...Industry Analysis: Management consulting industry Prepared by: Sagar Patel – spatel90@mail.roosevelt.edu- (312)-316-0087 ECON 403 Spring 2014 Instructor: Prof. Steve Balkin NAISC NAME: Administrative management and general management consulting services NAISC CODE: 541611 Introduction This industry comprises of firms engaged in providing operating advise to businesses, such as marketing advice, strategy planning, financial planning, IT support, budgeting etc.8 In this paper various aspects of the industry have been discussed. History The rise of management as a unique field of study, led to the growth of management consulting industry. The first management firm, Arthur D. Little Inc., was founded in 1886. As Arthur D. Little Inc. mainly focused on technical research for the first few years of operation, it can be said that the first management consulting firm was started by Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1893. Fredrick Winslow Taylor invented the first method of organizing work known as the Taylor’s method. Taylor’s method was used worldwide until the world shifted to the method invented by W. Edwards Deming.1 In the 1930s the ‘ Glass-Steagall banking Act’ led to the growth of the industry, as the demand for advice on strategic and financial planning increased. In the 1950s the management consulting firms not only increased their activities in the United States but also in Europe and Asia. The industry...
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...Careers in Management Consulting WetFeet Insider Guide 2005 Edition The WetFeet Research Methodology You hold in your hands a copy of the best-quality research available for job seekers. We have designed this Insider Guide to save you time doing your job research and to provide highly accurate information written precisely for the needs of the job-seeking public. (We also hope that you’ll enjoy reading it, because, believe it or not, the job search doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck.) Each WetFeet Insider Guide represents hundreds of hours of careful research and writing. We start with a review of the public information available. (Our writers are also experts in reading between the lines.) We augment this information with dozens of in-depth interviews of people who actually work for each company or industry we cover. And, although we keep the identity of the rank-and-file employees anonymous to encourage candor, we also interview the company’s recruiting staff extensively, to make sure that we give you, the reader, accurate information about recruiting, process, compensation, hiring targets, and so on. (WetFeet retains all editorial control of the product.) We also regularly survey our members and customers to learn about their experiences in the recruiting process. Finally, each Insider Guide goes through an editorial review and fact-checking process to make sure that the information and writing live up to our exacting standards before it goes out the door. Are we...
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...1 Introduction The management consulting is usually considered as a process of solving problems. However consulting is more than a technical solving problem as it involves human relationship. Valuables works take different stand on the issue and the interpretation of the role of a consultant in the investment decision-making process may diverse. Largely detailed by Balhadj and Jrhilifa (2009), the consulting literature distinguishes the functionalist view form the critical view. Werr and Linnarsson (2002) The current of though which supports the favourable belief considers that consulting provides added value, whereas the critical belief remain sceptical. Although the decision-making doesn’t make the difference between both thinking, the consultant’s responsibility in client decision-making will profoundly differs depending on the belief. Consequently it is necessary to understand how each approach interprets the relationship client-consultant in order to estimate the role of each part in the decisionmaking process. So what are the main difference between the functionalist perspective and the critical perspective and how does it impact the decision-making between client and consultant? Firstly, we will need to define the management consulting as a global solution; secondly we will interpret the role and the responsibility of a consultant during its mission. Then, after understanding why a company may need a consultant, we will try to demonstrate that the consultant’s responsibility...
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...Summary The case “Knowledge Management at Anderson Consulting” takes a broad overview of Anderson’s knowledge management system (Knowledge Xchange) from its initial conception through various stages of growth and finally presents several potential avenues that could be taken to improve the system. Anderson’s knowledge management system was initially created in 1991 as a basic Lotus Notes email system which allowed them to get information into the field quickly, and rapidly expanded into the Xchange system which consists of more than one hundred documents housed throughout the world. Its success was due, in part, to knowledge management being considered a key part of Anderson’s overall business strategy. However, with its rapid growth came several problems: first, information and knowledge overload become a big problem, second, the structure of its knowledge base was becoming increasingly complex, and, finally, returns on their investment into the Xchange system are difficult to determine. So, Mr. Paulk (Anderson’s CIO) and Mr. Ahern (a senior partner) have created four potential options in which the current system can be augmented: first, they could pre-filter the submitted knowledge, second, they could use intelligent agents to search the knowledge, third, they could contextualize documents with a topic summary, and fourth, they could assign project knowledge managers who would write-up knowledge learned from engagements. Analysis Andersen Consulting considered Knowledge capital...
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...Client – Getting it Right from the Start 1. Client—getting it right from the start. “The whole consulting process begins and ends with the client,” Cope writes. “And it is imperative you apply sufficient time and energy to understanding the person as well as the problem.” Cope helps the reader consider several aspects of working with clients. At the end of each section, he asks a “back pocket question” that should be considered during a project, such as, “Am I able to view the problem as the client sees it?” All the questions are printed on a Seven Cs “pocket guide” that you can tear out of the book and take with you to assignments. “Trade is a social Act”. • Orientation – Viewing the problem as the Client sees it (including their perception) • Desired Outcome – Bringing clarity of the desired outcome (the real value and not just an end-state) • Change Ladder – Removing the fog from the problem by focusing on where change may be required • Situation Viability – Studying if the issue can be successfully resolved and see if the timing is right for change • Decision Makers – Having a clear picture of the decision makers who can influence the initial stages of contract development • Ethos – Considering if the changes will be coercive or participative in Nature • Contract – Establishing a contract that sets out a framework for action and measurement Clarify – Understanding the Real Issues 2. Clarify—understanding the real issues. Cope quotes Claude Levi-Strauss: “The...
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...Consulting Analysis for Criterion Water Labs, LLC Criterion Water Labs, LLC has been in business for four years. The owners, Dr. David and Ann Ihms are hardworking entrepreneurs. Both coming from a science background, they attended a six week fast track venture class and is now providing local quality water testing along with developing educational materials for hands on science. They are passionate about education and encouraging the youth to consider biology and chemistry fields to study. The mission of the business is to continue growing while maintaining both facets. Because of their social responsibility, customer base growth potential is not an issue. They have created a quality and after sale service value to their customers. Additional focuses on marketing, process management, and capabilities will expand the horizons for future growth for this community minded business. The environmental testing labs and services industry in which Criterion is part of held strong through the recession because of the growing concerns with the environment and social responsibility making Criterion Water Lab’s differentiation strategy appropriate. The owners took part in a radio interview after flooding occurred in their local community. Members of the community took notice of Criterions diligence and received the message openly. This was a spontaneous marketing effort that displayed their competence and responsiveness. By conducting an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities...
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...List of top consulting firms Following is an interactive list of the top consulting firms/companies around the world with such details as ranking, company name, website url, headquarters, year founded, approximate number of employees, male to female ratio, and other statistics. You can perform searches and sort the list (multiple column sort available, hold down shift). Our databases are frequently updated, be sure to bookmark and visit us often for updates and added stats. If you have suggestions or would like to see added features or stats you'd like to see feel free to email us your suggestions. Purpose: To summarize and provide beneficial statistical information about the consulting industry and provide quick access gateway to relevant companies and websites. Serving: Researchers, students, professionals, job seekers and all who seek information about top consulting companies. (10 characters max, no button to click, just type a few characters and see results) Type a company name to filter the list below for example: deloitte (your browser needs to support javascript) Note: Columns are sortable, you can multi-sort if necessary (shift + click) Rank | Consulting Firm | HQ | Industry | Type | # of employees | Year founded | Median age | Male | Female | 1 | McKinsey & Company * http://www.mckinsey.com * LinkedIn * Facebook * Twittersnapshot | Greater New York City Area | Management Consulting | Partnership | 15000 | 1926 | 29 | 67% | 33% | 2 | The Boston...
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...p. 533). Summary of the Facts A.T. Kearney, one of the largest global management consulting firms was acquired by Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a leader in global information services, in 1995 for an estimated $600 million. The acquisition would allow EDS/ A.T. Kearney to be a “one stop shop” (p. 525) that could offer a broad range of services to their clients. This potential opportunity would be challenged by the potential difficulty of merging the two companies together. A.T. Kearney conducted a survey of “senior executives at Global 1000 companies to explore their attitudes towards the role of information technology in their businesses” (p. 525). The survey revealed that information technology was evolving. It was no longer being viewed as just a tool to increase productivity. Technology was being recognized as an important part of an organization’s strategic objectives because it could be used to “help solve problems, set new levels of service and create new distribution” (p. 525). The study reached the following main conclusions: • Technology has been integrated into business strategy. • Technology investments will increase. • Corporations are embracing the philosophy of restructuring and reengineering. • Senior management is becoming technology-literate as, across all industries, major corporations increasingly view themselves as “technology-oriented companies.” • Senior management expresses satisfaction...
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...CONSULTING FAQ ▪ Objective This is a BITS2BSCHOOL initiative to form a ‘Frequently Asked Questionnaire’ on Management Consulting for the aspiring consultants on this e-group. This FAQ has been compiled from answers provided by a panel of Consultant BITSians, to consulting relating questions posed by this group. ▪ FAQ Structure The questions have been classified into the following sections: B Schools and Academic background (pre and during MBA) Professional work experience (pre MBA) and expectations Post MBA Consulting experience Interpersonal Skills and Networking FAQ B SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIC BACKGROUND (PRE AND DURING MBA) Q1. When evaluating MBA programs, what are the key characteristics to consider for an aspiring consultant? In other words, what are the different parameters based on which, one can shortlist & differentiate universities for a consulting major. While Consulting companies recruit heavily from a core set of schools (typically 5 or 6 top schools), almost all Consulting firms recruit from most of the top 10 or top 15 schools. When evaluating an MBA program, it is important to consider the location, interest in living there and how good the program is. One can gather this information by networking with alumni and current students. While targeting a school with consulting in mind is one way to go, it is essential to keep an open mind. Most students figure out their interests and career paths while at school and not before. As...
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...CONSULTANCY MEETING PROFESSION OR NOT - A CASE OF BAIN & COMPANY 1.0 Background information Bain & Company was established in 1973 by a group of seven former partners and managers from the Boston Consulting Group headed by Bill Bain. The company was originally headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts on Militia Drive. By the end of the decade, the firm's headquarters were in Faneuil Hall Marketplace in downtown Boston. Under Bain's direction, the firm implemented a number of unconventional practices in its early years. Notably, Bain & Co. would work with only one client per industry to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Partners did not carry business cards and clients were referred to by code names to enforce client confidentiality. The company won clients by boardroom referrals rather than marketing, and claimed its consultants worked on increasing a company's market value rather than simply handing clients a list of recommendations. To win business, Bain demonstrated the increase in the price of their clients' stocks relative to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The firm's founding was followed by a period of growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the firm opened offices in Menlo Park, California, London, Munich, Paris, and Tokyo. Another consulting approach used at Bain & Co. was accepting equity in lieu of fixed fees. An estimated 10% of Bain's revenue is derived from this equity participation or "success fees". For example, the firm took an ownership...
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...Business Process Outsourcing Introduction Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments of its supply chain. BPO is typically categorized into back office outsourcing - which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing - which includes customer-related services such as contact center services. BPO that is contracted outside a company's country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company's neighboring (or nearby) country is called near shore outsourcing. Often the business processes are information technology-based, and are referred to as ITES-BPO, where ITES stands for Information Technology Enabled Service. Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of business process outsourcing industry. In 2010, the Philippines surpassed India as the largest business process outsourcing industry in the world. After growing 20 per cent in 2012, the BPO industry of the Philippines is estimated to gross revenue of upwards to $25 billion by 2016. By these estimates, the Philippines' BPO industry will account for approximately 10 per cent of the nation's GDP. History...
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...Case Accenture Accenture began in 1942 as Administrative Accounting Group, the consulting arm of accounting firm Arthur Andersen. In 1989, it launched as a separate business unit focused on IT consulting and bearing the name Andersen Consulting. At that time, though it was earning $1 billion annually, Andersen Consulting had low brand awareness among information technology consultancies and was commonly mistaken for its accounting corporate parent. To build its brand and separate itself from the accounting firm, Andersen Consulting launched the first large-scale advertising campaign in the professional services area. By the end of the decade, it was the world’s largest management and technology consulting organization. In 2000, following arbitration against its former parent, Andersen Consulting was granted its full independence from Arthur Andersen—but it had to relinquish the Andersen name. Andersen Consulting was given three months to find a name that was able to be trademarked in 47 countries, effective and inoffensive in over 200 languages, and acceptable to employees and clients—and that corresponded with an available URL. The effort that followed was one of the largest—and most successful—rebranding campaigns in corporate history. As luck would have it, the company’s new name came from a consultant at the company’s Oslo office, who submitted “Accenture” as part of an internal name-generation initiative dubbed “Brandstorming.” The consultant coined the Accenture name...
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...Table of Contents WHAT IS CONSULTING? .................................................................................. 4 CONSULTING TRENDS AT FUQUA .................................................................................. 4 WHAT DO CONSULTANTS DELIVER? ............................................................................. 4 CHOOSING THE CONSULTING INDUSTRY AND A ROLE WITHIN IT ................ 5 WHY CONSULTING – PROS & CONS ............................................................................. 6 GAUGING THE CULTURE OF CONSULTING FIRMS........................................... 7 THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY .............................................................................. 8 THE MBA SUMMER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE................................................ 9 SOME AREAS ON WHICH TO FOCUS DURING THE INTERNSHIP ................... 10 TIME MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................... 10 ASSESSING THE FIT ............................................................................................... 10 MENTORING ........................................................................................................ 10 CLIENT FOCUS ..................................................................................................... 10 DEFINING THE INDUSTRY............................................................................. 10 THE NATURE OF THE WORK ...................................
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...The economic downturn has caused lots of companies to call into question their business tactics and pricing strategies. While reconsidering marketing practices may make good sense, you should not significantly change your pricing. An untimely price reduction can cause great financial stress on a company, sometimes driving them into bankruptcy. When in doubt, don’t turn to price reduction. Cutting prices with the hope that you will attract more business is a surefire way to reduce profitability. Then what is the solution? Conduct a Business Analysis That will help you to develop a clear image of how your business is working, considering the sum of all the constituent parts. After that, assess how your business has been developing and acknowledge areas of possible improvement. Track the success of your improvements over time, adjusting the changes so that they optimize the efficiency of your overall goal. In such a competitive business climate, making just the right changes is crucial to your success. Finally, make certain that your pricing matches the value of your services—not just your cost in providing them. If that means increasing prices, do it. Refine your Marketing The solution to surviving a recession isn’t cutting prices but smarter marketing to your target customers. Determine who you best customers are and research the best way to market your services to them. The most successful companies are the ones that can take advantage of a recession to enlarge their...
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...Analysis of Business Specialties Paper Analysis of Business Specialties Paper Analysis of Business Specialties Paper TD Sports Consultants (Essie) This paper will describe the consulting firm that was chosen by team D and address several issues or problems that the consulting firm may encounter. It will also give a description of the services that will be offered by TD sports consultants. Finally, the paper will explain the why the consulting firm is well suited to the skills of the team D’s members. The team members agreed on the name TD Sports Consultants. This particular name was chosen because it was inclusive of all the team members’ and their skills and ideas. Because most of the team members are sports fans, it was suiting that we named a sports consulting firm after the founders. The purpose of the consulting firm is to help sport teams locate sponsors that can come up with innovative ideas and advertisements to promote their products. The firm will produce results that are not being filled by marketing companies. The strategy of TD Sports Consultants is to find out why other companies are not getting the desired results and to fill the gap by providing the needed services to the teams. Description of the TD Sports Consultants (Wally) Sports marketing is an industry worth billions (Kuriloff, 2007) in the US annually. Franchises have marketing departments to improve the perception of their team as well as advertising salespeople to...
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