Consultancy Project

Consultancy
The organisational context

Internal

Micro environment

Macro environment
Ansoff on strategic decisions
Ansoff (1965) argued that there are five strategic decisions that
a company should make:
1. Scope of the product market
2. Growth vector (the direction in which the scope is
changing)
3. Competitive advantage (unique product or market
opportunities)
4. Internal synergy generated by a combination of
capabilities and competencies
5. Make or buy decisions
Emergent strategy
 Consultancy Project
Obolensky (2001) defines three broad types
of strategy formulation models consisting
of:
1. Matrix based formulations models
2. Mnemonic letters based models
3. Issues and themes models
Boston Matrix
 Consultancy Project
• Product Life Cycle
 Industry Lifecycle Analysis
Embryonic Growing Shakeout Mature
Decline

Stage

Few: trial of Growing Growing Saturation of Drop-off in

Users/ early users adopters: trial selectivity of users: Repeat usage
Buyers of product/ purchase purchase
service reliance
Few Entry of May be many. Fight to Exit of some
Competitive competitors competitors maintain share. competitors.
Likely price
Conditions Attempt to cutting for Difficult to Selective
achieve trial. volume. gain/take share. distribution.
Fight for share. Shakeout of Emphasis on
weakest efficiency and
Undifferentiated
competitors. low cost
product/service
.
G Johnson, K Scholes and R Whittington, “Exploring Corporate Strategy”, 7th Edition, Pearson, 2005, p86
 Consultancy Project
• Mnemonic letter based models
 Yip’s Globalisation Drivers
Market
Drivers

Industry Government
Cost
Globalisation Drivers
Drivers
Potential
Competitive
Drivers

Yip G S, (2003), “Total Global Strategy II”, Prentice Hall.

 Consultancy Project
4 Ps
 The McKinsey 7- S Framework

Prescriptive, Hierarchy,
Emergent Strategy Structure
Centralisation

Expert Autonomy,
focus, Super-
ordinate Systems Professionalism,
Skills
Team Goals Quality
approach Assurance
Reward
Discipline
HR Policies:
Empowerment, Staff Style Leadership:
Enrichment Autocratic,
Participative

The 7-S Framework from Robert H Waterman Jr., Thomas J Peters and Julien
R Philips, “Structure is Not Organization”, Business Horizons, June 1980
Johnson’s Cultural Web
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
Drucker

Stories Symbols

Rituals Paradigm Power

Structures Control
 Example of Cultural Web:
M & S in 1990s

Stories Symbols
History and St Michael brand;
legacy; Simon Simon Marks and
Marks; staff CEOs as father
welfare benefits figures

Paradigm Power
Routines/Rituals
‘We are the best; Top-heavy; male
Defence; knowing we set the dominated
your place; family
atmosphere standards’

Control Structure
Top-down control in Mechanistic,
detail; insistence on bureaucratic,
conformity hierarchical
 Consultancy Project
• Issues and themes models
1. Define the objectives
2. Analyse where you are in terms of the
objective
3. Assess where you want to be and the
gap between this and where you are at
present
4. Decide on the best course of action to
close the gap
 Consultancy Project
• Porters 5 forces
Stakeholder Mapping
 Consultancy Project
• Preparing for contact;
• Mulligan and Barber (2001) stated that the
first stage in the formation of a client –
consultant relationship is the actual
preparation for contact.

• Research is vital
 Consultancy Project
Orientation

• Orientation is when the client and

consultant meet for the first time.
• Sometimes referred to as the ‘sniffing
exercise’
• Sounding each other out and building
rapport
• Initial impressions are essential
 Listening
Pay beautiful attention to
the client, don’t even think
about interrupting, make
sounds only occasionally to
indicate understanding or
encouragement, keep your
eyes on your client’s eyes,
don’t ask picky questions,
smile occasionally, look
interested, be interested
and be at ease…
…and don’t even think
about interrupting.

Clients are capable of sorting

out 70% of their own
problems
 Consultancy Project
Identification

• What are the business benefits of the

consultancy?
• How will the consultancy be carried out?
• How will both parties participate in the
consultancy agreement?
• What are the limitations of the project?
• What will the project not do?
• When will the work be completed?
 Consultancy Project
Core processes of a business;

• Business planning or business

development.
• Could include:
Growth/ expansion, investigate new
markets/ products/sectors, structures
 Consultancy Project
Market research/ Marketing

• What products do customers in the sector

want? Why aren’t competitors providing
them? Price? Distribution.
• How can customers be informed a product
is available and how can their interest be
stimulated?
 Consultancy Project
Sales

• Staff training
• Motivation
• Planning sales campaigns

Finance

• Evaluate investment needs

• Identify funding providers
• Evaluate growth/expansion needs
 Consultancy Project
Operations management

• Can the process be improved

• Why are some more efficient
• Is there a more cost effective option
• Can customer service be improved
 Consultancy Project
Human resources

• Assessing the firms requirements, identify

gaps
• Develop new strategy
• Outsourcing
• Training
 Consultancy Project
What to do next

• Compile a list of expertise within your

group
• Discuss direction
• Research