During the recent decades, such tendency as the absence of new or ‘faddish’ ideas is observed in relation to the sphere of management. As a result, the management consulting firms suffer from a kind of decline because their services are not valued within the market (Gluckler & Armbruster, 2003, p. 270). It is necessary to discuss the issue in details in order to analyze the current trends in the sphere of management consulting.
The Reasons for Managers’ Suspiciousness in Relation to Consulting as a Service
The most important reason for managers to develop their suspiciousness in relation to consulting services is the impossibility to see or predict the advantages of using these services because management consulting is closely associated with the implementation of new ideas and strategies in companies, but new management ideas are not proposed to be used during the prolonged period of time. Thus, managers react not only against the management ideas and possible fads but also against consulting as a service.
In this case, the next associated reason is the absence of necessity to use consulting services because many companies continue to work out initiatives which were proposed and developed with references to the previous fads (London, 2004, p. 34). Furthermore, the idea to invite the external consultants who can be uninterested in the company’s development or whose credibility cannot be examined immediately is discussed as irrelevant, and companies continue to follow the familiar path in relation to the managerial strategies.
The Necessity to Use Jargon to Demonstrate the Consultants’ Expertise
Consultants should present ideas and advice which are understandable in relation to the managers and leaders who follow them. However, many new ideas or ‘fads’ are often based on the use of innovative techniques and high technical jargons. For instance, Six Sigma as the quality improvement technique is also based on ‘impenetrable jargon’ which can be used by consultants in order to implement Six Sigma in a definite company (London, 2004, p. 34).
Nevertheless, if consultants use the ‘impenetrable jargon’, their advice cannot be understood and followed completely, and their services become useless (Sadler, 2001, p. 51). That is why, consultants should provide their ideas succinctly and precisely, using jargon to communicate the definite specific notions, and their expertise can be assessed with references to the effectiveness and credibility of the provided advice.
The Necessity to Change the Consulting Approach to Deal with the New Issues Managers Face
To respond to the current trends in the sphere of management, consulting can and should change the approach to dealing with the new issues facing in the field because in spite of the decline of ‘faddish’ ideas, modern companies still need different types of consulting to overcome the problematic issues. For instance, the focus on endless new ideas can be as transfixed for modern companies as the absolute absence of new ideas for the company’s development in relation to management (London, 2004, p. 34-35).
That is why, the new approach to consulting is necessary to improve the sphere in order to contribute to the companies’ progress and increased competitive advantage. New management techniques and ideas should be spread in companies with the focus on internal consulting as the way to resolve the issues associated with the consultants’ interest in project and their credibility (Burtonshaw-Gunn, 2010, p. 198).
Although the approaches to management consulting should be revised regarding the modern tendencies, consulting is important for providing the right solutions and advice for business.
References
Burtonshaw-Gunn, S. (2010). Essential tools for management consulting: Tools, models and approaches for clients and consultants. USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Gluckler, J., & Armbruster, T. (2003). Bridging uncertainty in management consulting: The mechanisms of trust and networked reputation. Organization Studies, 24(2), 269–297.
London, S. (2004). Why are the fads fading away? In P. Wickham (Ed.), Management consulting: Delivering an effective project (pp. 34-35). USA: Pearson Education.
Sadler, P. (2001). Management consultancy: A handbook for best practice. USA: Kogan Page Publishers.