The specific focus of this specialization is on the challenges of the consulting profession. This track is particularly aimed at managers who wish to pursue a career either as independent consultants or within a major consulting firm as well at current consultants/managers who wish to boost their career by an MBA degree. The specialization in consulting will provide an understanding of the consulting process and organizational change together with the skills necessary to lead international consulting projects.

The multicultural learning environment, due to the diversity of nationalities on the program, prepares consultants and managers for assignments and positions within the world’s major multinational companies.

The Management Consultant: Process and Tools
 
There are three main objectives:

First the participants will be introduced to the human factors which impact on the performance of the management consultant and will identify their own personal skills.

Secondly the whole consulting process will be analysed from a methodology viewpoint so that participants will master the process through the different stages.

Finally, at the end of the module students will also have an overview of the range of tools available to the management consultant to carry out the assignment.

• The Management Consultant
  

  
  

  The human factors:
  

  
  

  • Intra-personal factors and skills (confidence, assertiveness, personality)
  • Interpersonal factors and skills (relationship building, group dynamics, cultural impact, team building, performance management) 
    

   

• The Consulting Process
  

  
  

  • Methodology for Consulting Assignments
    (entry, client brief, diagnosis, data collection, developing solutions and evaluating alternatives, implementation, termination)
  • Types of consulting, internal and external consulting, objectives of consulting, consulting styles
  • Proposals and assignment management (planning, preparation of the assignment, diagnosis, evaluation of the existing situation, choice of methodology, presentation of the process),
  • Report writing, presentations,
  • Reporting to the client and to the consulting firm, measuring results and formulating proposals, implementation, control
    

   

• Consulting Tools
  

• Diagnostic Tools

• Data Processing

• Software for questionnaire Analysis

• Customer Relationship Management

 
Corporate Business Process
 
This module aims to deal with the current issues facing companies in today’s fast moving environment.

The module will examine a wide range of modern global business processes, challenges and opportunities from both the consultant’s and the manager’s perspectives and provide a learning platform to integrate and practice the skills and knowledge learned in the other modules in this program and the entire graduate business school curriculum

At the end of this module participants will understand the Business Processes which will ensure the growth and success of a company and contribute to its competitiveness. They will also understand how organisations grow and evolve over time and how they should/can adapt to the surrounding business environment whilst taking into account their own strategy and constraints.

Contents:

1. Industry structure and competitive analysis
2. Development Strategies
3. Identifying New Business Opportunities
4. Designing, Producing and Delivering Goods and Services
5. Controlling and Managing the Organisation
6. Managing a Creative Organisation 
 
Developing Consulting Expertise

There are two main objectives to this module.
 
The module will first examine a number of different topics which are often part of consulting assignments today and which will help the students to acquire not only skills but also the values necessary to contribute to the success of a consultant.
 
The second part of this module will look at the commercial environment in which these skills will be deployed, focusing on the challenges facing consulting firms and individual consultants and on how to run a successful consulting practice in today’s environment.
 
Contents:
 

• Professional Skills for Consultants
  
  

  • Managing Conflict and Resistance to Change
  • Organisational Consulting
  • Consulting in Outsourcing

• Managing a successful consulting practice
  
  
  • The consulting industry in 2004
  • Understanding why clients hire consultants
  • Differentiating consulting services
  • Managing the intellectual supply chain
  • Global reach
  • The firm versus the individual
  • Ethics and professional integrity