Lecture 1

Management Consulting: Data-

driven approaches

Dr Stefanie Gustafsson
School of Management
[email protected]
ext. 5960
About me

• Lecturer in Strategy and Organization

• Research interest in Professionals
Service Firms, particularly consulting
and law firms, careers, trust
• Practical experience in FTSE 100
company as Management Trainee,
later in managerial position
• Key component: Internal consulting
projects
• Ongoing research study into the
careers and work of consultants
This session

Part 1
• Provide an overview of the course objectives and content
• Explain the design of the course
• Identify key questions to be addressed
• Explain the methods and style of teaching and learning
• Details of the feedback mechanisms and assessment methods

Part 2
• What is management consulting?
• The evolution of management consulting
• Growth, significance and controversies of management consulting
• A data-driven approach
Who has worked in consultancy before? Share your experiences.

Who plans to work in consultancy following their degree?

Course aims
• To introduce different consulting practices for intervening in the
processes of enhancing organisational performance
• To describe the processes of organization development through
different theoretical perspectives
• To link the theories of consulting, performance and innovation to the
practice of improving organisational performance
• To explore and practice how analysis and methods relate to the
type of consulting job and the type of client organisation
Course overview

Lecture 1
• Introduction to course and management consulting

Lecture 2
• Consultants, clients and the engagement process

Lecture 3
• Qualitative data and evaluation in management consulting

Lecture 4
• Descriptive data analysis and consulting approaches, methods
and tools
Lecture 5
• Predictive data analysis in business and management consulting
Course overview

Lecture 6
• Prescriptive data analysis in business and management consulting

Lecture 7
• Ethics and critical perspectives

Lecture 8
• Group poster presentations

Lecture 9
• Reading and essay week preparation

Lecture 10
• Guest lecture – Samuel Holmes, Accenture
• Feedback on group presentations
Lecture 11
• Capturing data: A knowledge management perspective
Teaching methods

• Weekly lectures drawing together

academic theory and practical case
examples
• In-class discussions to share
knowledge and experiences
• Moodle for communication and
assignment submission
• Course readings presenting
academic research and data
• Industry speakers to bring theory
to life
• Case study role play to apply
learning in practice
Course textbooks
Curuksu, J.D. (2018). Data Driven: An
Introduction to Management Consulting in
the 21st Century. New York: Springer. This is
an eBook available free through the library
website.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F9
78-3-319-70229-2

O’Mahoney, J. and Markham, C. (2013)

Management Consultancy, (2nd ed.) Oxford
University Press
I have negotiated a 20% discount for the text
book. Please use the following link:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/man
agement-consultancy-
9780199645473?q=mahoney&lang=en&cc=g
b
And enter the discount code: WEBXSTU97
Additional books

• Cockman, P., Evans, B., & Reynolds, P. (1999). Consulting for real
people (2nd ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
• Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak and Hinings, B. (eds.) (2015) The
Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Kipping, M. and Clark, T. (eds.) (2012) The Oxford Handbook of
Management Consulting, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Sturdy, A., Handley, K., Clark, T. and Fincham, R. (2010)
Management Consultancy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Clark, T. and Fincham. R. (2002) Critical Consulting Oxford:
Blackwell.
• Lowendahl, B. (2005) Strategic Management of Professional Service
Firms, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen (3rd ed) (1997
edition is also suitable).
Pre-readings and readings

Readings are recommended each week. Other readings should be

consulted for the coursework, essay and to broaden your understanding.

Nearly all the readings are available on e-journals; some are book
chapters only available in hard copy.

Pre-readings should be read before the lecture! Why?

ü Helps you to focus your attention and develop clarity
ü Enables you to develop more in-depth and interdependent
understanding of the course material
ü Help you to reflect critically and think analytically
ü Allows you to participate in class and share knowledge with others
Pre-Reading Lecture 1

• Curuksu, J.D. Chapter 1 and 2

• Kipping, M. (2002) ‘Trapped in their wave: the evolution of
management consultancies’ in Clark, T. and Fincham, R. (2002)
Critical Consulting Oxford: Blackwell.
• Libert, B., & Beck, M. (2017). AI May Soon Replace even the most
elite consultants. Harvard Business Review. Available online
[https://hbr.org/2017/07/ai-may-soon-replace-even-the-most-elite-
consultants].
Interesting websites
Assessment
Group work: Poster and presentation based on Andover case
study (30%)
Participation and performance in the group assignment.

16th March 2020, 9am

Group poster submission

25th March 2020, 11:15am to 1:05pm

Poster presentation in class
Group role play: Andover

Work in groups to prepare

a proposal to a prospective
client
More information on the
role play will be given over
the next weeks
Poster presentation
Worth: 30% of your mark
Essay topics
Individual assignment: Essay (70%)
Address one of the topics and write a 2,000 word essay (+/-10%),
incorporating elements of the required/recommended readings, any
other relevant book chapters and journal articles and practical
examples. It is to be written individually and shall make up 70% of your
final mark. It is to be electronically submitted via Moodle no later than
9am on Monday, 20th April 2020.
“The future of data-driven management consulting is bright and full of
opportunity.” Critically discuss this statement. In your essay, draw on
relevant academic and practical evidence as well as other course
material.
Or
“Ethical consulting is a contradiction.” – Critically discuss this statement.
In your essay make specific reference to the role of data and data
analytics and draw on relevant academic and practical evidence and
other course materials to support your argument.
Feedback and marking

• Detailed expectations will be provided for the group presentation

well in advance.
• Opportunity for feedback on poster and essay prior to
submission
• Feedback on the group exercise and essay will be provided
within three weeks of submission (excluding vacation time)
• Explicit guidelines will be provided covering the provision to vary
the mark of an individual within the group exercise.
Course relevant questions

Ask in class Post on Moodle

Come to my office hours

Wednesday 9 – 11am, 8W 4.9c
Individual matters

Email me Come to my office hours

[email protected] Wednesday 9 – 11am, 8W 4.9c
Any questions?
Part 2
Discussion point

What do management consultants do?

Talk to your neighbour and share one point. Like those that you
agree with.

https://padlet.com/stefgson/uo3xrkk7j6mk
Management consultancy defined

“Management consulting is an advisory service contracted for and

provided to organizations by specially trained and qualified
persons who assist, in an objective and independent manner, the
client organization to identify management problems, analyze
such problems, and help, when requested, in the implementation
of solutions.”

(Greiner and Metzger, 1983)

Core consulting activities

Curusku (2018) Figure 1.1

Industry overview

What does this graph tell us about the consulting industry?

The consulting
Thesector
consulting sector

26
Source: O’Mahoney and Markham (2013: 12)
Sectors
Influence on societies and governments

• Advising governments and financial institutions

• Consultants play a crucial role in spreading neo-liberalist, managerial
practices in the Western world and beyond
• The new ‘missionaries’ who colonise the developing world? (Wright &
Kitay, 2004)

Source:
https://www.ft.com/content/e6fe54fe-1440-
11e9-a168-d45595ad076d
Top consulting firms
Evolution of MC

• Current day types and roles of consultants can only be understood by

examining their evolution

• Evolution of management consulting reflects the evolution of managerial

practice and ideology

• Four distinct waves (Kipping, 2002)

Going back in history
• Late 18th and 19th centuries: rise of industrial capitalism
• 1880-1910: major and rapid industrialization in the USA
– Growth of large firms: ESSO, GM, US Steel, etc.
– Pursuit of mass production
– Needed advice on how to organise…
• Rise of ‘Scientific Management’ F. W. Taylor (1856-1917) ‘Taylorism’
Four waves of evolution
Wave Key issues Duration Expansion Examples

Scientific Efficiency of 1900s-1980s 1930s-1950s Bedaux,

management workers and Emerson
production

Organization, Decentralisation, 1930s - ??? 1960s-1980s McKinsey,

strategy and portfolio planning, Booz Allen, A
culture corporate culture T Kearny,
BCG

IT-based Internal and 1960s - ??? 1990s - ??? Accenture,

networks external co- Cap Gemini,
ordination IBM, Big 5

Outsourcing/ Implementation, 1990s - ??? 2000s - ??? Tata, Infosys

offshoring cost reduction Wipro

Source: Adapted from Kipping (2002)

The last two decades

• Dotcom Crash (2000-1)

– Revenues decreased and growth slowed
– Some redundancies
• Recession (2008-2010)
– Clients faced economic crisis but counter-cyclical demand for
services
– Redundancies, freezing recruitment, delaying bonuses
– Mainly felt in public sector consulting

• The next wave – data-driven?

But what is data?

What types of data might be relevant in consultancy?

https://padlet.com/stefgson/zeo4k8m09ako
The uses of data

• Data is crucial for consultancy

• Necessary to
• identify nature of client problems,
• isolate symptoms,
• identify causes and
• bring about resolution/solution (making informed arguments)
• Important concern and judgement: what data is relevant and what
is irrelevant? What is ‘good’ data and what is ‘bad’ data?
• Depends on the type of consultancy (strategic, M&A
consultancies, HR, etc), type of client (large, small, industry etc.)
and type of project (new market entry, cost reduction etc.)
Changing context

• Context is evolving rapidly due to information technology ecosystem

• Access to expertise and analytics changed – more widely available
• Clients have internal analytical systems such as SAP and
Salesforce
• Internal data scientists create pattern learning programs making
independent decisions based on current and large data sets
• A threat to consulting firms?
The erosion of human judgement?

• Consulting business model build on human capital and

judgement-based solutions
• NOW: Business model challenged by computer-based solutions
• Machine learning might reduce need for human intelligence
• Blurring boundaries between management consulting and technical
IT consulting due to big data and data science
• Both threats and opportunities exist
Integration vs. restriction

Integration Restriction

• Big data improves speed and • Nature of data does not always
accuracy of market research fit the project and client needs
• Technology-assisted models • Even when big data is
enable modular delivery and available, consultants may
standardization, improving favour low volume, high quality
client control, delivery, cost and easy-to-digest data
• Consultants still needed to ask • Organizational factors may
‘the right questions’ restrict opportunities for data
• Opportunities for new market integration
entrants due to reduced brand-
barriers
• New data analytics already
prevalent across industries
New market entrants
Data analytic providers offering business consulting services
based on software capabilities
Changing portfolios
But: The future is still uncertain!
Summary

• Course overview
• Defined management consulting and what it is that consultants do
• Evolution, growth, significance and controversies of management
consulting
• Data and data-driven approaches to consulting
• Factors driving integration and resistance

Next week:
Consultants, clients and the engagement process

Curuksu, JD. Chapter 4

Alvesson, M., Karreman, D., Sturdy, A. and Handley, K. (2009) ‘Unpacking the
client(s): constructions, positions and client-consultant dynamics’, Scandinavian
Journal of Management, 25: 253-263.
Any questions?