Management/Strategy Consulting
Management/strategy consultants solve a multitude of organizational problems. All management/strategy consultants require knowledge of management science, strategy, operations, marketing, logistics, mergers and acquisitions, manufacturing, government relations, environmental issues (including compliance), materials management and physical distribution, finance and accounting, human resources/staffing, and electronic data processing and systems.
Examples of typical management/strategy consulting projects include:
-recommending a new strategic direction for a growing wireless company
-determining how a Hollywood studio can reposition itself to maximize profits from new markets
-developing a strategy for a consumer products company to revive a 50-year-old brand and relaunch it worldwide
Financial Consulting
Financial consultants provide advice on handling issues from profit-and-loss reporting and risk management, to financial control and compliance with laws, to capital budgeting and corporate restructuring. Working on these problems—whether as a one-time staffing assignment as a generalist consulting firm or as an employee of a specialty financial strategy consulting practice—can be very rewarding for quantitatively focused people with skills in accounting or financial analysis.
Common financial consulting projects include:
-assisting clients with capital budgeting, financial statement preparation, and/or project valuation
-identifying and analyzing potential financial risks and helping clients control their risk exposures and plan for disaster scenarios
-helping an investment firm identify a strategy to reach a new target market
Information Technology Consulting
Information technology (IT) consultants utilize their in-depth knowledge of the IT industry, computer and telecommunications hardware and software, and the Internet (including social media and cloud computing) to help clients achieve their technology goals.
Services provided by IT consultants include:
-determining how a major “big-box” retailer can use technology to improve its distribution network
-helping a major health care system make the transition to a digital record-keeping system
-developing client-specific software programs for an insurance company to run in the cloud environment
Human Resources/Staffing Consulting
Approximately 60 percent of any company’s expenditures are tied to human capital, including recruiting, hiring, and training workers; managing human resources (HR) departments; overseeing compensation and benefits; developing and managing ongoing initiatives (e.g., to improve diversity and work/life balance); and maximizing the skills of employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Many companies have realized that investing in human capital and effectively managing HR programs pays off in the form of a more satisfied and dedicated workforce, lower recruiting and training costs (by holding onto productive workers), and improved company staffing flexibility.
Human resources/staffing consultants work on the following types of projects:
-Human resources policy research during the Coronavirus pandemic
-How to navigate the future of work from talent acquisition to updating skills
-Achieving gender equity in leadership roles
