Rapidly developing technologies do not bypass a single sphere of human activity. Innovations affected technological processes, markets and, of course, the wishes and preferences of customers. That is why most organizations and companies, wanting to remain, so to speak, “in trend”, are forced to constantly improve tactics and strategy.
What is consulting?
Very often in conditions of such rapid development, many companies and organizations are acutely aware of a shortage of internal resources. That is why they are forced to seek help from highly qualified specialists who provide a kind of service - consulting. What it is?
In the broad sense of the word consulting is consulting. At its core, this is a special kind of intellectual services aimed at finding the optimal solution in this situation. This procedure is carried out by experts, a team of specialists, or even entire companies and organizations that specialize in this field.
This type of intellectual activity involves not only obtaining highly qualified advice. Experts can offer the client organization and the implementation of specific organizational and technical functions.
Consulting Definition
The range of problems that are solved through consulting is quite wide. In addition, the specialization of companies can be very diverse: from narrow-profile, working in one direction of activity (for example, audit and consulting), to the broadest one, capable of covering a full list of services in this area. Based on this, it follows that each specialist or organization working in this field, invests a special meaning in the definition of consulting, which is characterized directly by the direction of activity.
So, in a broad sense, consulting is a certain form of intellectual activity, the most important task of which is to analyze, identify promising areas of development and use scientific, technical, as well as organizational and economic innovations taking into account the subject area and problems of the client.
Consulting is able to resolve many issues related to the economic, managerial, investment activities of a company, with a planning strategy, optimizing the organization’s functioning itself, the process of doing business, researching sales markets and its forecasting, etc. Simply put, consulting is a kind of fast assistance provided by external experts in a particular field.
The main goal of this activity is to improve the quality of management of the entire organization, increase the efficiency of the entire company as a whole, as well as increase the productivity of each employee and the entire company.
Consulting What it is?
Who needs help from a consulting company? As a rule, first of all, these are enterprises or organizations that at a certain moment find themselves in a critical situation. However, as practice shows, the range of consultant services is not limited to this. So, in what cases and who can turn to experts?
- The first case. When a company, regardless of its condition, plans to rearrange the entire system, which may be associated with the expansion of activities, changes in ownership, a radical change in the spectrum of activities or reorientation to other areas of business.
- The second case. When an organization that has the status of reliable, in order to successfully position itself in the market and create the necessary image for its partners, turns to the services of experts in the field of consulting, carries out an audit of its activities and brings its results to the attention of potential partners and customers.
- The third case. When an organization or company is in critical condition (or on the verge of bankruptcy) and cannot independently find a way out of this situation (lack of experience and internal forces to get out of this situation). In this case, it is advisable to seek help from a consulting company.
Forms or types of consulting
- Analytical activity is an analysis, a thorough study and evaluation of an organization’s internal business, its financial situation, investment projects, analysis of the activities of competitors, sales markets, etc.
- Forecasting - on the basis of the data obtained as a result of the analysis, the expert, using the methods of management consulting, makes up the so-called forecast in the areas indicated above.
- Consultations on a wide variety of issues relating directly to the organization’s activities, sales markets, competitors, etc.
- Audit of the activities of the customer company.
- Direct participation in the activities of the client enterprise - planning, problem solving at the private and general levels, development and implementation of innovative systems, integration, etc.
The main areas of consulting
Different consulting companies define their main activities differently, based on their own experience and specification of the services provided. That is why, in order to identify the main areas, it is worth considering the experience of the Big Six firms, and based on the information received create a general classification.
The list of services provided by the company is very specific and heterogeneous. In addition, this list is not structured and poorly systematized. This is primarily due to the fact that the company’s activities are designed for the end user, and not for the analyst who studies consulting services. Having excluded specific areas and sectors of the economy from the general list of services (healthcare, utilities and energy, as well as communications and medicine), we can get a peculiar general trend, and based on it we can distinguish the following classification of consulting services:
- Consulting in the field of legal services and taxation.
- Audit, auditing and accounting.
- Management Consulting.
Management Consulting
Why is this type of service worth considering separately? In order to answer this question, one should return to the classification obtained. If we exclude audit activities and accounting, as well as legal services and taxation, as a result, the spectrum of all other services is reduced to solving problems one way or another related to management activities (planning, personnel and business management, reorganization of business processes, etc. . d.).
What is management? First of all, this is a certain impact on the enterprise or personnel as a system as a whole, which serves to achieve specific goals and solve the tasks to optimize and change the whole system. Management Objectives:
- Achieving the greatest efficiency of the current system.
- Creating a new system based on existing ones.
- Liquidation of the old system.
Based on the foregoing, the logical question arises: what is management consulting? In a broad sense, it is a solution to the general set of problems that are associated with ensuring the management of complex mechanisms by systems in various fields of activity.
Management Consulting
The need for this type of consulting arises in the case of projected changes in the activities of an enterprise, a deterioration in the results of this activity, or uncertain prospects for further functioning. In this situation, the management consulting company is multidisciplinary and multifunctional. In this case, the expert’s work affects absolutely all aspects of the enterprise, including financial, economic, technological, legal, psychological and social, as well as other areas of the entire organization.
Based on the analysis of the enterprise or company, the consultant can recommend the best ways of dividing labor between personnel and functional departments, and, together with this, formulates further main tasks of work between structural divisions.
In addition, the services of an expert in consulting can be used to organize decision-making and control systems, manage information, as well as to create a specific system designed for instant response in crisis situations. Consultant services can also be aimed at developing investment projects, buying a new company or merging several, coordinating some financial systems, as well as determining the real cost of a purchased company.
IT Consulting
Currently, the improvement of information technology is proceeding at a rapid pace and is firmly entering almost every area of activity. That is why consulting in this area, as well as the development and implementation of appropriate systems are becoming of paramount importance to the company or organization. Consulting, the assessment of which directly depends on the qualifications of a specialist, in the field of information technology consists in conducting research in the field of new and developing innovations, their development trends, and also carries out comprehensive research in the field of computers and general software.
In addition, consulting companies in this area provide relevant information on the products and competitiveness of various manufacturing companies, as well as carry out all kinds of activities aimed at finding the right strategy in the field of information technology.
By agreement of the client organization, the consulting company takes an active part in the design and creation of the corporate information system, and also integrates software products and provides launch, maintenance and maintenance of the entire system. In this case, the consulting company operates as a system integrator.
Consulting and its components
An important aspect in the activities of an organization is the solution of problems associated with the development and implementation of a marketing policy, as well as the creation and maintenance of the image of the entire enterprise as a whole. Constantly escalating competition no longer allows you to pay attention to the requests and needs of potential customers - more and more relevant is the calculation of the prospects of a particular product or type of activity. Simply put, the “create need and satisfy it” system now works. In this case, you should pay attention directly to the services of management consulting.
Thus, management consulting can be represented by the following components:
- Organizational management.
- Business reorganization or its reorganization: from strategic planning and minor changes to a complete company reorganization.
- Business management.
- Crisis consulting - consulting in the field of restoration of a company or enterprise, as well as solving problems associated with the insolvency of an organization.
- Consulting services related to the merger of several companies or the acquisition of their own new organization.
- Consulting and planning in the field of economic, financial and economic activities of enterprises, analysis of investment projects, as well as assistance in preparing financial forecasts.
- Consulting in the field of human resources management (including specialized training for employees and staff development), as well as the formation (or improvement) of corporate culture and the personnel management style itself.
- Consulting in the field of information technology and related services, as well as the development of a corporate information system and its integration.
- Legal consulting.
- Consulting in the field of marketing, conducting advertising campaigns and creating the image of the enterprise.
- In some enterprises or organizations, it is appropriate to apply anti-crisis consulting.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that this division into components is conditional, since they are all interconnected and focused on solving one problem, which is called "management consulting of the company."
Outsourcing
This is one of the most promising areas of consulting - outsourcing (outsourcing). This is an absolutely innovative approach to increasing the efficiency of an enterprise or company, which does not require significant costs and is based on the full or partial transfer of routine duties (accounting and reporting, personnel management, tax calculation, etc.) of a consulting company in order to focus on solving key key tasks.
The client organization orders services from experts, thereby completely replacing the structural unit with them . The presented type of outsourcing is classic, it does not require in-depth training in consulting. However, the company Prise Waterhouse proposed a completely different outsourcing option, which boils down to the following: the methodology used in it provides for not only the transfer of certain functions, but also the selection of highly qualified employees (specialists in a particular field) in the enterprise who subsequently become employees of the company Prise Waterhouse.
To fulfill its immediate tasks (the so-called routine functions), the created unit is located on the territory of the customer and is engaged in its activities there.
Since the main method of management consulting is the process of change itself, it should be carried out using a certain method that would allow the necessary changes to be made with maximum efficiency. Of the variety of methods that exist today, the reengineering of business processes is optimal.
From the foregoing, it follows that correctly and competently conducted consulting is able to several times increase the efficiency of an enterprise or company, as well as increase the corporate culture, establish an enterprise management process and optimize the entire activity of the customer company. In addition, the services of a consulting company are able to get a firm out of a crisis situation, preventing its bankruptcy.
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