UNIT 8 CONSULTANT

Consulting Is More Than Giving Advice

1.What is consultant?

 Consultants can provide expert opinions, analysis, and

recommendations to organizations or individuals, based on
their own expertise.

 They’re essentially fixers, serving as objective

troubleshooters, and providing strategies to prevent
problems and improve performance.
2.What are their responsibilities?
 conducting research, surveys and interviews to gain understanding
of the business
 analysing statistics
 detecting issues and investigating ways to resolve them
 assessing the pros and cons of possible strategies
 compiling and presenting information orally, visually and in writing
 making recommendations for improvement, using computer models
to test them and presenting findings to client
 implementing agreed solutions
 developing and implementing new procedures or training.
3.Consultant purposes
 Providing information to a client.
 Solving a client’s problems.
 Making a diagnosis, which may necessitate redefinition of the
problem.
 Making recommendations based on the diagnosis.
 Assisting with implementation of recommended solutions.
 Building a consensus and commitment around corrective action.
 Facilitating client learning—that is, teaching clients how to
resolve similar problems in the future.
 Permanently improving organizational effectiveness.
4.Five favorable types of consulting

a. Strategy consulting
 Strategy consultants focus on and assist with the long-
term vision of a company. Their goal is to see the bigger
picture, and to identify ways in which to increase the
company's overall profitability and competitiveness.
 Firms that are best known for pure strategy services are
McKinsey, Bain and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Five favorable types of consulting

b. Operations consulting
 Operations consultants look at the systems that clients use
to reach their goals and work to enhance their efficiency.
They assess all levels of operations including production,
sales, distribution and customer service.
Five favorable types of consulting

c. Financial consulting
 Financial consultants assess a client’s financial position in
order to put forward a plan on how to better manage the
finances of the business. This may involve providing
information and advice on investment strategies, tax
issues and how to manage the everyday expenses of the
business.
Five favorable types of consulting

d. Information technology consulting (IT consulting)

 A consultant in this area provides advice on how to best use
technology to enhance a client’s business. This could involve
designing unique software for a company, assisting a firm-
wide transition from PC’s to Macs, or testing the efficiency of
current devices and programs within the business.
Five favorable types of consulting

e. Human resources consulting (HR consulting)

 Human resources consultants handle matters concerning a
firm’s employees. They deal with the people side of
business!
 Consulting Process
 a. Entry: clients contacting, problem diagnosing, proposal
assigning
 b. Diagnosis: purpose analyzing, problem analyzing, facts
finding, facts analyzing, feedback to clients
 c. Action Planning: developing solutions, evaluating
alternatives, proposing to clients, planning for implementation
 d. Implementation: assisting with implementation, adjusting
proposal, training
 e. Termination: evaluation, final report, settling
commitments, plans for follow up and withdraw