Overcoming Project Delivery Delays in A Consulting Firm: A Knowledge Management Perspective

Based on Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) press release, the investment realization in Indonesia for the period of 2015-2018 shows a positive trend. In addition, the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 24 of 2018 related to Online Single Submission (OSS) which facilitates the issuance of licensing in Indonesia. This has a direct impact on the consulting firms, as the Foreign Investment Company (PT PMA) tends to transfer their internal activities to service provider companies to provide opportunities to fulfill their objectives to gain competitive advantage. Seeing this great potential, leads to growth in companies engaged in consulting. In Jakarta alone, there were at least 66 consulting firms which are working in similar field. During project completion, there are several obstacles causing delays in project delivery namely transfer of knowledge that was that was not carried out effectively due to changes in regulations. This research uses a qualitative method in the form of interviews processed through coding categorization, observation & archive at a consulting firm, BDO Indonesia. Furthermore, knowledge management systems, SECI and knowledge flow are presented. The result of this research shows the importance of knowledge management perspective to overcome the project delivery delays in the consulting firm

Constituting best practice in management consulting

This paper offers critical reflections on the construction and propagation of ‘best practice’: a concept which has become increasingly important in the business world and in civic life more generally. Focusing upon the activities of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) we offer an analysis of the awards process instituted to applaud ‘best practice’ in the arena of consulting. Departing from existing academic representations of the advice industry which generally exclude this trade body from the analytical frame we consider the role which the MCA performs in the field of consulting. Situating the MCA’s attempt to constitute best practice within the work of Bruno Latour we argue that this construct depends upon the mobilization of an extended network of allies, advocates and spectators whose interactions have been written-out of academic analysis. The paper concludes by proposing the need for further research designed to explore, both, the heterogeneity and the porosity of the networks that construct, convey and applaud key knowledge products such as ‘best practice’

KISA in low tech traditional sectors as technology innovation promoters

Tether (2003) has analysed innovation dynamics in services and classified them in three sectors: traditional, systemic and knowledge-based. In this paper we are concerned with the third alternative due to its relevance in the creation and transfer of knowledge and innovation through its support of innovative activities across a wide range of other business fields, as well as its interconnecting role among various clusters (Kuusisto and Meyer, 2003). Knowledge-intensive service activities (KISA) are defined as “the production and integration of service activities undertaken by firms, in manufacturing or service sectors, in combination with manufactured outputs or as stand-alone services”. KISA can be provided by private enterprises and public sector organizations. Typical examples of KISA include R&D services, management consulting, IT services, human resource management services, legal services, accounting and financing services, and marketing services (OECD, 2006)

BUSINESS TOURISM CONSULTING: a study of SEBRAE -AM

Consultancy services in tourist companies provide knowledge about management and organization of companies, quality of services, and specialization of offer, among other aspects. Through this process, they help make the tourist market more attractive and competitive. The Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE) operates throughout Brazil, with the aim of promoting competitiveness and sustainable development and fostering entrepreneurship, thereby facilitating the access of small entrepreneurs to business management knowledge, through its Business consulting service. In view of the potential of business consulting, and identifying a facilitator that is accessible in the use of services offered by the institution, this study aimed to understand the system and process used by SEBRAE-AM, in the State of Amazonas, in its consulting services, and to investigate the motivations and expectations of the demand for tourism entrepreneurs, and the consultants’ view of this market. We opted for a basic methodology using a qualitative approach, with semi-structured interviews in which three subjects formed part of the intentional sample: manager of the consulting department of SEBRAE-AM, and two consultants working within the area of business activities in tourism. Among other results, the research found that despite the notoriety and the full consultancy work performed by the institution, the demand is still low compared to other business segments, and there are some limitations on the consulting services offered by the institution. This relevance of this research is its potential as a reference model for consulting companies, and it can be used by companies in the consulting area, as well as for the development of new research on this topic

Do the Codes of Conduct and Ethics reflect Reality in Management Consulting?

The management consulting firms’ competence and capacity to provide high quality services and thereby create, transfer and develop managerial knowledge have an important role for the client firms and the society. The international management consulting associations have formulated Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics that aim to regulate and provide guidelines for the management consulting firms’ activities. This paper investigates whether there is a fit between the Codes and (a) the current modes of management consulting, and (b) the needs of the consulting firms to learn and develop continually their knowledge base and competencies. The analysis indicates that the majority of the Codes tend to support one-directional, i.e., ‘directive’, ‘content-based’, and ‘transplantation-based’ type of consulting. In the cases where the Codes recommend interaction, they could emphasize two-directionality and mutual interaction between the consultant and the client more clearly and explicitly, in the spirit of ‘nondirective’, ‘process-based’, and ‘translation-based’ consulting models. As to the development of the consulting firms’ knowledge and competencies, the analysis reveals that the Codes emphasize necessary qualifications and the quality of advice. With two exceptions the Codes do not directly and explicitly indicate the dynamic aspect, i.e., that the consulting firms should develop their skills and knowledge continually. Also, there is variation concerning the methods to develop competencies. Therefore, there are several unutilized opportunities to develop the Codes to meet better the needs of the knowledge society

Consultants as strategic practitioners: an analysis in the sociological field research of strategy-as-practice

Although management consulting activities have obtained a considerable growth in terms of economic significance in recent years, these results have not been duly followed by a greater number of conceptual and empirical researches in this area. In order to fight the lack of studies on the actual work of management consultants, this article aims at answer to one question that remains open. Are consultants the real experts and the true practitioners of strategy as practice? The results of the empirical analysis in the form of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires given to management consultants and SME managers in Portugal shows that management consulting is founded on a knowledge-intensive base, although consultants cannot be called strategy practitioners as many authors call them. This is illustrated in the model presented in this article, which means this proposition is a new direction in strategic thinking in what the field’s research strategy-as-practice concerns.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Professional Service Firms confronted with management challenges: can democracy be an organizational solution? A case-study in a democratic consulting firm

International audienceDue to the nature of their inputs, outputs and processes, professional service firms (PSFs) face three generic management challenges, namely strategic management, knowledge management and human-resource management. These three management issues are closely interrelated. They need to be managed in consistent whole patterns in relation to kinds of business activities. Following the typology of Lowendahl (2005 [1997]), 'client relation' and 'adapting solutions' kinds of PSF have consistent overall approaches to the three management issues. But, concerning 'creative problem-solving' ('CPS') PSFs, there is a lack of a consistent overall management approach, This latter can be neither hierarchical management nor self-management. We propose to investigate the democratic management approach as a potential consistent solution for 'CPS' PSFs. To this aim, we draw on a longitudinal in-depth case study in a French democratic consulting firm confronted with the need for managing differentiation between individuals and collective integration. In the last section we discuss the contributions of such a management perspective for PSFs, as well as the difficulties and the contingencies of the case-study

Constituting best practice in management consulting

This paper offers critical reflections on the construction and propagation of ‘best practice’: a concept which has become increasingly important in the business world and in civic life more generally. Focusing upon the activities of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), we offer an analysis of the awards process instituted to applaud ‘best practice’ in the arena of consulting. Departing from existing academic representations of the advice industry which generally exclude this trade body from the analytical frame, we consider the role that the MCA performs in the field of consulting. Situating the MCA's attempt to constitute best practice within the work of Bruno Latour, we argue that this construct depends upon the mobilization of an extended network of allies, advocates and spectators whose interactions have been written out of academic analysis. The paper concludes by proposing the need for further research designed to explore, both, the heterogeneity and the porosity of the networks that construct, convey and applaud key knowledge products such as ‘best practice’

Development of Information Management solution for measuring people performance

Internship Report presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe main objective of this report is share my internship experience at Closer Consulting, Portuguese Consultancy Company that specializes in Business Intelligence and Advanced Analytics and the challenges I faced during that period. The project analyses different principles of Business Intelligence and Human Resources, and proposes an Information Management add‐on for the Evalyze Suite, developed by Closer Consulting. The proposed information management solution should be used as a tool to support the decision making process of businesses and organizations that are already using or intends to use Evalyze in their Business Intelligence activities. As a result, the proposed tools should be capable of providing insights on the daily operational tasks and help produce reports for the top management. The main challenge that emerged in this project was delivering a business intelligence solution that propose new metrics in the field that no one was measuring, and to re‐inventing the how performance management is conducted in the customer care department of both individuals businesses and organizations, and call centers. In addition, the report highlights the best practices of developing a Business Intelligence solution in order to support critical decision during the development of this solution. My experience as an intern inspired me to take up the challenge and use my internship experience to complete my master’s project

How do firms organize for sustainable energy consumption? An investigation of the Maltese hotel sector

The aim of the paper is to investigate the capabilities of firms in a mature service sector to adopt innovative sustainable energy technologies and practices and the processes through which these firms obtain and exploit knowledge about energy management practices. The hotel sector in Malta is used as the empirical setting. Interviews were undertaken with 26 hotel managers and 14 engineering consulting firms in Malta. The interview data from the hotels were clustered to derive patterns of environmental action characterized by particular firm capabilities. The findings distinguish between hotels that adopt a narrow range of energy efficient measures and those with a higher innovative potential that modify routine maintenance activities and make deeper organizational changes to shift towards improved energy efficiency. Accounting for the range of innovative potential are different combinations of capabilities for problem-solving around energy efficiency and for collaborating with external actors (engineering consulting firms in this study). The paper concludes by providing some implications for policy.Bajada New Energy, General Membrane, EcoGroup, Econetique, Energy Investment, JMV Vibro Blocks, Solar Engineering, Solar Solutionspeer-reviewe