Management Consulting

What do Management Consultants do exactly? If you have always wanted to become a consultant, you should really know what it would entail...Learn more about Management Consulting...Management consulting also known as strategic consulting refers to the industry that helps organizations to improve their performance through detailed analysis of existing challenges faced by the business and propose development plans for improvement. Many organizations seek the services of management consultants to gain an external perspective and objective advice sans personal bias.

Management consulting primarily involves assessing an organization’s current and potential areas of opportunity, propose strategic plans and guide the organization to strengthen or expand their employee and client base, create decision-support systems that eliminates a fair amount of risk from decision making. It aims to help an organization to develop the roadmap to achieve their chosen level of growth and development and to achieve their proposed objectives in a planned manner. Managing an organization is tough as it encounters complex problems and faces tough competition. When an organization hires management consulting services, it enhances the management decision making process and helps in improving the business process. Management consultants ensure the growth and bottom line of the business through transforming strategies.

Management consultants offer their services in various domains such as area strategy, marketing and sales, organization, operations, innovation, project management, process design and customer management. High-quality services improve customer satisfaction and increase their competitive edge.

High Impact Services
Management consultants provide services that have a high impact on the business. They assess the current status of the company in terms of the company’s goals and objectives, human resources, performance records till date, company revenue, market share and positioning. After a thorough analysis of various aspects of the organization, they advise and design programs to fill the gaps between the current levels to the desired levels.

After a detailed analysis, consultants propose new measures that may result in:
• Developing management and supervisory skills and know-how
• Improving internal and external organizational communications
• Raising the bar in terms of organizational performance and achievements
• Expanding the company’s customer base and market share
• Identifying training and operational needs to improve productivity and work performance
• Improving employee morale and higher levels of motivation

Playing Multiple Roles!
The Management expects their consultant to play multiple roles and seek help or advice on various aspects. A consultant should not only be a problem solver, but also needs to be a good coach or mentor who leads the organization in realizing its mission and in having a focused vision that is implemented and executed in its entirety over a period of time.

The consultant should ideally display thorough knowledge about the domain or industry to make important and informed financial decisions on behalf of the company. S/he must be someone with business integrity on whom the organization can place trust in order to reveal its classified information. Also, consultants must ensure that they maintain confidentiality and protect sensitive information that is vital to the company. They must act in the best interests of the company under any circumstances.

The ideal Management Consultant would possess in-depth knowledge of the domain in which the company operates and would be able to articulate and communicate the company’s objectives very well with his/her excellent communication skills. S/he is a leader, who drives the vision of the company, guides, coaches and leads by example. S/he constantly tries to self improve – both personally as well as professionally.

Management Consultants are invaluable to every organization as they are the driving forces of every development and growth within an organization. Their deep insight and futuristic solutions are intangible assets that form part of the intellectual property of the company.
Management consulting as a domain has highly evolved as a lucrative career option in the current scenario, with multitude companies mushrooming in every sector. It facilitates companies to focus and leverage on their core competencies while eliminating operational inefficiencies and non-value added activities.

Management consulting has transformed the face of the business and the economy to greater heights and has shown a very bright future to look forward to!
By Janani Rajagopal