CAREER ADVISOR

“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to the following :
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Q: Being a management consultant sounds exciting, what do they really do?

Working as a management consultant in a consulting firm may be something I should consider, it sounds more exciting than regular employment in a company. What do consultants really do ? and are there specializations or categories in that field?

Replying
Dear Mr. N.,

As per its name, the term consists of management and consulting. Let us first define them:

Management has been defined as "the art of getting results through other people".
It appears, therefore, in any organization, not only in factories and offices but also in hospitals, government, associations or the military . Managers are responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the human, financial and material resources to attain the objectives of the organization.

Consulting is less easy to define. Dictionaries define a consultant as "a person qualified to give professional advice or service". The key words are 'qualified' and 'professional'. In the context of management consulting the first of these implies the experience of management; the second key word implies both an ethical or objective standard and the backing of a developed and proved body of knowledge.

Management consulting is therefore primarily concerned with initiating and implementing technological, organizational and behavioral changes. Management consultants are usually contracted for one or more of the following reasons:

1. to provide wider additional expertise than is available within a single organization.
2. to provide objective appraisals where it is often easier for the expert outsider to see the broader picture and identify the long-term requirements.
3. consultants may be needed to provide additional assistance where there is a temporary increase in the management workload (i.e. if internal resources could better spend their time doing more profitable activities for the company).

Which individuals are best suited to become Management Consultants?

Those entering in this field tend to fall into the 25 to 35 age group, however there are also older people who bring specific experience with them. Regardless of age, most people choose to work as management consultants so that they can apply their knowledge to a broad range of problems in different situations. They are able to use their skills and experience in a wider context than one employer can provide, as well as gaining a more varied exposure to management problems.

However if we had to develop a short list of the characteristics of a consultant, this would include the following attributes:

• Integrity - the clients' interests come first.
• Intelligence - to follow situations accurately and to develop sound solutions.Also the ability to learn rapidly about various functions / industries / methods etc…
• The ability to communicate clearly- this means listening as well as talking / presenting / writing.
• An enquiring mind - every problem must have a solution.
• Personality - to get on well with people on all levels.

Management consulting offers a career without limitations and restraints; it offers a training ground for those wanting to broaden their managerial experience and a ladder of promotion to senior management positions in industry to those who are prepared to accept the challenges and disciplines of the profession.

Although there is no standard organizational framework to all consulting firms , most have established a formal career structure for their staff: a consultant progressing to responsibility for the detailed day to day conduct of an assignment and later the team leader in a multi-disciplined assignment. At this stage there may also be opportunities to conduct surveys designed to diagnose clients' problems and develop proposals for future consulting work.

A consultant often works with senior management as well as with employees at all levels, depending upon the nature of assignment.

Management consultants by their very nature are specialists and because of the wide variety of management activities, the main consulting fields of 'specialization' are:

Business Strategy. This involves long range planning, the reorganization of a company's structure, rationalization of services and products, and a general business appraisal of the company.

Manufacturing. Involving a review of the layout of a production department, production control arrangements, productivity and incentive schemes or quality control problems.

Marketing. Market research and business forecasting, sales force training and the organization of retail and wholesale outlets.

Financial and Management Controls. The installation of budgetary control systems, profit planning or capital and revenue budgeting, financial appraisals etc….

Human Resources. Advising on personnel policy, manpower planning, job evaluation, skill requirements, personnel appraisal etc…

Information Technology. Defining information needs, IT planning, the provision of software, systems analysis and design, IT project management, IT security & controls etc…

Environmental Management. This includes urban and regional development planning, international economic research, cost benefit and social analysis studies, and physical, economic, ecological and sociological studies for the encouragement of quality of life-style

Quality Management. Setting of policy and strategy, customer satisfaction, performance measurement, people management and processes.

Good Luck.

Note from the editor: 
Employer names and inquiry sender names were withheld for confidentiality

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