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Cologne Business School (CBS)

The importance of information in the consulting process

Term paper for “The Consulting Process” Winter Semester 2012 Lecturer: Malgorzata Zmuda

Patricio Encalada Guest Student in International Business Student-No. 1.12 9000-080

Table of Contents

1. Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1 2. The manager ....................................................................................................................... 2 3. Informational roles of the manager .................................................................................... 2 3.1 The monitor.............................................................................................................. 2 3.2 The disseminator ...................................................................................................... 3 3.3 The spokesperson ..................................................................................................... 3 4. The client-consultant interaction ........................................................................................3 4.1 Provision of information........................................................................................... 4 4.2 Collecting the data .................................................................................................... 5 5. The internal organization .................................................................................................... 5 5.1 Resources andcore competences ............................................................................. 6 5.2 The value chain ......................................................................................................... 7 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 8 7. References........................................................................................................................ 10 8. Affidavit............................................................................................................................ 11 Table of Figures

1. Figure 1............................................................................................................................... 8

1. Introduction Management consulting is a specific type of management that is carrying a high amount of demand nowadays, not only because the reward in terms of money is very convenient, but also because it is a very exciting type of management in terms of intellectual stimulation, task enjoyment and satisfaction with achievements (Wickham & Wickham, 2008, p. 3). According to Canback(1998, p. 3) “management consultants are those who provide general management advice within a strategic, organizational, or operational context, and who are institutionally organized in firms”. However, in order to help an organization in an effective way, the manager consultant needs to understand the environment of the firm. The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of information inorganizations, and the need of managers for contracting a consultant to help them acquire and analyze the information for decision making. Questions like how consultants can help managers to get the proper information, and why this information is so important for creating competitive advantage in a company will be answered in this document. In this article I will start defining what a manageritself is and the consultant manager approach. I will describe the most important roles he has to perform in order to provide his client with the information needed; along with the interaction he should develop with him to achieve a good client-consultant relationship. I will also show the ways in which managers can get information and how to use it for the benefit of the organization, and in order...