Introduction
Arts Council England is an important part of the cultural life in the United Kingdom since it is involved in providing funding to and improving the accessibility of various artistic experiences. To fulfill its goals, the organization must remain relevant in the contemporary world by understanding modern trends and shaping its strategy accordingly. The present report will discuss the client’s perspective on the consulting service and the preferred approach to the case.
The Client’s Perspective and the Consulting Approach
As a registered charity, the Arts Council of England receives funds from the United Kingdom government and the National Lottery to develop arts and culture in the UK. The organization’s mission is “Great art and culture for everyone”, and its primary line of activity is investment through providing funding and grants to arts organizations, individuals, and projects (Arts Council England n.d.). Arts Council of England also helps to develop arts and culture education and employment in the United Kingdom, thus contributing to the flow of new talents into the sector.
To fulfill its goal of improving the availability, quality, and variety of artistic and cultural experiences in the United Kingdom, the organization must have a strategic framework to guide its efforts. The framework has to take into account a variety of factors affecting the arts and culture market in the United Kingdom, as well as different population trends. This would enable the charity to invest in projects that are interesting to the audience and enrich the artistic or cultural experiences of the population.
Because the primary goal of the framework would be to enhance organizational performance, the preferred approach to the case is management consulting (Hope 2016). A particular field of management consulting that relates to the organization’s goals and its current situation is strategic consulting. This approach would include collecting information about the organization, its activities, and the market, and preparing a set of structured strategic recommendations that the Arts Council of England could use over the next few years.
Preparing a Contract Bid
To prepare a successful contract bid for the tender, it is essential to research the organization and its activities further. First of all, the information on the past and current strategies applied by the Arts Council of England would assist in understanding the organization’s key concerns and ways of addressing them. As there is a strong link between strategy and organizational values, studying the charity’s strategy would help to identify its values and appeal to them in a contract bid (Eaton & Kilby 2015). For example, if the organization values diversity and multiculturalism, it would be useful to show an understanding and appreciation of these concepts in the bid.
Secondly, it is critical to collect information regarding the organization’s approach to choosing projects, institutions, and individuals who receive funding. Arts Council of England has a broad range of interests in all areas of arts and culture present in the United Kingdom, such as literature, dance, cultural festivals, theatre, fine arts, and more. Reviewing the organization’s approach to funding would assist in understanding what information is involved in internal strategic decision-making.
This would help in preparing an appealing contract bid while also identifying possible directions for the future strategy of the organization. For instance, if there are some areas in arts and culture that were overlooked by the Arts Council of England despite their popularity with the audience, these gaps could be addressed as part of the new strategy.
Thirdly, it is critical to review the budget of the project to determine if it is realistic, insufficient, or excessive. Preparing a strategy for the organization would require substantial research and resources, which should be reflected in the contract bid. Understanding whether or not the Arts Council of England it prepared for investing in this project would be beneficial for choosing the correct approach to placing a bid. For example, if the organization’s budget is limited, the bid could outline that cost-cutting will be among the key priorities of the new strategy.
Lastly, identifying the stakeholders of the strategy and their needs would be an essential part of preparing the contract bid. Analyzing the key stakeholder groups, such as the management or grant recipients, would help to ensure a targeted approach to consulting and show excellent knowledge of the organization. This would demonstrate the analytical abilities of the bidder and their determination to provide high-quality consulting services.
Service Implementation
In preparing a viable strategy for the Arts Council of England, it would be necessary to collect a wide range of information and apply it to the organization successfully. The information collected as part of bid preparation will be used to highlight the current strategic approach of the organization and its focus areas. These can be used to create a foundation for the new strategic framework. However, it would also be critical to perform extensive market research to complete the new strategy, and two main methods could be used for this purpose.
On the one hand, a SWOT analysis would provide essential data on the organization, its future options, and its outlook (Spender 2014). On the other hand, a PESTLE analysis would provide a comprehensive view of the environment in which the Art Council of England operates (Spender 2014). The information collected from the organization and market research can then be combined into one strategic framework with concrete recommendations for future development.
To manage service delivery, it would be essential to maintain open, two-way communication with the organization’s management by informing them of the progress, requesting additional data, or engaging in further internal research. This would aid in ensuring that the project runs smoothly and that the key stakeholders are involved in it and can share their concerns or suggestions. It would also be critical to take into account all milestones and deadlines set for the project to ensure that the required progress is made on time or ahead of time.
Pyramid Structure
Conclusion
Overall, the organization requires a new strategy that would support its relevance in the changing market of arts and culture and assist it in fulfilling its goals. Preparing a bid for the tender would require collecting more information on the Arts Council of England and the market in which it operates. Further market and company analysis will be required to produce a successful strategy that would allow the organization to change its approach in response to market conditions.
Reference List
Arts Council England n.d., Our mission and strategy. Web.
Eaton, D & Kilby, G 2015, ‘Does your organizational culture support your business strategy?’, The Journal for Quality and Participation, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 4-7.
Hope, K 2016, ‘What does a management consultant do anyway?’, BBC News. Web.
Spender, J-C 2014, Business strategy: managing uncertainty, opportunity, and enterprise, Oxford University Press, Oxford.