Management Consulting: A Complete Guide to the Industry - Hardcover

Biswas, Sugata; Twitchell, Daryl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471293520 ISBN 13: 9780471293521

Verlag: John Wiley & Sons, 1999

Inhaltsangabe

Packed with essential information on the management consulting industry, this text contains essays by top consultants, strategists and academics providing perspectives on the future of the industry. Opening with a comprehensive history and discussion on the origins of consulting, the authors then move on to examine how the industry rose to become indispensable as a provider of professional strategy services, how it has diversified into unique specialities, and the many opportunities available today. The text offers guidance through the application process to help candidates stand apart from the competition: cover letters and applications; research; and self-assessment. An A-Z resource covering everything from the origins of the field to the unique specialities within the industry, complete with a directory of the top 50 consulting firms.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

SUGATA BISWAS is a management consultant with the premier health care consulting firm, The Wilkerson Group (an IBM company). Formerly, he worked at the RAND Corporation and Andersen Consulting. He attended the University of Chicago and graduated with honors in economics. DARYL TWITCHELL is a management consultant with the Strategic Planning and Business Development Group of American Express. He has also worked for the international strategy consulting firm Corporate Decisions, Inc. (now Mercer Management Consult-ing). Daryl graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Brown University with a degree in international relations and history. Both authors hold MBAs from the Yale School of Management.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

The first complete resource for graduating students and professionals seeking a position in management consulting

"Consulting is all about client results. If you want to help change the strategic destiny of organizations, pursue a high-impact career, and ensure continuous learning, then Management Consulting is a must-read to help you identify the firm that best suits you!" -Thomas J. Tierney Worldwide Managing Director Bain & Company

"This is the most comprehensive overview of the consulting industry to date. It is chock-full of useful information for students and professionals considering consulting as a career." -Robert F. Bonner Associate Director, Career Development & Placement The Wharton School, Graduate Division

"This book is an excellent starting point for anyone contemplating a career in management consulting. My professional advice to you: Read this book!" -Wayne Cooper Publisher, Consultants News President & CEO, Kennedy Information

Management consulting is one of the most popular career choices for today's graduating students and career-changing professionals. The industry is growing fast, with many more organizations in need of consulting services than ever before and an overwhelming number of candidates seeking consulting positions. Each year, tens of thousands compete for the offers that ultimately only a few thousand will receive. Facing such intense competition, applicants for these positions need all the help they can get to be competitive with their peers.

Management Consulting is the first consolidated resource containing need-to-know information on every step of the management consulting job search. Seasoned consultants Sugata Biswas and Daryl Twitchell, who have worked with a wide range of industry leaders, candidates, and recruiters, have written a book that encompasses a full range of perspectives. They cover each step of the job search process in detail, providing valuable insider information on the profession, as well as tools and techniques to help you stand apart from the competition and land a job offer.

The book opens with an objective, candid picture of the industry, its players, and its evolution. The authors look at the origins and development of consulting as they explain who management consultants are, what they do, and where the best opportunities can be found. Essays by leading consultants, strategic planners, and academics provide perspectives on emerging trends and the future of consulting. You'll learn what it's like to be a practicing management consultant, from the professional development opportunities to the day-to-day balancing of work and private life. The authors walk you through the steps of a typical consulting project, from the initial definition of the problem to the final presentation of recommendations. They outline what will be expected of you, the typical work hours involved, and the many benefits and drawbacks of this demanding career.

A vital section of the book is the step-by-step method for successfully navigating the infamous case interview-often the "make or break" point as firms try to select the top candidates from the masses. All it takes is one abstract or technical question ("How much does a Boeing 747 jumbo jet weigh?") to knock you out of the running. The authors will teach you how to be properly prepared for these interviews as you work your way to an offer, and how to negotiate for the most attractive package.

In addition, the authors provide three unique appendices that are critical to a successful consulting job search:
* Appendix I-fifteen of the most common case frameworks, useful to draw upon when answering case questions
* Appendix II-100 case questions and ten sample answers for interview practice
* Appendix III-a directory of fifty consulting firms, including primary practice areas and recruiting contacts

By giving you a firm grasp of the industry and the skills you need to master the interviews, Management Consulting is an invaluable investment for your future in this exciting and rewarding profession.

Aus dem Klappentext

Management consulting is one of the most popular career choices for today's graduating students and career-changing professionals. The industry is growing fast, with many more organizations in need of consulting services than ever before and an overwhelming number of candidates seeking consulting positions. Each year, tens of thousands compete for the offers that ultimately only a few thousand will receive. Facing such intense competition, applicants for these positions need all the help they can get to be competitive with their peers.

Management Consulting is the first consolidated resource containing need-to-know information on every step of the management consulting job search. Seasoned consultants Sugata Biswas and Daryl Twitchell, who have worked with a wide range of industry leaders, candidates, and recruiters, have written a book that encompasses a full range of perspectives. They cover each step of the job search process in detail, providing valuable insider information on the profession, as well as tools and techniques to help you stand apart from the competition and land a job offer.

The book opens with an objective, candid picture of the industry, its players, and its evolution. The authors look at the origins and development of consulting as they explain who management consultants are, what they do, and where the best opportunities can be found. Essays by leading consultants, strategic planners, and academics provide perspectives on emerging trends and the future of consulting. You'll learn what it's like to be a practicing management consultant, from the professional development opportunities to the day-to-day balancing of work and private life. The authors walk you through the steps of a typical consulting project, from the initial definition of the problem to the final presentation of recommendations. They outline what will be expected of you, the typical work hours involved, and the many benefits and drawbacks of this demanding career.

A vital section of the book is the step-by-step method for successfully navigating the infamous case Interview - often the "make or break" point as firms try to select the top candidates from the masses. All it takes is one abstract or technical question ("How much does a Boeing 747 jumbo jet weight?") to knock you out of the running. The authors will teach you how to be properly prepared for these interviews as you work your way to an offer, and how to negotiate for the most attractive package.
In addition, the authors provide three unique appendices that are critical to a successful consulting job search:
* Appendix I - Fifteen of the most common case frameworks, useful to draw upon when answering case questions
* Appendix II - 100 case questions and ten sample answers for interview practice
* Appendix III - a directory of fifty consulting firms, including primary practice areas and recurring contacts
By giving you a firm grasp of the industry and the skills you need to master the interviews, Management Consulting is an invaluable investment for your future in this exciting and rewarding profession.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1 The Management Consulting Industry

Management consultants directly out of business school can earn over $100,000 a year. It is yours if you can estimate the number of gas stations in the United States.

Starting salaries in management consulting are among the highest available for entry-level professionals, rivaling the traditionally high earnings potential of investment banking, venture capital, and law. Whether changing career paths or graduating from school, candidates are inundating firms across the country with applications for a relatively few coveted jobs. In 1998, top business school graduates fortunate enough to land a management consulting job received starting salaries of approximately $92,500 plus signing bonuses up to $40,000, while undergraduates received base salaries of $40,000 to $45,000 plus a bonus of around $5,000.

But the potential to earn stratospheric salaries is only one of the attractions of consulting; candidates also recognize its power to accelerate a career. Former consultant are valued for their carefully trained analytical minds and for their presumed expertise at solving business problems. As a result, many who leave consulting are likely to enter companies at high levels than their peers who have worked the same number of years, but in other fields. There is a strong and arguably justified perception that a stint as a management consultant is the key to future professional success.

Sounds great, but is the occupation right for you? Are you ready and willing to jump on the consulting bandwagon? With the information in this chapter, you can begin to develop a complete and candid picture of management consulting. We introduce you to the profession that has attracted such high interest and help you answer these and other questions as you explore your career goals. We describe several kinds of management consultants and what they do. We then examine the consulting product and explain some of the popular theories of strategy. We show you how to segment the wide range of consulting practices into categories to obtain a broad view of the industry. And finally, we look at the origins and development of the profession, and offer some perspectives on emerging trends in the industry. The rich and multifaceted story of management consulting is entertaining as well as helpful as you move toward becoming an industry expert.

THE ROLE OF A MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT The traditional professional titles of "lawyer," "architect," or "medical doctor" have widely recognized definitions. But when people hear the title "management consultant," they tend to define it either as (1) an extremely important, impressively bright individual, who deals only with the top management of large companies on critical matters; or (2) simply an unemployed individual who has resorted to selling time for a fee until a real job comes along. Neither description is entirely accurate.

To truly understand what a management consultant does, we need to analyze the role of a "consultant," a universal term for any professional who provides assistance to others, usually for a fee. Under this definition, we can imagine consultants operating in just about any industry - and indeed they do. Graphic design consultants, wedding consultants, fashion consultants, and career consultants are recognizable consulting roles, but other consultants with whom we deal all the time are college advisers, headhunters, travel agents, and even realtors. The list is almost infinite. Simply select an industry name or practice area, add the word "consulting," and you have identified yet another type. Management consulting is but one kind of consulting in the marketplace, and it is by no means the only trade referred to in that sense.

What, exactly, do management consultants do? Of their many responsibilities, perhaps the most common is the identification, diagnosis, and resolution of business issues. A company experiencing a severe decline in profits may hire a management consulting firm to develop a strategy for reversing the trend. Conversely, a company enjoying rapid growth and astoundingly high profitability may look to management consultants for a way to remain successful. Although the issues consultants examine are sometimes positive and sometimes negative, they all have significant implications for an organization's future. Management consultants are hired to predict these implications and to help a company seize control of its destiny.

In addition to working as business doctors, management consultants often fill a host of other roles: (1) officiating as experts in a given industry, operational function, or business situation; (2) serving as unbiased, external third parties to validate a concept or argument; (3) confirming a hypothesis or point of view through exhaustive analysis; (4) acting as conflict resolution mediators; (5) teaching organizations how to make decisions; (6) facilitating discussions to convert information into knowledge; and many more.

The list of roles is endless. New consulting firms offering unique specialties open every year, and continue to expand the competencies of the management consulting profession. Between 1980 and 1996, the demand for management consultants ballooned from less than $5 billion in total worldwide revenues to more than $60 billion, as is illustrated in Figure 1.1. And the industry is expected to grow at a similarly rapid pace, topping $100 billion by the year 2000.

THE CONSULTING PRODUCT What are consulting firms selling to generate such high revenues? The primary product is the intellectual capital of its consultants: quick and astute minds, proprietary business and organizational strategies, and an aptitude for managing relationships. Thus, the consulting product is actually a service that has an immensely valuable potential to bring about significant change. Because consultants are neither fortune-tellers nor magicians, they cannot guarantee a certain outcome from their work. They can only offer their best recommendation for success, stand prepared to respond to unexpected changes and roadblocks, and collaborate closely with their clients in developing a strategy to achieve a stated goal. Thus, the final outcome of consultant s service is a goal rather than a certainty. Like teachers, who are compensated for helping others grow, consultants are paid for the objective of helping organizations improve. Therefore, the effectiveness of a consultant is only as g! ood as the intellectual capital of

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1999
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0471293520
• ISBN 13: 9780471293521
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 288
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar