External Consultants Research Articles

Matching Candidates to Culture: How Assessments of Organisational Fit Shape the Hiring Process

Organisational fit represents a crucial criterion in the hiring process. This article aims to understand how employers and external recruitment consultants define and apply organisational fit in professional labour markets, such as engineering, marketing and finance. It also investigates how the use of organisational fit in hiring can lead to social bias within these labour markets. It relies on semi-structured interviews with 47 external recruitment consultants who assist employers in these sectors. The article draws on Relational Inequality Theory to demonstrate how hiring managers and consultants use organisational fit to create and justify boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable candidates. Claim-making supports the rationalisation and legitimisation in the exclusion of groups of candidates. The article critically informs human resource management, business and psychology literature that perceive organisational fit as a largely benign criterion for recruitment. It also extends sociological and critical management literature by delineating three main exclusionary mechanisms in matching candidates for organisational fit.

Creating shared value through open innovation approaches: Opportunities and challenges for corporate sustainability

AbstractTo date, few researchers have linked open innovation approaches with triple bottom line corporate sustainability objectives in terms of economic, social, and environmental performance. A systematic review suggests that the businesses' collaborative relationships with external consultants or organizations can increase their competitive advantage, as external stakeholders could assist them in the development of sustainable innovations, diversification into different markets, and in the generation of new revenue streams. At the same time, they can support them in addressing numerous deficits in society. On the other hand, this contribution implies that an organizational culture that promotes open innovation approaches could expose practitioners to risks and uncertainties, like revealing sensitive information to outsiders, among others. In reality, it may prove difficult for the businesses to trust new partners, as they are not subject to their organizations' codes of conduct, rules, and regulations.

"We are the sun for our community:" Partnering with community health workers/promotores to adapt, deliver and evaluate a home-based collaborative care model to improve equity in access to quality depression care for older U.S. Latino adults who are underserved.

While depression is a leading cause of poor health, less than half of older adults receive adequate care. Inequities in both access and outcomes are even more pronounced for socially disadvantaged older adults. The collaborative care model (CCM) has potential to reduce this burden through community-based organizations (CBOs) who serve these populations. However, CCM has been understudied in diverse cultural and resource-constrained contexts. We evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of PEARLS, a home-based CCM adapted with and for community health workers/promotores (CHWs/Ps). We used an instrumental case study design. Our case definition is a community-academic partnership to build CHW/P capacity for evidence-based depression care for older U.S. Latino adults in the Inland Empire region of California (2017-2020). We aimed to understand adaptations to fit local context; acceptability, feasibility, and fidelity; clinical effectiveness; and contextual determinants of implementation success or failure. Data sources included quantitative and qualitative administrative and evaluation data from participants and providers. We used descriptive statistics and paired t-tests to characterize care delivery and evaluate effectiveness post-intervention, and deductive thematic analysis to answer other aims. This case study included 152 PEARLS participants and nine data sources (N = 67 documents). The CBO including their CHWs/Ps partnered with the external implementation team made adaptations to PEARLS content, context, and implementation strategies to support CHWs/Ps and older adults. PEARLS was acceptable, feasible and delivered with fidelity. Participants showed significant reductions in depression severity at 5 months (98% clinical response rate [mean (SD), 13.7 (3.9) drop in pre/post PHQ-9; p < 0.001] and received support for 2.6 social needs on average. PEARLS delivery was facilitated by its relative advantage, adaptability, and trialability; the team's collective efficacy, buy-in, alignment with organization mission, and ongoing reflection and evaluation during implementation. Delivery was challenged by weak partnerships with clinics for participant referral, engagement, reimbursement, and sustainability post-grant funding. This case study used existing data to learn how home-based CCM was adapted by and for CHWs/Ps to reduce health inequities in late-life depression and depression care among older Latino immigrants. The CBOs and CHWs/Ps strong trust and rapport, addressing social and health needs alongside depression care, and regular internal and external coaching and consultation, appeared to drive successful implementation and effectiveness.

A Psychoanalytic Institute's Response to Existential threats: A Case Study of Organizational Self-Inquiry and External Consultation.

The term institute is used inclusively here to refer to different organizational structures such as psychoanalytic societies and centers. Those organizations have primary tasks such as providing education and training in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Existential threats covers a range of factors, both internal and external to an organization, that may seriously impair or destroy its capacity to carry out its primary tasks and to survive as a functioning entity. Perceptions and responses relating to those threats are dynamic processes within the organization that shift and evolve over time. This case study explores one institute's use of organizational self-inquiry and external consultation to strengthen its capacity to perceive, make meaning of, and respond adaptively to those threats. The qualitative research for this case study is based on a series of semistructured individual interviews with a representative sample of participants in the consultation, close attention to the intersubjective experiences of interviewees and interviewers, and careful thematic analysis of the interview data. Interviewees shared their understanding of what led up to the consultation, their experience of the consultation, and their perception of its immediate and ongoing impact. Many interviewees felt that the consultation helped strengthen the institute's organizational capacity for resilience and innovation, expressed the desire for additional consultation to ensure the institute's survival and ongoing health, recommended that the institute include the study of organizational dynamics in its curriculum, and thought it should develop its internal capacity for organizational self-inquiry.

Characterization of MRI White Matter Signal Abnormalities in the Pediatric Population.

(1) Background and Purpose: The aim of this study was to retrospectively characterize WMSAs in an unselected patient cohort at a large pediatric neuroimaging facility, in order to learn more about the spectrum of the underlying disorders encountered in everyday clinical practice. (2) Materials and Methods: Radiology reports of 5166 consecutive patients with standard brain MRI (2006-2018) were searched for predefined keywords describing WMSAs. A neuroradiology specialist enrolled patients with WMSAs following a structured approach. Imaging characteristics, etiology (autoimmune disorders, non-genetic hypoxic and ischemic insults, traumatic white matter injuries, no final diagnosis due to insufficient clinical information, "non-specific" WMSAs, infectious white matter damage, leukodystrophies, toxic white matter injuries, inborn errors of metabolism, and white matter damage caused by tumor infiltration/cancer-like disease), and age/gender distribution were evaluated. (3) Results: Overall, WMSAs were found in 3.4% of pediatric patients scanned at our and referring hospitals within the ten-year study period. The majority were found in the supratentorial region only (87%) and were non-enhancing (78% of CE-MRI). WMSAs caused by autoimmune disorders formed the largest group (23%), followed by "non-specific" WMSAs (18%), as well as non-genetic hypoxic and ischemic insults (17%). The majority were therefore acquired as opposed to inherited. Etiology-based classification of WMSAs was affected by age but not by gender. In 17% of the study population, a definite diagnosis could not be established due to insufficient clinical information (mostly external radiology consults). (4) Conclusions: An "integrated diagnosis" that combines baseline demographics, including patient age as an important factor, clinical characteristics, and additional diagnostic workup with imaging patterns can be made in the majority of cases.

Do executive remuneration decision-makers know what's going on? The gap between independence and institutional contexts

PurposeDrawing on institutional theory, this study aims to analyse the regulation of executive remuneration as espoused in the United Kingdom (UK) codified corporate governance principles, focussing on sources of advice to decision-makers, the nature of the advice sought and given, and interaction of those involved in the process.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design was used. Data were assembled from interviewing non-executive board/remuneration committee members; institutional investors; external remuneration consultants and internal human resources (HR)/reward specialists. Results were analysed in accordance with the Gioia technique.FindingsTensions inherent in the interpretation of corporate governance codes are illustrated. Emphasis on independent advice combined with constraints on decision-makers' capacity to navigate the nuances of a complex field and reputational concerns risks standardised instead of bespoke remuneration approaches aligned with corporate contexts.Practical implicationsThere is a role for internal HR advisors to add value through their potential to reduce the gap within remuneration committees between institutional contexts and independent decision-making, facilitating more strategic human resource management inspired executive remuneration.Originality/valueApplication of institutional theory indicates the relevance of balancing external with internal sources to secure advice that is horizontally and vertically aligned within an organisation to meet the letter and spirit of corporate governance norms. Extending the explanatory power of institutional theory, care is needed though not to overlook the normative underpinnings of professional advisors' own value sets.

Patient- reported reasons for non-participation in a COVID-19 therapeutics clinical trial: Findings from a multi-center investigation

BackgroundEarly in the pandemic, there were no evidence-based treatments for SARS-CoV-2, creating an urgent need to identify effective therapeutics. However, public participation in medical research is low; trial enrollment in the US is typically 10–20%. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify common themes underpinning patient reasons to decline participation and evaluate the impact of specific contextual factors. MethodsThis sub-study was conducted in five VISN-1 Clinical Trials Network participating facilities from 4/10/2020–2/3/2021. The trial evaluated the addition of the IL-6-inhibitor, Sarilumab, to the current standard of care for inpatients with moderate-to-severe SARS-CoV-2. Consent procedures varied by site and included fully in-person and fully remote processes. Reasons for declining enrollment were collected among eligible patients who declined to participate but agreed to answer a short follow-up question. Qualitative data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Enrollment rates were assessed using simple, descriptive statistics. ResultsN = 417 COVID-19 positive inpatients were screened and 53/162 eligible patients enrolled. Enrollment varied across study sites and by study period. Prior to identification of effective treatment, the enrollment rate was 10/11 (91%) versus 43/144 (30%) during the later period of the study. N = 85/102 patients who did not enroll answered the follow-up question. The most commonly reported responses were: concerns about the study drug and participation in clinical research in general, comorbidity concerns, competing priorities, external factors, and external advice and influence from family members and clinicians. ConclusionsIdentifying reasons behind declining to enroll may help investigators develop strategies to increase research participation.

Identifying and Analyzing Individual Factors in Creating a Conducive Environment for Retaining Human Capital and Enhancing Organizational Productivity

Objective: This study aims to identify and analyze individual factors among employees that contribute to creating a conducive environment for retaining human capital and enhancing organizational productivity within the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Methodology: A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 15 participants selected through purposive sampling. The participants included NIOC elites, consultants, and external advisors. Data were collected until theoretical saturation was achieved and analyzed using NVivo software. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes and subthemes. Findings: Four main themes were identified: equal job opportunities, creating a creative environment, communication and participation, and leadership and trust. Subcategories within these themes included fair recruitment, career advancement, diversity and inclusion, innovation encouragement, flexible workspaces, professional development, transparent communication, feedback mechanisms, trustworthy leadership, and empowerment. Participants emphasized the importance of transparent hiring processes, diversity policies, innovation support, effective communication, and ethical leadership in enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity. Conclusion: The study highlights the critical role of both individual and organizational factors in creating a supportive environment for employee retention and productivity. Implementing fair recruitment practices, promoting diversity and inclusion, fostering innovation, ensuring effective communication, and ethical leadership are essential strategies for organizations.

МЕТОДИКА СКЛАДАННЯ ЗВІТУ ПРО УПРАВЛІННЯ: ЗАКОНОДАВЧІ РЕАЛІЇ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ УПРОВАДЖЕННЯ

The legal grounds for submitting a management report appeared in the autumn 2017 when amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” No. 996 dd. 16th of July, 1999 were adopted. The definition of the management report also appeared there. The drawing up and submitting procedures for management reports for all business entities were developed by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, while those for banking institutions were developed by the National Bank of Ukraine. The management report is also referred to in the Financial Statements Submitting Procedure (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 28th of February 28 2000 No. 419), however, according to this regulation, the Management Report is not part of the financial statements, which is stated explicitly in the text of par. 2 of Procedure No. 419. It is only submitted “together with the annual financial statements.” In case of the consolidated reporting, a consolidated management report is to be submitted. European accounting and financial reporting standards imply that financial reporting cannot provide all the necessary information to interested users about the company’s activities. Therefore, the purpose of the management report is to fill this gap and provide information about the performance that cannot be obtained from financial statements and notes thereto. This can be financial information – analysis of company indicators and existing risks, achievement of key financial performance indicators, forecast of financial indicators; and non-financial information – creation of a new product, expansion of sales markets, community and environmental activity, protection of human rights, research and development, achievement of key non-financial performance indicators, description of the company's development prospects, etc. Therefore, the appearance in the legal space of the concept of the Management Report in the domestic reporting practice is not a whim of the national legislative and regulatory bodies, it is most likely a consequence of the adaptation of the domestic laws to the European regulations. It is supposed that the management report cannot be considered purely an “accounting report”, because other company employees and even external consultants can and should be involved in preparation of the management report. Today, the form, structure, methods of submitting information, detailed content and scope of the management report are not regulated by any governmental authorities, so compiling of a management report can be considered quite “creative”. According to the authors, it should be regarded more as a reputation business card of the company, rather than an official report. The authors have performed a critical review, analysis and systematization of the legislative basis for the implementation of the management report; the results of the search for unified informational and methodological approaches for implementation of the legislative basis in the accounting and analysis regarding the preparation of the company's reporting, in particular, nonfinancial reporting, are presented.

Future of the Academy 2023-2025

Future of the Academy 2023-2025

Implementation and evaluation of an assistance software to support decision-making, design and simulation setup for automated guided vehicle systems

Autonomous guided vehicle systems (AGVS) offer huge potential for optimizing transportation tasks in manufacturing and warehouse logistics. Especially for small and medium enterprises, this potential is left untapped, as the selection of a proper solution requires substantial expertise. Support from external consultancies is often not requested. To address this issue, concepts for expert systems and multi-criteria decision algorithms have been discussed in academia for years but have not found any practical application yet. Therefore, in this paper we present an easy-to-use, holistic planning tool implemented with a user-centered development process, followed by the evaluation of the prototype. The results show its feasibility to realize a comprehensive planning process in such way, that users with little or no specific prior knowledge can perform initial steps for planning AGVS on their own. The user tests indicate good usability and acceptance for the prototype and show improvement potential for further development iterations.

External Consulting in Corporate Crisis and Insolvency: Consulting Risks and Liability Risks for Consultants in Germany

External Consulting in Corporate Crisis and Insolvency: Consulting Risks and Liability Risks for Consultants in Germany

Issues in Treating Determinologized Lexemes in the eSSKJ General Explanatory Dictionary of Slovenian

This paper presents the treatment of determinologized lexemes in the most recent growing monolingual general explanatory dictionary for Slovenian—Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, 3. izdaja (Dictionary of the Slovenian Standard Language, 3rd Edition), or eSSKJ—while also drawing attention to conceptual differences in the understanding of the status of this vocabulary compared to previous editions of the dictionary (SSKJ and SSKJ2) and according to the treatment of terminology in the terminological dictionaries of the ZRC SAZU Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language. It focuses on specific lexicographic issues that arise due to determinologization when dealing with this relatively extensive and hybrid segment of vocabulary in eSSKJ, addressing it from two points of view. It draws attention to the issues that editors face due to lexicographic requirements. At the same time, it presents issues and reservations external terminology consultants have as experts in individual subject fields when reviewing dictionary entries for determinologized vocabulary. Due to the specific nature of the work, both types of issues sometimes overlap.

Analysis of practical aspects making management decisions in small business

The issue of making managerial decisions in the practice of small business is considered. The key idea of the article is to prove a number of hypotheses regarding the practice of making management decisions by small business enterprises. The purpose of the article: to analyze the practice of making managerial decisions in a small business and summarize its characteristic features. Method (methodology). To achieve the goal, a number of general methods of scientific research were used: comparison, systematization and generalization. As well as special methods: expert evaluations, empirical research and methods of processing questionnaire data - to confirm the proposed hypotheses regarding the practice of managerial decision-making by small enterprises. The results of the research are presented based on a questionnaire survey of 42 small business enterprises of Odessa and Odesa region. A number of hypotheses regarding the preference of small enterprises for management decisions of a current and operational nature have been confirmed; predominant centralized system of management decision-making; the presence of problems in making managerial decisions by small enterprises at the stage of growth. It was established that the maximum horizon for making management decisions is the period from a quarter to a year. Making decisions related to solving daily problems takes up the lion's share of entrepreneurs' time. It has been proven that owners and managers of small business enterprises in the process of developing and making management decisions are guided mainly by their own experience, intuition, as well as a number of other subjective factors. It has been established that less than half of small business entrepreneurs make decisions based on the suggestions of the company's personnel or on the basis of the recommendations of external consultants. Delegation of authority in small business almost does not happen. It is substantiated that at the stage of growth in the activity of small enterprises, problems in making managerial decisions appear. The causes of the problems have been determined, which include: lack of established task priorities, mismatch between the number of tasks and the amount of human resources, lack of clearly established information exchange processes and decision-making procedures. The inadequacy of methodological developments regarding management decision-making taking into account the specifics of small business is justified.

Therapist and supervisor perspectives about two train-the-trainer implementation strategies in schools: A qualitative study.

Train-the-trainer (TT) implementation strategies (in which designated clinicians are trained to then train others in an intervention) are promising approaches to support mental health clinician use of evidence-based interventions in school contexts. However, there is little evidence to date examining clinicians' perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of TT strategies, or comparing clinicians' perceptions of different types of TT strategies. The current study was conducted as part of a larger hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial, in which school-based therapists and supervisors received one of two different types of implementation support to implement cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups for anxiety: TT (i.e., initial training for therapists and supervisors) or enhanced TT (TT+; i.e., initial training for therapists and supervisors, and ongoing external consultation for supervisors). We used applied thematic analysis to compare qualitative interview transcripts from 28 therapist interviews and 33 supervisor interviews from therapists and supervisors who received TT or TT+ support and report themes that were similar and different across the two groups. Most themes were similar across the TT and TT+ conditions: therapists and supervisors in both conditions perceived the group anxiety intervention as acceptable and viewed supervision as acceptable, helpful, and feasible. Therapists and supervisors in both conditions had mixed impressions of the contextual appropriateness of the group anxiety intervention, and some reported logistical challenges with weekly supervision. Some unique themes were identified among the TT+ condition, including supervisors experiencing professional growth, and therapists and supervisors perceiving supervision as critically important and enjoyable. These results suggest that TT implementation support, using a model in which an internal supervisor receives initial training and then provides ongoing supervision, is acceptable and feasible to support a group CBT intervention in schools. The results also highlight additional benefits that therapists and supervisors perceived when supervisors received ongoing consultation. The clinical trial from which these data were derived was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/) prior to the time of first patient enrollment. The registration number is: NCT02651402.

Winner of the 2022 Wakley–Wu Lien Teh Prize: the dutiful son by his father's bedside

The 2022 Wakley–Wu Lien Teh Prize invited submissions sharing ideas of “a heart full of great compassion and empathy” in modern Chinese clinical practice.1 We are pleased and grateful to have received 187 submissions—twice the number of submissions in 2021—telling touching and provocative stories about all aspects of medical practice in China. Essays were shortlisted by two editors at The Lancet Group and anonymised essays were sent to external advisers in China for their reflections and thoughts.

Financial Education for mipymes, a strategy of Education and Regional Development

This paper presents the important role that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have for mipymes, which according to their resources and knowledge develop their main financial activities in most cases in an empirical way, which makes it difficult to develop effective actions that can support them in their profitability, growth and permanence in an increasingly changing market, which is why the need for external advice to support them to acquire financial education is highlighted. The work is based on the results of the study in which they participated as a member of the Network of Latin American Studies in Administration and Business, which was applied through an online form and in person, the level of reliability of the entire study was an adequate Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.934). Therefore, in this investigation the benefits that ju stify the collaboration of HEIs with this type of economic entities.

The meaning of higher education credentials in graduate occupations: the view of recruitment consultants

ABSTRACT Three influential theories are used to understand why employers value and seek out educational credentials in hiring. Qualifications can function as proof of productive skills (Human Capital Theory), as a signal of desirable characteristics (Signalling and Screening theories) or as a means for social closure (Closure Theory). Although these explanations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, they tend to be presented as alternatives in the literature This article aims to better understand why employers value Higher Education degrees within the labour market by assessing these theoretical explanations in particular in cases where employers do not value HE credentials highly. It draws on semi-structured interview data with external recruitment consultants in England (N = 45). The article finds support for each of the three theoretical perspectives. Yet, the findings demonstrate that employers’ reasoning can include more than one of the three theoretical perspectives, creating hybrid forms. The article evaluates the implications for the positional competition for graduate jobs.

External business knowledge transmission: a conceptual framework

PurposeThis study aims to develop an original conceptual framework to guide research into knowledge transmission between professional external knowledge providers and their business clientele. As such, the framework aims to bridge a gap between theory and practice by explicating the processes which affect knowledge transmission and the conversion of knowledge for business application (i.e. knowledge transference).Design/methodology/approachKey concepts from disciplines of knowledge management, information management, communications, services marketing and business advice are reviewed and integrated into the development of this framework. Underpinned by a critical realist philosophical lens, it provides a robust research guide for examining business advisor knowledge actions in a changing open environment.FindingsThis study identifies that the process of knowledge transmission from a source external to a business is more complex than internal knowledge sharing. It addresses this complexity through a knowledge transmission framework, in a research design that is applicable to any methodological paradigm. Real-world application is identified in its applicability for evaluating mechanisms to facilitate knowledge transmission practices of external advisors to small business in regionally isolated communities.Research limitations/implicationsThe critical realist research methodology allows for causality in knowledge transmission to emerge; however, no assertion is made that the conceptual framework developed needs any particular philosophical paradigm for its application. Instead, what is asserted is that the research framework developed in this paper is specifically suited to the characteristics of external knowledge providers, their tacit knowledge and the businesses they service.Originality/valueThis study reconceptualises various theoretical perspectives and develops a sequential process for addressing a research lacuna by specifically examining the processes (or connections) between external business advisor’s knowledge and their advisory actions. With these processes clearly established, the role of external knowledge providers, as knowledge transmitters, deepens the understanding of knowledge transference that up until now has focused typically on internal organisation aspects.

Роль консалтинга в реализации инвестиционных проектов в Арктике

The purpose of this article is to consider the geopolitical significance of the Arctic region, as well as the role of consulting in the implementation of strategic investment projects in the development of Arctic territories. The novelty of the work consists in updating data on the specifics of activities in the Arctic region, analyzing current associated risks and assessing the feasibility of attracting external experts to provide consulting services within the framework of project implementation. The implementation of strategic investment projects in the Arctic region has several specific aspects that lead to the emergence of various risks. For example, only Russian oil companies transport liquefied gas and oil in ice, which is an extremely complex process. Therefore, for timely identification, as well as elimination / minimization of associated risks, it is necessary to involve appropriate experts. In particular, when implementing projects in the Arctic zone, it is advisable to involve specialized consultants. The practical significance of the work is to analyze the activities of leading consulting companies and identify current trends in the development of the consulting services market in the Arctic region. During the study, the authors concluded that it is impossible to attract foreign consulting companies to implement strategic projects in the Arctic region due to the presence of political and economic risks. The article notes the need to create domestic consulting companies that have broad competencies in solving problems related to the implementation of strategic projects in the Arctic region. These prerequisites can be used to conduct further research on the topic under consideration. Thus, it is necessary to create a separate training area in Russian universities, which will be aimed at training experts with knowledge of the specifics of working in the Arctic region. For the successful implementation of long-term projects in the Arctic region, it is necessary to train highly qualified experts with a wide range of knowledge about the geopolitical, economic and natural conditions of the Arctic region, who are able to participate as external consultants in the implementation of the national strategy for the development of the Arctic and projects of various levels of complexity.