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

Adopting Methods and Tools for All Consulting Jobs - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Adopting Methods and Tools for All Consulting Jobs" critically analyzes the major issues on adopting methods and tools for all consulting jobs. The notion that prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs is analyzed for the development of novel arguments…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.4% of users find it useful
Adopting Methods and Tools for All Consulting Jobs
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Adopting Methods and Tools for All Consulting Jobs"

Number Adopting Methods and Tools for all Consulting Jobs Throughout this essay, the notion that prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs will be analysed for the development of novel arguments. The main source of data that will be used to back the assertions in the thesis statement will be in-class role plays. The notion that prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs is based on the principle that most organisations face comparable forms of problems. Most of the contemporary organisations are facing stiff competition in the marketplace. This has prompted many organisations to seek advanced management concepts, lean production through Total Quality Management, business process re-engineering (BPR) techniques, and leveraging. Leveraging mainly refers to the techniques of multiplying gains and losses. In this regard, leveraging ratio cannot be avoided by organisations. Leveraging ratio is typically the amount of organization’s equity in relation to debt. This aspect, in management consultancy, implies to the knowledge and skills that an organisations has in terms of human capital to what the organisations lacks according to Carmeli (2005). Organisations are constantly striving to improve efficiency, as such; consultants bring with them a multitude of tools and methods, many of which can add great value to the client (O’Mahoney & Markham 2013). The consulting industry is broad and encompasses a wide range of projects. Any organization for instance, an organisation might require changes to its human resource structure, as seen throughout ROLE PLAY (?). Management consultancy is a new form of management that deals with execution of ideas and knowledge, and therefore it requires commodification of knowledge in its expansion. Commodification in this context means the process of transforming management ideas in a particular manner that can be sold on a market for management solutions (Heusinkveld & Benders, 2005). The process of knowledge commodification is unproblematic and linear since it is concerned with only turning new ideas into marketable commodities. Therefore, methods and techniques used in management consultancy are applicable to all organisations; as all organisations strive for ideas that are marketable. Consulting firms are capable of packing management knowledge into a saleable form then they transmit these solutions by advising the organization appropriately. Most organizations are profit and growth driven, and the techniques developed by consulting companies should be the same. Demand for new commodities is stimulated through the commodification of knowledge (Suddaby & Greenwood, 2001). A Management Consultant firm can capitalise this concept by forming user’s manual that entails cases and problems that different organisation faced but were solved using application of specific and tools and management. Consultancy is also a field that can be used to advocate markets for fair trade, which is built on business opportunities. A market for fair trade is referred to as ‘markets for virtue’ (Vogel, 2005). Management consultants play a significant role in the conceptualization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commodification, which is presented as a multifaceted process of market construction (Brès and Gond, 2014). The role of management consultancy can be used to develop CSR to be a profit-making tool. Management consultants involve themselves in the field of CSR since they are involved in the commodification process (Faust, 2012; Kipping & Clark, 2012). ManagementConsultancy shape and package the content of CSR by developing their supply, which is enhanced by the provision of sustainable concepts. The process of CSR commodification in identifying market opportunities can be problematic in sensitive domains that relate to environmental and social issues (Malsh, 2013). Some stakeholders are likely to re-evaluate and contest the reliability of CSR issues subjected to translation. Translation is a political process that and is essential to understanding the manner in which business compliance works and can be an efficient method of changing corporate behaviour (Brès and Gond, 2014). The fact CSR is an imperative issue for many organizations, it justifies the thesis statement that consulting firms should have a prescribed tools and methods since organisations find it problematic in tackling CSR issues. Firms have changed in terms of political realignment, globalisation, and information technology. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a technique that has seen such changes transforms the organization to an impeccable height of success. The demand for BPR projects has seen a rise of BPR consultants, which is arguably the reason why consultants of BPR should have a prescribed methodologies, techniques and tools for conducting BPR projects. Business re-engineering is required for the formulation of new ideas and innovation. Early introduction of re-engineering saw it characterized with problematic issues since it was based on ‘trial and error,’ since there was no lack of accepted methods. Therefore, BPR consultants positioned themselves and came up with proven techniques. Methodologies are a representation of the highest-level abstraction for conceptualizing problem-solving methods (Kettinger et al., 1997). For instance, a BPR methodology that was developed by Gateway, a consulting firm that consisted of six phases: Preparation, Identification, Vision, Solution: social design and transformation: technical design (Klein, 1994). Leading consultants have been very successful in their execution of services because they use similar BPR methodologies. BPR can entail cutting the operation costs of an organisation, and this is a problem that Management Consultancy can solve by using a technique like laying-off dormant workers. There is a positive correlation between human resource strategy and competitive advantage (Boxall & Steeneveld, 1999). Human resource management is an imperative issue when it comes to the performance of the business activity. Boxall and Steeneveld (1999) revealed through their longitudinal investigation of engineering consulting firms, the results indicated that those firms that survived business traumas of 1980s and early 1990s adopted related structural, operational, competitive and responses related with their ‘industry recipe.’ Strategic HRM is a very critical field in any organization since it offers a distinctive and competitive advantage to an organization. Problems associated with formulation and execution of strategic HRM is similar in most organization. Consultancy firms dealing with HRM should, therefore, have a given method and tools that should be used to make sure that an organization has attained a secure and maintained ‘industry membership.’ A consultancy firm can use a technique of matching the talents, skills and knowledge of workers with jobs and tasks that suite them best and this will fix some strategic human resource challenges Services provided by consultancy firms are of strategic importance to human resources and their activities, which is stressed by the resource base of consultancy firms (Lepak and Snell, 2007).There are voids that exists in understanding dynamics that affect the management of consultants and employment relations in consultancy companies (Suddaby et al., 2008). Consultants’ and employment environment is characterised by triangulated relationship structure that go beyond the confines of the firm and shape the behaviours and attitudes of consultants (Nesheim et al., 2007). Therefore, this situation will be prone to an environment that develops synergies and conflict of interest, between parties involved in such relationships (May et al., 2002). A mutual advantaged will be achieved when there is a perfected balancing of the acts between the two parties (Donnelly, 2011). Management of human resources to attain competitive advantage is very easy for consultancy firms since they are knowledge-intensive firms. The only way that consultancy firms can deliver their services effectively is by engaging the employees of that particular organisation. It can, therefore, be concluded that consultancy is a people-centred business; therefore, their HRM practices of consultancy firms will be similar. The success of consultancy firms will largely depend on how effective and efficient they manage their human assets (Richter et al., 2008). Ambiguity is also experienced when the value is tried to be captured and created in consultancy firms since they are Knowledge-intensive organisations (Donnelly, 2011). The knowledge-based views and resources of consultancy organisations assume that such ambiguity generates competitive advantage, but the challenge of tension created among employees is not addressed. However, this problem is prevalent among many consultancy organizations. Tensions arise because consultants want to share knowledge and be recognized by a particular firm. It indicates that human resource management within a consultant firms is very problematic and trick, and it can be resolved by application of prescribed tools and methods. To summarise, consultancy central feature is a knowledge-based firm, the firms develop ideas that are meant to solve a particular problem in an organization. The challenges faced by consultancies face are similar in almost each dimension because they operate in the same manner. Organizations contract consultancy firms in matters relating to IT, professional services such as accounting and engineering, HRM and restructuring of the organization to enhance profit. Such issue is a concern of many organizations since organization is about profit maximisation. Therefore, the assertions presented in this paper are proof that prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs because all Organisations eventually have the same type of problems. Commodification of knowledge is a concept that the management to make it easy in offering comprehensive advice to a particular organization with a certain problem. Ethical issues that organisations engage in can be enhanced by contracting management consultancy. Issues such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) poses a challenge in many organisation in terms of balancing shareholders’ interest and the corporates’ obligations. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has proven to cause success in many organisations, and the fact that there are BPR consultants, the challenge of ‘reengineering’ a business can be solved by management consultant who have specialised in such a course. Leveraging human resource offers a competitive advantage opportunity for any opportunity, management consultancies have the necessary knowledge and skills to leverage human capital. Therefore, it can be concluded that management consultancy can solve unlimited challenges that most organisation face by formulating tools and techniques of solving such challenges. Reference List Boxall, P. and Steeneveld, M., 1999. Human Resource Strategy and Competitive Advantage: A Longitudinal Study of Engineering Consultancies. Journal of Management Studies 36(4), pp. 463-463. Brès, L., 2014. The visible hand of consultants in the construction of the markets for virtue: Translating issues, negotiating boundaries and enacting responsive regulations. Human Relations, 67(11), pp. 1347–1382. Carmeli, A. and Schaubroeck, J., 2005. How Leveraging Human Resource Capital with Its Competitive Distinctiveness Enhances the Performance of Commercial and Public Organizations. Human Resource Management, 44 (4), pp. 391-412. Donnelly, R., 2011. The coalescence between synergies and conflicts of interest in a top consultancy firm: an analysis of the implications for consultants’ attitudes and behaviours. Human Resource Management Journal 21(1), pp. 60-73 Faust M., 2012. Sociological perspectives on management consulting. In: Kipping M and Clark Teds) The Oxford Handbook of Management Consulting. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ferguson, M., 2002. The Rise of Management Consulting in Britain. Aldershot: Ashgate Heusinkveld, S. and Benders, J., 2005. Contested commodification: Consultancies and their struggle with new concept development. Human Relations, 58(3), pp. 283–310. Kettinger, W. J., Teng James T.C. & Guha, S., 1997. Business Process Change: A Study of Methodologies, Techniques, and Tools. MIS Quarterly. 21(1). Kipping M and Clark T., 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Management Consulting. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Klein. M. Reengineering Methodologies and Tools. Journal of Information Systems Management 11(2), pp. 30-35. Lepak, D. and Snell, S., 2007. ‘Employment subsystems and the “HR architecture”’, in P. Boxall, J. Purcell and P. Wright (eds), The Oxford Handbook of HRM, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Malsch B., 2013. Politicizing the expertise of the accounting industry in the realm of corporate Social responsibility. Accounting, Organizations and Society 38(2), pp. 149–168 Nesheim, T., Olsen, K.M. and Kalleberg, A.L., 2007. ‘Externalizing the core: firms’ use of employment intermediaries in the information and communication technology industries’. HumanResource Management, 46(2), pp. 247–264. Richter, A., Dickmann, M. and Graubner, M., 2008. Patterns of human resource management in consulting firms. Personnel Review, 37(2), pp. 184–202. Suddaby, R. & Greenwood, R., 2001. Colonizing knowledge: Commodification as a dynamic of jurisdictional expansion in professional service firms. Human Relations. 54(7), pp. 933– 53. Suddaby, R., Greenwood, R. and Widerom, C., 2008. Introduction to the journal of organizational behaviour’s special issue on professional service firms. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 29(8), pp. 989–994. Vogel D., 2005. The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs Essay - 1”, n.d.)
Prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs Essay - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1688436-prescribed-methods-and-tools-can-be-developed-for-all-consulting-jobs-because-all-organisations-eventually-have-the-same-type-of-problems
(Prescribed Methods and Tools Can Be Developed for All Consulting Jobs Essay - 1)
Prescribed Methods and Tools Can Be Developed for All Consulting Jobs Essay - 1. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1688436-prescribed-methods-and-tools-can-be-developed-for-all-consulting-jobs-because-all-organisations-eventually-have-the-same-type-of-problems.
“Prescribed Methods and Tools Can Be Developed for All Consulting Jobs Essay - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1688436-prescribed-methods-and-tools-can-be-developed-for-all-consulting-jobs-because-all-organisations-eventually-have-the-same-type-of-problems.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Adopting Methods and Tools for All Consulting Jobs

Organizational Behavior and Leadership - Performance Evaluation

This paper tells that evaluating the performance of employees is one of the most important strategic tools for effectively managing the human resources in an organization since it helps management in taking significant human resource decisions related to training, development, transfer, promotion, termination, etc.... Out of various performance evaluation methods in place today, 360-degree feedback is getting wider popularity among organizations....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Human Relations Movement

Taylor strongly believed that not all members of a group can be equally efficient or productive.... The author of the paper concludes that the human relations movement has set grounds to readily improve employee commitment, thereby better organizational effectiveness and efficiency....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper

Selecting the Appropriate Training Method for Employees

This paper "Selecting the Appropriate Training Method for Employees" deals with training, which involves a professional operating with employees to channel knowledge and skills thus improving their performance in their current jobs and increasing the productivity and profitability of the company.... In all organizations, human resources are regarded as powerful sources of the firm's success.... all employees, including those who succeed in meeting the organization's goals, need the training to improve their morale and build loyalty for their organization (Yang, 2010:2)....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

Methods Organizations Use for Employee Development

187-216) argued that all managers are required to perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature.... all managers also have a leadership role.... Current day human resource units are responsible for a variety of activities including employment and recruiting, training and development, compensation, benefits, employee services, employee relations, personal records, health and safety, and company grounds....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

Opportunities for Raising Productivity in Non-Profit Organisations

Vast improvement in performance management has been experienced with performance reporting and performance measurement methods being introduced.... This part of the strategic planning will also include the methods to be adopted for the organization to operate, resource planning, and program planning....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Performance of the Client Organizations

This essay aims to analyze the argument, whether prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs because all organizations eventually have the same type of problems, by evaluating published literature in scholarly journals and books.... The methods and tools which prove to be effective when employed in a change process, i.... First, the types of management consultancies and the approaches, methods, and tools they employ concerning the various consulting jobs required by client organizations will be examined....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Integration Into Buffer Zones and Issues of Common Concern

As is the case, not all members suffer in the same level when calamity or crises strike.... The paper "How Is Integration into Buffer Zones in a Position to Tackle Issues of Common Concern Cooperatively and Reduce Their Severity?... offers to explore the buffer zoning a clever tool available for countries in guarding against economic shocks that arise due to global activities and to benefit from reduced negative effects....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Proposal

Information Technology Impact on Human Resource Management

Information Technology is important in all processes of Human Resource Management from recruitment to retirement of employees.... Information Technology is important in all processes of Human Resource Management from recruitment to the retirement of employees.... Information Technology is important in all processes of Human Resource Management from recruitment to the retirement of employees.... In regard to technology, many explorations are being done and new technological methods are being introduced daily; organizations have to be at par with technology advancements in order to remain relevant and competitive in the market....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay
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