The Impact of Innovation on Management Consulting

This assignment delves into the crucial relationship between innovation and management consulting. It examines how consulting firms leverage innovation to drive success, addressing key aspects such as service offerings, client relationships, and organizational structures. The analysis considers both the benefits and challenges of innovation in the consulting industry, providing insights into future trends and strategies for sustainable growth.

Running head: MANAGEMENT CONSULTING AND DEVELOPMENT
Management Consulting and Development
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Introduction:
Management consultancy may be defined as a firm that has set of techniques to support
its business and skilled workforce that does the various kinds of tasks needed by the respective
clients. This has gradually grown and has occupied a significant presence at the global level.
Clients rely on such firms for their different business related activities like the marketing, IT,
finance, HR and much more. They are also being consulted to get the helpful strategies, so that,
the client firms could become more competitive and could reduce the risk of rising market
competition (Brandon-Jones et al. 2016). The concept can be analyzed with the help of lectures
and the textbooks that have been provided as references. However, the study could also be
justified by going with the self-analytical skills in the light of various journals and the
trusted website resources. The study focuses on the relevant journals and the websites to fulfill
the purpose of the paper, which is to understand & analyze the management consultancies and its
contemporary challenges. Moreover, such management consultancies may also be judged based
on innovative approaches that distinguish one consulting firm from various others.
Discussion:
Management consultancies have grown in existence with an increasing approaches
which most business firms adopt nowadays (Khuong, Harindranath and Dyerson 2014).
Management consultancies are being approached to get their extensive assistance on managerial
skills which are their core expertise. On the other side, the consulting firms have competitions in
them with one another. This is for a fact that top companies prefer only the high-rated consulting
firms. Moreover, cost-effectiveness and the use of innovative approaches are the two most

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identified factors when business firms conduct a market research to get the best consulting firm
for their needs (Kabir and Sumi 2014).
After defining the concept of management consultancies, it is important to know how
both of the business and the consulting firms approach each other. Consultancies are generally
believed to have a few approach strategy, which also includes a traditional approach. The
traditional approach is governed by a fact that management consultancies do publish articles
related to an identified issue in the chosen market segment. The publishing of an article in this
way helps to catch the attention of clients that face the highlighted challenges as depicted in the
published article (Manville, Matthias and Campbell 2017). This is nothing but a very smart piece
of work that enables the consultancies to identify the selling issues and its relevant market.
Nevertheless, consultancies do a lot of extensive research works in order to identify the most
shouted problem in the chosen market (Manville, Matthias and Campbell 2017). The consulting
firms pick up the few topics and then revolve around those by publishing several articles on it.
This is done to catch the attention of business clients. Moreover, consultancies with this strategy
are able to establish their good image which also helps to catch the business clients (Manville,
Matthias and Campbell 2017). The fact also establishes the importance of innovation, which is
needed to identify the right market and a most sought issue relevant to the chosen market
(Miozzo et al. 2016).
The value proposition can be defined as a contemporary process that helps to catch the
attention of the target audience (Covin 2015). In the chosen market where two different firms are
meeting each other to serve their distinguish purposes, it is highly required for the concerned
firms that they have effective value proposition strategies (Covin 2015). The value proposition
proposed by the consulting firms will help to attract the attention of clients. On the other hand,

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the client companies need to have an effective value proposition strategy, so that, it could make
its issues communicable to the targeted or the unknown consulting firms (Covin 2015).
Value proposition message should be distinguished in nature as this will help the target
clients to understand the importance of the message. Nonetheless, managing consultants need to
show that they are the fittest firm to resolve the identified issue. On the other hand, the client
company needs to establish a fact that they need a consulting support on the identified issue
(Chandler and Lusch 2015). Purposes are the same; however, the needs appear to be different.
This is understandable also as consulting companies need the clients to make it business running
and growing steadily. On the other hand, the client companies require an external agent that
could resolve its issues or could also design the strategies needed to attain a competitive
advantage (Chandler and Lusch 2015).
Innovation can be defined as a process that is used to enhance the business competency
and narrow down the market competition. The contemporary business requires the use of
innovation at the various levels in order to mitigate the operational challenges and improve the
business performance (Lee, Kao and Yang 2014). Innovation is indeed requiring the most of the
consulting firms. This could be for many reasons such as satisfying its employee needs and the
fulfilling the demands of the clients. In both such cases, relevant innovation will be of different
forms and be used for different purposes (Lee, Kao and Yang 2014).
Employees at the consulting firms are needed to be well versed with an extensive set of
skills that helps to analyze the business with much effectiveness. Moreover, innovation will be
needed while recruiting the professionals to nurture them to help them become a skilled
professional (Harrison et al. 2014). Innovation in terms of employees may be required for having

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an updated format of reaching to a wider applicant. In addition to this, innovative approaches
will also be required during the professional development program to make it an interesting and
engaging activity for them (Harrison et al. 2014).
Innovation is indeed highly required in attracting the attention of employer or the clients.
This is so because there is number of consultants available in the market. There should be a valid
reason why the clients from the target market will approach the concerned consultancy. Such
valid reason will be the professional competency level which will be developed by implementing
innovative thoughts in regards to the existing circumstances (Boudreau and Lakhani 2015).
Innovation is required at the different stages like at the time of designing an appropriate value
proposition strategy, so that, it could communicate the eligibility to the clients in the target
market (Boudreau and Lakhani 2015). It is also required for being experts in the different
activities like marketing and the IT-related activities. For such purposes, innovation will be
needed to understand the latest technologies for marketing and IT activities (Boudreau and
Lakhani 2015).
The innovation of the consulting firm will be beneficial for the clients when it approaches
the selected consulting firm. Innovation in this circumstance will help to get the required work
done from the consultancies. However, on the other hand, the use of innovation in consulting
firms will also attract the various other clients that may be threatening to the concerned
company. Market competition will then be increased and may prove to be a potential threat to the
existing firm (Boudreau and Lakhani 2015).

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The Consultancy Value Framework developed by the MCA is helpful for the clients in
analyzing the level of support that the client firms will get from the consultancy (Consultancy
Buyers Forum 2018).
Figure 1: The Consultancy Value Framework by MCA
(Source: Consultancy Buyers Forum 2018)
The above figure does very well establish an understanding of how the clients get to know the
various helps that it will receive from the selected consultancy. The value framework has been
divided into few segments like the business needs, what consultancy brings in regards to the
different business needs, what all that leads to and the creation of results (Consultancy Buyers
Forum 2018). The framework has identified the several business needs that will serve the
purpose of the clients in the target market.

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Innovation has been given high importance in the consultancy value framework. This was
the use of innovation only that helped to distribute the framework into the four most
communicable stages included in this model. The framework was able to know the different
business needs, which will serve the needs of the target clients. Innovation is also important for
the management consultancies to enable it to become much more competitive in the industry.
The framework has highlighted some important contributions of consultancy in resolving the
issues of its clients. Those contributions are the capability, the knowledge and the insight (Kogan
et al. 2017).
The capability identified in the consultancy value framework will be competent in nature
if it has been supported with an up-to-date innovative approach. The capability will be enhanced
if the consulting firm has expertise in multi-domains like the marketing, finance, HRM and other
activities. For an example, the consulting firms are required to have its acquaintance with the
different marketing modes like the online marketing and the digital marketing (Gubiniova and
Bartakova 2017). In terms of the financing works, the consulting firm will require having a
thorough knowledge of the accounting works. Nevertheless, the knowledge will be delivered by
the employees who work for the consulting firm. For such purpose, skilled employees will be
needed. A consulting firm may have the skilled workforce if it is able to use the latest
technologies to reach to larger applicants at the time of recruitment process and is able to train its
employees to nurture them with the latest knowledge on the consulting works (Kogan et al.
2017).
The approachability or the insight is another thing that can effectively raise the
competency level of a management consultancy. Approachability can be increased in numerous
ways like by giving easy access to the clients or by using innovative technologies that could

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influence the concerned client’s perception (Bloom, Draca and Van Reenen 2016). Business
clients approach to different consulting firms because such consultancies have expertise in
handling challenging situations. On the other hand, business companies look for the
consultancies which have proven records in the required field (Bloom, Draca and Van Reenen
2016).
Clients can assess the value of working with the chosen consulting firm by analyzing the
different stages involved in the selected framework (Serra and Kunc 2015). The framework
supplies the few very important parameters that can be used to judge the effectiveness of the
chosen consulting firm. Moreover, in this way a highly appropriate consulting agency will be
identified (Serra and Kunc 2015). Assessment can also be done by following the ratings of the
consulting firms. Ratings and the experience level will both help to make the assessment at the
time of selecting the consultancies or after the consultancies have performed its work (Serra and
Kunc 2015).
The consultancy offers values to its clients in several forms like the capability, the
knowledge, and the insight. It offers a very skilled workforce which takes care of the different
consulting works like marketing, human resource management, IT and the finance. A skilled
workforce will be able to design an effective marketing plan which will ensure a probable
success at the time of launching a new product or in representing the existing product (Bryson et
al. 2017). A skilled workforce will be able to present the best accounting solution for the
different accounting related issues. Accounting related tasks can be like the taxation, balance
sheet, and others. This will also provide the IT related solutions like supplying knowledge on the
latest technologies that could help the clients in improving its efficiency and the competency
level (Bryson et al. 2017).

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One consulting firm will compete with another in regards to its strategic capability,
subject knowledge, and the approachability level. Different consulting firms will have the
variable level of competency measurable in regards to different resources like the physical,
human and the technological resources. Nevertheless, consultancies do not make sufficient
investments to improve its business capabilities. It rather depends much on the skilled workforce,
which helps such firms in completing the different activities. There is a need to invest much in
improving the technological and the infrastructure capability. Indeed, such improvements will
attract innovative approaches that will bring the difference between each of the consultancies
(Khuong, Harindranath and Dyerson 2014).
Knowledge is the other domain where competing consultancies can create values by
having a distinguished level of knowledge management. Consulting firms rely much on its
employees (Back, Parboteeah and Nam 2014). It has already been stated from the “consultancy
value framework” that employees in consultancies do build up the knowledge blocks (Back,
Parboteeah and Nam 2014). If one consulting firm has much competitive workforce than its
competitors, it will definitely get the advantage of the market. The advantage will thus be evident
in the form of market values.
Added or additional value in the context of consulting will be referred to the benefits
that it provides to its clients (Niñerola et al. 2016). Clients indeed approach such consultancies
when there is a need to have an enhanced business capability. Clients those which approach the
different consultancies do have some pre-existing values especially in case of multinational
companies. This is why those firms have been able to sustain its business. However, the intention
of moving to a consultant is to attain the maximized potentialities that are hardly practical due to
the limitation of various resources to the clients (Niñerola et al. 2016).

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There are various circumstances where employing a consultant will yield a much
reduced potential value to the clients. One of such circumstances is a market that has become
saturated with a particular product or the service (Lalonde and Adler 2015). In such
circumstance, this will be advisable to, not to approach the consulting firms as products or the
services have already been stagnant in the market of operation. It is indeed beneficial to move to
the consulting firm when there is a need to launch a new product or a service (Lalonde and Adler
2015).
Another circumstance can be like the target consulting firm does not have the
competitive resources. Such decision will also produce a less potential value to the business
(Kabir and Sumi 2014). This has already been stated with the help of the consultancy framework
that the consulting firms need to have a sound knowledge of the process. The identified quality
will only be realized if the consulting firm has the skilled workforce. It is indeed necessary to
approach to a right consulting firm, which has capable management & the infrastructure facilities
and the skilled workforce. Such consultancies with its prior experience in the same field will add
highest values to the clients (Kabir and Sumi 2014).
Cost-effectiveness is the other factor which can establish a circumstance where
consultancies will appear as if like it provides very less values to the client's needs (Beaumont,
Maynard and Butt 2015). For an example, tasks have been given to a consultant that asks for
higher money than the others. The client was not able to identify whether the decision was
valuable and went ahead with the deal. Such circumstance may not produce the expected values
to the client’s requirements (Beaumont, Maynard and Butt 2015). This will be a loss of not only
the investment but will also be of the values that could have been delivered if it had approached
the most appropriate consultancies.

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The consultation will also yield fewer values if it has not approached at the
appropriate time (Bens 2017). In the contemporary world, there is a need to make quick
decisions in order to be competitive and to take the advantage of the available opportunity.
However, if during such times consultancies are not being approached then others will capitalize
on the opportunity and will take the advantage away from the organization in concern (Bens
2017). In such circumstance, this will be less productive and have fewer values as well to move
to a consulting firm. Such organizations will get to know the strategies that have already been
used by the others. Moreover, productivity will be quite less as chances are higher for a reduced
opportunity by the time the company in concern approaches the consulting firms (Bens 2017).
Conclusion:
To conclude, consulting firms have become a very good option for the contemporary
organizations using which they capably pose a competitive fight to its respective rival
companies. Consulting firms have become a great resource for getting equipped with the utmost
capabilities and the knowledge that it may or may not attain on its own. Such organizations may
not have the required resources or it may not have the relevant workforce that could produce the
desired result. This is one of the reason why business firms approach to the management
consultancies. Another reason for approaching the consulting agencies is the increased market
competition. Every single company, in particular, the multinational companies look for an
improved solution to its day-to-day challenges. Nevertheless, there are different other
requirements like to get innovative ideas before entering a new market or bringing a new product
or a service to the market. Nevertheless, organizations are getting benefitted from the numerous
tasks that may not have handled by those on its resource capabilities. However, it has already
been stated that options are open to other companies as well. It is indeed important to know the

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exact time of frame when this will be much wiser and safer as well to approach the selected
consulting firms. Apart from the fact, it is also important to identify the best feasible consulting
firm for the needs. There are many options; however, not all the consultancy will satisfy the
needs of every single organization. Different organizations have different resource capabilities
which mean that criteria for selecting the consulting firm will be different for different
organizations. Some companies may not have the financial constraints that could be a barrier to
others in particular to the small size companies. Those firms that have financial constraints
should approach the consulting agencies that offer the most cost-effective services.

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