Consulting Industry

Question 1

what is a consultant?

Answer 1

Someone who provides value through specialised expertise or skill to help a client improve a problem or to help optimise results.

Question 2

Why do we need consultants?

Answer 2

• Market need for service - create a need
• Competency (Skills) - having the skill to meet the need and develop them.
• Passion (drive to solve the problem)

Question 3

How do consultants add value?

Answer 3

• Content – subject matter expertise eg: Sales
• Expertise - having particular expertise that transcends industries and applicable to wide range of enviroments
• Knowledge – experience (understanding of process rather than content.
• Contacts - can introduce clients to key contacts in public or private life.
• ## Behaviour – interpersonal facilitation, conflict resolution

Question 4

How do consultants get discovered?

Answer 4

• word of mouth
• Reputation (third party)
• track record of success.

Question 5

Difference between a contractor and consultant?

Answer 5

A contractor implements specific work and performs designated tasks.

A consultant provides unique abilities and talents to improve a clients condition.

Question 6

Why is consultancy growing?

Answer 6

The industry is growing (since financial crisis there has been a 4.1% growth every year) eg: HR largest sector within consulting.

-No legal obligation for consultants to register themselves

• academics arge consultants provide stability and certainity for management identities in client organisations.
  eg: the client manager experiences insecurity in terms of thier knowledge and thier own identity (Whittle, 2006)
• the consultants image as an expert outside with access to real knowledge provides the illusion of support and certanity to managers in confusing and uncertain times.

Question 7

Define the three dimensions of the industry.

Answer 7

Client Organisation -

• Nature of organisation will drive demand – how much change/ the complexity internal capability / access to financial resources.
• organisations going through major financial change.
• BREXIT

Client sector- determines the level of demand
• Legislative and political changes
• Technological changes
• Competitive dynamics - Oil sector going through massive turmoil.

Client geograohy
• Structure of the economy
• Culture - some cultures less receptive to taking advice from people outside the organisation. Eg: less demand for consultancy in France -

Question 8

Which consultancy company merged with another?

Answer 8

PWC- merged with booz Allen to compete with deiolite

Through alliances and internationalisation:

• International consultancies can match the geographic scope of their clients.
• These consultancies can gain tacit knowledge about the host country eg: China each region specialise in a certain area.
• They can broker best practice across borders.

Question 9

What are the main take aways from the “consulting at the clusp of disruption” article?

Answer 9

Traditionally, consulting has been protected by ‘opacity and agility’

• Industry on the brink of disruption
• Clients have relied upon brand, reputation and ‘social proof’ - trustworthiness of the brand
• Cost pressure and industry maturity drives clients to search for alternatives.
• knowledge is easily imatitable
• Opportunities interms of big data - ofshore certain activites in organisation and focus on the value adding activities.
• The steady invasion of hard analytics and technology (big data) is a certainty in consulting, as it has been in so many other industries.
• article -Uses the legal profession as an example of disruption. Some pasts of legal profession are being delivered in a new way eg: online will certificates, divorce papers.