av kritiska framgångsfaktorer överens med svenska ERP-konsulters bild av implementeringsarbetet idag? Syftet är att klargöra om ett tidigare utvecklat ramverk av kritiska framgångsfaktorer är aktuellt för dagens ERP-implementeringar. En litteraturstudie utfördes och följdes av fem kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer på fem etablerade svenska ERP-konsultfirmor. Studien noterade flera likheter mellan det teoretiska ramverket samt uppfattningarna hos de svenska affärssystemskonsulterna. Områden som projektplanering ansågs vara av yttersta vikt. Ett antal skillnader upptäcktes också. Det ansågs kritiskt att personal har möjlighet att lägga ner den tid som behövs. Vidare ansågs god kommunikation vara en grundläggande komponent. / Many ERP-implementation projects require more time and money than expected. Previous research has developed a framework consisting of several critical success factors that need to be considered during implementation projects. How well does the earlier developed theoretical picture of critical success factors align with the picture of several Swedish ERP-consultants today? The purpose is to clarify if a previously developed framework of critical success factors are applicable to current ERP-implementation projects. A literature study was performed and followed by five qualitative semi structured interviews at five established Swedish ERP-consulting firms. The study noted several similarities between the theoretical framework and the opinions of the Swedish ERP-consultants. Areas such as project planning proved to be of vast importance. A few differences were also revealed, such as the great significance of having the time necessary as well as proper communication.

This study examined Black lactation professionals’ lived experiences navigating the human lactation workforce. Grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology and guided by Black feminist thought and critical race theory, this research unveiled the impact of various barriers that play a role in human lactation. While evidence cites the importance of human milk feeding, the voices of Black lactation professionals are often overlooked and marginalized, resulting in limited representation of Black lactation training practices. This study aimed to address a critical gap in the literature by centering the voices of Black lactation professionals. This research was conducted utilizing semi-structured interviews and a focus group with Black lactation professionals from various locations across the U.S. South. Participants represented diverse professional roles, years of experience, and lactation work settings ranging from hospitals and academia to private practice and government agencies. Additionally, reflexive journaling and document analysis were utilized in this study. In my research process, I applied the hermeneutic circle process through reflexive journaling to note my assumptions, biases, opinions, and reactions. The document analysis of two lactation textbooks allowed me to review and understand the content as it pertains to the materials used in the education and training of lactation professionals (Wambach & Spencer, 2021; Wilson-Clay & Hoover, 2022). Findings from this study revealed that Black lactation professionals used self-definition in their identities as lactation providers and were often made to feel like an “outsider within” the human lactation field. This combined with their experiences of implicit bias, microaggressions, and racism, manifested in various ways, such as being questioned on their competence or authority by both colleagues and patients/clients. Research contributors also reported facing significant barriers to entering into and advancing in the lactation field, including unsupported education and clinical training, limited mentorship opportunities, and financial constraints. While Black lactation professionals face challenges within the field, there were strategies of resistance and action that Black lactation professionals applied to navigate the barriers. Specifically, Black lactation professionals shifted the narrative of the dominant society within lactation with counter-storytelling, coalition building, and mentorship. These findings created concrete strategies to improve the experiences of Black lactation professionals in the field.

Text in Afrikaans / In teenstelling met die buiteland, bestaan daar tans weinig indien enige voltydse gemeenteboukonsultante in Suid- Afrika. Daar bestaan ook weinig indien enige literatuur wat op Suid- Afrikaanse bodem verskyn het wat handel oor die werksaamhede van die gemeenteboukonsultant in die christelike kerk/gemeente. Die gebrek aan 'n voltydse professionele gemeenteboukonsultant word as 'n ernstige leemte beskou in die verskillende fases van gemeentebou. In die studie word literatuur wat handel oor hierdie belangrike onderwerp, asook literatuur vanuit die bestuurswetenskap, teologies en krities bestudeer. 'n Aantal bestaande modelle word uiteengesit en teologies evalueer. Uit hierdie bestudering word op teologies-hermeneutiese wyse 'n voorbeeld-model voorgestel waarvolgens die gemeenteboukonsultant binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks die gemeente-analise, gemeenteprofiel en langtermynbeplanning in samewerking met die leiers en lidmate van die kerk/ gemeente kan afhandel. / At present, South Africa, in contrast with countries abroad has a serious disposition regarding the availability of literature dealing with churchgrowth as such. Due to a lack of professional churchgrowth consultants, churchgrowth had been neglected and a gap of deficiency has occured thus hindering the different stages in churchgrowth. This study is an in - depth, theological and critical study of churchgrowth as well as the managerial aspects thereof. Much devotion has been endeavoured upon this thus delivering a model example with which churchgrowth consultants could embark upon congregational analysis and profiling. In colaboration with leaders and members of congregations, long - term planning can be done. All this in a South Africa which had been deprived from this valuable service for so long. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical theology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:09:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Osmar Rezende de Abreu Pastore.pdf: 1217310 bytes, checksum: 951f027b8976730660b3eb98132c4209 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-11 / This research aimed to construct a theoretical model for the company s internationalization with the intervention of organizing consultants. It was conducted through a qualitative research with unstructured interviews applied to nine business leaders who internationalized their companies using the consultant s support. It was found that the consulting firms, for the companies included in this study, had strong decision power on the alternatives adopted by its customers, enabling a new insight into the conditions of internationalization processes, studied mostly under the light of the firm s structural characteristics and their market forces. This study should be relevant to explain the participation of consulting companies in a framework that supports the study of business internationalization phenomenon with potential contributions, both in the theoretical and practical field. For scholars and teachers can contribute to a better understanding of business internationalization process, incorporating new factors considered in the characterization of this process. For researchers can help in creating larger models representing the business internationalization phenomenon, increasing the level of explanation of the phenomenon by introducing variables directly related to consulting activity. In addition, for business owners and general managers may indicate the need to create strategies to monitor interests and incorporate alignment elements of the consulting activities within international projects - or other types of projects that resemble them - in order to increase the adherence of alternatives offered to the interests of their own organizations. / A presente pesquisa objetivou a construção de um modelo conceitual para a internacionalização de empresas com a interveniência de consultorias de organização. Tal modelo posiciona as consultorias como elementos mediadores do processo de internacionalização de seus clientes, com forte poder de decisão sobre as alternativas adotadas por estes últimos, o que ainda não foi explorado de forma explícita em estudos anteriores e permite uma nova visão sobre as condicionantes de processos de internacionalização, estudados em sua maioria tão somente à luz das características estruturais das empresas que se internacionalizam e das forças do mercado em que atuam. Este estudo se mostra relevante ao explicitar a participação das empresas de consultoria em um framework que subsidia o estudo do fenômeno de internacionalização de empresas, com potenciais contribuições tanto para o campo teórico, quanto prático. Para acadêmicos e professores, pode contribuir para um melhor entendimento do processo de internacionalização de empresas, incorporando novos fatores a se considerar na caracterização deste processo. Para os pesquisadores, pode ajudar na criação de modelos mais amplos de representação do fenômeno de internacionalização de empresas, aumentando o nível de explicação do fenômeno por meio da introdução de variáveis diretamente ligadas à atividade de consultoria. E para empresários e gestores em geral pode indicar a necessidade de criação de estratégias que monitorem interesses e incorporem elementos de alinhamento da atuação das consultorias dentro de projetos de internacionalização ou outros tipos de projetos que se lhes assemelhem de forma a aumentar a aderência das alternativas oferecidas aos interesses de suas organizações.

Text in Afrikaans / In teenstelling met die buiteland, bestaan daar tans weinig indien enige voltydse gemeenteboukonsultante in Suid- Afrika. Daar bestaan ook weinig indien enige literatuur wat op Suid- Afrikaanse bodem verskyn het wat handel oor die werksaamhede van die gemeenteboukonsultant in die christelike kerk/gemeente. Die gebrek aan 'n voltydse professionele gemeenteboukonsultant word as 'n ernstige leemte beskou in die verskillende fases van gemeentebou. In die studie word literatuur wat handel oor hierdie belangrike onderwerp, asook literatuur vanuit die bestuurswetenskap, teologies en krities bestudeer. 'n Aantal bestaande modelle word uiteengesit en teologies evalueer. Uit hierdie bestudering word op teologies-hermeneutiese wyse 'n voorbeeld-model voorgestel waarvolgens die gemeenteboukonsultant binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks die gemeente-analise, gemeenteprofiel en langtermynbeplanning in samewerking met die leiers en lidmate van die kerk/ gemeente kan afhandel. / At present, South Africa, in contrast with countries abroad has a serious disposition regarding the availability of literature dealing with churchgrowth as such. Due to a lack of professional churchgrowth consultants, churchgrowth had been neglected and a gap of deficiency has occured thus hindering the different stages in churchgrowth. This study is an in - depth, theological and critical study of churchgrowth as well as the managerial aspects thereof. Much devotion has been endeavoured upon this thus delivering a model example with which churchgrowth consultants could embark upon congregational analysis and profiling. In colaboration with leaders and members of congregations, long - term planning can be done. All this in a South Africa which had been deprived from this valuable service for so long. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical theology)

Rex - den nya redovisningsstandarden. Ett examensarbete för kandidatexamen i företagsekonomi.Uppsatsens syfte är att analysera auktoriserade redovisningskonsulters syn på den nya redovisningsstandarden Rex och särskilt om den kan bidra till att utveckla yrket mot en redovisningsprofession.Data har insamlats genom litteraturstudie samt genom en enkätundersökning. Respondenterna till enkäterna är auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter hos Srf konsulterna. Enkäterna skickades ut till 300 auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter varav vi erhöll 45 stycken svar. Data från enkäterna har slutligen bearbetats genom z-tester och hypotesprövningar. Genom z-tester och hypotesprövningar kom vi fram till att en signifikant andel av respondenterna anser att Rex utvecklar yrket mot en redovisningsprofession. Våra resultat tyder på att Rex bidrar till att auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter utvecklas till en redovisningsprofession.Vår uppsats har bidragit med kunskap om huruvida auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter kan anses vara en profession. Brundin Franksson och Eisersiö (2011) kom i sin kandidatuppsats fram till att Reko var ett steg som utvecklade yrkesrollen till att bli en profession. Utgångspunkten var då den tidigare redovisningsstandarden Reko. En ny redovisningsstandard har dock lanserats och den här studien har därför baserats på den nya redovisningsstandarden Rex. Med vår studie har vi kommit fram till samma slutsats som Brundin Franksson och Eisersiö. Skillnaderna har dock, förutom att vi har undersökt olika standards, varit att respondenterna i studierna har skilt sig åt. Brundin Franksson och Eisersiö undersökte både revisorer, redovisningskonsulter och auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter hos FAR medan vi endast har undersökt auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter hos Srf konsulterna. Uppsatsen har bidragit med kunskap om yrket kan komma att utvecklas till följd av den nya kontexten. Uppsatsen har även bidragit med att fylla kunskapsluckor om Rex, då vi tidigare ej funnit forskning som hunnit behandla den nya standarden. / Rex - the new accounting standard. Final assignment for bachelor’s degree in business administration.The purpose of the essay is to analyze the views of authorized accounting consultants on the new accounting standard Rex and if it can contribute to develop the profession towards an accounting profession.Data was collected through literature study and through a survey. Respondents to the questionnaires are authorized accounting consultants at the Srf consultants. The surveys were sent to 300 authorized accounting consultants, of which we received 45 responses. Data from the surveys has finally been processed by z-tests and hypothesis tests. We found through z-tests and hypothesis tests, that a significant part of the respondents believes that Rex develops the profession towards an accounting profession. Our results indicate that Rex contributes to the development of authorized accounting consultants into an accounting profession.Our essay contributes with knowledge of whether authorized accounting consultants can be considered a profession. Brundin Franksson and Eisersiö (2011) concluded that Reko was one step towards developing the occupational role to become a profession. The starting point was based on the previous accounting standard Reko. This study has been based on the accounting standard Rex. We came to the same conclusion as Brundin Franksson and Eisersiö. However, apart from the fact that we have examined different standards, the differences have been that we have had different respondents. The essay has contributed with knowledge that the profession may develop as a result of the new context. The essay has also contributed to filling knowledge closures about Rex, as we have previously found no research that has already dealt with the new standard. The contribution can be guaranteed even if the results are not representative of the entire population.

Ce travail de recherche a pour objectif de proposer une lecture de l’intervention ergonomique et des modèles sous‐jacents à la pratique, à partir de la compréhension des spécificités du travail collectif des ergonomes consultants.Pour instruire cette question de recherche, nous avons identifié les caractéristiques du travail collectif, puis considérant l’ergonome consultant comme un opérateur, nous avons cherché à caractériser les spécificités du travail collectif. Pour cela, nous avons étudié les modèles d’intervention sous‐jacents à la pratique et nous avons recherché les modalités d’instanciations nécessaires aux particularités du travail des consultants energonomie.La problématique traitée est issue d’une construction progressive entre la pratique et la recherche. La méthodologie originale, développée dans ce travail, reflète cette construction. Cette démarche et les données rassemblées permettent ainsi de montrer que la compréhension de l’activité de travail des consultants doit passer par une analyse préalable de leurs déterminants professionnels. Celle‐ci permet de comprendre les modalités d’instanciation des macros modèles souples d’intervention, nécessaires à la gestion des variabilités des demandes traitées et des contextes d’interventions. Cette compréhension du travail des ergonomes permet d’appréhender pourquoi les ergonomes ne font pas tous la même chose et quelles sont les conditions favorables au travail collectif dans l’intervention ergonomique. / The aim of this research is to propose a reading of ergonomics intervention and of models underlying practice of ergonomics, on the basis of the understanding of the specificities of consultants ergonomists collective work.To address this research question, we identified characteristics of collective work, then considering the consultants ergonomists as an operator, we aim at characterising specificities of collective work. In this sense,we studied intervention models underlying practice and we searched for instantiations of these models that are required for the work of consultants ergonomists.Our research question has been elaborated through a progressive construction between research and practice.The novel methodology developed in this work reflects this construction. This approach and our collected data highlight that the understanding of consultants ergonomists activity comes through a preliminary analysis oftheir professionals determinants. This analysis helps in understanding instantiations of flexible intervention macro‐models, which are necessary to cope with variability of proposals and contexts of interventions. This understanding of the work of ergonomists helps in apprehending the reason why ergonomists have various actions and the favourable conditions for collective work during ergonomics interventions.

The trend to outsource the engineering functions in state departments of transportation (DOTs) to private consultants has increased in recent years. However, most DOTs do not have a strategic approach to the outsourcing of engineering functions or projects. This thesis addresses that gap by examining outsourcing decision-making in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and developing a rationalized procedure. TxDOT, the largest state DOT in terms of annual construction program,expends about 65% of its engineering on consultants. Staff from 18 of TxDOTs 25 districts were interviewed for this research, and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis is used to identify improvements to the current decision-making processes. A framework is presented for systematic assessment of the outsourcing potential of engineering functions, which would enable TxDOT districts to determine what engineering work to contract out cost-effectively without sacrificing core competencies. / text