... argumentation analysis of two consulting reports in each case, one written by a legitimizer and one by a devil's advocate. The findings of the document analysis are triangulated with author interviews. Findings Consultants acting as legitimizers are often suspected of being political allies of a decision...

... self and the idea of a corporate self. Furthermore, this paper aims to illustrate these activities empirically. Design/methodology/approach The empirical example is based on a case study of three of the largest international consultancy firms. About 50 consultants were interviewed in this study...

...Virpi‐Liisa Kykyri; Risto Puutio; Jarl Wahlström Purpose Consulting work aims to bring about changes in organizational performance. In OD‐consulting practices, changes are to be sought through conversational settings created for these purposes. The purpose of this paper is to take a discursive...

...Susan M. Adams; Patricia M. Flynn Purpose Describes how actionable knowledge is created to successfully initiate consulting relationships designed to promote changes in the composition of corporate boards and, ultimately, social change to eliminate exclusionary practices that are keeping women...

...Scott Chilton Joseph   Raelin . Creating Leaderful Organizations: How to Bring Out Leadership in Everyone . San Francisco, CA : Berrett‐Koehler   2003 . © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2004 --> Leadership Organizations Managerial power Consultants...

...Michelle Lynn Kaarst‐Brown Power and politics have long been accepted as often detrimental elements of change processes. An element of the political arena that has received limited attention, however, is the inadvertent symbolism associated with the presence of an external consultant or change...

...Andreas Werr; Torbjörn Stjernberg; Peter Docherty States that highly structured methods and tools for bringing about organizational change are frequent features in both the management literature and the practice of management consultants. Reports that, in order to understand the nature...

...Christof Baitsch; Frank Heideloff Presents an analytic case study of a reorganization project in the Swiss federal patent and copyright bureau (BAGE) on an action and a reflection level. The consultants in the BAGE case were acting as systemic catalysts to the self‐organizing processes in the BAGE...

.... Offers a potential solution to such dependency through the use of consultants who report directly to the board, thus serving as independent sources of guidance and information. Suggests outside consultants could help board members to meet their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders by improving...

...Anthony F. Buono; Aaron J. Nurick; Alan N. Hoffman Presents a case study of a year‐long consulting project in an urban school system. Drawing on a multi‐method, stakeholder‐driven field design, describes the consulting process and intervention. In the analysis and discussion, focuses on the lessons...

...Dianna R. Old Proposes that the practice of consulting for organizational change often does not change the organization fundamentally. Suggests that real transformation occurs at deeper levels of an organizational system. Presents a more whole and integrated methodology more likely to help...

...Todd Saxton Proposes that previous discussions of strategic decision making in the strategic management literature have not effectively addressed the role of third parties including consultants. Offers three roles of third parties, including the consultant as provocateur, legitimizer and expert...

... of them expected to be organized on the basis of team‐based management within five years (Dumaine, 1990 ; Katz and Laughlin, 1990 ; Lee, 1990 ; Wellins and George, 1991). Consultants Evaluation Management techniques Project management Team leaders Training Work teams Dumaine (1994...

...Marilyn E Harris Substantiates the author′s response of “paradoxical” to the titular question through analysing key transcending issues in her consulting practice. Discusses each of the transcending issues cited in terms of expectation vis‐à‐vis experience in reality which led...

... as members of diversity consulting teams. Gender‐balanced consulting teams model gender diversity, help clients see women as credible resources, and women consultants model effective skills in confronting female‐biased behaviours. Women′s inclusion in consulting teams can also help balance interpersonal...

...Bonnie P. Stivers; Jane E. Campbell Examines the perceived characteristics of accounting consultants. The sample for the study consists of 156 members of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Indicates that there are significant differences in the perceived characteristics of male...

...Janine Waclawski; Allan H. Church; W. Warner Burke Focuses on women in the field of organization development (OD),their consulting practices, motivators, values, and intended directions for the future. Reviews the current state of the field – focusing on both the inherent tension in values...

...Kathy L. Kaplan Highlights the main features of qualitative research conducted with 32 successful women consultants in organization development. The format is multifaceted, including tables, poems, and text, to reflect the commitment to the deep feminine in the research process and results. Part...

...Teresa Joyce Covin; Marilyn E Harris Introduces the articles selected for the special issue and their purpose. Over the next decade, consulting is likely to become an increasingly attractive career option for many women. Reviews research related to the topic of women in consulting and highlights...

...Peter J. Frost; Carolyn P. Egri Proposes that there are parallels between the roles of shamans in their communities and the roles which organizational change and development consultants can play in guiding organizational transformations. Presents fundamental assumptions underlying the shamanic...