2 assignments
simonsmy
assignment_2_instruction.docxAssignment 2
Company: Seagate Technology
Topic: Strategy from the viewpoint of management consultants
Objectives
The aim of this assignment is to suggest the role played by Management Consulting firms in developing new ideas useful to managers, academics, students and others interested in strategic management.
Instructor Comments
What may not be apparent to many students is that many of the new ideas in the field of management and strategy originate with Management Consulting firms. Management scholars interact with these firms and with large organizations and then incorporate these ideas into their teaching, their research and instructional material such as textbooks. The intent of this assignment is to introduce you to a number of the key players in the management consulting field, make you aware of the vehicles they use to disseminate some of the ideas that they create and have you explore what ideas are currently in use by these consultants.
It is important for analysts to understand who these companies are and the type of advice that they offer. Almost all of the Fortune 500 firms would actively contract with Management Consulting for ideas and advice. Not only do they redesign organizations, develop strategy and offer guidance regarding new product development, they also coach senior executives, serve as sounding boards for new ideas and serve as important vehicles for disseminating best practices throughout and between industries. It is now fairly common for management consultants from the more famous firms such as McKinsey, Booz, Allen, Hamilton and Accenture to switch careers and take on senior management positions with clients or leading industry players. The alumni network of these major professional service firms also serve as powerful business development tools that open the door to new ideas and opportunities for their clients and employers. Knowing what ideas are being sold and disseminate by these corporate advices can help an analyst make sense of new and intriguing competitor behaviour.
Assignment
To undertake this assignment you will need to view information found on the Web sites of a number of management consulting firms. In many instances these firms have a publishing vehicle. These include:
McKinsey & Co. (www.mckinseyquarterly.com)
Bain & Company (www.bain.com/publications)
Accenture (www.accenture.com/us-en/outlook)
Monitor (www.monitor.com)
The Boston Consulting Group (www.bcgperspectives.com)
This assignment seeks to help you understand the answer to a broader concern and that is, “Where is strategy at from the perspective of management consultants?”
Please answer the following questions.
· For each of the five management consulting firms noted above, please identify four ideas or issues that they are actively selling to potential clients. Focus your efforts on identifying North American issues. Summarize each in two or three sentences.
· Are there any common ideas that are being highlighted across two or more of the firms? If so what are they?
· In your own words, and using no less than 250 words to do so, please comment on how each of these journals is different from the others in the types of insight that they offer.
Hint: Management consulting firms sell advice. The web sites of these firms are important vehicles for building awareness of the advice or ideas that each seeks to sell. Each firm labels its ideas through different means. Some may place articles or book excerpts written by their employees on their web site. Others may feature a section labeled “issues” or “big ideas.” Regardless of how the ideas are communicated, it is your task to identify the ideas that are currently hot or topical.
Please limit your response to this assignment to three and one half single spaced, typed pages. Cite your sources in the text and please reference them at the end of your assignment. End your write–up with one paragraph that summarizes what you think is the importance of this assignment.
