StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Related to Management Consulting - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper “Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Related to Management  Consulting ”  is a  thoughtful example of an essay on management. Management consulting may have originated in engineering but what it is primarily concerned with today is the output of the employees, the effectiveness of the machinery in use, and putting these two factors into perspective…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.3% of users find it useful

Extract of sample "Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Related to Management Consulting"

A review of the key issues associated with an important practical and theoretical area related to consulting Introduction Management consulting may have originated in engineering but what it is primarily concerned with today is the output of the employees, the effectiveness of the machinery in use and putting these two factors into perspective, the scale of production from factories or deliverables from companies. Large scale ventures in 19th century that saw the materialisation of the ‘multiunit’ transpired into what began to be called management consulting. Subsequently, this change was described in the way business was done as a “managerial revolution” that swept the American business place in a huge wave, followed up by other geographies that caught up with the idea. The work of the management consultant is to sell ideas that are packaged so attractively as to seem irresistible. Most new business ideas take birth in the academic world but the job of the management consultant comes into play in translating these ideas and transforming them so they work in the commercial world. That is like finding way into a consulting jungle (Freedman & Zackrison, 2001). For example, in the United States it is a rampant practice for consulting firms to have strong associations with leading business schools. A large number of the top Harvard business school graduates are employed invariably by leading American management consultancies like Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey etc. It is inevitable that these Harvard graduates will be partial to new ideas that emerge from the Harvard Business School. It is not knowledge about management that the managing consultant is seeking but arousing the interest of the organization to a new administrative idea so much so that the organisation is prodded on to utilise the model in such a way that it becomes fashionable to do so and all other businesses then adopt it promptly. While it has become essential for the companies to have a competitive advantage in the global market, it has also becomes necessary for the world manager to be increasingly knowledgeable (Davenport & Prusak, 2005). Unlike theorists, social scientists and research institutes that are known to be thinkers the management consultant is known as a ‘scientist’. This in other words translates to the management consultant as being a technician who is best at finding a solution to the problems that accrue in administration. The management school believes in teaching a particular doctrine or policy but the management consultant will not necessarily follow that ideology. When responsibility fails and cooperation desists, it normally results in resources crunch at a crucial time when these resources are required the most (Frame, 1999). Management consulting is evolutionary and hence subject to change. Some scandals that rocked the business world have also forced businesses to look at the management consulting in an ethical light particularly after the Enron and Worldcom fiascos. On their part consulting firms have been forced to review their own work and the implications thereof in the light of such scandals. The first and foremost step in this direction is considered to be getting the leverage system in place, create trust in the client by proper and ethical behaviour and interaction (Maister, 2004). Management consulting which was highly successful at one time is now faced with a plethora of questions on ethics especially since reputed businesses have been found lacking in the legal and ethical fibre. At Enron it is the top executives and the CEO who stood accused of alleged wrongdoing. It forced the company to see how the independent thought process of accountants, lawyers, consultants and board was so easily clouded. One of two possibilities come to light, either the rules were broken intentionally by the employees or they were unaware that they had broken any rules. In all, it has been found to be revolving around lack of ethical principles and practices. Besides the ethical issues what consulting firms now have to compete with is the fact that increasing businesses would like to work independently without utilizing the services of the management consultant. Businesses are increasingly training their own employees to handle problems that the organization might face. They are also pursuing the development of knowledge management. But against a backdrop of increasingly competitively growing economies, such arrangements are not always feasible to be implemented where there is more pressure on maintaining quality and level of services being provided (Booms & Bitner, 1981). The four areas where consulting firms can help organizations are human resources, costing, management of finances and information. With the realization that the employee is the biggest asset to the company, businesses have increased consultation on issues like incentives, additional training and employee involvement in the business. Identifying costs that involve activities is the new area where time and money are both saved with the efforts of the managing consultant. The choices facing businesses in the selection of software and computer systems that will suit their particular needs is always a tricky one. Reliability of the consulting firm in aiding them to choose the right technology is a new area as technology can be an effective tool and yet the uncertainty of the medium requires consulting. With the emergence of e-commerce, consultations on this aspect become almost imperative if the firm wishes to move strategically towards the new economy (Schein, 2009). Ethics and other issues are the challenging that management consultancies today with regard to their future prospects in the field, including how these challenges are related to consulting principles. The international debate has questioned the integrity of management consulting systems in view of the many corporate scandals. Under scanner has been the ethical conduct of consulting firms that corporate scandals have forced consultancies to address. The new trend of relying on their own personnel for consultation by business organizations have been examined time and again; often being rocked by another corporate wrongdoing even while the previous one hasn’t ebbed out yet. While ethical challenges in the consulting business are widespread, the corporate world has been doing its bit to plug these loose ends in management consulting by bringing in periodic rules and regulations. Over the last two decades, a number of codes of ethics have been adopted throughout the world (McDonald, 2009). How consulting firms can remain in the business will be factored in after the above points have been addressed and a recommendation for the consulting firms will follow. In this way the study would serve to throw light on the work of the management consulting for business organizations. The 1980s saw a rapid increase in the growth of the management consulting as an industry. What saw consulting increase its business were the many changes that the 21st century witnessed like information technology, outsourcing and downsizing. Corporate ethics is clearly the foundation of a good economy. The shareholders of the company naturally feel it is rudimentary for auditors, accountants, business executives in the higher hierarchy to be ethically sound. Any breach of trust besides having ethical and financial implications affects the overall business activity as well. Ethical collapse in the financial markets has led to raised fingers against corporations who might have taken advantage of deregulation. Laws like Glass Steagall might seem flawed but prohibitions and firewalls still served to protect. Stronger security laws and regulations are the requirement of a world class economy. The ethical practices of the Enron Corp executives and the lack of moral courage shown by its board of directors has led universities to begin additional courses that will pertain to “business ethics”. Stephen Hicks, Chairman of the department of Philosophy at Rockford College says that the faculty believes that successful businesses are by their nature corrupt and this is tantamount to corrupting students in the business ethics class. Emphasis in business classes should be laid on business as creative undertaking like other creative fields and integrity must be the cornerstone of the endeavour. Enron, Worldcom, Global Crossing, Qwest Communications International are companies that have shaken public trust and faith that investments are in safe hands has taken a severe beating after the malpractices in these companies were unearthed. Businesses are no longer seen as incorporating principles and ethics. These scandals have led people to believe that there is obviously something not worth consideration in the functioning of the management. Businesses are now compelled to get consultants who will set right any financial bungling that might lead to financial losses through accounting misunderstandings or fraud. Earlier the practice was to hire accounting consultants for audits only when fraud was suspected or for advice in case of a law suit and payment of damages when a contract was breached. Now all, businesses are under scrutiny of consultants when requested to do so by investors, venture capitalists and collaborators before they enter into a contract or form a business partnership. Even investors do not risk their money unless the company’s books have been found to be in order. If one is to study business ethics, then a deeper understanding of its meaning becomes relevant. Ethical behaviour is considered to be thought based and includes the pursuance of one’s interests but with loyalty towards those whose interests could be jeopardized by one’s actions. Those who profess to possess ethics are considered to be more credible in the eyes of third parties, like investors. This translates into trust that the operative capabilities of an organization is in safe hands. For those who are involved in negotiation in the course of a business relationship the fact that an organization is possessed of high ethical reputation reduces the need to garner information through management consultants. Negotiation is a fact of life (Fisher, 1999) but not everybody’s cup of tea. Also contractual consultations and precautionary measures needed for safeguarding interests will be minimised as both parties will have the reputation for ethical conduct. Hence relevance of ethics for business ranks high. Behavioural ethics can be that magnet which could pull business towards any organization and hence the management consultant will do well to encourage this strategic approach to further the organisation’s competitive advantage. However the reputation of a firm on ethical lines is not built in a day but over an accumulated period of time. There is also no guarantee that the ethical behaviour of the business will continue on ethical lines. It falls on the business therefore to create an ethical image and ensure that the ethical behaviour is consistent in the eyes of the observer on the outside who then finds it easy to identify the business on ethical lines. The main objective of the managing consultant is to ensure that a positive image of the company allows it to achieve its objectives. To this end there is a difference between the created ethical image and actual ethical behaviour. Is the ethical behaviour just a result of the need of the client or is the ethical behaviour real enough for the consultant to take it forward. For a consulting firm it becomes important to see to the continuance of such behaviour and so systems should be in place that will help the business and its employees to overcome ethical issues that could deviate the business from achieving its business goals. Business ethics can be a complicated issue as it is not just about somebody stealing from a firm but it is as complex as the business itself and the activities that go into sustaining it. It also follows therefore that the relationship between the consultant and the business organization is as complicated. There is a fine line between doing business in an ethical way and ensuring that the activities of the firm result in ethical consequences at all times. It is very easy for a business that has a monopoly of a product to take advantage of the situation and seek higher profits from its customers without appearing to do so. Conclusion The boundaries of business ethics are difficult to lay down and would vary from business to business and situation to situation. The management consultant will therefore have to be alert to the changing situation to ensure that there is no mismatch between the perceived image and the actual ethical practices followed by the firm. There are times when the management consultant though ethically relevant in his advice may be dealing with an organization which does not adhere to the basic tenets, as laid down in various laws and regulations, such as working conditions, safety, environmental pollution and tax compliance. Therefore an ethical business behaviour model does not necessarily translate into ethical values if it induces a negative reaction and indirectly leads to unethical behaviour. References Booms, BH & Bitner, MJ 1981, ‘Marketing strategies and organisation structure for service firms’, in JH Donnelly & WR George (eds), Marketing Services, American Marketing Assn, Chicago, pp. 47–51. Davenport, TH & Prusak, L 2005, ‘Knowledge management in consulting’, in L Greiner and F Poulfelt (eds), The contemporary consultant: handbook of management consulting: insights from world experts, Thomson-South Western, Mason, OH, pp. 305–326. Frame, JD 1994, ‘The new business environment and the need for a new project management’ in The new project management, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp. 1–16. Fisher, R, Ury, W & Patton, B 1999, Getting to yes: negotiating agreement without giving in, 2nd edn, Penguin Books, New York. Freedman, A & Zackrison, R 2001, Finding your way in the consulting jungle, Jossey-Bass San Francisco. McDonald, G 2009, ‘An anthology of codes of ethics’, European Business Review, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 344–372. Maister, D 2004, ‘The anatomy of a consulting firm’, in C Fornbrun and M Nevins (eds), The advice business: essential tools and models for management consulting, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, pp. 17–31. Schein, E 2009, Helping: how to offer, give and receive help, McGraw Hill, London. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Essay, n.d.)
Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Essay. https://studentshare.org/management/2035661-management-consulting
(Key Issues Associated With an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Essay)
Key Issues Associated With an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Essay. https://studentshare.org/management/2035661-management-consulting.
“Key Issues Associated With an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Essay”. https://studentshare.org/management/2035661-management-consulting.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Key Issues Associated with an Important Practical and Theoretical Area Related to Management Consulting

Abu Dhabi Police Department: the Reputation Management

… The paper "An Analysis of the Reputation management of the Abu Dhabi Police amongst the Expatriate Community" is an excellent example of a research proposal on management.... The purpose of this proposed study is to assess the effectiveness of the reputation management practises of the Abu Dhabi Police department (ADP) in the context of the perceptions of the expatriate community in Abu Dhabi.... The paper "An Analysis of the Reputation management of the Abu Dhabi Police amongst the Expatriate Community" is an excellent example of a research proposal on management....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Proposal

Assessing the Effectiveness of Targeted Advertising among Internet Social Network Users

To compensate for this dismally low rate of penetration, advertisers have turned to 'targeted' advertising such as search-term related ads and targeted social network ads to reach a more relevant and interested audience.... 2003), meaning that for every 1,000 viewers of an advertisement only five will 'click' it to view the associated commercial site....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Proposal

People Management as a Constant Issue

This paper aims at discussing why ‘ people management' remains a constant issue in modern workplaces, the factors contributing to the challenge of managing people in a workplace and the management theories that assist managers in dealing with key challenges of people management in the organizations.... The article helps find the best way to handle people management issues considering simple frame work for dealing with people and the possible motivators....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Procurement and Purchasing Strategies - Refined Bus Ltd

… The paper 'Procurement and Purchasing Strategies - Refined Bus Ltd" is a good example of a management case study.... The paper 'Procurement and Purchasing Strategies - Refined Bus Ltd" is a good example of a management case study.... Due to increased interest and a better understanding of the function in purchasing, the process of responsibility has developed buying through procurement to supply management....
11 Pages (2750 words) Case Study

Consultation with Management and Groups, Conducting Research on Effective Listening Skills

… The paper "Consultation with management and Groups, Conducting Research on Effective Listening Skills" is an outstanding example of a management report.... The paper "Consultation with management and Groups, Conducting Research on Effective Listening Skills" is an outstanding example of a management report.... THE RATIONALE I have chosen active listening skill because this skill is vital in having effective management....
11 Pages (2750 words)

Legal, Strategic, and Operational Approach to Recruitment

This term paper seeks to address one major aspect of human resource management.... The paper will look at recruitment in human resource management.... The selection of recruitment for this assessment is guided by the fact that recruitment is the most important aspect of human resource management.... It is important to note that recruitment is central to the process of management in any organization.... Over recent years, recruitment has become such a key issue in Human Resource and this has consequently led to the engagement of recruitment agencies especially by multinational companies....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Impact of Radio Frequency Identification on the Efficiency of Supply Chain

To reduce the costs associated with procuring additional software and hardware, organisations should consider adopting cloud-based solutions integrated with RFID-based monitoring and sensing systems.... nbsp;The study aims to investigate the liabilities and advantages of using RFID technology in supply chain operation management, in addition to the advantages and challenges of implementing the technology.... nbsp;The study aims to investigate the liabilities and advantages of using RFID technology in supply chain operation management, in addition to the advantages and challenges of implementing the technology....
21 Pages (5250 words) Research Paper

Comparison of Precision of Systemic Sampling with some other Probability Sampling

Additionally, the interview process will be applicable to provide context to the existing outcome data thus enabling the researcher as to why specific outcomes are associated with the MRIT university program.... It is important to note that the interviewing process lacks confidentiality hence the majority of students will avoid the single interviewing process.... The project situation based on the research objectives and the scope of the project, the interview process will play a pivotal role in accessing detailed information across the research participants based on their thoughts and behaviors, so as to explore the issues in depth....
11 Pages (2750 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us