Reflections on Each Step of the Research Project

As the Figure 3.9 below shows, the first cycle (Thesis research) has most of the activities conducted by the researcher with some independence during the production of the first draft of his thesis. The exception is the activity 2. Action/fieldwork, which triggers the second cycle (Survey and Action Learning Set - ALS), when it occurs, the interaction of the investigator with the other stakeholders interested in the research problem solution. In this research, the stakeholders are the respondents of the survey and the Action Learning Set (ALS) members. Once completed, the first and second cycles, the third cycle (Writing thesis), which also takes place with a certain independence of the researcher, is activated, and in this thesis, resulting in eight measures for improvement and adjustment of SSCs model to the context of the public sector. In addition, the third cycle also resulted in an action plan for the implementation of the

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measures, with recommendations to managers of civil SSC. Below, I discuss my learning and development, in each of these three cycles, following the logic of Figure 3.9.

Figure 3.911Self-reflection and learning roadmap based on (Coghlan & Brannick, 2014)

5.3.1 First cycle - Thesis Research

During the thesis planning, I identified that, although I was a management consultant who had led or participated in numerous SSC projects in the industry, I would not have all the necessary skills to analyse the results of research focused on the public sector, and extract the best findings. As argued by Mohrman et al. (2001), the usefulness of knowledge is related to the quality of interpretation of research results. For this reason, I began to idealise the use of skills of experienced researchers in the SSC theme

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in the public sector, as well as SSC managers, which eventually led to an Action Learning Set (ALS), formed by professionals and academics with outstanding expertise (as discussed in the previous sections). This type of ‘joint interpretive forum’ contributes to collectively reflect and interpret the information (Mohrman et al., 2001), and sense making. Work with the experts in ALS made it possible to ensure the appropriate level of quality of the interpretive research results, and the applicability of the knowledge developed for the target context (SSCs public sector). I was afraid of not getting people with the right profile to compose the ALS. However, as commented in item 5.2.2, the seniority and the effective contribution of the ALS were excellent.

5.3.2 Second Cycle – Survey, and Action Learning Set - ALS

Before applying the survey through a questionnaire, it was necessary to develop a conceptual model to express the main variables related to the performance of a SSC. This was one of my main issues, finding references of other empirical studies that were appropriate, as there are just a few empirical studies on SSCs. The apprenticeship was proportional to the size of the challenge, and I learnt how to compose a conceptual model from other analogous inquiries (even related to other objects of management), already validated empirically. Once prepared the conceptual model, with its constructs and measurement scales, the questionnaire was drawn up, and it was now necessary to find the right sample of SSCs to participate in the survey. The sampling criterion adopted was intentionality (Gil, 2002). I had a database of United Kingdom's public SSCs, with hundreds of contacts from its managers, and thought it would be relatively straightforward to have enough respondents. New learning. It was not like that, and I had low adherence to my invitation to participate in the survey. It was then necessary to expand the sample geographically to countries such as Brazil, Canada, the UK, and the

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US and include SSCs of the private sector. This ended up being very good because it brought plurality to the study data and enabled a direct comparison between SSCs of the public and private sectors. During the solution of this problem, I found numerous specialised SSC groups (public and private) on LinkedIn and even resumed contact with SSCs professionals from my network. Besides that, the discussion rounds with ALS members were very rich in learning. For example, one of the ALS comments was that the public affairs should not be managed as a business because the logic and purpose of government are different from the logic and business end. I remembered that I had read something similar in the literature review and this caused me deep reflection. Given my background in the industry, I was happy to have someone with an expert profile in public service to remember this kind of important principle. Another learning came from a comment from an ALS member noting that in her country, there is practically no negative political interference in the management of SSCs. This reality is so far away in countries like my Brazil. I remembered that one of the few experiences with SSCs in government in Brazil, after a successful implementation regarding results and reduced costs, was 'frozen' so that a different political party assumed the State Government responsible for that SSC, only due to an ideological matter. Moreover, that another SSC project, in another State, didn’t go ahead due to different political interests between the potential secretaries of State participants. Another learning I had, occurred when a participant in the ALS suggested that the conceptual model could be transformed into part of a diagnostic framework. I had at no time thought of this and perhaps would never think of it. These experiences further reinforced the importance of having several experienced pairs of eyes helping to look and reflect on our work. Maybe to know that working in an Action Learning Set is such a wealth of experience, is my primary learning. Another learning is that a Virtual Action Learning Set (Pedler, 2011), as was the case of

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this thesis, works perfectly. Since the experts could participate at a time most convenient to them, it was possible to obtain the contribution of participants with the highest skills.

5.3.3 Third cycle – Writing thesis

This cycle favours the application of the knowledge window proposed for Coghlan & Brannick (2014), that helps reflect on 1) what we know we know, 2) what we think we know, 3) what we know that we don't know, and 4) what we don't know we don't know. For example, 1) about what I knew I knew. On entering the research for this thesis, I knew my knowledge about the SSCs was good, both for industry (where I implemented many SSCs, working at PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM GBS), and public service (which was the subject of my master's thesis). Looking back, my perception is that this knowledge, overall, has evolved let’s say from seven to eight on a scale of zero to ten. However, knowledge about the public sector (in the context of this research) has evolved significantly, say from five to seven. 2) As for what I thought I knew, but were only assumptions and not facts, four examples are worth mentioning: (a) The origin of the SSCs dates back to the 1960s and not 1990s (see Section 2.3), as generally referred to; (b) Action Research (AR) can in practice help cover the gap theory-practice divide (Lee & Greenley, 2010); (c) I understood well the differences between the contexts of the SSCs in the public and private sectors, and (d) Having a supervisor with quantitative background and another with qualitative background I could learn to work better with these two approaches and how to combine them in an AR project. 3) Regarding what I knew that I did not know, I think two outstanding examples were the new knowledge on statistic, to deal with the validation of the conceptual model, and the use of Action Research. The knowledge that, probably, it will be useful for my whole life. Finally, as for

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what 4) I did not know that I did not know, I can quote my discovery that I can work very well with statistics applied to research. Initially, I thought I would have much more difficulty on that; perhaps a little fear of the unknown.