Do you know what a management consultant is?

Question

Is it common for people to not know what this profession is? I have asked various questions related to this topic and I get really odd answers.....is it necessary to explain what it is in questions, or have I had bad luck?

Answer 1

Management consulting (sometimes also called strategy consulting) refers to both the practice of helping companies to improve performance through analysis of existing business problems and development of future plans, as well as to the industry composed of firms that specialize in this sort of consulting. Management consulting may involve the identification and cross-fertilization of best practices, analytical techniques, change management and coaching skills, technology implementations, strategy development or even the simple advantage of an outsider's perspective. Management consultants generally bring formal frameworks or methodologies to identify problems or suggest more effective or efficient ways of performing business tasks.

Currently, there are three main types of consulting firms. First, there are large, diversified organizations, such as Accenture, BearingPoint, Capgemini and IBM Global Services that offer a range of services, including information technology consulting, in addition to a strategy consulting practice. Second are the large management and strategic consulting specialists that offer only strategy consulting but are not specialized in any specific industry, such as Arthur D. Little, A.T. Kearney, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey & Company. Finally, there are boutique firms, often quite small, which have focused areas of consulting expertise in specific industries or technologies.

Management consultants are often criticized for overuse of buzzwords, reliance on management fads, and a failure to develop executable plans that can be followed through.

There are several qualifications can lead to becoming a management consultant; they include:

The internationally recognized Certified Management Consultant (CMC) professional designation.
Certificate in Management Consulting Essentials (IMC) - UK, Diploma in Management Consultancy (IMC) - UK

Answer 2

The profession doesn't seem as common as others such as a doctor, accountant or lawyer. In Australia it isn't overly well known, I guess the only reason I know what it is is due to the fact that I've always been interested in it!

If you're receiving unusual responses to your question, maybe it's best if you define the term in your question to make sure the people responding know exactly what you mean.

Justin Reedy