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10.1177/1052562903252657 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / December 2004 Adams, Zanzi / COURSE PREPARATION FOR CONSULTANTS

ARTICLE

COURSE PREPARATION FOR MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Susan M. Adams Bentley College Alberto Zanzi Suffolk University The explosive growth of the consulting industry in recent years and the controversy surrounding the quality of the consulting function stresses the needs for a better preparation and training of consultants. This article examines the contribution that academia can provide in furthering the development of consultants at different stages in their careers. The research indicates a scarcity of academic course offerings and a lack of comprehensive coverage of essential course elements such as client-based field projects. A template is provided to address the curricular deficiencies detected in the survey of current course offerings. Keywords: management consulting; professional development; careers; training needs; curriculum development

The explosive growth of management consulting in the last decade has attracted an increasing number of students resulting in a need for adequately preparing business school graduates to enter the profession. Such preparation goes beyond the typical technical skills of most MBA programs

Authors’ Note: We wish to thank Tony Buono for his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and JME’s editor and the anonymous reviewers who provided valuable suggestions. Address correspondence (including requests for a complete list of the schools) to Susan M. Adams, Bentley College, 175 Forest Street, Waltham, MA 02452-4705; e-mail: sadams@ bentley.edu JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, Vol. 28 No. 6, December 2004 655-673 DOI: 10.1177/1052562903252657 © 2004 Organizational Behavior Teaching Society

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requiring an in-depth understanding of the consultation process, clients’ practices, and problem diagnoses rarely found in existing academic course offerings. The purpose of this article is to examine the type of available resources academia can offer the management consulting field. We propose a model for relating course content to the level of seniority/experience of the students to determine whether current course offerings are meeting the needs of different student segments. Finally, we offer a tentative curriculum for management consulting that reflects the best practices reported in the study.

Overview of Management Consulting Trends Management consulting, as a profession and as a business, is expanding rapidly throughout the world. In the United States, the consolidation of the industry into large multibillion-dollar firms (e.g., Andersen Consulting revenues for 1999 exceeded $7.5 billion), and the disappearance of smaller regional firms are clear indications of the maturing of the consulting industry. According to WetFeet.com (2000), four of the five top firms by consulting revenues are units of pre-existing public audit firms: Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Cap Gemini, Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), and Deloitte Consulting, each with over 20,000 consultants and all with revenues in excess of $4 billion. Initially, the growth of these firms was generated by information technology (IT) intervention projects for potential Y2K problems and the implementation of massive software solutions such as SAP. In fact, the six largest consultancies have become more tools deployment firms rather than traditional consultancies (Bennett, 2001; Greiner, 2001). Now they are covering a wide range of consulting areas, to the point of infringing into strategic consulting, previously the exclusive domain of boutique firms such as McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). This group represents the low end of the strategic consulting market characterized by high volume and relatively low revenues per consultant (typically in the $100,000 to $200,000 range). At the high end, the more traditional strategic consulting firms generate revenues per consultant in excess of $500,000 (Dehni, 1999). Yet, despite these changes, niche consulting is also growing. As outsourcing continues to grow, for example, consultants are taking roles in advising and managing the relationship between firms and their outsourcing partners (Motamedi, 2001). The environment of management consulting is shifting largely because of global competition, the migration from manufacturing to service industries, and the impact of the Internet (Werther & Harris, 2001). This Information

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Age environmental shift has changed the nature of consulting from primarily strategic direction of standardized operations to a variety of services that include strategic direction for complex, global firms to implementation of business tools for managing the complexities of mass customization across the globe. The shift into IT consulting opened the door to a wider range and a larger volume of consulting positions that can no longer be filled by the few elite schools. This means that more business schools (B-schools) need to be preparing students for consulting to cover the widening range of consulting positions now characterizing the consulting industry. Internal consulting is also expanding rapidly. An increasing number of staff and line managers are routinely advising other units in their own organizations on technical matters such as IT concerns. Others are actually consulting under the umbrella of task forces or project leaders, particularly in matrix or networking types of organizational structures. These cross-functional teams focus on identifying new directions and implementing change efforts much like the traditional role of external consultants. In many situations, internal consultants are more appropriate than external consultants because of their more intimate knowledge of the company’s needs (Block, 2000); hence, the popularity of consulting courses for practicing managers. The high number of students engaging in consulting directly after graduation and the need of the consulting firms and companies using internal consultants to make them effective as soon as possible poses a key question: What kinds of courses should today’s business schools offer? The expertise required for a quick insertion in a consulting function goes beyond the set of traditional content skills typical of an MBA or an undergraduate business program. A basic knowledge of the different functional areas (e.g., marketing, finance, accounting, etc.) is required and expected. The missing link is usually in the process area. Issues such as project and team effectiveness, client management, and problem diagnostics are given a cursory level of attention in most business programs in organizational behavior and organization development courses.

Proposed Model for Preparing Consultants For the purpose of this research, we identified five categories of potential student segments: raw recruits, junior consultants, expert contributors, occasional consultants, and managing consultants. The categories of students were based on career paths into and within management consulting. Individuals already in the field of management consulting can be classified as junior or managing level (Dehni, 1999; Upton &

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Steinman, 1996; WetFeet.com, 2000). The early developmental roles of analyst and associate used in most consulting firms for new hires are junior consultants. Managing consultants are those individuals with 3 years or more of experience and on the track to partner. This would include the in-charge consultants who oversee the daily work of the project. The distinguishing mark of a managing consultant for the purposes of this analysis would be taking the supervisory/lead role in projects. Many of the newer firms are using the titles of practice manager and business development manager to describe what we classify as managing consultants. Likewise, those just entering the field of management consulting may or may not have relevant experience. Those who have little or no work experience are classified as raw recruits. Experienced managers entering the consulting industry may or may not have some consulting experience. Those who have technical or managerial work experience but limited or no consulting experience are classified as expert contributors. Experienced managers with some but not regular consulting experience are classified as occasional consultants. Academic needs of the five categories of students differ and are satisfied on a limited basis by existing course offerings (see Table 1). In general, those with little or no consulting experience have a higher need for field projects to understand the nuances of client management, teamwork, and other aspects of consulting not easily taught in the classroom. Those who are not familiar with the industry and practice of consulting need to understand the lifestyle that is driven by client expectations, recruitment practices, career paths, the consulting process, and the strategic position of the client as it relates to the consulting business. Figure 1 depicts the job requirements of consultants at the junior and managing level. Raw recruits and expert contributors will most likely enter at the junior level whereas occasional consultants may qualify for entry at the managing consultant level. The life of a junior consultant is primarily data collection and analysis with some diagnosing and reporting. They need to work in teams with clients to accomplish their work, but actual client management and team supervision are handled by the managing consultant or in-charge who oversees the project (Upton & Steinman, 1996). Project selling and long-term client relationships are handled at the partner level (or business development manager), which we have included in the managing consultant category. The different categories of students have different educational needs based on their daily task demands. Firms that provide extensive training often prefer raw recruits. Raw recruits are hired for their potential and lower salary expectations (Dehni, 1999; WetFeet.com, 2000). These individuals need to learn about the consulting industry and its business practices. Industry information should include knowledge about typical career paths and the lifestyle of consultants.


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TABLE 1

Need for Course Content by Student Category

Raw recruits Experienced managers Expert contributors Occasional consultants Junior consultants Managing Consultants

Industry Trends

Field Projects

Skills Training

High

High

High

High High Low Low

Moderate-High Low Low Low

Moderate-High Moderate Moderate-High High

29

24

18 17 18 17 6 22

C lie nt

6 28

Fi

el

d

In

vo

Pr

Managing Junior

11

Lo ng

Te rm Fe C T ed lie lv e o am em bl D ba nt e at ck R m en S a el /R up tw D C at ia ol ep er io /C gn le vi o ns ct r si lie os tin hi io on nt is p g n

6

% time spent in activity

Figure 1: Skills Emphasis of Junior and Managing Level Consultants NOTE: Junior consultants = less than 3 years as a professional consultant; managing consultants = 3 or more years as a professional consultant

Because the consulting field is changing to address Information Age concerns, courses should be updating industry information shared with students on a regular basis. Personal assessments to determine fit with industry expectations and types of consulting are an example of what might be included. An understanding of what recruiters value in candidates might be demonstrated in mock case-interviews exercises. Because raw recruits need to develop

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basic skills—such as client management, confident communication, and teamwork—courses for these students should include extensive skills training and field projects to provide practice in realistic situations. Class exercises should be used to practice client feedback and presentations. Summarizing, raw recruits have a high need for knowledge about industry trends, field projects, and skills training to prepare for Information Age consulting. Experienced managers have more varied needs because of their diverse backgrounds and the rationale for their entry into the field. Some enter management consulting because they have developed expertise in a specific area, such as IT, finance, operational management, or macroeconomics from their work experience. In a recent Information Age shift, Ph.D.s in a wide variety of fields and J.D.s are being sought to fill demand for credible specialized expertise, such as tax and legal implications of decisions and technical product development advice (Leonhardt, 2000; WetFeet.com, 2000). Companies seek specialized information that experts in their fields can provide. Consulting firms find such individuals—who we refer to as expert contributors— attractive because of the depth of their knowledge and ability to provide tangible services. In addition, the deeper level of education provides evidence of credibility for the consulting firm. These individuals have a high need to understand industry trends and the consulting profession so they are prepared to manage a new career path. They have a moderate to high need for field projects and skills training depending on the extent that their previous jobs entailed teamwork and interaction with senior-level executives. In their previous roles, expert contributors usually perform their work autonomously and may not need to interact with organizational leaders so basic skills, such as teamwork and developing client relationships, become important learning issues. Other experienced managers, in contrast, simply stumble onto the notion of management consulting because they were involved in company projects as internal consultants or performed some consulting work on the side that they enjoyed. Although these individuals have been exposed to the complexities of consulting from their organizational experience, they, like expert contributors and raw recruits, may know little about the consulting industry and, perhaps more important, the consulting process itself. They are likely to stumble through projects rather than employ deliberate consulting methodologies because they have not been trained in consulting techniques and do not consider consulting their primary career identity as they enter the field of consulting. These individuals—who we refer to as occasional consultants— have a high need for industry trends knowledge, a low need for field projects, and a moderate need for skills training. They have had enough field experience to understand the major issues involved in consulting but have not had


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the exposure to potential solutions they could receive from some skills training. An interesting observation from several unscientific polls of academic audiences provides anecdotal evidence that most academics that engage in consulting began as occasional consultants. Junior consultants are fairly new employees of consulting firms so they are directly involved in the consulting industry and have sufficient experience to begin identifying their strengths and weaknesses. They have a low need for industry trends knowledge and field projects, but a moderate to high need for more skills training. Finally, managing consultants are embarking on a new phase in their consulting careers. They are beginning or will begin to supervise teams and find clients. Therefore, they have a high need for advanced skills training that they may have dismissed as irrelevant in earlier training and a relatively low need for industry trends knowledge and field projects. As an example of advanced skills, a managing consultant needs to learn to cultivate client relationships for repeat business and referrals. In earlier stages of consulting, the focus is more on completing the job rather than building relationships.

Study of Current Course Offerings To study how the training needs expressed in our model are reflected in the present reality of business schools, we investigated the offerings of management consulting courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Study Design and Method The sample included the top-ranked U.S. business schools aggregated from listings in the Princeton Review, Business Week, and U.S. News & World Report for their 1999-2001 reviews. The compiled listing of the top three tiers of business schools yielded a target sample of 93 schools. This approach was used for two primary reasons. First, consultancy firms tend to recruit at the top business schools so it was important to ensure that these schools were represented in the sample. Second, because determining B-school rankings is subject to variation, the compiled listing was used to capture as many high quality programs as possible. Complete data from 68 schools were found and collected. Of these 68 schools, only 27 (40%) offered any management consulting courses. Qualitative analysis was conducted using the course descriptions from the 27 schools with identifiable management consulting courses. The use of syllabi was considered, but course descriptions were preferred for several reasons.

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First, course descriptions are the primary source of information for students choosing a program and course. They are readily available to external researchers and prospective students whereas syllabi are often only available internally. Some professors will not publish their syllabi. Syllabi usually reflect course content in greater detail and are more updated, but they may vary drastically when several instructors teach a course. Course descriptions are more general in nature and should capture the content across instructors. A review of syllabi from six different business schools revealed a consistent reflection of course descriptions as presented in the respective catalogues. Information from individual universities was collected from the individual school Web sites, catalogues, and related Web sites that collect such information (e.g., www.collegesource.org). The available data were analyzed for management consulting course offerings—at the undergraduate and graduate level—either fully dedicated to or with partial content centered on management consulting. Courses were also content analyzed to detect commonalities in topics and methodology. We had no preconceived notions concerning course content. This was a true exploratory study to ascertain the availability and nature of course offerings.

Findings Overall, the academic course offerings in management consulting were found to be extremely limited. As noted earlier, of the 68 schools from which data were available, only 27 (40%) offered any courses in management consulting: 24 had full-length courses dedicated to management consulting, 3 had courses with partial management consulting content, and one school offered partial and full-length courses. The schools offering full-content courses were limited to approximately 35% of the schools examined. Most offered only one course (17 schools, 25% of sample), but five schools offered two courses (7%). Only two schools (Boston College and Emory University) offered three courses (4%). Courses (either full or partial content) were concentrated at the graduate level in 23 schools (34%) and at the undergraduate level in only five programs (7%). None of the schools offered a mix of graduate and undergraduate courses. There was no evidence in the sample of any degree or major in management consulting—either at the graduate or undergraduate level—though some Bschools offered a concentration in management consulting as an individualized or customized field of study (e.g., George Washington University). A content analysis of the description of the courses offered indicated three major topic areas. Consulting skills and techniques was the most common


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TABLE 2

Research Summary on Management Consulting Course Offerings From the Compiled Listing of the Top 93 Ranked U. S. Business Schools School

Undergrad.

American Arizona State U. Babson College Baylor U. Boston College Boston U. Carnegie Mellon Case Western U. Claremont U. Columbia U. Cornell U. Emory U. George Washington Georgetown U. MIT Sloan NYU Stern Notre Dame Northeastern U. Cal., Berkeley U. Cal. Irvine U. of Chicago U. of Pennsylvania U. of Rochester U. of SC, Marshall Wake Forest U. Washington U. William and Mary Totals % of total sample (68)

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5

a

b

Grad.

Full

Part

1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 22

1 1 0 0 3 1 1 0 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 33

0 1 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

Content Areas Trends 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 12

Project

Skills

1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 12 18

0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 22 32

NOTE: a. Full courses offered specifically on management consulting b. Only a portion of the course covers management consulting topics

content, present in 22 schools (32%), and industry trends in consulting were covered in 8 schools (12%). Management consulting courses required a field project in 12 schools (18%). Six of the schools (9%) in the sample specifically mentioned preparation for internal consultants. See Table 2 for a summary of topic area content in the courses offered.

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JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / December 2004 TABLE 3

Comparative Analysis of Student Needs and Course Content Availability

Raw recruits Experienced managers Expert contributors Occasional consultants Junior consultants Managing consultants

Under Graduate

Graduate

Industry Trends

Field Projects

Skills Training

NM

Available

NM

SA

Available

NP NP NP NP

Available Available Available Available

NM NM NP NP

SA SA NP NP

Available Available Available Available

NOTE: NM = Need more offerings; offerings extremely limited; SA = Somewhat available; Can be found, though offerings limited; Available = Likely to be available where consulting courses are offered; NP = Not a priority, need fairly well satisfied COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The second phase of the study was dedicated to answering the “so what” question by conducting a comparative analysis of available offerings and the needs of those who seek education in the field of management consulting. Where available, current courses offer basic consulting skills development, field experiences, and information about the consulting industry. These aspects will be more valuable for some students than others because of their various experiences and backgrounds. The findings of this study suggest that business schools in the United States play a marginal role in preparing students for a management consulting career. The academic courses that are offered are limited in number and isolated in the curriculum, with no degree or major offered. It appears that based on the information generated in our research the developmental needs of consultants are not being addressed through course offerings. As summarized in Table 3, although most schools that offered management consulting courses provided skills training, few provided actual field experiences, and fewer still provided industry knowledge. Comparing the needs of students to the available course content provides some indications of where management consulting preparation falls short. Few institutions have offerings that cater to the specific needs of any of five identified markets of students. Courses are mainly at the graduate level, and only in very few schools are they clustered to offer sufficiently broad coverage of the field needed by these student market segments. Especially because raw recruits are increasingly being sought from the undergraduate ranks (Dehni, 1999), there is a definite need for more undergraduate training in


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consulting skills and expertise. The explosion of tools-oriented consulting can be served by undergraduate programs that provide technical training and by young MBAs with technical knowledge (Werther & Harris, 2001). Recent graduates from cutting edge B-schools are likely to have been trained on the most updated technologies. Technology expertise provides necessary credibility for consulting found in the past by pedigree degrees from elite Bschools. However, they need extensive consulting skills training and an orientation to the industry. Raw recruits, expert contributors, and occasional consultants are not being served by the limited availability of schools that provide industry trends knowledge. The consulting industry is associated with an intense work ethic usually dictated by client demands. Individuals entering the field of consulting are best served by realistic previews so they are ready to adapt to and deal with a consultant’s lifestyle, the ambiguity associated with consulting tasks, and the political, social, and emotional concerns that clients may present. At a recent gathering of IT professionals and consultants from major firms, the question of what students should know before entering the field of IT consulting was posed. Almost all the consultants agreed that despite what they tell candidates, rookie consultants still do not understand how much travel is involved and the implications of so much travel. One consultant remarked, “Students need to be told that they won’t be able to bring their dogs to work; in fact, they won’t be able to have dogs if they go into IT consulting.” Raw recruits and expert contributors are somewhat underserved by the availability of management consulting field experiences. It should be noted that a recent study of MBA field studies (Baker & Schomburg, 2000) did find that about 40% of the schools offer field studies. This suggests that students might be able to participate in field studies that are not specifically designed for management consulting preparation but do contain some elements of fieldwork. Yet, even if 40% of B-schools offer field experiences, a large number of students are still not offered the opportunity to experience real-time client management, an essential skill of consulting not easily replicated in the classroom. Furthermore, such field studies usually focus on understanding the application of course material rather than the process of management consulting. In summary, course offerings are not widespread or comprehensive enough to conclude that academia is providing the necessary preparation for management consulting in any age, much less the Information Age. Courses are difficult to find and to identify as related to consulting because of the lack of consistency in academia in labeling course offerings for management consulting development.

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Suggested Curriculum and Course Descriptions The study of existing course offerings reveals a clear need for more courses in management consulting. There are gaps in the necessary skills development for all student populations. As a beginning point, academic institutions should continue to concentrate on providing courses for raw recruits, expert contributors, and occasional consultants with more comprehensive offerings to cover developmental needs in industry trends, basic consulting skills, and field experiences. The two practicing consultant populations can be served by more concentrated electives focusing in specific areas of developmental need, such as project management or team management. Based on the review of existing course descriptions and our exploration of the needs of student populations, we suggest the curriculum provided in Appendix 1 for management consultant preparation. Three core courses are recommended: management consulting skills, change management, and consulting field project. Appendix 2 contains an outline of a course to cover the basic skills of management consulting. This essential entry-level course for management consultants covers the skills and the process of consulting, information about industry trends and careers in consulting, and how to be a savvy consumer of consulting services. The course in change management is targeted to practicing managers who act as change agents and implementation consultants. It covers issues such as preparing for change, dealing with resistance, and instituting systems to support change. The field project course provides experiential learning for students with little field experience and those who want to be exposed to new environments. Students work on real consulting projects with real clients. The projects can vary in nature depending on student needs and career aspirations. Guidelines for administering field projects are presented in Appendix 3. These guidelines are based on the assumption that most students choosing to do a field project lack significant consulting experience. Electives are recommended for advanced academic training in key aspects of consulting. The study presented here shows a need for more comprehensive course offerings that can be remedied by the recommended curriculum. Other issues, such as better course labeling and greater visibility, in MBA programs also need addressing. Today’s managers increasingly need management consulting skills to help their companies stay competitive. Managers may also have the desire to add management consulting skills to their repertoire for more extensive career options. The proposed curriculum provides the fundamental preparation necessary for raw recruits, internal consultants, independent consultants, and occasional consultants.


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A longer term proposition is to attract students who are practicing consultants with major consulting firms. They usually rely on their firms for consulting orientation and advanced training. The comprehensive curriculum proposed in this article can supplement corporate university training or provide opportunities for partnerships with consulting firms of all sizes because it provides an academic understanding that corporate skills training programs frequently neglect. It is a typical practice among large consulting firms to hire and internally train and socialize raw recruits with only undergraduate degrees and then select promising consultants for full-time MBA sponsorship as they transition to the junior consultant stage. This segment fits nicely with the current availability of programs. They are ready for a comprehensive, multifunctional business degree for the enhanced credibility and a pedigree as they move closer to client management in their consulting work. Others are more suited to targeted, part-time academic programs so B-schools should consider evening and weekend courses for them. For instance, expert contributors and occasional consultants may find professional development certificate programs will meet their needs. Universities are ignoring the potential markets represented by junior and managing consultants. It is more likely that training programs provided directly by employers service these groups, but this is an untested notion. Given the schedule that most consultants keep, however, schools would need to provide courses that cater to them specifically. Saturday classes with supplemental online work such as chatroom debates could be an attractive option. Appealing to current consultants is a radical suggestion because most schools are not overtly acknowledging the field with current offerings. Schools are likely to have the infrastructure such as faculty and weekend classes to welcome current consultants as students if they are already offering consulting classes. The challenge lies in convincing schools that they can offer more than the consulting firms’ internal training programs. We believe that B-schools can offer a crosspollenization experience not possible in internal programs. The academic approach of critical and impartial examination in contrast to stringent, socialized training from internal programs can provide a broader view of the industry and its practices that, in turn, could lead to more innovation in the industry of consulting. No doubt that organizations turning to internal personnel to fill consulting needs because of the economic downturn and the diminished reputation of consulting will need additional preparation for their new roles. The role of Andersen Accounting consultants in the Enron fiasco underscores the need for an academic understanding of consulting behavior that includes discussions of ethics and accountability.

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The value of an academic approach can offer tangible, practical outcomes for students. A former student noted, “I am so glad I had this experience as a student consultant because I now know that I will never be happy with a career in consulting.” The student took the course fully intending to seek a consulting position but learned through a field experience what was not readily apparent in coursework or from reading about consulting. We find that our students use the consulting course and particularly, a field project course, in job interviews, and many cite the experience as what prompted a job offer. Internal consultants frequent our courses. One such student who comes back to participate in a panel discussion for the course claims she has been given better assignments because of the knowledge and experience she gained from the course. We have revised our individual courses for our respective institutions that cater to our different student populations based on the findings of this research. Preparation for the field of management consulting entails a customized and comprehensive approach. This article provides such a template for business schools to better serve students, consulting firms, and indirectly, consumers of consulting services.

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* * *

* * *

Expert Contributors * * +

Occasional Consultants

+ + –

Junior Consultants

– + –

Managing Consultants

NOTE: * = Essential; + = Optional, take as needed; – = Not necessary Elective Courses: Interpersonal Behavior and Communication; Knowledge Management; Managing Effective Work Teams; Negotiating; Professional Presentation Skills; Project Management

Management consulting skills Change management Consulting field project

Raw Recruits

Appendix 1 Suggested Curriculum for Management Consulting

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Appendix 2 Management Consulting Skills Course Course Description: Teaches students the fundamentals of management consulting. Students will learn the basics necessary for internal and career consulting and to be good consumers of consulting services. Course topics include the consulting process; project, team, and client management skills; the ethics of consulting; careers in consulting; and issues surrounding the use of consultants. Students will explore the nature of consulting from the consultant and client views. The course audience is graduate students who may be interested in careers in consulting, those who find themselves serving as internal consultants, those who do occasional consulting outside their primary jobs, and those who may need to hire or work with external consultants. The course is intended to produce savvy consumers of consulting services in addition to enhancing the skills needed for management consulting. Proposed Course Outline: Session # 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10-11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Topic Course overview, focus of management consulting Trends in careers and career progression in consulting Internal consulting Context issues in consulting: Ethics, independence, roles, and approaches to consulting (e.g., organization development, business advising) Overview of consulting process Entry and contracting steps, scoping a project Discovery step, team management issues Data collection and analysis steps Client management issues Frameworks for data analysis Feedback and action plan steps, presenting findings and recommendations Overview of engagement/implementation steps Client view: Selecting, contracting, and managing consultants Concluding thoughts

Suggested texts: Block, P. (2000). Flawless consulting (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. ISBN 0-7879-4803-9 Levinson, H. (2002). Organizational assessment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 1-55798-921-4 Schein, E. H. (1999). Process consultation revisited. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-34596-X


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Vault.com. (2001). Vault guide to the top 50 consulting firms (4th ed.). ISBN 1-58131128-1 Vault.com. 2001. Vault guide to the case interview. ISBN 1-581-31129-X Suggested resources for lectures, extra readings, and cases: Biech, E. (2001). The 2001 annual: Volume 2, consulting. San Francisco: JosseyBass/Pfeiffer. ISBN 0-7879-5335-0 (Notebook of experiential exercises, surveys, and readings. Recommend A Survey for Team Learning, Using the Team-Development Rating Scale to Build Task-Oriented Teams, and The Feedback Assessment Report: Moving Clients to Action.) Block, P. (2001). Flawless consulting fieldbook & companion. San Francisco: JosseyBass/Pfeiffer. ISBN 0-7879-4804-7 (Book of short readings and cases. Recommend #2 for framing course and understanding clients, #34 for data collection, #5 & 29 for internal consulting issues.) Burke, W. W. (1987). Organization development: A normative view. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-10697-3 (Best used for lecture notes. Chapter 5 provides frameworks and approaches to organizational diagnosis). Cosentino, M. P. (1999). Case in point: Complete case interview preparation. Boston: Ivy Productions. (nice case interview handbook) French, W. L., & Bell, C. H., Jr. (1984) Organization development: Behavioral science interventions for organization improvement (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-64130-6 (Best used for lecture notes. Good for client management issues and action plan considerations.) Glassman, A. M., & Cummings, T. G. (1991). Cases in organizational development. Boston: Irwin. ISBN 0-256-09937-5 (Cases 1-13 & 26-34 appropriate for this course. Recommend SDF (A&B) for defining project, identifying client and ethics; Universal Technologies for use of internal and external consultants; The Hostile Director or The Mercurial President for client management; Informatics and Framus Computers for data analysis and recommendations; Legal Defense Corporation for presenting findings and managing a feedback session.) O’Shea, J., & Madigan, C. (1998). Dangerous company. New York: Penguin. ISBN 014-02-7685-8 (Note: Chapter 4 provides an excellent example of when and how to use consultants; chapter 2 for entry and contracting issues; chapter 7 for contracting and client management; chapters 3,5,6,& 8 provide glimpses of consulting firm culture and managing strategy and growth of consulting firms.) Rasiel, E. M., & Friga, P. N. (2001). The McKinsey mind. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-137429-9 (This book provides insight into the tools, techniques, and strategies used by a global consulting firm.) Wetfeet.com. (2000) Careers in management consulting. San Francisco: Author. ISBN 1-58207-008-3 (Overview of industry, better than Harvard’s, not as good as Vault’s) Wong, L. (2000). The Harvard Business School guide to careers in management consulting 2001 edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

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ISBN 1-57851-323-5 (Overview of industry, not as comprehensive as Wetfeet or Vault guides.) Darden Cases: (Tough Team case explores whether to pull a team from an engagement and Banc One depicts client/consultant introductions and framing a project) Making the Tough Team Call A (2000) #UVA-OB-0705 Making the Tough Team Call B (2000) #UVA-OB-0706 Making the Tough Team Call Teaching Note (2000) #UVA-OB-0705TN Banc One/McKinsey (1989) #UVA-BP-0354 Banc One/McKinsey Teaching Note (1989) #UVA-BP-0354TN Banc One/McKinsey video (1989) Tape #4357 Ivey cases: (George Lancia discusses the complexity of balancing results and client management; Ellen Moore discusses the balance of team and project management) Consulting for George Lancia (revised 2001) #9A94J032 Ellen Moore A: Living and Working in Korea (2000) #9A97G029 Ellen Moore A: Living and Working in Korea Teaching Note (2000) #8A97G29 HBSP: (Rate Yourself recommended for lecture notes about being a good consumer of consulting services; Deloitte provides a realistic expectations of life as a consultant.) Rate Yourself as a Client (1977). #77408 Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group (1996) #9-696-096 Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group Teaching Note (1997) #5-697-085

Appendix 3 Guidelines for Administering Field Projects 1. Students need a realistic preview of client and the school’s expectations regarding the time involved and the quality of work expected. Individual advising is recommended. 2. Students need to be academically prepared to handle the project work. 3. Students need to be socially prepared. This is especially important when projects involve students from a different culture than the client. 4. Clients need to be screened to ensure a valuable educational experience. 5. Clients need realistic previews regarding boundaries of projects, nature of deliverables, pace of project, and the amount of expected interaction with students. The use of a scope agreement that outlines the details of the project is recommended.


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6. Faculty needs to be trained to oversee client management and student progress. Periodic meetings with students and follow-up with clients are highly recommended. 7. Institution needs to commit resources to proper supervision of students. If a team approach is used, extra faculty may be needed to monitor team dynamics. 8. Make sure there are back-up clients in case a project needs to be abandoned. 9. Make sure there are back-up client contacts in the client organization in case the primary contact leaves. 10. Encourage the use of team contracts so that all team members agree on how to work together and the expectations of each other. Faculty can facilitate the process by scheduling periodic peer evaluations based on team contracts.

References Baker, H. K., & Schomburg, A. (2000). Executive summary—MBA Field Study Survey. Washington, DC: American University, Kogod School of Business. Bennett, J. (2001, April 24). Consultancies cash in on e-commerce experience. Wall Street Journal, p. B13. Block, P. (2000). Flawless consulting (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Dehni, J. (Ed.). (1999). The Harvard Business School guide to careers in management consulting: 2000 edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Greiner, L. (2001, March 30). Does management consulting have a future? Keynote address at the Knowledge and Value Development in Management Consulting Conference, Lyon, France. Leonhardt, D. (2000, October 1). A matter of degree? Not for consultants. New York Times, Sec. 3, p. 1. Motamedi, K. (2001, March 31). Closing comments and reflections. Comments at the Knowledge and Value Development in Management Consulting Conference, Lyon, France. O’Shea, J., & Madigan, C. (1998). Dangerous company: The consulting powerhouses and the businesses they save and ruin. New York: Random House. Upton, D., & Steinman, C. (1996). Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Werther, W. B., Jr., & Harris, M. E. (2001, March 31). The future of management consulting: Drivers and responses. Paper presented at the Knowledge and Value Development in Management Consulting Conference, Lyon, France. WetFeet.com. (2000). Careers in management consulting. San Francisco: Author.