Advances In Consulting Research

This book brings together cutting-edge research on consulting in a single volume, thus helping to make the state-of-the-art in the field of consulting research more accessible, to promote better practices in business, and to spark further research. The respective articles approach consulting from very different angles, taking into account various approaches for and fields of consulting, consulting providers, clients and markets, as well as technologies and trends. The book will benefit all consultants who want to critically reflect on their own methods and approaches in light of recent scientific findings. It also offers a helpful guide for students in Management and IT-related courses who are either considering a career in consulting or want to be informed consulting clients. Lastly, the book provides a comprehensive review of current developments and trends in consulting that will foster future contributions in this important research field.

This book brings together cutting-edge research on consulting in a single volume, thus helping to make the state-of-the-art in the field of consulting research more accessible, to promote better practices in business, and to spark further research. The respective articles approach consulting from very different angles, taking into account various approaches for and fields of consulting, consulting providers, clients and markets, as well as technologies and trends. The book will benefit all consultants who want to critically reflect on their own methods and approaches in light of recent scientific findings. It also offers a helpful guide for students in Management and IT-related courses who are either considering a career in consulting or want to be informed consulting clients. Lastly, the book provides a comprehensive review of current developments and trends in consulting that will foster future contributions in this important research field.

This book discusses the opportunities and conditions that digital technology provides to extend, innovate and differentiate the services offered by consulting companies. It introduces suitable artefacts like web-based consulting platforms, consulting applications, semantic technologies and tools for data mining and collaboration. Furthermore it examines concepts to evaluate the virtualization of consulting processes and showcases how solutions can be developed to blend traditional and digital consulting models. Presenting state-of-the-art research and providing a comprehensive overview of the methods and techniques needed for digital transformation in the consulting industry, the book serves as both a guide and a roadmap for innovative consulting companies.

Current and future issues in the global accounting/consulting, business opportunity, and credit rating agency (CRA) industries can have significant multiplier-effects on international trade, sustainable growth, and compliance (as physical phenomena). These three industries are among the most international and human-capital-intensive of all service industries. In these industries, analysis of business models and industry dynamics can provide insights about how human-computer interaction (HCI) and contract theory affect the evolution of financial market ecosystems and cross-border information flows, and how business models, work-allocation mechanisms, and liability allocation can evolve to manage change. An often-overlooked issue is that non-performing loans (NPLs), sustainability, and CRA efficiency can be significantly affected by business processes, corporate strategy, and HCI in industry ecosystems, multinational corporations (MNCs), and economic systems. Complex Systems and Sustainability in the Global Auditing, Consulting, and Credit Rating Agency Industries compares these three industries and introduces theories of public policy and “inter-business” processes. The book links industry structure, complex systems (including networks), behavioral game theory, structural changes, and antitrust problems to sustainability and the efficiency of pollution-remediation systems. The book introduces new “informal algorithms” and business/resource-allocation models that solve social-choice problems, and also contravene “impossibility theorems” that are at the core of modern computer science and mechanism design. This book is essential for professors and masters/PhD-level students and employees (in industry, financial services, research institutes, consulting firms, and government agencies) who are interested in industrial mathematics and theoretical computer science.

Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen have won the 2019 Danish communication prize (KOM-pris) for their world-class research in organisational crises, crisis management and crisis communication. This prize is awarded by The Danish Union of Journalists (Dansk Journalistforbund) and Kforum. http://mgmt.au.dk/nyheder/nyheder/news-item/artikel/finn-frandsen-and-winni-johansen-win-the-kom-pris-2019/ The aim of this handbook is to provide an up-to-date introduction to the discipline of crisis communication. Based on the most recent international research and through a series of levels (from the textual to the inter-societal level), this handbook introduces the reader to the most important concepts, models, theories and debates within the field of crisis communication. Crisis communication is a young and very vibrant field of research and practice. It is therefore crucial that researchers, students and practitioners have access to presentations and discussions of the most recent research. Like the other handbooks in the HOCS series, this handbook contains a general introduction, a chapter on the history of crisis communication research, a series of thematic chapters on crisis communication research at various levels, a chapter perspectives, a glossary of key terms, and lists of further reading for each chapter (with references to publications in English, German, and French). Overview Section I – Introducing the field General introduction A brief history of crisis management and crisis communication: From organizational practice to academic discipline Reframing the field: Public crisis management, political crisis management, and corporate crisis management Section II – Between text and context Image repair theory Situational crisis communication theory: Influences, provenance, evolution, and prospects Contingency theory: Evolution from a public relations theory to a theory of strategic conflict management Discourse of renewal: Understanding the theory’s implications for the field of crisis communication Making sense of crisis sensemaking theory: Weick’s contributions to the study of crisis communication Arenas and voices in organizational crisis communication: How far have we come? Visual crisis communication Section III – Organizational level To minimize or mobilize? The trade-offs associated with the crisis communication process Internal crisis communication: On current and future research Whistleblowing in organizations Employee reactions to negative media coverage Crisis communication and organizational resilience Section IV – Interorganizational level Fixing the broken link: Communication strategies for supply chain crises Reputational interdependence and spillover: Exploring the contextual challenges of spillover crisis response Crisis management consulting: An emerging field of study Section V – Societal level Crisis and emergency risk communication: Past, present, and future Crisis communication in public organizations Communicating and managing crisis in the world of politics Crisis communication and the political scandal Crisis communication and social media: Short history of the evolution of social media in crisis communication Mass media and their symbiotic relationship with crisis Section VI – Intersocietal level Should CEOs of multinationals be spokespersons during an overseas product harm crisis? Intercultural and multicultural approaches to crisis communication Section VII – Critical approaches Ethics in crisis communication Section VIII – The future The future of organizational crises, crisis management and crisis communication For a detailed table of contents, please see here.

This is the first book to address the specific needs and challenges faced by high-level consultants, who work on very complex projects and must win the confidence of the most senior leaders in organizations. Advanced consulting requires both expertise and personal qualifications that are distinct from those needed in everyday consulting. Advanced consultants work with high-level executive teams on complex issues such as strategy, organizational design, merger integration, digital disruption, culture change, and system-wide transformation. While neophyte consultants are often given a playbook to follow, advanced consultants need to invent methods that take full advantage of the opportunities that their work with clients presents. There is an art to advanced consulting as well as a science; who you are is as important as what you do. Bill Pasmore draws on his four decades of experience as a consultant and teacher of consultants to show readers how to see possibilities that are not evident, conduct analyses that support the value of more comprehensive work, build relationships that engender deeper trust, adapt to changing circumstances, and empower members of their team to take independent actions while maintaining overall control of an engagement. Illustrated with vivid real-world examples and including a self-assessment to measure your progress, this book equips you to advance to more senior positions in your firm or to build a successful independent practice.

Consulting skills help researchers frame and define research projects, manage the social research process, engage with stakeholders and influence change. This practitioner-oriented text is the first to help social researchers and those active in the social research sector develop these skills. Drawing from the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes’ consulting competence framework, it will aid understanding of effective consulting skills in the UK and international social research community and will be invaluable for all those commissioning, managing and conducting social research.

What distinguishes the consulting of experienced family doctors from their newly qualified colleagues? The question is often frustratingly hard answer clearly or objectively: unlike many professions, family doctors face a dearth of clear expectations of what constitutes advanced practice, a lack of defined standards against which to evaluate it, and an absence of expertise-related professional training in which to develop it post-certification. The model of consultation excellence outlined in this book illustrates in practical terms how advanced consulting can be nurtured. It avoids tantalising value judgement such as 'excellence'. Instead, it describes behaviours in terms that can be observed day to day, providing a detailed picture of what constitutes advanced consulting behaviour, how family doctors can be helped to acquire these higher levels of expertise, and how changes in behaviour can be identified and evaluated. "Advanced Consulting in Family Medicine" is written in handbook form for easy access and use, and provides a vital vision of higher order family doctor consulting.