Compare and Contrast: External Consultant vs. Internal Manager

This business project delves into a comparative analysis of the roles of external business consultants and internal managers within an organizational context. The project examines the distinct responsibilities, advantages, and disadvantages associated with each role. It highlights how external consultants, often hired for their specialized expertise, provide objective insights and solutions, whereas internal managers are integral to the day-to-day operations and long-term strategic implementation. The project discusses the significance of each role in achieving business objectives, addressing challenges related to cost, data privacy, and communication, and emphasizes how both consultants and managers contribute to organizational success. It also explores the trends in the global consulting market, especially in human resource practices, and concludes by underscoring the complementary nature of these roles in managing operational functions and achieving competitive advantage in the market.

Business project
“Compare and contrast the role of an external business consultant with that of an internal manager”

Business project
In the present business environment, it has been examined that external business
consultant and internal manager both plays a great role in managing the functional operations of
the business. In this paper, the discussion will be based on comparing and contrasting the
external business consultant with that of the internal manager in the workplace. It is important to
have in-depth analysis of this as it helps in focus on controlling the routine functions of the
business in the highly competitive market.
It can be said that external business consultant is the separate company that emphasizes
on working for the company. The external consultant focuses on developing the evaluation
design that helps in accomplishing the targets of the company. It is investigated that they
consider the decision by having in-depth analysis. One of the best examples can be related to the
companies who consider the external business consultants who solve the major problem that
takes place in the workplace (Salonen & Jaakkola, 2015).
The example can be related to the one company who is facing the issue in relation of
attaining the large market share; in this case the external business consultant plays a great role in
managing the operations. The business consultants are mainly hired so that it could be easy to
take the expert advice. The external business consultant firm hires the employees who have the
capability to manage the operation of the company. In relation to the issue, the external firm is
known as the expert that will offer accurate information and conduct in-depth analysis so that it
could be easy to search the reliable information which is beneficial for the company. The main
role played by the external business consultant emphasizes on analyzing the different aspects that
are impacting the business operations of the company (Lobacz, Glodek, Stawasz & Niedzielski,
2016).
It has been examined that the main role of external business consultant is to create the
network so that it would be easy for them to focus towards accomplishing the set goals and
objectives of the business. The external business consultant has the wide network that offers a
chance to the business to grab the opportunities in relation to growth. But the role played by the
external business consultant is different from the internal manager. The external business
consultant is the one who focuses on the particular aspects that are related within the contracts
but on the other hand the internal manager oversees different factors to control the routine
functions of the company. The internal manager is the one who control each and every aspect of
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the business and they have the major role in boosting the success ratio of the company (Mole,
North & Baldock, 2017).
It has been analyzed that the external business consultant are known as the independent
players and on the other hand the internal manager depends on their own company. The
activities of the company are conducted within the limited timeframe by the internal manager. It
could be said that the internal manager has to follow the specified rules and regulations in
relation to the overall functions of the company. The external business consultant manages the
work on the independent level but on the other hand it can be compared that managers have to
comply with different rules and regulations that are important to be followed at the workplace
(Carey & Tanewski, 2016).
It can be stated that the difference also relates to the use of the owned resources. For the
external business consultant it is one of the benefits for that they take into consideration their
own fund and also the resources. The resources and funds that are used in proper research and
evaluation as it can assist in solving the complex issues. In the present era, there are many
companies who are making the contract to resolve the complex issues faced by the management
(Storey, 2016).
One of the issues faced by the companies in the present era is concerned with the
retention and hiring policy. The companies face issue in hiring talented employees in the
workplace, so they focus on making the contract with the external business consultant. They are
the one who supports the business to flourish in relation to the overall activities conducted in the
workplace. But on the other hand the role of manager is to implement the policies in the
workplace through which the talent employees can be retained and also recruited in the
workplace (Collier,2015).
It can be said that internal manager’s focus on taking the interviews of the employees at
the time of recruitment but the external business consultant focuses on gathering the relevant
information of the interested candidates. So, it can be stated that the nature and the importance of
external business consultant and internal manager is different but they both support the
organizational goals and objectives of the business. At the time of solving the issue related with
retaining the employees and also recruiting the talent employees, the role of external business
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Business project
consultant is to evaluate the different functions such as human resource process and also the
process of interview. They are the one who will access the relevant information of the company
which is not effective and according to the research they will offer effective solutions which will
resolve the issue of the company. So, it can be stated that the role of external business consultant
and internal manager can be linked but it is different in nature (Bidwell & Mollick, 2015).
It is investigated that there are also various drawbacks that are concerned with the
external business consultant. It has been said that to research and evaluate the different factors
they incur a huge cost which negatively impact the overall operations of the business. The
activities that are performed by the external business consultant can be costly. The external
business consultant request the companies to ask for the relevant data and also the important
personal information are offered to them (Sturdy, Wright & Wylie, 2016).
So, it can also lead to the overall threat for the business in the highly competitive
business world. The leakage of important or private information can also be the threat for the
companies as it is difficult for the companies to rely on the other firms for the assistance. But on
the other hand, the internal managers controls and maintain the privacy of the company so that it
could be easy to achieve growth in the competitive market. The internal manager has the detailed
information of the company but then also the risk is low but in case of external business
consultant the risk is high (Cardwell, Williams & Pyle, 2017).
Communication can be one of the major challenges that can be faced by the company in
context to external business consultant. It is analyzed that when the external business consultant
evaluate the issue of training then they prepare and offer the training plan to the company which
will help in bringing improvisation in the overall operations of the business. So, at the time of
giving training the external business consultant will also focus on the culture of the company
which can be stated as the time consuming process and it can be the challenge to manage the
work of the company in relation to the set goals in the highly competitive market (Martinez-
Conesa, Soto-Acosta & Carayannis, 2017).
There are also many benefits that can be concerned with external business consultant and
also it can be stated that in the present era, there are many companies who are taking assistance
from the external business consultant. The overall market for the consulting service is
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Business project
approximately more than $130 Billion and it also showcase the hold of the total global
consulting market. By analyzing the past years, it is examined that the expenditure on the overall
management consultancy has been enhanced on the average of 4%. By analyzing the graph, it is
estimated that the global management consulting market is large in terms of Human resource
practices There are majority of the companies who are availing assistance in the human resource
sector (Consultancy UK, 2019).
(SOURCE: Consultancy UK, 2019).
By analyzing the paper, it can be concluded that the role of external business consultant
and internal manager is different but they both plays an important role in managing the overall
operational functions of the business. There are many challenges that are faced by the company
in relation to external business consultant. The challenges are related to the increase cost of the
company and also there is privacy issues that can faced if the external business consultant is not
reliable towards the overall activities of the company. But in the case of internal manager it can
be stated that there are the one who manages and implement different ideas in the workplace.
The internal managers focus on managing the overall functions of the company so that it could
be easy to accomplish the targets of the company in the highly competitive market.
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Business project
References
Bidwell, M., & Mollick, E. (2015). Shifts and ladders: Comparing the role of internal and
external mobility in managerial careers. Organization Science, 26(6), 1629-1645.
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Cardwell, L. A., Williams, S., & Pyle, A. (2017). Corporate public relations dynamics: Internal
vs. external stakeholders and the role of the practitioner. Public Relations Review, 43(1),
152-162.
Carey, P., & Tanewski, G. (2016). The provision of business advice to SMEs by external
accountants. Managerial Auditing Journal, 31(3), 290-313.
Collier, P. M. (2015). Accounting for managers: Interpreting accounting information for
decision making. John Wiley & Sons.
Consultancy UK. (2019). Management Consulting. Retrived from:
https://www.consultancy.uk/consulting-industry/management-consulting
Lobacz, K., Glodek, P., Stawasz, E., & Niedzielski, P. (2016). Utilisation of business advice in
small innovative firms: the role of trust and tacit knowledge. Entrepreneurial Business and
Economics Review, 4(2), 117.
Martinez-Conesa, I., Soto-Acosta, P., & Carayannis, E. G. (2017). On the path towards open
innovation: Assessing the role of knowledge management capability and environmental
dynamism in SMEs. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(3), 553-570.
Mole, K., North, D., & Baldock, R. (2017). Which SMEs seek external support? Business
characteristics, management behaviour and external influences in a contingency
approach. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 35(3), 476-499.
Salonen, A., & Jaakkola, E. (2015). Firm boundary decisions in solution business: Examining
internal vs. external resource integration. Industrial Marketing Management, 51, 171-183.
Storey, D. J. (2016). Understanding the small business sector. Routledge.
Sturdy, A., Wright, C., & Wylie, N. (2016). Managers as consultants: The hybridity and tensions
of neo-bureaucratic management. Organization, 23(2), 184-205.
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