A consultant is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular
area of expertise such as IT, management, marketing, or finance etc. Consultants
identify companies' marketing or business needs, and they help companies
improve their performance and profitability by analyzing existing business
problems and developing future strategies. They help determine the most
effective marketing and business solutions to your business, as well as
the best ways to execute these solutions for the betterment of your business.
Consultants generally use formal methodologies to analyze problems or
to suggest better ways of completing business tasks. Consultants help
execute your business plan and strategies, allowing you to focus on ther
important business issues and business meetings.
Management and business consulting grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s
with industry growth rates of 20%. Consulting is highly cyclical and is
sensitive to general economic conditions. The consulting industry declined
between 2001 to 2003, but has been experiencing some growth since.
Nowadays there are three major types of consulting firms. One type is
the larger consulting firm that offers a wide variety of consulting services,
ranging from IT consulting to management consulting. Another type is the
established management and strategic consulting firms that focus mainly on management
consulting that covers any specific industry. Yet another type is the
smaller boutique consulting firms with consulting focus and expertise
on specific industries or technologies.
The more established consulting firms today include Arthur D. Little,
a general management consulting firm; Booz Allen Hamilton was the first
consulting firm to serve clients in both the government and the industry;
McKinsey & Company, was one of the first pure management consulting
firm and currently leads the field. It was also one of the first consulting firms to hire graduates
of top MBA schools rather than hiring experienced industry personnel.
Boston Consulting Group brought an analytical approach to the study of
strategy and management. Bain & Company introduced its focus on shareholder
wealth. Traditional accounting companies such as Arthur Andersen and global IT
services firms such as IBM also set up consulting departments.
Businesses or companies can engage a business or management consulting
firm or an individual business consultant who will draw up suitable business
plans and strategies and implement them. Consultants are generally well
paid with some business consultants charging $150 per hour, and sometimes
even as high as $2,000 per day for their services.
