It Should Be Considered A Weakness If The Consultant Knows How To Act As A Change Promoter and Dedicate Himself
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ScribdTranslations1.2.
nature and objective of consulting in companies
What is consultancy?
Service provided by one or more independent and qualified persons in identification and
investigation of problems related to policies, organization, procedures, and methods;
recommendation of appropriate measures and provision of assistance in the application of them
recommendations
Business consulting is a service that company directors can turn to if
they feel the need for help in problem solving. The consultant's work begins at
arising some situation deemed unsatisfactory and susceptible to improvement, and it ends, ideally, in
a situation that has resulted in a change that constitutes an improvement
DEFINITION AND NATURE
In its guide for members, the Institute of Business Consultants of the United Kingdom defines the
business consulting in the following way: 'Service provided by a person or persons
independent and qualified in the identification and investigation of problems related to
policies, organization, procedures and methods; recommendation of appropriate measures and
provision of assistance in the implementation of such recommendations
The definitions used by other professional associations, such as the Association of
Consulting Engineers for Companies in the United States are very similar. This implies that the
Business consulting is a service that company directors can turn to if they feel
need for help in problem-solving. The consultant's work begins when a
situation judged insufficient and susceptible to improvement, and ideally ends in a situation
in which a change has occurred that constitutes an improvement.
Certain particular traits of business consulting must be emphasized from the outset.
Firstly, consulting is an independent service. It is characterized by impartiality.
consultant, which is a fundamental trait of their role. But this independence also means
I have a very complex relationship with the client organizations and with the people who work there.
in them. The consultant does not have direct authority to make decisions and execute them. But this does not
It should be considered a weakness if the consultant knows how to act as a change promoter and dedicate himself
to its function without ceasing to be independent. Consequently, it must ensure the maximum
customer participation in everything they do, so that final success is achieved by means of
effort of both.
Secondly, consulting is essentially a consultative service. This means that it does not
hire consultants to lead organizations or to make decisions on behalf of
directors in difficulty. Their role is to act as advisors, with responsibility for quality
and the integrity of its advice; clients assume the responsibilities that result from acceptance
from that advice. Of course, in the practice of consulting there are many variations and degrees.
of advice. It's not just about giving the right advice, but about giving it in the right way and at the
appropriate moment -this is the fundamental quality of the consultant-. The client, for their part, must
being able to accept and use that help from the consultant. These elements are so important that
We will return to them in different parts of this work.
Thirdly, consulting is a service that provides knowledge and capabilities.
professionals to solve practical problems. A person becomes a business consultant in
the full sense of the term after having accumulated a considerable mass of
knowledge about the various problems and situations that affect business management,
and acquired the necessary skills to identify problems, find information
pertinent, analyze and synthesize, choose between possible solutions, communicate with people, etc.
It is true that the origins of companies must also possess these capabilities.
what distinguishes consultants is that they go through many organizations and the experience gained
In past tasks, it can be applicable in companies that carry out new tasks.
In addition, professional consultants stay continuously updated on progress in
methods and techniques, including those carried out in universities and research institutions;
they point out these progress to their clients; and contribute to its application. They function, therefore, as
link between theory and practice.
Fourthly, consulting does not provide miracle solutions. It would be a mistake to assume that,
once a consultant has been hired, the difficulties disappear. Consulting is a
difficult work based on the analysis of concrete facts and the search for original solutions
but feasible. The determined effort of the company's management to solve its problems
and the cooperation between the client and consultant is at least as important for the outcome
final like the quality of the consultant's advice.
1.3 generalists and specialists consultants
Generalists
A generalist is a person with no deep knowledge in the area, but with a wide
knowledge of multiple areas. For example, some doctors are general practitioners, capable
to face a wide range of medical problems, but not specialists in a type of
medicine. The most important aspect of being a generalist is the ability to see the intersection
among the different aspects of the business. For example, it is not useful to know a little about design and
a little about marketing if you have no idea how design issues
they affect marketing considerations, and vice versa. Most companies do not take the
budget or the workload dedicated to hiring specialists, which is employed
generalists with a broader range of skills.
Specialists
According to the author Malcolm Gladwell in his book 'Outliers,' it takes 10,000 hours of practice to
master a specific discipline. Specialists are professionals who dedicate their time and
necessary effort to become experts in one particular aspect of a business.
For example, some doctors specialize in a specific area of medicine, such as surgery.
hand and the wrist. The advantage of hiring a specialist is that the person is a
true expert in the field, with a deep understanding of the nuances of a problem in
particular. When a company needs a professional with a skill far superior to
average, in specific aspects of a project, will hire a specialist to fill that
paper. The disadvantage of hiring a specialist is that the expert may have less
knowledge about other aspects of the company and may be less valuable to the company, if
the situation changes.
The work of the specialist viewed from the perspective of the generalist
The management of an organization is an interdisciplinary and multifunctional task, and the measures
the measures adopted in the area of a specialist are related to other spheres. Therefore, a consultant
of companies will always seek to place specific problems in a wider context (and to
tripe
circumscribed) that require the intervention of a specialist. To be a good consultant, the
The specialist must be able to approach the problem from the perspective of the generalist. They must
to be in a position to make a diagnosis, to apply other methods used by all
competent consultants and understanding the relationships within the organization.
This is one of the main objectives of theoretical and practical training in a company.
consultants.
Collaboration between generalists and specialists
It would be unrealistic to demand that every consultant be a complete specialist and a generalist, although
a few talented and experienced people achieve it.
In most consulting organizations, there is a certain division of labor among the
who are primarily specialists (and keep up to date in a specialized field of
knowledge and its applications) and the generalists (who deal with various spheres of
the management and focus their attention on their reciprocal relationship, coordination, and integration).
The so-called generalists prepare and coordinate the global tasks that require the conjunction of
interventions by specialists and generalists. They usually deal with diagnoses.
preliminaries of organizations, negotiations with clients, planning and coordination of
cometdos, formulation of conclusions based on concrete observations made by
specialists, presentation of final proposals to clients, etc.
Often, in consulting, the supervisory and management functions are in the hands of the
generalists.
Some tasks belong wholly or primarily to the sphere of general administration and are
in charge of experienced generalists. They refer to issues such as politics and strategy of
the company, style of command and direction, organizational structure, mergers, changes and other issues
similar.
Most of the consulting for small businesses is handled by
generalists, who can advise the client on all aspects. Clients expect that the
the generalist suggests the participation of a specialist consultant when necessary and,
in the same way, they expect the specialist to observe correct behavior and refrain from
advise on areas that fall outside their scope of competence.
Trends towards specialization
In current business consulting, there is a marked trend towards greater
specialization, which can be observed primarily in the services provided by the offices of
consulting of all sizes and even that of independent professionals. Clients are
they are increasingly interested in working with companies that do not present themselves as universal experts
to solve business problems, but have the specialized knowledge and the
expertise that is required, for example in the industrial sector or the area of functions in question.
Many consulting firms have started to rethink their characteristics to serve
this requirement.
In addition, business consulting firms have begun to modify their internal structure.
personal, that is, the number and respective functions of specialists and generalists who
They employ. More and more clients want to entrust their requests to a specialist, and if
an office
the consulting firm does not have a full-time job available for that specialist, it will employ him/her at
part-time or will request another office to provide its services when necessary. Without
embargo, many of these specialists, highly competent in their technical fields,
they need to broaden their vision and improve their understanding of the functions of an entire organization.
Regarding complete generalists, their role in problem-solving.
interdisciplinary and multifunctional will remain very important. However, there are
various degrees of generalization and there seems to be a trend towards generalists who do not address
to deal with all kinds of situations, but have acquired proven competence
in certain sectors (health, transport) other organizational and business problems
(mergers and acquisitions, diagnosis and provision of assistance to organizations in difficulty).
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