This new edition gathers more than 22 experts to outline the theory behind consulting, providing insight into change processes and management issues in the field. The business of consulting has grown faster than most other businesses, due not only to increased demand by clients, but also to the innovative capabilities of numerous consulting firms as they develop new services. Divided into six parts, the book introduces readers to the consulting industry, addressing the major practice areas, contexts, and implementations of the field. Significant updates detail the effect of the economic troubles between 2004 and 2010 and then 2010 and now; analyze the market response to consulting in recent years; and provide a more thorough understanding of how consulting is applied in the different areas of a business, such as operations, marketing, and finance. Introductions written by the editors offer further insight into the themes and learning goals of each section, helping readers to recognize the elements of a successful consultation, and utilize their new skill set. The text concludes with a look at the future of consulting with regards to ethics standards and how strong manager-client relationships contribute to financial growth. Readers will also learn how the developing field of entrepreneurship creates new economic structures and job opportunities. Practitioners, consultants, clients, faculty, and students of business and management will learn not only how to consult, but also gain the skills needed to adapt to and lead organizational change, giving them a competitive edge when they enter the field.

This book provides a thorough examination of a variety of specialties within the broad range of management consulting. A book of such scope and depth could only be written by a large number of experts, each from one of the many specialties related to management consulting. Together, all 27 contributors take the reader through an industry that is currently undergoing significant change. While covering all the major practice areas of consulting, the book also offers new insights into change processes and addresses compelling management issues now facing consulting firms.

This book provides a thorough examination of a variety of specialties within the broad range of management consulting. A book of such scope and depth could only be written by a large number of experts, each from one of the many specialties related to management consulting. Together, all 27 contributors take the reader through an industry that is currently undergoing significant change. While covering all the major practice areas of consulting, the book also offers new insights into change processes and addresses compelling management issues now facing consulting firms.

Consultants are called upon more and more to help implement needed organizational changes, fill gaps in workforce capabilities, and solve significant business problems. As the demand for consultants increases, it is critical that practitioners differentiate themselves and understand how they can be most successful, for themselves and their clients. The Basic Principles of Effective Consulting details what effective consultants do and provides a step by step process of just how they do it. The Second Edition of The Basic Principles of Effective Consulting is fully updated with real-life cases. End-of-chapter summaries foster both mastery and engagement, as well as providing a quick reference throughout a consultant’s career. In addition, each chapter includes a section "From the experts" written by successful consultants and users of consultants’ services. These experts share ideas and tips about their own consulting experiences that relate to chapter material. The book is written for entry level and seasoned consultants, project managers, staff advisors, and anyone who wants to learn (or be reminded of) the basic principles of effective consulting. The book is well suited as an excellent textbook for college courses on consulting, organizational training, and a lifetime go-to consultant’s resource.

Contains 20 cases, including those from Harvard and Stanford, that present the broad range of topics that are pertinent to the management consulting. This title helps to prepare consultants and other business managers for a successful future in a highly competitive consulting environment.

The rapidly transforming environment that we live in has made human resource development (HRD) all the more necessary for the success of today’s organizations. HRD initiatives help their organizations by developing employees who assist their organizations in not only surviving, but thriving in our increasingly global world. Today’s best practice or benchmarked organizations and their HRD professionals continue to recognize the importance of employee learning, knowledge, skills and motivation to organizational success. This recognition increasingly opens many doors as organizational leaders accept the fact that HRD initiatives can be used to ensure that organization members have what it takes to successfully meet the demands that confront them and their organizations. This book takes the position that HRD can demonstrate how their initiatives help to develop a superior workforce so that the organization and its individual employees can accomplish their strategic and operational goals in service to their clients or customers. This book is written with the belief that HRD professionals have many opportunities to learn, change and find ways both in and outside of the workplace to contribute to the development of learning organizations as we move further into the 21st century. A major point of this book is that HRD will continue to become more and more important to organizational success when one considers the increased responsibilities HRD professionals have taken on during and post- the COVID pandemic. The primary audience for this book is practicing HRM and HRD professionals, and other organizational leaders. The book provides proven ideas important to demonstrating the value of HRD. From a practical viewpoint, it is based on actual experience, a strong research base, and accepted practices presented in an easy to read form. A second target audience is students of HRD and HRM who are preparing for careers in this important field. This book will help them develop a solid foundation to the study of HRD practices or initiatives that are key to HRD success regardless of the type of organization. A third target audience is managers or leaders at all levels of an organization who are expected to take on a number of HRD responsibilities (e.g., as trainers, coaches, mentors, change agents, and so on) while regularly partnering with HRD professionals. It offers these individuals a firsthand look at what they should expect of their HRD functions or areas and how they can effectively work with HRD professionals in their organizations to achieve the organizations strategic goals by getting the most out of its human people.

This volume makes an important contribution to the growing literature on management consulting. It brings together international contributors from a wide variety of backgrounds and draws on recent empirical research from a diverse range of countries, consultancy firms, and client companies. The analysis focuses on three key areas. The first part of the book looks at the emergence and development of the consulting industry in different countries and time periods. The interplay between national systemic context and outside influences is stressed, and the efforts of consultants to become recognized as 'legitimate' knowledge carriers by their clients is highlighted, in competition — and sometimes cooperation — with other suppliers of management knowledge, notably academia. The volume goes on to consider the generation, management, and validation of consulting knowledge by consultancy organizations and management gurus, showing how these activities are influenced not only by the consultancies' own characteristics in terms of size, structure, and national origin, but also by the (national and cultural) context in which they are operating, and by the role of 'gatekeepers', such as book publishers or journalists. The third part of the book focuses on the nature and dynamics of the consultancy-client relationship, focusing especially on the ways in which consultants convince managers of the need to hire outside advisors; on the reaction of those concerned in the client organization towards the consultants' recommendations; and on the methods used by the consultants to overcome the possible reluctance and resistance from within the organization. From a more theoretical point of view, the chapters in this volume also show that research on management consulting has to take into account different levels of analysis: the consulting industry as a whole and its position relative to other knowledge providers such as academia; the specific consultancy organization and its relationships with internal and external sources of knowledge; and the particular consultancy project and notably the interplay between the consultants and the various stakeholders within and outside the client organization.