Amity Business School

Aim

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The course aims at bringing the students closer to reality

by developing their understanding of the professional
prerequisites to practice of management in terms of
required skills and attitude to respond proactively to
rapid discontinuous change in business environment.
Integrative in approach, this course aims at developing
not theoreticians but practitioners who are expected to
sense the ongoing conflict between environmental
change and internal desire of management for stability.

Amity Business School

MBA, Semester 4

Management in Action Social, Economic & Ethical

Issues

-Teena Bagga
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Objective

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Course Objectives:
Bring students closer to reality by developing their
understanding of the professional prerequisites to
practice of management in terms of required skills
and attitude to respond proactively to rapid
discontinuous change in business environment

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On completion of this course, students will be

able to :
Examine political, economic, geographic and cultural
sources that shape a global competitive context
Provide deep understanding and working knowledge
of managing a consulting firm
Be able to develop a systematic / structured approach
to diagnose management problems.
Develop critical thinking skills through reading and
case studies to apply social responsibility concepts
and ethical principles to current business scenario

Develop students the attributes of a consultant.

Develop not theoreticians but practitioners who are
expected to sense the ongoing conflict between
environmental change and internal desire of
management for stability.

Module I:
Introduction

Learning Outcomes

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Modern Management Practices and Issues

Involved, Outsourcing Management Services
and Evolution of Management Consultancy,
Skills-set Required for Management Consultants.
Consulting and performance counseling.

Module II:
The Process of Management
Consulting

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Consulting Proposals. Identification and Definition of

Problem, Fact-Finding Leading to Solution
Development and Implementation, Developing
Strategic and Tactical Plans and Subcontracting,
Pricing of Consultancy, Acquiring and Developing
Talents for Consulting.

Amity Business School

Module III:
In-house Management versus
Management Outsourced

HA
Seminar
Project
Viva
A
End Term Exam

Module VI:
Ethical Issues in Management

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Relationship among Various Stakeholders,

Reasons for Conflict of Interests Among
Stakeholders, Corporate Governance and Ethics.
Why Unethical Decisions Leading to Conflicts
are Taken, Power and Politics, Initiatives on
Corporate Governance by the Governments.

Adaptation to Changing Environment in General and

Economic Environment in Particular, Economic Growth
and Change Areas, Emerging Opportunities in Various
Sectors including Social Sector, Management Practice
and Cultural Issues, The global Political Situation, The
Global Competitive Environment and the internal scene
in India, War Game.

Assessment

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Types of organizational culture, Strength of

organizational
culture,
Function
of
organizational culture, Importance of culture to
the organization, Cultural Models, CrossCultural Perspectives, Geert Hofstede and CrossCultural Issues

Why a Sense of Skepticism and Unease Towards

Management Consultants. Cost versus Value
of Advice, Separating Consulting Success
from Consulting disaster. Some Revealing
Situations.

Module V:
Economic and Social Issues in
Management

Module IV:
Cross Cultural Management
Systems and Processes

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The Career Structure

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05
05
10
05
05
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Analysts
Consultants
Senior Consultants
Business development managers
Directors/Partners

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Amity Business School

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Challenges faced
by
Business

Module 1

Introduction

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Uncertainty

Uncertainty in the global economy

uncertainty in the credit markets,
uncertainty in how new regulations will affect business,
uncertainty about what competitors are doing, and
uncertainty about how new technology will affect the
business
..
uncertainty leads to a short-term focus
we believe that a failure to strategically plan five years
into the future can end up destroying value.
The problem to be solved, therefore, is to balance the need
for a more reactive, short-term focus with the need
for informed, long-term strategies.

Innovation

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Globalization

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Understanding foreign cultures is essential to everything

from the ability to penetrate new markets with existing
products and services, to designing new products and
services for new customers
to recognizing emergent, disruptive competitors that only
months earlier werent even known.
The problem to be solved is to better understand
international markets and cultures through better
information gathering and analysis of what it all means.
Similarly, the incredible degree of government intervention
in nearly all major economies of the world is leading to
much greater uncertainty in the global marketplace, making
international operations ever harder to manage.
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Big companies are struggling with innovation

A better innovation process is at the top of the agenda for
most CEOs
But the idea of a more innovative culture appears too
frightening to many.
The problem to be solved is how to become more
innovative while still maintaining a sense of control over
the organization.

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Government Policy
& Regulation

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A changing regulatory environment is always of concern in

certain industries,
Uncertain energy, environmental and financial policy is
complicating the decision making for nearly all companies
today.
Dealing with an unknown regulatory environment is fast
becoming the new normal and companies are deciding to get on
with itwhatever it may bedespite the angst.
The problems to be solved are to understand the meaning of
regulation and government policy in your industry, its
implications for your business, and to develop the
skills necessary to deal with it.
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Technology

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The pace of technological improvement is running at an

exponentially increasing rate.
the pace today makes capital investment in technology as
much an asset as a handicap
because a competitor may wait for the next-generation
technology, which may only be a year away, and then use it
to achieve an advantage. Whats a CEO to do?
Similarly, the ability for even the best of technologists to
stay informed about emerging technology is in conflict
with the need to master a company's current technology.
The problem to be solved is to develop a long-term
technology strategy while remaining flexible enough to
take advantage of unforeseen technology developments.
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Complexity

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Theres no doubt that life and business have gotten more complex,
even as certain tasks and activities have become easier due to
information technology.
The pace of change is quickening.
The global economy is becoming still more connected, creating a
much larger and more diverse population of customers and
suppliers.
Manufacturing and services are increasingly targeted at smaller,
specialized markets due to the flexibility that IT provides in these
areas. We know from our knowledge of the patterns of evolution
that, in reality, systems tend to become more complex as they
evolve, then become simplified again.
The problem is how to develop better systems-thinking
capability so you can design your business models, processes,
products and services in a way that minimizes unnecessary
complexity.

Diversity

A particular subset of human capital planning is found so often in

our research that it is worth its own mention.
Diversity brings many challenges, as it makes it far more likely
that people do not agree, and the lack of agreement makes running
a business very difficult.
At the same time, the lack of diversity within many large company
leadership teams leads to a narrow view of an ever-changing and
diverse worldcontributing to groupthink, stale culture and a
tendency to live with the status quo for too long.
The problem to be solved is to first define what diversity (and
were not talking about satisfying government statisticians) really
means in your company, then foster the expansion of differing
ideas and viewpoints while ensuring a sufficiently cohesive
environment that efficiently gets things done.
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Information Overload

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It is said that the only true constant is change, and in

todays world nothing is changing more, or growing
faster, than information.
Every day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created.
The ability of companies, much less individuals, to
consume and make sense of the information that is
available (and necessary) to make good decisions is
becoming a nearly insurmountable challenge.
The problem to be solved is to deal with this mountain
of information with both technology and human
know-how, then to convert this information into valuable
knowledge.
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Supply Chains

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Because of uncertainty in demand and the need to stay

lean.
companies are carrying smaller inventories than ever.
At the same time, uncertainty in supply, driven by wildly
changing commodity prices, an apparent increase in
weather-related disruptions, and increasing competition for
raw materials makes supply chain planning more
challenging than ever.
The problem to be solved is to develop a supply-chain
strategy that not only ensures the lowest costs, but also
minimizes the risk of crippling supply-chain disruptions.

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Strategic Thinking
& Problem Solving

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The lack of sophisticated approaches to information acquisition,

analysis and the development of unique insight leaves many
companies at a disadvantage;
they lack a long-term strategic imperative and instead jump from one
strategy to the next on a year-to-year basis.
Everyday problem-solving competency among todays business
leaders is also limiting their ability to adequately deal with the first nine
problems.
This is why corporate managers tend to jump from one fire to another,
depending on which one their executives are trying to put out, and in
many cases the fast-changing business environment is what ignites
these fires in the first place.
So what is the problem to be solved? Companies must resolve that
strategic thinking and problem solving are the keys to successful
business, then develop a robust capability at all levels.
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Amity Business School

OUTSOURCING INTRODUCTION ABS

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the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities

traditionally handled by internal staff and resources Dave Griffiths

Outsourcing
Management Services

Services
COMPANY

OUTSOURCER

Organization
Service
Level
Level
Agreement Agreement

Outsourcing denotes the continuous procurement of services from a

third party, making use of highly integrated processes, organization
models and information systems.

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Recent trends in
outsourcing

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.

Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) describes the outsourcing of

core business activities, which often are competitively important or form
an integral part of a company's value chain. Therefore KPO requires
advanced analytical and technical skills as well as a high degree of
proprietary domain expertise

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Why Outsource?

40% to 50% of the top 500 companies in the world is

leveraging on outsourcing for most of their business
processes.
Current figures values this robust industry to a staggering $20
billion USD.
On an average global outsourced projects involve about 28%
that belong to the hardcore IT sector, 11% to finance sector,
15% to sales and marketing and 9% from administrative sector.
The remaining 22% belong to many other different sectors
such as consumer distress calls, general data segregation jobs,
tourism etc.

Types of Outsourcing

Reasons for Outsourcing

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Provide services that are scalable,

secure, and efficient, while improving
overall service and reducing costs.

Traditional role - reaction to problem

Reduction and control of costs

Avoid large capital investment costs
Insufficient resources available

Modern role business strategy

Allows company to focus on their core

competencies
Keeping up with cutting-edge technology
Creating value for the organization and its
customers
Building partnerships

Types of Outsourcing

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Legal process outsourcing (LPO) refers to the practice of a law firm

or corporation obtaining legal support services from an outside law firm
or legal support services company. This process has been marked by the
practice of outsourcing any activity except those where personal
presence or contact is required.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing(RPO) is a form of business process
outsourcing (BPO) where an employer outsources or transfers all or part of
its recruitment activities to an external service provider.
Engineering process outsourcing( EPO)
EPO offers global consulting and outsourcing services providing end-toend services in the areas of Engineering and Technical Process
Outsourcing.

Amity Business School

When to Outsource

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Decision Matrix

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PricewaterhouseCoopers Model
Strategic

Non-Strategic

Competitive

Not
Outsourced

Grey
Area

Non-Competitive

In House
if Possible

Outsource

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Form a strategic alliance

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Tasks in this quadrant are high in strategic importance,

but contribute little to operational performance.
So, although you need to retain control of them to ensure
they are done exactly as you want, or you get the quality
you want, they are relatively insignificant in terms of cost
or smooth running and so not worthy of full in-house
focus.
This means that you should form a strategic alliance .
For example, an auto manufacturer could align with an
advertising agency.
The manufacturer needs to be closely involved in the
message and tone of adverts, but advertising has little
impact on the day-to-day operational performance of the
company.

Outsource

Retain

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Tasks in this quadrant are high in strategic importance

and have a big impact on operational performance.
These tasks should be kept in-house so that your
organization keeps maximum control.
In our auto manufacturer, the assembly of cars would be
retained as it is strategically critical it should be one of
the organization's core competences , in fact and it
makes a massive contribution to the smooth running of
the organization.

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Tasks this quadrant are important for successful operational

performance, but are not strategically important.
These tasks could safely be outsourced. They're simply not
worth spending in-house time managing.
For example, the auto manufacturer in the example above
could outsource its delivery logistics to a specialist company.
How you deliver cars to dealers is generally not a source of
competitive advantage, as it doesn't touch the customer's
experience, but how well it's done has a huge impact on
operational performance.
If transporters are late, stock builds up at the manufacturing
plant, and dealers don't have the vehicles they need in their
show rooms for customers to test drive. You can learn more
about outsourcing in Working with Outsourced Suppliers . 35

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Eliminate

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Tasks in this quadrant are not important to your organization's

overall strategy and nor do they make a significant
contribution to its day-to-day operational performance.
Although you might not be able to eliminate these tasks
completely, it's important to check why you're doing them.
An example might be running a subsidized staff crche.
Although having an in-house childcare facility might help you
to attract certain staff (strategic importance) or reduce
absenteeism caused by childcare problems (operational
performance), does the effort involved justify doing it?
Perhaps it does, but equally, perhaps you might be better off
paying your people a little more, so that they can afford to use
independent crches situated nearby.

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Advantages of
Outsourcing

Problems With
Outsourcing

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Swiftness and Expertise: Most of the times tasks are outsourced to

vendors who specialize in their field. The outsourced vendors also have
specific equipment and technical expertise, most of the times better than the
ones at the outsourcing organization. Effectively the tasks can be completed
faster and with better quality output
Concentrating on core process rather than the supporting
ones: Outsourcing the supporting processes gives the organization more
time to strengthen their core business process and help in Increased
productivity and Efficiency
Risk-sharing: one of the most crucial factors determining the outcome of a
campaign is risk-analysis. Outsourcing certain components of your business
process helps the organization to shift certain responsibilities to the
outsourced vendor. Since the outsourced vendor is a specialist, they plan
your risk-mitigating factors better
Reduced Operational and Recruitment costs: Outsourcing eludes the
need to hire individuals in-house; hence recruitment and operational costs
can be minimized to a great extent. This is one of the prime advantages of
offshore outsourcing

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Risk of exposing confidential data: When an organization outsources

various services, it involves a risk if exposing confidential company
information to a third-party
Synchronizing the deliverables: In case you do not choose a right partner
for outsourcing, some of the common problem areas include stretched
delivery time frames, sub-standard quality output and inappropriate
categorization of responsibilities. At times it is easier to regulate these
factors inside an organization rather than with an outsourced
partner.Selection of supplier !!!
Hidden costs: Although outsourcing most of the times is cost-effective at
times the hidden costs involved in signing a contract while signing a contract
across international boundaries may pose a serious threat
Lack of customer focus: An outsourced vendor may be catering to the
expertise-needs of multiple organizations at a time. In such situations
vendors may lack complete focus on your organizations tasks. Loss of
Control!!!
Provider may not understand business environment
Provider slow to react to changes in strategy
Too dependent on service provider
.

Outsourcing
Implementation

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The guiding principle of outsourcing has been the

transfer of a process or function, that is typically not a
core competence of an enterprise, to an organization
that has expertise in that area, allowing the enterprise to
effectively utilize its resources in its core areas of
business.
This principle has dual objectives:

Program initiation

Opinions and ideas shared to form draft

contract

Program implementation

So

Transferring staff
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Establish communications between partners
Actual transfer of the service
Establish management procedures

Save on cost of operation by acquiring services from a team more

productive that the internal resources (based on their expertise, or their
ability to leverage infrastructure across multiple clients); and
Improve quality and value of operation by acquiring services from an
organization with best practices in managing that business activity.

Contract agreement

Any outsourcing contract will ultimately be about either

or both of these two objectives.

Contract fulfillment

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Onshore Outsourcing

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Onshore outsourcing limits the outsourced work within the locality or

the country of origin, making outsourcing providers more accessible
and is nearer to the company itself.
There will be no problem with traveling and it makes communication
between you and the outsourcing team more comfortable and
available.
Onshore outsourcing will not impose as much risk as offshore
outsourcing, but the benefits that you would enjoy is not as great and
as rewarding as its foreign counterpart.
Aside from that, when it comes to intellectual property rights, you and
the outsourcing company that you are working with are covered by the
same legal rules while in the practice of legality and ownership of
intellectual properties.
Onshore outsourcing business can help your company(client) save on
office space, cost and be more efficient. The geographical limits may
just allow you to come in contact with the team every day and
supervise their operation.

Offshore Outsourcing

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Offshore outsourcing can be defined as the system of

collaborating with an external organization and assigning that
organization to carry out some of your business roles.
Usually the product or the service which has been outsourced
would not be sold in the offshoring location; it would only be
marketed in the outsourcer's country.
Offshore outsourcing gives organizations access to highquality services at lower operating costs.
There are basically three main categories in offshore
outsourcing; business process outsourcing (BPO),
infrastructure and technology outsourcing and software
outsourcing.
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Differences in the sourcing

strategy..

Differences in the sourcing

strategy..

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Insourcing vs. Outsourcing Managing the complexities of the global

delivery
model requires a deep expertise in the local environments and experience with
cross border business operation, making the evaluation of whether to
outsource a project or leave it in-house very different from a purely onshore
sourcing decision.
Structure of the solution The lack of maturity of the offshore industry
requires a significant commitment from the enterprise in supporting the
development and growth of the outsourcing solution. Making that commitment,
keeping a eye on the long-view necessitates a strategic sourcing decision,
distinctly different from a domestic sourcing contract.
Due diligence on operating models and supplier selection The level of
due diligence required, and the types of issues to address during supplier
selection are substantially different. For example, in offshore sourcing for 24X7
process support, it is imperative to check the availability of 100% captive power
generation. Indeed, its imperative to check for the level of reserve gasoline
available.

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Resource deployment/redeployment Offshore Outsourcing transactions

rarely include asset and resource transfers from the buyer to the service
provider, whereas in onshore sourcing deals, that is a common point of
negotiation.
Knowledge transfer the transfer of information and training around the
buyers IT environment and other relationship parameters are very difficult to do
in offshore sourcing. Since this has a direct effect on path to productivity for
service providers, it becomes an important evaluation criterion, as well as a
phase in the sourcing cycle.
Portfolio Assessment and planning the offshoreability of an IT service or
business process is dependent on many factors, and in most enterprises,
transitioning to an offshore model requires early planning. The portfolio
assessment and planning phase is a critical component of a successful
offshore sourcing initiative.

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History

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Management as a unique field of study

Arthur D.Little (1890s)
McKinsey & Company

Consultancy

First management and strategy consultancy

Founded by James McKinsey in 1926 (Chicago)
Hiring of bright young MBAs

Rise of management consultancy after World War II

Development of tools for strategic management
Boston Consulting Group (1963), McKinsey&Co, Harvard Business
School
Bain&Co - focus on shareholder wealth

Consulting within accountancy and technology firms

PwC and IBM

Niche consultancy firms

Corporate social responsibiity

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Types of firms in the

industry

Accountancy firms offering consultancy

Large non-accounting consultancies
Small specialist boutiques
Gurus
Independents
Strategy

Process and
Operations

HR

Marketing
Management
consulting

Org design

Change
Infotech

Major consultancies

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Bain & Company

Boston Consulting Group
Deloitte & Touche
Ernst & Young
A.T. Kearny
KPMG
Arthur D.Little
McKinsey & Co
Mercer
PriceWaterhouse Coopers

Amity Business School

Different types of consulting

services:
a knowledge-based view
Competitive strategy

Productise
Reuse economics

Economic model

Bespoke
Expert economics

People-to-documents

KM strategy

Person-to-person

IT focus

Technology

IT enables personal
Build experience

Buy experience
Reward for
contribution to document
database
Ernst & Young

HRM

Example

Why?

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Reward for
knowledge creation and
sharing

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The cost of doing it yourself is often more than getting experts in to do it

for you, even if their daily rate is high.
It is unsurprising that expertise is not the only reason why clients
bringing in consultants.
Clients are quite capable of doing themselves, yet they do not have the
time.
Client managers call in consultants because their image of expertise
provides security in an inherently insecure and uncertain business world.
Clients can use this expert identity to bolster their own image in an
organisation or to provide legitimacy to a decision that the client has
already made.
Consultants also provide a very real succor to clients in that they provide a
legal liability for when decisions go wrong.

McKinsey & Company

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What?

What ???

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The definition of management consultancy is no minor problem. The

Management Consultancies Association (MCA) in the UK defines the role as:
the creation of value for organisations,
through the application of knowledge, techniques and assets,
to improve business performance.
This is achieved through the rendering of objective advice and/or the
implementation of business solutions.

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to try to take ownership of an organisations problems and

use research and logic to develop possible options for a way
forward.
Matt Baumann
giving solutions to the problems that companies have.
Jane Ridley

In Nutshell ..
Consulting is about helping an organisation
get from A to B

Consulting involves individuals, whether self-employed or employed,

individually or collectively using their knowledge, experience and analytical
and/or problem-solving skills to add value into a wide variety of organisations,
and therefore to the UK economy as a whole, within a framework of
appropriate and relevant professional standards, disciplines and ethics. (IC)
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Attributes of Successful
Consultants

Powerful Negotiator
Effective Communicator
Reservoir of Self Control
Understanding of Individual Psychology
Understanding of Group Psychology
Understanding of Organizational Psychology
Complete mastery of the given area.

Barriers common to Consultants

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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

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Know it all attitude

Inability to understand technical language
Inadequate background or knowledge
Poor organization of ideas
Differences in perception
Prejudice or bias
Personality conflicts
Tendency not to listen
Resistance to change
Lack of credibility
Inability to understand Non-Verbal Communication
Hostile attitude
Lack of feedback
Differences in status or position
Too many Gatekeepers
Overly Competitive Attitude

Amity Business School

Activity

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List down the consulting firms in India.

Segregated them into three categories:
Strategy and general business consulting
firms in India
IT consulting firms in India
HR consulting firms in India

Find out the kind of openings/profiles

these firms have for Fresh/Experienced
Management Graduate.
And the competency required for the
various profiles.

Deloittes one firm strategy

The consultancy market has experienced unprecedented
change through the 1990s and over the
last decade. Strong growth over this period has
been driven by waves of new ideas, not least the
introduction of technology in all its forms: from enterprise
resourcing planning systems during the
boom years of the late 90s, through the inflation
and bursting of the internet bubble, a trend towards
offshoring, to todays market where cost reduction
is the service in demand.
Throughout this time, the competitive landscape
has been in flux. Of particular significance
was the major restructure in the early 2000s as
most of the big 5 professional services firms sold
off their consultancy practices in response to market
perceptions and regulatory pressures in the
aftermath of Enron. Ernst & Young, KPMG and
PricewaterhouseCoopers
all sold their consulting
businesses to CapGemini, BearingPoint and IBM
respectively. Deloitte, however, retained its consultancy
business and embarked on a new One Firm
strategy to maximize the opportunity from this
unique positioning.

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ABS
or more relevant skills. The result is rarely the best
outcome for the client, who may receive very different
service depending upon which part of the
firm was originally engaged. It is important to remember
that clients do not care which service line
they are speaking to. They have a challenge and
they would like it solved. The best solution to this
challenge will often come from a multi-disciplinary
team, possessing a blend of different skills.
In 2000, Deloitte was perhaps best known as an
audit and financial advisory firm, but consultancy was
also a core and expanding part of the business. Having
retained its consultancy capability, whilst other
firms sold theirs, Deloitte had a valuable differentiator.
In particular, the firm was well positioned to provide
a broad and comprehensive service, supporting the
client from the start of an issue or initiative, through
to the implementation of a solution. Whilst many
firms could compete on advisory services and many
others could compete on implementation and operational
services, few could offer such a full breadth of
support through the lifecycle of the business.
For example, consider a company that has enjoyed
success in its local market, but is now seeking
to develop and grow its business. Typically, this
will trigger a series of questions:

ABS
Deloittes approach was based on the following
strategic choices:
1. Collaborate as one Deloitte team, going to
market with a portfolio of businesses that
can team effectively to serve clients with
distinction.
2. Develop and maintain four world-class
businesses (audit, tax, consulting and corporate
finance).
3. Attract and retain the best people, becoming
known as the place where the best
choose to be.
4. Be a client-centric organization and deliver
exceptional client service with an unrelenting
focus on quality.
5. Own the high ground, leading the profession
in restoring public trust in auditing and
business advisory services.

2. What technology systems, processes and

organizational structures will best support
cost effective operations and the planned
strategic changes and growth?
3. How should the company be organized
and located to maximize investment incentives
and to minimize its tax burden?
4. What structure will best meet the companys
ongoing financing needs and how
should these needs be secured?
5. How should the organization plan a
Organizations in such a position need a broad
consultancy advisor, and preferably one that can support
them through the journey, from the initial strategy
through to its execution and implementation.
Emphasizing the breadth and integration of our
capability, we moved to a single brand, Deloitte in
2003, and subsequently introduced the One Firm
strategy in 2004. Our overall strategy was to focus
on the client, not the service organization, at a time
when other organizations were looking internally at
divesting and rebuilding their consulting businesses

1. Which products and services should be developed?

Where and how should they be
taken to market?

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We planned to drive incremental value for our

clients by leveraging synergies across the different
facets of our capability. The One Firm approach
supported the delivery of more complex engagements.
By offering co-ordinated support across a
variety of different areas, clients received a more
joined up and valuable service. Client relationships
were strengthened and staff benefited from more
challenging and rewarding work.
The One Firm strategy started to break down internal
barriers, with staff going to market as

Deloitte for all services, adopting an integrated approach

to marketing supported by a high profile
Have you asked Deloitte? campaign. However, embedding
this culture needed considerable effort and
required incentives. Our lessons learned include:
The approach requires staff (especially senior
managers and above) to understand all
the firms service lines. This does not mean
making a technology consultant an expert in
tax, for example, but it does mean that the
technology consultant needs to understand
where we can help clients on tax issues and
who to go to for advice on this internally.
Firm-wide propositions are necessary so
that clients can understand the value of
having a broad and end-to-end service
offering at their disposal. We invested in
the development and marketing of propositions
such as Business Critical Programmes,
Enterprise Cost Reduction and Finance Transformation.
It is key to focus on relationships within current and target
clients. We established
cross-firm client target lists, representing a
balance of industries and organizational maturity.
We targeted and approached these organizations in a coordinated manner, drawing on our full range of competencies.
Forming multi-disciplinary client teams and
account development teams gives huge benefits in crossfertilization of ideas and skills and understanding of other areas
of the business.

ABS
lt is important to formally recognize cross
service line activity and referrals. Our
assessments of partner and staff performance
recognize sales for any service line as
strongly as the originators own service line.
Communication of examples and rewarding
of successes is important and needs to
be constantly reinforced.

Questions
1. In what ways might a consultancy structure
its workforce to maximize its success?
2. What advantages does a consultancy offer
compared to a team of contractors?
3. What are the key advantages of a full service
consultancy compared with a more
niche operator?

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ABS

Module 2

The co-ordinated approach needs to be

applied at all levels of the organization,
not just partners, in order for it to be
successful.
Deloittes strategy has:
ldifferentiated the firm in the market place
through unmatched breadth and depth of
services;
created an ability to deliver comprehensive
solutions and become advisor of choice
for clients;
lntroduced a more collaborative culture;
facilitated the delivery of more challenging
and interesting engagements;
lthrough the above, created a reputation
that has helped the firm to attract and retain
the best talent.
However the market and competitor landscape
continues to evolve and as such so too does
Deloittes strategy and approach to maintain and
further expand its position.

ABS

This case study outlines how the delivery of an

end-to-end service, involving multiple service lines,
can add exponential value to the client. It also sets
out some of Deloittes lessons learned in organizing
and incentivizing the practice to achieve this.
Traditionally, professional services firms have
gone to market and sold work by service line (for
example: consulting, audit, tax, corporate finance).
This model is not always conducive to offering the
best client service. Firstly, staff working in one area
may not understand the competencies and skills
offered by other parts of the firm, and so will miss
out on opportunities for these to provide more
rounded and complete client advice. Secondly, and
perhaps more seriously, the firms recognition and
reward structures may motivate staff to work in
service silos, delivering as much as possible of an
engagement from within their own team or division,
when perhaps other teams have additional

The Process of
Management Consulting

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The Consulting Process

The Consulting Process

ABS

During a typical consulting intervention, the consultant and the client

undertake a set of activities required for achieving the desired
purposes and changes, known as the consulting process.
This process has a clear beginning (the relationship is established
and work starts) and end (the consultant
departs).
Between these two points the process can be subdivided into
several phases, which helps both the consultant and the client to be
systematic and methodical, proceeding from phase to phase, and
from operation to operation.
Many different ways of subdividing the consulting process, or cycle,
into major phases can be found in the literature.
Various authors suggest models ranging from three to ten phases.
We can have a simple five-phase model, comprising entry,
diagnosis, action planning, implementation and termination.

Entry
Purpose Analysis
Problem Analysis
Fact Finding
Fact Analysis
Feedback to client

Diagnosis

Action
Planning
Assisting with implementation
Adjusting proposals
Implementation
Training

Termination
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Process

Entry

Consulting Proposals.
Identification and Definition of Problem,
Fact-Finding Leading to Solution
Development and Implementation
Developing Strategic and Tactical Plans
and Subcontracting
Pricing of Consultancy
Acquiring and Developing Talents for
Consulting.

Purpose Analysis
Problem Analysis
Fact Finding
Fact Analysis
Feedback to client

Action
Planning
Assisting with implementation
Adjusting proposals
Implementation
Training

Termination

Entry

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Developing Solutions
Evaluating Alternatives
Proposals to clients
Planning for implementation

Evaluation
Final Report
Settling commitments
Plans for follow-up
Withdrawal

The consultant makes the contact or The client makes the contact
First meetings and Preparing for initial meetings
Agenda for the first meeting
Agreement on how to proceed

Preliminary problem diagnosis

Scope of the diagnosis

Some methodological guidelines, rules, procedures and analytical techniques used in the preliminary problem diagnosis are the same
as those of the later diagnosis
Using comparison(Gap Analysis)
The clients involvement
Sources of information
Alternative approaches(problem-identification workshops, Self-diagnosis by individual business owners or managers etc.)

Terms of reference

initial statement of the work to be undertaken by a consultant

If terms of reference are used: the clients policy is to do as much analytical and planning work as possible before considering to use a
consultant; often this will be the case with assignments dealing with relatively narrow and well-defined technical issues; the client
(usually in the public sector)
If terms of reference are not used: the client (usually in the private sector) prefers to select a consultant, do the preliminary problem
diagnosis, and define the scope of the assignment jointly with him or her. The client then confirms the choice on the basis
of a proposal received from the consultant, without using the intermediate stage of drafting terms of reference.

Assignment strategy and plan

Proposal to the client

ABS

Initial contacts

ABS

First contacts with clients

Preliminary problem diagnosis
Assignment Planning
Assignment Proposals to clients

Entry

ABS

Initial phase in any consulting process and assignment.

The consultant and the client meet, try to learn as much as possible
about each other
Discuss and define the reason for which the consultant has been
brought in, and on this basis agree on the scope of the assignment
and the approach to be taken.
The results of these first contacts, discussions, examinations and
planning exercises are then reflected in the consulting contract, the
signature of which can be regarded as the conclusion of this initial
phase.
Entry is very much an exercise in matching.
The client wants to be sure that he is dealing with the right consultant
And the consultant needs to be convinced that he is the right person,
or that his firm is the right consulting organization, to address the
problems of this particular client.

Evaluation
Final Report
Settling commitments
Plans for follow-up
Withdrawal

Diagnosis

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Developing Solutions
Evaluating Alternatives
Proposals to clients
Planning for implementation

The Consulting Process

ABS

ABS

First contacts with clients

Preliminary problem diagnosis
Assignment Planning
Assignment Proposals to clients

A fundamental aspect of designing and planning a consulting assignment is the choice of assignment strategy.
The assignment plan, including the strategy that will be followed, is formally presented to the client as a proposal

aka technical proposal, project document, project plan, contract proposal etc.
Sometime in predetermined format. To facilitates evaluation of alternative proposals received from several consultants.
A proposal submitted to the client is an important selling document.

The consulting contract

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Diagnosis

Action Planning

ABS

This phase includes developing possible solutions to the problem

diagnosed, choosing among alternative solutions, presenting proposals
to the client, and preparing for the implementation of the solution
chosen by the client.
The clients involvement in action planning should be even more active
than in the diagnostic phase.
The emphasis is no longer on analytical work, but on innovation
and creativity.
The objective is not to find more data and further explanations for the
existence of a problem, but to come up with something new.
Obviously, not all solutions to clients problems will involve totally fresh
approaches.
Often there will be no need to develop a new solution from scratch
because a suitable one already exists somewhere.
Action planning requires the best talents to be mobilized and all good
ideas to be examined; it will be ineffective if the talents within the client
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organization do not contribute.

Identification and
Definition of Problem

Diagnosis

ABS

The purpose of diagnosis is to examine the problem faced and the purposes
pursued by the client in detail and in depth, identify the factors and forces that
are causing and influencing the problem.
The consultant should start the diagnostic work with a clear conceptual
framework in mind.
Diagnosis is sometimes viewed as equal to collecting, dissecting and analysing
vast amounts of data, including a great deal of data that may have no
relevance to the purpose of the assignment.
In principle, problem diagnosis does not include work on problem solutions.
This will be done in the next phase, action planning.
Diagnosis may even lead to the conclusion that the problem cannot be
resolved, or that the purpose pursued cannot be achieved and the problem is
not worth resolving.
In practice, however, it is often difficult or inappropriate to make a strict
distinction between the diagnostic and the action planning and even the
implementation phases of the consulting process
Diagnostic work will identify and explore possible solutions.
Requires to Restating the problem and the purpose
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Challenge : The human side of diagnosis

ABS

Steps for problem identification, definition and solution1. Description of problem(s) to be solved.
2. Objectives and expected results (what is to be achieved, final
product).
3. Background and Supporting information.
4. Budget estimate or resource limit.
5. Timetable (key stages and control dates)
6. Interim and Final reporting.
7. Inputs to be provided by the clients.
8. Exclusions from the assignment (what will not be its object).
9. Constraints and other factors likely to affect the project.
10.Profile and competencies of eligible consultants.
11.Requested consultant inputs into the project.
12.Contact persons and addresses.

ABS

1. Diagnosing purposes and problems

Instead of starting diagnosis by asking Whats wrong here? Whats the matter?, the
consultant should ask first What are we trying to accomplish here? What are we
trying to do?

2. Defining necessary facts

Facts should enable the examination of processes, relations, performances, causes
and mutual influences, with special regard to underutilized opportunities and
possible improvements.

3. Sources and ways of obtaining facts

records; events and conditions; memories.

4. Data analysis
5. Feedback to the client

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Action Planning

ABS

Searching for possible solutions

Developing and evaluating alternatives
The evaluation technique used will be selected with regard to the nature and
complexity of the particular case. It may be a simple break-even analysis,
costbenefit analysis, return on investment analysis, linear programming
technique, decision analysis, or some other technique.

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FACT-FINDING
LEADING TO SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION

ABS

What should the new solution achieve?

What basic purpose?
What other purposes?
What level of performance?
What quality of output?
What new product, service, or activity?
What behaviour?
How will the new situation differ from the present?
Different products, services, or activities.
Different methods.
Different system(s).
Different equipment.
Different location.
Different way of managing.

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ABS

Are the effects likely to last?

Are the clients business and market changing rapidly?
Is competition likely to come with better solutions?
Is there a possibility that people will revert to present practices?
Should further developments be foreseen?

ABS

Some of the tactical plans used in the management consulting areBeneficiary, Target group: Who will actually benefit from the project.
Purpose: What purpose is to be accomplished by the project.
Result: Project must be result-oriented, what results are estimated to be achieved.
Development Objective: It defines a wider perspective, framework. It tell about the
ultimate or long term objective.
Immediate Objective: The objective of completion of project successfully and how,
the short term objective.
Output: What all delivered by the project and what all has to be delivered by the
project.
Indicator of Achievement: Measurement of whether objective is achieved and how
successfully. A controllable indicator used.
Actions: A set of actions to achieve and meet objective.
Input: Resources to be utilized- both quantitative and qualitative methods.

ACQUIRING AND DEVELOPING

TALENTS FOR CONSULTING

ABS

Strategic Plans
Porters Five Forces: Barriers, Buyer Power, Customer Power, Substitutes,
Competition.
4Cs: Customers, Cost, Competition, Companies.
4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion, Place.
Scenario Planning: Planning done according to the situations.

Where could solutions and ideas be found?

In the same unit?
In the same enterprise?
From business partners or friends?
In literature?
In a research institution?
In the consulting firm?
From other consultants?

Tactical Plans

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC AND

TACTICAL PLANS AND SUBCONTRACTING

PRICING OF CONSULTANCY

ABS

What perceived
VALUE services
have on
potential buyers
REAL out of
pocket costs

Comparable
Services

Final
Price

Competitors
(Direct &
Indirect)

What you want

to make per
hour of work

ABS

ABS
Global
Leadership
development

Recruitment &
Selection
programs

Diversity &
Inclusion
strategies

Acquiring
Talent
Profiling &
Sourcing pratices

On Boarding
program design &
Implementation

Team
Effectiveness

Mentoring
Programs

Top Talent
strategy

Developing
Talent

Virtual Executive
Coaching

Employee
Development
strategies &
programs

Training
Program
Design &
Delivery

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SUBCONTRACTING

ABS

Subcontracting is especially prevalent in areas where complex projects are

the norm, such as construction and information technology. Subcontractors
are hired by the project's general contractor, who continues to have overall
responsibility for project completion and execution within its stipulated
parameters and deadlines.
Subcontracting is a type of work contract that seeks to outsource certain
types of work to other companies. This is a step down from general
contracting, which is a contract overseeing a much broader project in many
cases. Subcontracting is done when the general contractor does not have the
time or skills to perform certain tasks.
For example: When a building is being constructed, subcontracting becomes
a major deal. A general contractor may take care of a number of tasks,
including the brick-and-mortar construction, but look to subcontractors for
other types of tasks, especially things like plumbing and electrical work.
These disciplines are nearly always subcontracted out.

Pricing of Consultancy

ABS

Advantages of Subcontracting:
Subcontracting offers a number of advantages.
First, it allows work on more than one phase of the project to be done at
once, often leading to a quicker completion.
Second, because subcontractors already have the expertise and
equipment to provide the service, it is often much cheaper for them to do
the work than a general contractor who may not have that special
expertise.
Finally, the subcontractor is usually able to work with a general
contractor on more than one project, thus creating a savings for both in
the long run as a relationship is formed.

ABS

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Acquiring and Developing

Talents for Consulting

ABS

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