Management consulting<\/b>\u00a0is the practice of helping\u00a0organizations<\/a>\u00a0to improve their\u00a0performance<\/a>, operating primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement. Organizations may draw upon the services of management\u00a0consultants<\/a>\u00a0for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and access to the consultants’ specialized expertise.<\/p>\n As a result of their exposure to, and relationships with numerous organizations, consulting firms are typically aware of industry “best practices<\/a>.” However, the specific nature of situations under consideration may limit the ability to transfer such practices from one organization to another.<\/p>\n Consultancies may also provide organizational\u00a0change management<\/a>\u00a0assistance, development of\u00a0coaching<\/a>\u00a0skills,\u00a0process analysis<\/a>,\u00a0technology<\/a>\u00a0implementation,\u00a0strategy<\/a>\u00a0development, or operational improvement services. Management consultants often bring their own proprietary\u00a0methodologies<\/a>\u00a0or frameworks to guide the identification of problems, and to serve as the basis for recommendations for more effective or\u00a0efficient<\/a>\u00a0ways of performing work tasks.<\/p>\n Management consulting refers generally to the provision of\u00a0business services<\/a>, but there are numerous specialties such as\u00a0strategic management<\/a>,\u00a0information technology consulting<\/a>,\u00a0human resource consulting<\/a>, financial consulting,\u00a0virtual management<\/a>\u00a0consulting,\u00a0design<\/a>,\u00a0operations management<\/a>\u00a0consulting,\u00a0engineering management<\/a>,\u00a0management science<\/a>, and others, many of which overlap, and most of which are offered by the larger diversified consultancies. So-called “boutique” consultancies, however, are smaller organizations focusing upon a few of such specialties.<\/p>\n The 1990s saw an increase in what has been termed a ‘future-based’ approach. This emphasized language and alignment of people within an organization to a common vision of the future of the organization, as set out in the book\u00a0Three Laws of Performance<\/i>. The essential concept here was that the way people perform is seen to correlate to the way that world occurs for them, and that future-based language could alter the way the future actually occurs for them. These principles were increasingly employed in organizations that had experienced a market transition or a merger requiring the blending of two\u00a0corporate cultures<\/a>. However, towards the end of the 1990s the approach declined due to a perception that the concept outlined in this book did not in practice offer added value to organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Management consulting\u00a0is the practice of helping\u00a0organizations\u00a0to improve their\u00a0performance, operating primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement. Organizations may draw upon the services of management\u00a0consultants\u00a0for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and access to the consultants’ specialized expertise. As a result of their…<\/p>\n