Critique
The paper by Radnor and O’Mahoney investigates on the implementation of operations management innovations in the public sector, most notably, the role management consultancy plays in the process. The scope of the research involves both the public and the private sectors that are compared and contrasted, which allows a fuller understanding of the new trends in management. Being based on interviews with management consultants, the paper provides a look from the inside on the existing barriers to innovation adoption. However, the sample size is limited to six consultancies, therefore, the paper warrants further research for better representativeness.
Purpose Statement Wording
The purpose of the paper as well as the research approach are formulated clearly in the purpose statement. According to the authors, their research “reflects on the growing trend […] in the public sector” (Radnor & O’Mahoney, 2013). The word reflects serves as a signaling one that gives an insight into the intent of the study (Crawford, Burkholder, & Cox, 2020). Also, the statement mentions management consultancies as both research participants and the research site since the particular respondents are not specified.
The closing sentence of the purpose statement identifies the approach as qualitative, which type of a study presupposes focusing on a certain phenomenon. In the given case, the phenomenon is “engaging management consultancies in implementing operations management innovations in the public sector” (Radnor & O’Mahoney, 2013). Although there is no general definition of the subject, the action verbs to reflect and to identify allow assuming that it will be given in the main body.
Overall, the purpose statement of the paper under the review follows the basics of research design. The authors utilize neutral, non-biased language, and present facts without any subjective evaluation. The framing of the statement allows a precise understanding of both the general research topic, which is also present in the title, and the specific problems to be examined. In addition, the statement mentions the novelty of the research, which lies in an investigation upon the insufficiently studied issue.
Consonance of Theory, Problem, and Purpose
The problems of the given research are derivable from the central phenomenon it focuses on. They involve “both the impact of operations management in the public sector and the impact of this engagement on the consultancies” (Radnor & O’Mahoney, 2013). Simply put, the authors explore on why management consultancies have to modify their operations management services, and how that modification happens. The theoretical knowledge the study relies upon involves identifying the various roles of management consultancies and consultants in the implementation of management innovations for the past 15 years (Radnor & O’Mahoney, 2013). This information gives an insight into the development of the consulting sphere, which, in turn, enables a prediction on its further progress with a reference to the new trends.
Link Between Research and Social Change
The relation between research and change in society is cause-and-effect but mutual, based on interdependence. In one concern, social research aims at drawing attention to particular social phenomena, which presupposes exploring the detail on their evolution along with describing specific situations and events (Babbie, 2017). By contrast, research outcomes provide a foundation for further social change, most significantly, solving the problems that have been identified and improving the sustainability of society (McLoughlin & Young, 2005). From there, it is possible to state that social change and research launch and guide each other.
References
Babbie, E. (2017). Basics of social research (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Crawford, L. M., Burkholder, G. J, & Cox, K. A. (2020). Writing the research proposal. In G. J. Burkholder, K. A. Cox, L. M. Crawford, & J. H. Hitchcock (Eds.), Research designs and methods: An applied guide for the scholar-practitioner. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McLoughlin, L. & Young, G. (2005). The role of social research in effective social change programs. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 57-70.
Radnor, Z., & O’Mahoney, J. (2013). The role of management consultancy in implementing operations management in the public sector. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 33(11), 1555–1578.