Managing Consulting
Week 1
During the first week of study in the management consulting class, I was excited and eager to know more about this field of management. Previously, I had a notion that it entails a great deal of skillful analysis and conceptualizing business models but with time I came to realize that it is a very interesting yet controversial subject in the business field involving critical thinking analysis with scholarly knowledge to come up with more accurate judgments and decisions.
Many consultancy firms have helped businesses in the modern economy to experience tremendous growth in their market economy but again some other groups like the National Health Society (NHS) claimed that they had “wasted” millions on business consultants whose services never materialized.
According to the Plunkett Research documented in the critical thinking and dialogue journal, there has been a significant increase in global consulting revenues overtime (Priscilla 1993, pp. 182-186). This has depicted that more firms are actually benefiting from their services but again it depends on the management consultants of your choice and how the business will respond to their professional advice that will determine the success of the business. I also got to learn the different perspectives of consultancy firms including the milestones they have covered over time, how to manage them, and their ethical practices in consultancies.
Week 2
During this week, I studied how the past structures of management affect the present consultants and reflecting on the history and ideologies of management consulting practices as exemplified in the empirical journal on “Information Management”.
From this study, I came to realize how consultancy could be a key to unlocking potential in businesses and providing the ultimate remedies to such technical problems. On the history of Management Consultancy, it has been present since the time of ancient monarchy that had Privy Council members as legal advisors to the Queen to the present time where the consultancy firms are rapidly mushrooming in the market economy (Parikh 2002, pp. 27-46).
There has been a need for the consultants to adapt to this dynamic sector of the economy to meet the current sophisticated needs of the clients, they should also update their programs to suit the ever changing consumer needs to remain relevant in the economy. It is logical for them to carry out ethical practices and avoid giving uninformed advice to their clients for this will dent their image. I also learned of the professional business services and their traditional and pragmatic views.
The characteristics of these models have been adequately defined though they are more theoretical than practical. From the knowledge obtained from this article, Management Consulting services could only be categorized as a developing profession as it does not satisfy all the criteria and characteristics of a professional service firm.
Week 3
In this week, I studied articles on, “Organizational Structure and Management periodical journal.” From these articles, I have learned more about the different roles and responsibilities of clients and consultants in an organization for instance the consulting partners and sponsors play a critical role in making critical decisions and solutions to problems in the firm but are not involved in the day-to-day consultative work (Geninet 2003, pp. 237-250).
They are also involved in spearheading projects. Project managers on the other hand are involved in the daily activities of the firm that include supervising and coordinating clients and consultants, coordinating projects and other work proposals, and linking up with sponsors and investors with the firm. Those involved with the problem-solving process on the ground but do not directly participate in the actual process include the consulting and client team who are separated by their hierarchical levels.
All these different roles and responsibilities ought to be well defined to avoid cases of shared responsibilities and power wrangles. If critically analyzed, we find most organizations having “ghost” workers who do very little work if any while others are overwhelmed by numerous responsibilities due to a disorganized organizational structure hence there is a need to clearly outline the duties of all the various organizational departments.
Week 4
The journal expresses how one can communicate complex information in a simplified manner that one can easily understand using the pyramid principle. I came to understand that some concepts are hard to digest simply because of how it has been structured. There are three steps to be followed when constructing a pyramid principle. First, ideas at any level of the pyramid should be a summary of ideas below that particular pyramid level, then the ideas in the pyramid should correlate and lastly, the ideas in a particular group should be logically arranged (Long, 1991).
The standard structure of the document should include the three major sections that include the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Where the introduction merely involves defining the concept or subject of a concern than giving a short brief of what to expect then the body is the main part containing all the necessary information to be conveyed then lastly, the conclusion that sums up and concludes the whole topic.
Proper grammatical essay and sentence structure are very critical in communication to effectively pass across the intended information otherwise if abused; it may lead to communication breakdown and misunderstandings that may eventually affect the company’s productivity.
Week 5
In this article, I learned the art of storytelling and the critical aspect of managing to counsel. From this tutorial, I was able to relate to various counseling practices critically and professionally, explain the critical perspective of consultation, explain the role of professionals in a management firm, and the relationship between consulting identities and recent capitalism. In this article, the emphasis was made on modern critical thinking, which is the ability to think rationally, and having an in-depth knowledge that is instrumental in decision, judgment, or conclusion-making (Richard 2009, pp. 27-46).
On the other hand, modernity refers to a rapid change in the social arena that has resulted in the growth and development of institutions and social structures. This in turn has influenced the progress of science and technology. The lecturer also highlighted the aspect of storytelling and how one can develop excellent communication skills in a formal setting. The act of storytelling is very efficient in applying and legitimizing knowledge as documented n Richard Simpson’s journal of Effective Communication Skills.
Week 6
The tutorials in this week of study made me realize the various consulting projects in this field of business, their limitations and shortcomings, some consultancy techniques, and working protocol together with some skillful aspects (Abbott, 2008). The tutorials also shed some light on key processes and principles that both the consultant and client ought to know when working jointly. I went ahead to find more information on how the consultant goes about their business protocol and obtained an online link on YouTube that exemplified all the possible frameworks, applications, and recommendations for the same.
From a critical observation, other strategies could help consultants improve their operations that include balancing out critical responsibilities, ensure the use of relevant business processes and management tools, and lastly effective management.in effective management I mean the daily running of the firm by competent employees
Week 10
During week ten, I was introduced to another aspect of consultancy management involving the consulting recruitment process. The tutor elaborated on the topic and the role of consultants in the management process. I got to learn the various ways to assess interviewees; from their CVs to competency to the general assessment tests (Cole, 1991). I used to think that it is only the interviewee who prepares for the interview but I came to realize that even the panel of interviewers also got through thorough preparations. The panel has to sit and decide on the kind of questions to ask and what to expect from the interviewees.
The company advisor or consultant is also critical in helping to determine the criteria for hiring new employees. Then finally, I made comparisons of internal and external consulting where I found internal consulting to be more accurate and efficient because they are well conversant with the firm they are working with. I managed to get access to some video clips that elaborated more on management consulting interview skills.
Week 11
This is the eleventh week of the management consulting subject. Over the weeks, I have accumulated some basic concepts about this subject and at this point, the tutor is tackling change management in consultancy services. What I learned from the topic is that change in any organization is inevitable hence; the managers ought to be very responsive to the dynamic changes in the economy.
In the journal, Beyond Change Management by Linda Ackerman accurately defined change as a transition period in an organization from the current technological state to a new state. Modern consultants should be very critical in making decisions on an effective change to bring forth the desired results more so in the marketing and management business fields (Linda, 2000). The theories and practices used in managerial change should be relevant and accurate hence the need for competent consultants that will be keen to deliver appropriately. These kinds of consultants can see the hidden details and potentials in the organization that the management does not see.
Week 12
In this tutorial lecture, I was introduced to some new concepts of consulting services including consultocracy, innovations, critical management theories, and new consulting concepts. The critical theory involves a reflective mind in the management theory while consultocracy entails competent governance and management tools. New consulting concepts, on the other hand, involve a transition process in economic and technical management.
Managers ought to be critical thinkers and analyzers to make critical decisions in their management protocol since some managers have the attendance to overestimate the potential of their organizations leading to incomplete projects. In such situations, the services of Managing Consultants come in hand, to offer the technical services and decisions on what project to undertake.
From the article, it is documented that a consultant may either take to use a modernist way or a post-modernist way to solve the problem (Flexer, 2008). Whichever the case, they ought to be analytical and creative in their decision-making.
Reference
Priscilla, S 1993, Dialogue journal and critical thinking, Teaching Sociology, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 182-186.
Parikh, M 2002, ‘Utilizing Internet technologies to support learning: an empirical analysis‘, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 22, no.1, pp. 27-46.
Geninet, J 2003, ‘Roles and responsibilities of department organization’, Organizational Structure and Management, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 237-250.
Long, P 199, A collection of current views on information safety, Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Richard, S 2009, Proper grammar and linguistics, Journal of Effective Communication Skills, vol. 22, no.1, pp. 27-46.
Abbott, HP 2008, The Cambridge introduction to narrative, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Cole, G 1991, Consultancy management, Edward Arnold, London.
Linda, A 2000, Beyond Change Management, Edward Arnold, London
Flexer, R 2008, Transition planning for business personalities, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.