As a consultant, there are processes that vary in the number of steps, however for the purposes of this paper the following steps will be addressed; initial contact, decision to work together, preliminary analysis, formal proposal, project charter, in-depth analysis, implementation, delivery, and follow up (Frankl, 2014, p. 3). The consulting process starts with the initial contact and the opportunity to sit down with a senior level manager to engage in dialogue around the organization. Management may not be aware of problems or issues and without one there is no consulting job. This is where the consultant’s communication, active listening, and selling skills come into play. Through engaging conversation and open ended questions the consultant can ascertain areas that require further exploration and potentially a consulting role. When managers are aware of concerns or issues, the conversation can quickly steer in the direction of collaborating on how the consultant’s services can be helpful or add value. Active listening and watching the manager’s body language help to sort out what the real concerns are. The consultant needs to determine if the manager is requiring a coach, informational, decisional, supplementary, complementary, differentiating, integrating, and enhancing (Frankl, Ch-01_The_nature_of_mgt_consulting.pptx [Power Point Slides], 2014, p. 17). The continually question of the consultant is, how can I add value, is the need in the form of strategy (business, marketing), or business proposal (new market, information system, cost reduction, regain loss markets, innovation, organizational change) (Frankl, Ch-02_How_consulting_adds_value.pptx [Power Point Slides], 2014, pp. 5-10). The consultant and the manager determine ... ... middle of paper ... ...ancy as “demons”, “thieves”, destructive to organizations. Consultants that make claims of being experts or promising the ultimate solution and do not deliver deteriorate the creditability and trust of consultancy in general. The out-of –the-box solution does not work for every situation and when it does not work the consultant lacks the external resources (or knowledge) to support the need. A clear and concise process with the necessary resources to support the consultant’s claim is essential to being successful for the client and themselves. Building a relationship based on trust and creditability is as equally important as follow thorough and honesty (Zipursky, 2014). Until organizations hiring consultants spend more time validating the creditability before hiring (to weed out the weak) and the consulting industry sets standards, anecdotes will continue to exist.
Fishman, S., 2007. Pros and Cons of Freelancing, Contracting, and Consulting. Retrieved December 11, 2008 from: http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/catId/450464AB-FA7C-4AAC-B374F1BCE305E4DB/objectId/221FE3AA-D933-4595-B0ACEAA2082BC06F/111/159/ART/
The vendors will outline how the work will be accomplished, who will perform the work, and vendors experience in providing the service. Additionally, the vendors will be required to submit work breakdown structures (WBSs) as the hierarchy structure below and work schedules to show their understanding of the work to be performed and their ability to meet the project schedule. There are constraints to be included in the RFP and communicated to all vendors in order to determine their ability to operate within these constraints. The project schedule is not flexible and the contractor must complete the service within the established project schedule of 1 year. The contractor must support the approved project scope statement.
This process is aimed at ensuring the project being pursued has a potential of delivering by adhering to the allocated time, sticking to the budget and very important, meeting customers specifications (Mott McDonald, 2002). It involves assessing the projects at critical stages (also referred to as gates) in its lifecycle and thus assuring it can advance to the next stage successfully. This function is performed by an independent experienced team, after which they assure the Senior Responsible Owners that the project can progress successfully (National Academies US & National Research US, 2004). There are six critical stages (gateways) in the lifecycle of a project that the independent gateway review team will evaluate and thus provide th...
...arations needed during implementation of the project while the final phase is meant for overall evaluation.
The consulting project for ABC Company is to expand the company’s customer base into industrial organizations. The company cannot complete this project until they address internal issues that may hinder the success of the project. The paper below summarizes the company’s internal and external stakeholders, organizational conflict management, and effective methods of persuasive communication.
It is important for an organization to engage its workers to know their state of affairs as much as possible. This will promote unity among the workers and solve issues that have long been disturbing them. Many problems are brought about by stress in the workplace. High levels of stress lead to low productivity and affect the company negatively. An organizational consultant is important in maintaining an environment in which workers can air out issues that are disturbing them and in the end counseling them. This works most of the time and helps the workers to increase in productivity because a problem shared is half solved. Organizational consultancy is thus important to maintain an effective working environment and improve the productivity of the company.
The key benefit of this process is that it will maintain or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and its environment changes.The are several input methods to control stakeholder engagement. Project Management Plan, some of the factors that affect control stakeholder engagement include the life cycle selected for the project, how HR requirements will be met, change management plan and techniques for communication among stakeholders. There are three tools and techniques that can be used. Information Management Systems; these capture, store, and distribute information to stakeholders on project cost, schedule progress, and performance. Expert Judgment Engagement levels of stakeholders are monitored and adjusted by conferring with senior management, key stakeholders, project managers on other projects in same area, SME’s (Subject Matter Experts) in business or project area and industry groups and consultants. Meetings Status review meetings are used to analyze information about stakeholder
They need experienced project managers to lead them through the process of implementing project management as they are just starting the journey towards project management maturity. It is necessary for them to outsource for a longer period of time and not just for training in order to follow the right direction on their PM implementation.
In management consulting, strong analytical skills are valued as much as, if not more than, effective managerial and leadership skills. Unfortunately, for some consultants, these characteristics, at times, are mutually exclusive. I was fortunate, however, to work with [name] on my first major project at [consulting firm]. As my project-manager, he demonstrated a superior combination of leadership, managerial, and communication skills. As a result of our interaction, I learned several important lessons and tools that I used on subsequent projects to improve my effectiveness as a team leader.
At the start of the project the problem is defined by the consultant and confirmed by the client. The next step in the consulting process is data collection via a variety of methods. The process of data gathering can be both long and tedious and thus it is essential that consultants attain quality over quality. Some of the most frequently used techniques include group data gathering, interviews, focus groups, surveys, compiling existing documentation and on-site observation. Also some of the common tools used include the STEP analysis- a framework that reviews the external environment by focus on social, technological, environmental and political factors, the SWOT analysis that focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relating to the organization, trend analysis and the identification of core competencies.
In organisations, clients look to consultants for advice to solve problems and improve the company. From the survey in 2006 by management consultancy Association 66 per cent of the c...
With so many consulting firms offering services tailored to your business it seems it may take more time to decide on one company than it would for them to formulate a proposal. The decision is difficult because each one promises to devise a strategy that will take your company to the top of whatever industry you are in. These companies promise to save time, money and headaches. And offer services from data storage solutions to virus protection to vow to streamline your infrastructure. Two companies were reviewed for this essay: Accenture and EDUTECH consultations services. Regardless of what the websites say, one must be wary of over promising. Whatever company is chosen, get references and feedback from other customers to ensure your money is not going to waste.
and is considered by many as one the most important steps of the process. The entering and contracting step will be utilized to set the pace and lay the foundation for the practitioner client relationship. They involve a preliminary evaluation of the organization’s opportunities for development, while
Consulting the community will be a two way interaction where the intentions are to make the people well informed and understand about the development plan. Other than that, is to receive feedback and getting rough ideas on what the thing that the community really want to see in their neighbourhood. This stage is also important in advising the people that their input will influenced the decision making process at the end. Rather than the usual meeting where everyone sit behind the tab...
The first and most crucial step is to create a solid plan. Plan should include the techniques, tools and data that are going to used in the project. The responsibilities of all the members should be distributed at this step. The utilization of resources and budgeting of the project should be done here. Management tools such as probability and Impact Matrix, FMEA are useful at this point.