Nesterov A.K. Management consulting // Encyclopedia of the Nesterovs
Organization effective management is one of the most important tasks of any company. Management consulting, focused on complex decision-making regarding the goals and objectives of the enterprise, allows management to effectively use internal and external resources and improve the overall manageability of the business, its profitability and competitiveness.
Concept of management consulting
Management decisions developed as a result of management consulting must bring results, otherwise its expediency tends to zero. In order to implement optimal decisions and manage the development of an enterprise, it is necessary to know the methodology for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of management consulting so that decisions made in practice turn out to be useful for the enterprise in organizational and economic terms.
Currently, two views on the nature of management consulting prevail, defining its concept in functional and professional terms.
According to the functional approach: - this is any form of assistance in making managerial decisions, in which the consultant is not directly or indirectly responsible for their direct implementation, but helps the managers who are responsible for their implementation. This approach focuses on the subject of counseling. At the same time, disregarding the competence and competencies of the consultant himself.
The second approach considers consulting as a special kind of professional activity. Management consulting is the provision of consulting services on a contract or contract basis to commercial and non-profit organizations qualified persons who may act individually or as part of a consulting firm. This approach defines purpose of management consulting: identification of management problems, their analysis and development of recommendations for overcoming or eliminating them.
It should be noted that functional and professional approaches should be considered as complementary. However, the concept of management consulting and consulting should be considered synonymous.
Within the framework of this article, it is proposed to adhere to the following definition:
Management consulting is a design and organizational activity, which is aimed at improving the efficiency of enterprises and organizations in the field of their main economic activity, marketing, management, personnel, etc.
This interpretation defines the scope of counseling and its main purpose. At the same time, management consulting can solve problems of various levels, from expanding the range to restructuring organizational structure enterprises.
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Characteristics of management consulting |
Description |
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Management professionalization |
The professionalization of management involves the use and transfer of certain experience that the consultant has to the leaders of the organization in respect of which purposeful management consulting activities are carried out. Synthesizing your experience, theory and applied aspects management activities consultants improve the efficiency of managing an organization or certain aspects of its economic activity. |
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Lack of power to make decisions |
Management consulting implies that consultants lack the capacity and authority to implement their proposed changes in the organization. The consultants' responsibility is limited to the quality and completeness of their recommendations, and the direct implementation of these recommendations is the responsibility of the leaders of the organization. |
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Independent nature of counseling |
Independence is one of the key points of management consulting, since when assessing any situation, objective recommendations are needed regarding certain management decisions that can be made by the leaders of the organization. |
Purpose, tasks and methods of management consulting
Purpose of management consulting of leaders is the following: to help the management system, the management of the enterprise, achieve the stated goals in the financial, commercial, legal, technological, technical sphere by solving specific problems facing the organization. Thus, counseling covers a wide range of issues, the solution of which requires external intervention.
Tasks of management consulting are reduced to the analysis of management problems, the substantiation of development prospects and the development of objective recommendations for the use of scientific, technological, organizational, economic and financial solutions within a specific subject area
In accordance with this, management consulting can be aimed at correcting the current situation at the enterprise, which is negative for it, improving individual processes of on-farm activities, and introducing innovative developments or advanced technologies.
The practical use of management consulting in a particular enterprise is always due to two fundamental factors:
- Ability to use experts high level than are available in the state of the company;
- The use of external consultants does not force a particular enterprise to assume obligations beyond the contractual terms.
Management Consulting Methods include the following technologies:
- brainstorming, which is a technology of collective creativity;
- development session, which is a series of organizational and managerial consultations held jointly with the leaders of the organization involved in the development of key management decisions;
- independent scientific search - a method that allows an expert to study the problem in as much detail as possible on the basis of what has already been studied and presented in scientific papers domestic and foreign experience, eventually offering recommendations for its solution;
- creation of expert opposing groups - combining the methods of independent scientific knowledge and brainstorming by forming two groups of experts who are invited to solve the problem in different ways, as a result, the management of the enterprise takes one or another point of view and, accordingly, a way to solve the problem;
- system-strategic consulting, professional assistance to company managers in a fundamentally new solution to complex non-standard management problems, while the consultant does not offer a meaningful concept of a management decision, but pursues the goal of launching mechanisms of self-government, self-organization and self-development.
Types of management consulting
Management consulting can be implemented in the following forms:
- resource;
- process;
- educational;
- advisory.
Their characteristics are given in the table.
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Type of management consulting |
Characteristic |
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|---|---|---|
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resource |
Resource consulting involves diagnostics, development of solutions and recommendations for their implementation. In this case, the task of the organization using the services of external specialists is to provide the necessary information and evaluate the results. |
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Process |
Process consulting is based on constant interaction between the consultant and representatives of the enterprise. A joint assessment of the current situation, analysis of problems and preparation of solutions to eliminate them are carried out. The scope of this type of management consulting includes the accumulation of ideas, recommendations, options for action that were obtained in the framework of joint work, as a result of which they are systematized, and a set of decisions is prepared on their basis. |
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educational |
Educational consulting includes the presentation of theoretical, analytical and applied information in the form of trainings, seminars, lectures, etc., and then the systematization and analysis of decisions prepared by the leaders of the organization based on the knowledge gained. |
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Advisory counseling operates with carefully developed professional recommendations prepared by experts in the context of their possible application to the current situation. Most often this species management consulting involves the adaptation of any typical, standardized management decisions to the current situation and the characteristics of a particular enterprise, expressed in the form of formalized strategic and operational plans. |
Thus, the following conclusion can be drawn:
All types of management consulting are aimed at developing solutions to eliminate problems within the organization.
The result and effectiveness of management consulting
Enterprises and organizations, resorting to management consulting services, incur certain material costs, therefore they are directly interested in obtaining specific results from the measures taken, as well as the opportunity to evaluate their effectiveness. At the same time, it is necessary to separate the effectiveness and efficiency of management consulting.
Performance and Results of Management Consulting
In particular, the effectiveness of management consulting is specific results directly or indirectly obtained by the enterprise from the implementation of the proposed solutions, measurable by quantitative or qualitative indicators.
If, after the consultation, there have been any changes in certain areas of the enterprise's on-farm activities, then this should be reflected in the results of its work, which can be represented as a specific indicator. In accordance with this, it is proposed to use the system of indicators of the effectiveness of management consulting, presented in the table.
Thus, the definition of the effectiveness of management consulting is a comparison of the efforts, resources or energy expended to achieve certain results. In fact, qualitative indicators can be interpreted in terms of value, and indirect results should be taken into account when evaluating targets. For commercial enterprises the main target indicator is profit, therefore indirect results lead to it as a common denominator.
In this way, result of management consulting is a certain change in specific indicators of the economic activity of an enterprise, for example, sales volume, profit, labor productivity, labor intensity, cost, etc. The analysis of the results involves indicating the directions or areas of the enterprise's on-farm activities, on which consulting can have any impact. The evaluation of the results obtained implies the achievement of a certain effect, on the basis of which it becomes possible to evaluate the effectiveness of counseling.
- this is the ratio of a new resource or an increase in an old resource as a result of the process of preparing or implementing a management decision in an organization to the costs of this process.
The objective complexity of the assessment is due to the process of counseling itself. The very process of evaluating the effectiveness of management consulting and the final conclusions are influenced by the relationship between the qualifications of the consultant and the motivation of the management of the client organization.
The performance matrix depending on the qualifications of the consultant and the motivation of the management of the client organization is shown in the figure.
In positions 2 and 3, the average effectiveness of management consulting will be ensured, while situation No. 2 seems to be less positive for the client organization, since it actually reduces the expediency of conducting management consulting in principle.
Position 4 is the least effective form of management consulting, since with a low qualification of the consultant and low interest of the management of the client organization, ineffective or standard recommendations will be developed, which, most likely, will not be put into practice.
The key task in this case is to achieve a situation in which management consulting is carried out by a highly qualified consultant, and the management of the client organization is interested in the results, i.e. is highly motivated. In this case, in the conceptual and organizational terms, the effectiveness of management consulting will be the greatest.
Based on the position that the result of consulting is the development and implementation of management decisions, it is possible to outline the boundaries of the assessment of management consulting from the standpoint of their effectiveness for the organization. The basis of such an assessment is the degree of satisfaction of the needs and interests of the company as a whole. The concept of management consulting evaluation is presented in the figure.
In this way, effectiveness of management consulting is a key factor in determining the expediency of its fundamental implementation. At the same time, the assessment of the degree of satisfaction of the interests of the client company, which uses the services of external management consulting specialists, is the main condition for drawing conclusions regarding its effectiveness.
Literature
- Gulkovsky A.V. Management consulting. – M.: Yurkniga, 2014.
- Kalyanov G.N. Consulting. – M.: Hotline- Telecom, 2014.
- Klopotovskaya P.V. Lukyanova T.L. The demand for consulting in the field of personnel management. // Personnel officer. - 2013. - No. 8. - P. 124-131.
- Naumov A.I. Management: person, strategy, organization, process. – M.: Dashkov i K, 2011.
- Nikiforova N.A., Tafintseva V.N. Management analysis. – M.: Yurayt-Izdat, 2012.
- Prosvetov G.I. Consulting. Tasks and solutions. – M.: Alfa-press, 2014.
- Savchuk V.P. Diagnostics of the organization and support of managerial decisions. // Management in Russia and abroad. - 2012. - No. 8. - P.37-41.
- Safronova N.L. Business consulting. Content, technologies, techniques and features. – M.: Speech, 2013.
- Chernov Yu.V. Management consulting. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2014.
Management consulting began to develop in the early 50s of the last century. It is from this time international organization labor began to pay considerable attention to the development of management consulting services and the dissemination of experience in the participating countries. In Russia, the starting point for the development of consulting is considered to be the 90s, when the emergence and development of private business began.
Fundamentals of Management Consulting
According to the definition of the European Federation of Economics and Management Consultants, management consulting is the provision of independent advice and assistance on management issues, which may include identifying and assessing problems and opportunities, developing recommendations for taking appropriate measures and assisting in their implementation. The main goal of management consulting is to increase the efficiency of the company and identify factors that prevent this. The quality of the solution to the problem should be as high as possible, subject to time and financial constraints. It is necessary not only to develop ways to improve the current situation, but also to show possible ways to independently solve similar problems in the future, that is, to develop the client's skills in analysis, evaluation and effective action.
The degree of involvement of the client in the process depends on the type of service, but if the client does not take any part at all, the effectiveness of the consultant's work will be minimal.
In the process of achieving the main goal, a number of tasks can be solved in various directions, respectively, according to the types of tasks, management consulting can be conditionally divided into four main groups.
- Strategic consulting. Development of strategies to achieve long-term and short-term goals and detailed plans for their implementation. Strategic consulting helps build an effective business model.
- Marketing consulting. Research and Development marketing strategy companies.
- HR consulting. Analysis of the activities of managerial personnel, including certification and development of recommendations based on the results of its implementation. Development of personnel motivation systems and their implementation.
- Building a management system in a company- analysis and optimization of management accounting systems: distribution of powers, functions, responsibilities, creation of a system of business processes and a system for forecasting and information exchange, building an optimal structural and functional scheme of an organization.
The main principles of management consulting as a service are competence, specificity, consistency, creativity and efficiency.
Main normative documents in the field of management consulting are:
- the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Articles 8 and 74);
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 128 and Chapter 39);
- Federal Law of the Russian Federation of July 27, 2006 No. 149-FZ “On Information, information technology and on the protection of information”;
- Federal Law of the Russian Federation of July 27, 2006 No. 152-FZ "On Personal Data";
- Federal Law of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ "On Auditing".
On a note
Unfortunately, in Russia there is still no separate law that defines the concepts, essence, principles of consulting and the responsibility of consultants.
Reasons for ordering management consulting services
Most often, managers of companies turn to management consulting specialists for help in crisis situations, when not only a successful future, but also the existence of the company as a whole depends on the further development strategy. According to the consultants themselves, two categories of companies need management consulting services the most:
- Stable companies reforming. This may be an expansion, a change in the type of activity or form of ownership, a merger with another company. In order for changes to occur without harm to the company, consultation with specialists will be required. For example, the services of a consultant are often used by firms moving from the status of "family" to the category of medium and large, with the number of employees from 500 to 1000 people.
- Large companies whose owners want to receive objective information about the state of affairs in order to move from the current operational management for strategy management. The task of the consultant is to make this process as transparent and painless as possible, completely eliminating the possibility of losing business.
However, there are other situations where management consulting can bring tangible benefits:
- The need to automate business processes. Usually in this situation, a preliminary survey of the enterprise and the identification of the need for reorganization are always carried out.
- Finding new ways to compete by building a new marketing policy.
- The desire to ensure the reliability and security of the company's development and strengthening its reputation in the eyes of partners and customers.
The results that the company receives from management consulting can be divided into several groups: direct and indirect, quantitative and qualitative. (see Table 1).
Table 1. Results of management consulting
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RESULTS |
Direct |
Indirect |
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quantitative |
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quality |
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As an example, we can cite a situation from the practice of the KSK group company.
young construction company, working on a large project worth 30 million rubles, ordered a management consulting service. During the implementation of this project, problems constantly arose, resulting in the risk of missed deadlines and receiving a large fine from the customer. During the consulting process, it was revealed that the company lacks a well-defined organizational structure.
The operational and control functions were separated, which allowed the owner to get an objective opinion on the state of affairs and make the right decision. managerial decision. The main departments of the company were also identified and the areas of responsibility of each of them were formulated. Prepared for the client phased plan implementation of all changes. This solution helped implement an important project for the client, avoided a contract fine of 2.4 million rubles, and provided the company with the opportunity to develop and increase the scope of work. The cost of implementing the project of KSK groups amounted to 1 million rubles, ROI (Return On Investment, "return on investment") - 140%.
Management consulting technologies
In modern management consulting, three main approaches are usually distinguished:
- Expert approach. It consists in studying the existing company management structure, identifying its features and problem areas, developing expert recommendations and putting them into practice. At the same time, the expert's opinion is practically not discussed, he independently makes all decisions, and the client's duty is only to provide the necessary conditions for the consultant's work. Expert advice can be carried out in several forms - advice (recommendation), a client's question - the consultant's answer, a written report (draft, analytical note), express analysis, in-depth analysis. At the same time, the effectiveness of expert advice directly depends on the level of competence of the expert himself, his professionalism and understanding by the client of the proposed recommendations, combined with the willingness and ability to implement them. It is advisable to use an expert approach in cases where the problem is not related to specific circumstances in the client's company, there is no need for in-depth diagnostics. In this case, the client needs the help of an expert offering a ready-made standard solution or gaining knowledge on standard procedures, norms and regulations.
On a note
There are no experts who are objective and 100% competent. Each of the specialists will bring to the conclusion their personal experience, attitude towards the client, their understanding of the task and vision of the situation.
- Project approach. This approach is targeted and represents the creation and development of specific projects in a particular area of the company. It allows you to focus all resources on solving problems in one direction, carry out targeted consulting, plan the desired results and ensure their achievement. Stages of project consulting:
- drawing up a task for the project;
- stage-by-stage preparation of the project with the participation of the client's specialists and stage-by-stage delivery;
- providing consultations necessary for the implementation of the project;
- participation of the consultant in the implementation of the project to the extent determined by the client.
- Process approach does not provide a solution to the problem. The consultant in this case helps the client to develop his own way of solving the problem, using various techniques. The process method requires the active participation of the client, and the consultation itself is seen as a process consisting of certain actions, using certain technologies, tools and methods. Consulting takes into account the specifics of the company as much as possible and is aimed at carrying out systemic changes in it. During process consulting, methods aimed at maximizing interaction with the client are used: organizational diagnostics and organizational intervention. Diagnostics is aimed at collecting information about the state of the company by monitoring the activities from the inside, conducting individual and group surveys, and studying documents. The result of the diagnostics is a report. Organizational interventions are associated with the impact on the company, in order to make the necessary changes in its activities and consolidate them. The most important condition for effective process consulting is the willingness of the people participating in it to actively interact with the consultant, analyzing problems and developing solutions.
In some cases, management consulting requires a combination of all three approaches to achieve the desired result.
Consulting Methods
There are a great many methods of management consulting, the most popular (if not traditional) of which in Russia are SWOT analysis and business coaching.
The abbreviation SWOT fully reflects the very essence of the analysis (see Fig.):
S- strength ( strength);
W- weakness ( weakness);
O- capabilities ( opportunites);
T- Problems ( troubles).
Rice. SWOT analysis model
SWOT analysis helps answer the following questions:
- Does the company use strengths or distinctive advantages in its strategy? If the company does not have such advantages, then what of its strengths could be?
- Are the company's weaknesses its most competitive vulnerabilities? It is they who do not allow the use of any favorable circumstances? What are the weaknesses in without fail require adjustments in terms of strategy?
- What favorable opportunities can give the company a chance to successful development using its current access to resources and current skill levels of staff?
There are three methods of SWOT analysis:
- Express SWOT- the most common type that helps to identify the strengths of the company. It is these parties indicated in the analysis, in combination with external capabilities, that are able to counteract threats. In addition, SWOT analysis also reveals weaknesses.
- Consolidated SWOT analysis provides information about quantification factors identified by other methods, as well as develop a strategy and activities to achieve strategic goals.
- Mixed SWOT Analysis is a combination of the two previous types.
SWOT analysis can be used to analyze the factors of the competitive environment, plan and implement company strategies, competitive intelligence. Its advantages include ease of implementation and efficiency of use, identification of links between the company's capabilities and real problems, between strong and weaknesses, no need for extensive information for calculations, determination of further prospects for the company's activities, the ability to evaluate profitability indicators.
The shortcomings of the SWOT analysis include the lack of temporal dynamics and quantitative and evaluative indicators in it.
Business coaching
The word coaching comes from of English language like "training" or "training". Business coaching is a technique individual work with clients, aimed at jointly finding ways to solve a problem, developing the ability to see these ways, make informed decisions and be responsible for them. With the help of coaching, the customer gets the opportunity to reach a new level of understanding of business processes in his company, formulate a development strategy and ways to achieve strategic goals.
As part of business coaching, several methods can be used:
- Methods of testing, training and conducting business games. According to experts, the information received remains in memory for a long time if all channels of information transmission are used and practical exercises are carried out, which allow, in a game situation, to check various options for solving client problems and choose the most optimal one.
- Methods for activating creative thinking. These include brainstorming, the Delphi method (used when a group gathering is not possible and consists in collecting individual opinions anonymously), the expert assessment method, the goal tree method, and scenarios, which are logically sound descriptions of possible events, taking into account various factors.
- Neuro Linguistic Programming Method.
- Nominal groups method. It is used in cases where it is necessary to identify and compare several individual opinions in order to get a decision that one person cannot make in a short time.
- Methods of organizational self-diagnosis. With their help, employees of the company can independently establish signs that characterize the state of the organization. Self-diagnosis leads to self-analysis of the participants and contributes to their self-development.
Business coaching professionals can use a combination of several methods to produce the most effective results. Coaching brings positive results if it is used for those employees of the company who, by their nature of activity, are required to make independent decisions, but at the same time have teamwork skills.
Service delivery stages
The management consulting process includes several stages (see Table 2). The very first step towards the implementation of a consulting project is the realization by the client that he has a problem that he would like to solve with the help of consultants.
Table 2. Stages and stages of the counseling process
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Stages and stages |
Procedures |
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Training |
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Completion |
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The implementation of a project within the framework of management consulting can last from several days to several months - depending on the size of the company and the complexity of the task.
How to choose a consulting company?
With this question, we turned to Denis Predein, head of the Management Consulting practice at KSK Group:
"If there is a need to involve consulting agency pay attention to several important factors. Of course, this is the experience of the company, the staff of experts, the presence of publications in the professional press, the list of clients ... But the most important selection criterion in attracting business consultants is their ability to concisely and clearly express their thoughts, awaken fresh ideas in the client, identify viable goals and justify ways their achievements.
Many managers and some consultants are unable to answer a simple question: "What is strategic consulting?". Often, this service means multi-page analytical reports filed in a folder, endless SWOT analyzes, alternative business strategies ... At the same time, strategic consulting is expert assistance to management in finding answers to two questions:
- What is the goal for the business?
- How to reach this goal?
The answers to them allow us to get out of the "fog" into which managers often wander in crisis situations, being under the yoke of solving tactical problems. The answers to them allow you to abstract from everyday business fuss and see what is called the light at the end of the tunnel - clearly articulated, achievable, measurable in time and in financial indicators goal. Answers to them allow you to focus on specific means and stages of achieving the goal. The approved action plan, depending on the specific task, can be “titled” as “Increasing the value of the company by 2 times in three years”, “Reducing production costs by 15% in 3 years” or “Growth net profit by 5% annually for 5 years. To solve such problems, there are KSK groups.
For more than 20 years of management consulting, we have hundreds of successfully completed projects of varying complexity and industry focus, being one of the leaders in Russia in strategic, tax and legal consulting (according to the Expert RA rating agency for 2015). And by the way, with us you can get an initial consultation absolutely free of charge.
P.S. is an authoritative, dynamically developing consulting company, consistently ranked among the top 10 largest agencies in Russia in areas strategic planning, organizational development and personnel management (according to the rating agency "Expert RA" for 2015). The company currently employs 350 industry specialists. The client pool is about 1000 firms.
Editorial opinion
The services of professional consultants are vital for an enterprise, not only in crisis situations. “Outside view” allows you to assess the problems, risks and opportunities of the company from a different angle. Independent expert opinion, recommendations for taking appropriate measures and assistance in their implementation can significantly increase business efficiency.
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Consulting. Characteristics and principles
One of the most important factors for the effective functioning of a market economy is the formation of an adequate economic environment, the most important element of which is the market infrastructure. Such an infrastructure is an interconnected system of enterprises and organizations that serve the flow of goods, services, money, valuable papers, labor force and provide a significant acceleration of their turnover. Particular attention should be paid to the management infrastructure as one of the components of the infrastructure complex. Management infrastructure creates the necessary conditions for the high-quality and efficient functioning of the serviced areas of the national economy and contributes to the formation and close interaction of all elements of the infrastructure complex. Management infrastructure facilities must develop faster than other elements of the infrastructure complex in order to actively influence its formation as an integral system.
In terms of integration Russian economy In the world, issues related to business services are of great importance for business leaders. All of them are faced with the transformation of forms of ownership based on the denationalization and corporatization of enterprises, with rising prices, foreign investment and the interweaving of Russian and foreign capital, as well as a change in their internal structure, bringing it closer to those proportions that are characteristic of the world economy as a whole. Only after this can the country begin to move towards the world level of economic efficiency, which is main goal transformations.
Organizations and management consulting firms, or consulting firms, form the basis of the management infrastructure.
In the broadest sense of the word, counseling as a form of giving independent advice has been in everyday practice for as long as humanity has existed. However, as a type of professional activity, it originated relatively recently.
Other types professional services in business arose earlier than consulting. Historically, the first type of professional external services was legal: entrepreneurs have not been able to do without the services of lawyers and notaries for several hundred years. Later, at the end of the 19th century, as the economy became more complex and the corresponding development economic sciences a new area of professional services began to take shape - consulting in economics and management, that is, management consulting in the proper sense of the word.
There are many definitions of management consulting. There are two main approaches to counseling.
In the first case, a broad functional view of counseling is used. Fritz Steele defines it this way: “By consulting process, I mean any form of assistance with regard to the content, process, or structure of a task or series of tasks, in which the consultant is not himself responsible for completing the task, but helps those who are responsible for it.”
The second approach considers counseling as a special professional service and highlights a number of characteristics that it should have. According to Larry Grainer and Robert Metzger, “management consulting is a contracted and service-based consulting service to organizations through specially trained and qualified individuals who help the client organization identify management problems, analyze them, make recommendations for solving these problems, and contribute, if necessary, to the implementation of decisions.
Both of these approaches complement each other quite well. The European Federation of Associations of Economic and Management Consultants (FEACO) defines management consulting as the provision of independent advice and assistance in management matters, including the identification and evaluation of problems and opportunities, the recommendation of appropriate measures and assistance in their implementation.
The American Association of Consultants in Economics and Management (ACME) and the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) adhere to the same definition.
If you try to bring all these definitions to a common denominator, you get something like this: consulting is a type of intellectual professional activity in which a qualified consultant provides objective and independent advice that contributes to successful management client organization.
Like any other professional activity, consulting has its own special principles, according to which any activity in this area should take place. It:
competence;
reputation;
compliance with ethical standards;
observance of the interests of the client;
orientation to broad public interests;
system change;
staff involvement;
scientific character;
flexibility;
creativity;
concreteness and objectivity;
efficiency;
maintaining relationships at the proper level.
Western theorists of management consulting distinguish the following character traits management consulting.
First, consultants provide professional help leading employees. Experienced consultants go through many organizations and learn how to use their experience to help new and old clients in a variety of situations. Therefore, they are able to recognize general trends and common causes of problems. Moreover, professional consultants constantly monitor the literature on management issues and the development of theories of methods and management systems, as well as the situation in the market. Thus, they act as a link between management theory and practice.
Secondly, consultants mostly give advice. This means that they are only advisors and do not have the direct power to decide on changes and implement them. Consultants are responsible for the quality and completeness of the advice. Clients bear all responsibility that stems from the acceptance of advice.
And thirdly, counseling is an independent service. The consultant evaluates any situation, offers objective recommendations on what to do to the client, without thinking about how this could affect his own interests. The consultant must have the following types of independence: financial; administrative; political; emotional.
