Models of management consulting: a survey

Abstract

Management consultants assume different roles in assisting their clients in making changes in their organizations. They utilize different models ranging from a relationship where the consultant diagnoses and prescribes an approach for the organization, to situations where the consultant assists the client in learning how to deal with organizational issues (Czerniawska, 1999). At the same time, it was also argued that consultant firms were biased toward a preferred model, which led to an initial polarization of firms during the 1980s (Czerniawska, 2002). In this study, the most popular types of management consulting models that consulting firms employ are identified, compared and contrasted regarding their application and related services. The aim of the study is to explore the extent to which whether management consultants tend to specialize in and apply the intervention strategies of a particular model or if they apply a variety of intervention strategies related to different models. Second, the different services related to these models are examined. In essence, the guiding question was the extent to which application of a specific model influences the services offered to a client. Third, the research attempts to uncover the assumptions that management consultants make regarding their client’s ability to self-diagnose, communicate their needs to the consultant and engage in generating organizational solutions. Finally, a survey was designed to identify consultants’ fact-based or action-based models, their services and assumptions about clients.