Academic literature on the topic 'Consulting firms Management Australia Case studies'

AbstractConsumers the world over are becoming more homogeneous thanks to the unifying forces of travel, media, technology, information transfer and the like. Furthermore, today customers have higher expectations than ever before regarding the quality of service they should receive from a wide range of service organisations (professional as well as non-professional). As customers are increasingly exposed to world best practice in a wide range of service industries, expectations spiral upwards. Slow, discourteous, unresponsive and unprofessional service will no longer be tolerated - but especially when the service is highly customised, complex, costly and high involvement, professional service.Few, if any, studies have examined service quality issues for professional services in an international context. Hence, this case study documents the problems experienced by the Australian Trade Commission's (Austrade) Bangkok, Thailand Post in providing a level of service consistent with clients' (and senior managements') expectations, the steps taken to overcome these long standing service quality shortcomings, as well as the key lessons to be learnt from the process. Today Austrade provides a professional consulting service and thus possesses similar characteristics to many professional service firms (project management, engineering consulting, general management consulting, etc.) and thus the lessons from this successful change management program may be generalisable to other professional services. Furthermore, the lessons should prove invaluable for Australian firms operating in South-East Asia staffed by expatriates and local nationals.

AbstractConsumers the world over are becoming more homogeneous thanks to the unifying forces of travel, media, technology, information transfer and the like. Furthermore, today customers have higher expectations than ever before regarding the quality of service they should receive from a wide range of service organisations (professional as well as non-professional). As customers are increasingly exposed to world best practice in a wide range of service industries, expectations spiral upwards. Slow, discourteous, unresponsive and unprofessional service will no longer be tolerated - but especially when the service is highly customised, complex, costly and high involvement, professional service.Few, if any, studies have examined service quality issues for professional services in an international context. Hence, this case study documents the problems experienced by the Australian Trade Commission's (Austrade) Bangkok, Thailand Post in providing a level of service consistent with clients' (and senior managements') expectations, the steps taken to overcome these long standing service quality shortcomings, as well as the key lessons to be learnt from the process. Today Austrade provides a professional consulting service and thus possesses similar characteristics to many professional service firms (project management, engineering consulting, general management consulting, etc.) and thus the lessons from this successful change management program may be generalisable to other professional services. Furthermore, the lessons should prove invaluable for Australian firms operating in South-East Asia staffed by expatriates and local nationals.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence of the staffing policies associated with the characteristics of the two basic types of organisational configurations identified by Institutional theory (Professional Partnership and Managed Professional Business), or conversely, if they have been evolving as a consequence of contextual factors and trends.Design/methodology/approach: Exploratory research was performed through the case study method. Six case studies were conducted in Spanish affiliates of leading multinational management consulting firms.Findings: Our analysis revealed that the staffing policies and practices of the companies differ significantly. It was further deduced that the origin of companies and the practice of activities other than business consulting could influence their staffing policies. It is concluded that mixed models do exist nowadays and that the origin of companies largely determines their policies.Research limitations/implications: Cultural factors among countries could influence HRM policies and practices. Furthermore, the size of companies could determine (or limit) the implementation of certain staffing policies. The study could be extended to a sample of consulting companies of various sizes and countries to enrich the resultsPractical implications: For HR managers, knowing the staffing policies at these major companies is a benchmark of HRM effectiveness to be applied to their own companies. In particular, these cases are relevant for other knowledge intensive organizations.Originality/value: The paper provides current empirical evidence on the HRM staffing policies of leading consulting firms and their evolution

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) is a fundamental tool in the implementation process of Knowledge Management (KM), which is used to manage knowledge of information technology systems in an organization. However, a well-developed KMS should not only take advantage of information technology function, but also require the development of a complete measurement system for KMS. The purpose of this research is to develop an employee participation framework to describe the cause-effect relationship of KMS. Three case studies were interviewed for building measurement factors of KMS used by engineering consulting firms. Two questionnaires were sent to managers of engineering consulting firms for establishing main factors and sub factors in the measurement system in which four primary objectives were identified as “Activity in forum”, “Statistic of knowledge system”, “Participation of KM activity”, and “Number of documents”. The cause-effect relationship among four objectives was shown by path analysis.

Purpose Universities are expected to accelerate and optimize their role as economic growth engines. Technology transfer is a traditional way of expanding knowledge exchange, and it is typically used in hard sciences. This paper aims to discuss academic consultancy as a novel way to bring especially social sciences, humanities and arts (SSHA sciences) knowledge into the society. In addition, it seeks practical ways to combine both university’s and individual researcher’s needs in consultancy. Design/methodology/approach A case study comprising interviews at two Finnish universities was conducted. Literature on academic consulting was used as background knowledge. International benchmarking was done through interviews and desk top studies. Some background statistics was extracted from the financial database for received research funding from businesses and ministries. Findings Corporate funding is most prominent in hard sciences, and SSHA sciences seem to get their funding mainly from public sources. SSHA researchers provide services for firms, but these relationships are generally private. According to interviews, there is will to consult firms through university, but researcher’s time limitations, remuneration and academic merit related to consultancy are important factors when consultancy guidelines are drawn. The administration view is expanded from only research staff to include the entire university knowledge production ecosystem and its members. Originality/value Acknowledging the value of SSHA sciences is topical because the respect towards humanities and social studies seems to be in decline in some developed countries. However, according to this study, academic consulting could have great potential in bringing the human perspective into the digitalized society. The quantification of knowledge exchange would benefit from formal, institutionalized consultancy sales. More studies are needed to assess the impact of academic consultancy on society.

PurposePublic private partnerships (PPPs) centralize decision making into a hybrid type of firm, consisting of a government entity with a private firm, that is either a profit‐seeking or non‐profit entity, that initiates, constructs, maintains, or provides a service. The PPP model recognizes that both the public and the private sectors have certain comparative advantages in the performance of specific tasks. PPPs, grounded in cost/benefit analysis, have been used in Australia for decades and are presently being introduced in the USA as a form of innovate contracting. This paper aims to evaluate PPPs as a potentially transferable model for the delivery of public services. PPP firms are evaluated in terms of capital asset management, productive and allocative efficiency, transfer of risk between the public and private sectors, rights to the residual, and the public interest. A case study comparison of Fremantle Ports (Australia) and the Indiana Toll Road (USA) is employed to demonstrate PPP design and function.Design/methodology/approachA description and evaluation of public private partnerships (PPP) is presented and two original and primary case studies are reviewed.FindingsA PPP functioning as a monopoly provider of a common pool public asset approximates economic efficiency when user fees cover virtually full cost. Identifying optimal output and quality assessment is more challenging in the case of social goods in which the public goal is subsidy minimization and clients cannot assess quality. Best practices are helpful; they guarantee the PPP process, but not the outcome. All PPPs, in whatever country or industry, are vulnerable to bureaucratic expansion whenever they are given access to subsidized loans underwritten by taxpayers.Originality/valueThe two case studies in this paper are 100 percent original; they were examined in person by the authors, and the managers of the two entities were interviewed in Indiana (USA) and Fremantle, Western Australia.

Although a large body of research exists on risk assessment in civil engineering projects and of owners, contractors, concessionaires and financiers of such projects, there is a lacuna in such research on engineering consultants, particularly those associated with non-standard forms of consulting services. This paper seeks to explore the genesis of the underlying risks in non-standard forms of engineering consulting services, systematically classify the risks, and develop a Risk Breakdown Structure and a generic Framework for efficient assessment of these risks, which is a prerequisite for sound risk management in the engineering consulting industry. The research adopts a mixed method approach, synthesising exploratory type multiple-case studies and questionnaire surveys, carried out in 14 engineering consulting firms having extensive experience in the delivery of non-standard consulting services. This paper provides empirical insights of the genetic makeup of risks associated with non-standard forms of consulting services. Such risks are found to be predominantly linked to design office based activities that underline the importance of design function in engineering consulting practice. Loss of reputation and/or goodwill is rated as the most severe potential impact on consultants. Proposed Risk Assessment Framework provides the engineering consulting industry with a functional tool for efficient risk management.

This paper examines the empirical relationship between working capital management (WCM) and firm performance (FP) for Australasian publicly listed firms. Australia and New Zealand are attractive investment destinations due to their business friendly environments. The past two decades have seen increased academic attention in studies linking WCM and FP across various parts of globe. The empirical relationship between WCM-FP has not been sufficiently examined in regards to Australian and New Zealand firms. This study measures the role of WCM during the 2008 global financial crisis in both Australia and New Zealand firms. This study uses System General Method of Moments to address the endogeneity problem in order to reduce the possibility of biased results. The results show that WCM has a significant relationship with FP. More specifically, the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) and the Inventory Conversion Period (ICP) exhibit negative relationships with FP indicating that a reduction in the CCC and the ICP help to improve FP in Australasian firms. However, in the case of the Average Collection Period (ACP) and the Average Payment Period (APP), the results vary between both countries. In Australia, the ACP has no significant relationship, whereas APP has a positive relationship. This is contrary in the case of New Zealand firms. Another important finding is that firms in both markets were relatively efficient collecting their receivables during the 2008 global financial crisis period. These findings provide new empirical evidence that WCM matters for improving FP in Australasian firms.

Learning outcomes It is expected that students enhance their awareness of businesses’ role in human rights protection as a key factor in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement and core objective achievement, as well as understand the effects of gender-based violence on organizational performance and identify and develop policies for a socially responsible strategic plan for effective communication with current and potential stakeholders. Case overview/synopsis The case of AFF Consulting Group in Mexico illustrates the challenges that firms face when doing business in an environment riddled with inequality and gender-based violence. The firm is challenged with developing a socially responsible strategic plan to ensure effective communication with stakeholders. The case has been developed as a narrative to demonstrate the intricacies of internal dynamics and discussions, which lead to strategic planning and decision-making. Complexity academic level The case study illustrates the challenges of business dynamics in an emerging market. It is applicable, especially, for undergraduate and graduate students in management studies related to CSR, ethics, human resources, collaborator management and human rights. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Learning outcomes It is expected that students enhance their awareness of businesses’ role in human rights protection as a key factor in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement and core objective achievement, as well as understand the effects of gender-based violence on organizational performance and identify and develop policies for a socially responsible strategic plan for effective communication with current and potential stakeholders. Case overview/synopsis The case of AFF Consulting Group in Mexico illustrates the challenges that firms face when doing business in an environment riddled with inequality and gender-based violence. The firm is challenged with developing a socially responsible strategic plan to ensure effective communication with stakeholders. The case has been developed as a narrative to demonstrate the intricacies of internal dynamics and discussions, which lead to strategic planning and decision-making. Complexity academic level The case study illustrates the challenges of business dynamics in an emerging market. It is applicable, especially, for undergraduate and graduate students in management studies related to CSR, ethics, human resources, collaborator management and human rights. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

We are amidst a period of radical change in Management Consulting worldwide. The latter half of the twentieth century has seen major extensions to the range of services promoted under the umbrella of Management Consulting. The traditional Management Consulting Firms, such as McKinsey & Co., tend to provide strategy consulting. By contrast, the other multinational Management Consulting Firms have focused on Business Process Re-engineering and other services with an Information Technology emphasis. Significantly, several multinational Management Consulting Firms have come under the control of Information Technology companies. As yet, very little research has been conducted into the issues that Management Consultants face in Australia. This research project provides an empirical investigation aimed at identifying these issues. In doing so, the study intends to answer the following research question "What are the major issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia?" To assist in answering this overarching question the study endeavours to address three investigative questions (1) What is the relative severity of issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia? (2) What are the Knowledge Management related issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia? And (3) What distinctions can be made between Knowledge Management issues and approaches of small-medium sized Management Consulting Firms and large Management Consulting Firms? This thesis is a compilation and comparison of evidence gathered from four separate but related sub-studies into the Management Consulting industry. The first, a Context Case Study of Management Consulting issues faced by small-medium sized firms, aimed to generate a rich, qualitative description of the study context, which, in turn, provides background to a larger follow-up Issues Delphi Study. Interpretation of the data gathered for the Context Case Study focuses on gaps between the literature and observed practice. The Issues Delphi Study garners response from members of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) in two survey rounds that inventory issues and then gauge their importance. In addition, an exploratory and descriptive case study was performed to investigate Knowledge Management Strategies and Practices in the Australian branch of Accenture, a well known International Management Consulting Firm. Though the Accenture Case Study has an operational emphasis, both macro and micro issues of Knowledge Management are considered; macro issues pertain to the strategic leverage of Knowledge Assets, while micro issues pertain to creation, transfer and reuse of knowledge within the firm, and between the firm and its clients. Knowledge Management is identified as essential to the achievement of sustained competitive advantage for all Professional Service Firms; of which Management Consulting Firms are a subset. As such, a conceptual analysis of the Knowledge in Professional Service Firms model, developed by Empson and Morris (1998), was performed to enhance the researchers understanding of Knowledge Management in Management Consulting Firms. The analysis of the model's constructs and their relationships assists the researcher's analysis of data gathered from the other three sub-studies. In addition, the attempt to develop several model variants is explored and an argument for the resulting final model variant which incorporates a new construct, Knowledge Management, is presented. Finally, the study compares the issues identified from the four separate sub-studies. The issues gathered are mapped into Knowledge in Professional Service Firms model, providing useful insights into the importance of sound Knowledge Management practices in small, medium and large Management Consulting Firms.

We are amidst a period of radical change in Management Consulting worldwide. The latter half of the twentieth century has seen major extensions to the range of services promoted under the umbrella of Management Consulting. The traditional Management Consulting Firms, such as McKinsey & Co., tend to provide strategy consulting. By contrast, the other multinational Management Consulting Firms have focused on Business Process Re-engineering and other services with an Information Technology emphasis. Significantly, several multinational Management Consulting Firms have come under the control of Information Technology companies. As yet, very little research has been conducted into the issues that Management Consultants face in Australia. This research project provides an empirical investigation aimed at identifying these issues. In doing so, the study intends to answer the following research question "What are the major issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia?" To assist in answering this overarching question the study endeavours to address three investigative questions (1) What is the relative severity of issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia? (2) What are the Knowledge Management related issues facing Management Consulting Firms in Australia? And (3) What distinctions can be made between Knowledge Management issues and approaches of small-medium sized Management Consulting Firms and large Management Consulting Firms? This thesis is a compilation and comparison of evidence gathered from four separate but related sub-studies into the Management Consulting industry. The first, a Context Case Study of Management Consulting issues faced by small-medium sized firms, aimed to generate a rich, qualitative description of the study context, which, in turn, provides background to a larger follow-up Issues Delphi Study. Interpretation of the data gathered for the Context Case Study focuses on gaps between the literature and observed practice. The Issues Delphi Study garners response from members of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) in two survey rounds that inventory issues and then gauge their importance. In addition, an exploratory and descriptive case study was performed to investigate Knowledge Management Strategies and Practices in the Australian branch of Accenture, a well known International Management Consulting Firm. Though the Accenture Case Study has an operational emphasis, both macro and micro issues of Knowledge Management are considered; macro issues pertain to the strategic leverage of Knowledge Assets, while micro issues pertain to creation, transfer and reuse of knowledge within the firm, and between the firm and its clients. Knowledge Management is identified as essential to the achievement of sustained competitive advantage for all Professional Service Firms; of which Management Consulting Firms are a subset. As such, a conceptual analysis of the Knowledge in Professional Service Firms model, developed by Empson and Morris (1998), was performed to enhance the researchers understanding of Knowledge Management in Management Consulting Firms. The analysis of the model's constructs and their relationships assists the researcher's analysis of data gathered from the other three sub-studies. In addition, the attempt to develop several model variants is explored and an argument for the resulting final model variant which incorporates a new construct, Knowledge Management, is presented. Finally, the study compares the issues identified from the four separate sub-studies. The issues gathered are mapped into Knowledge in Professional Service Firms model, providing useful insights into the importance of sound Knowledge Management practices in small, medium and large Management Consulting Firms.

AbstractPurposeTo study which and how project management methodologies are applied in consulting firmsApproachThe study begins by reviewing literature on Traditional Project Management (TPM) andAgile Project Management (APM) methodologies ending with characteristics of the twomethodologies that identify a project as applying one methodology or another. The literaturethen reviews the nature of consulting firms emphasising on elements such as the professional,professional services and professional service firms before reviewing how projects areimplemented in consulting firms. A case study design is adopted and semi-structuredinterviews were conducted with PricewaterhouseCoopers-Ghana staff. Patterns from theinterviews are identified and compared with the characteristics of both Traditional and Agileproject management before drawing conclusions on which methodologies are applied andhow they are applied. Since APM is presumed to deal with problems of TPM in complexenvironments, challenges in applying TPM in consulting firms are assessed and the extent towhich APM responds to those challenges are also discussed.FindingsThe findings indicate that TPM is applied in consulting firms mainly for structured projects,whilst APM methods are also applied for some structured projects but very much forunstructured and ‘executory’ projects. APM also deals with some challenges of TPM butthose which are organisation related are not solved by applying APM methods.Research limitationThe limited number of people interviewed for this research is one key issue that limitsgeneralization to all consulting firms. However, it is hoped that this work serves as a basis forfurther research in this field.Practical implicationsThe study shows that whilst TPM will continuously be applied in consulting firms due to thenature of some projects, APM can also be applied to the benefit of consulting projects that areunstructured and ‘executory’. Therefore consulting firms do not need to ‘force’ structure intoall projects.Paper typeMasters Thesis – Research paperKeywordsTraditional project management, agile project management, consulting firms, professional,professional service, professional service firms

by Lee Chi-Ho.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 85).
ABSTRACT --- p.i
TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ii
"LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES & APPENDIX" --- p.vi
Chapter PART I --- INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1.1 --- COMPANY BACKGROUND --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- PROJECT OBJECTIVES --- p.3
Chapter 1.3 --- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY --- p.4
Chapter 1.4 --- SCOPE OF THE PROJECT --- p.4
Chapter 1.5 --- ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK --- p.5
Chapter 1.6 --- RESEARCH METHOD --- p.6
Chapter 1.61 --- Data Sources --- p.6
Chapter 1.62 --- Research Limitations --- p.7
Chapter PART II --- PROFILE REPORTS
Chapter 2. --- SERVICE PROFILE
Chapter 2.1 --- SERVICE SCOPE --- p.8
Chapter 2.11 --- Retail Establishment --- p.8
Chapter 2.12 --- Market Entry --- p.9
Chapter 2.13 --- "Advertising, Promotional & Editorial Campaign" --- p.10
Chapter 2.2 --- PRICING OF SERVICES --- p.12
Chapter 2.21 --- Project-based Fee vs. Retainer Fee --- p.12
Chapter 2.22 --- Ad-hoc Projects/Events --- p.13
Chapter 2.23 --- Advertising & Media Placement --- p.13
Chapter 2.3 --- MARKETING EXPENSES --- p.13
Chapter 2.4 --- PROFIT POTENTIAL --- p.14
Chapter 2.5 --- SERVICE STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES --- p.15
Chapter 3. --- MARKET PROFILE
Chapter 3.1 --- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONSULTING INDUSTRY --- p.16
Chapter 3.11 --- The Consulting Industry --- p.16
Chapter 3.12 --- The Marketing Consulting Business --- p.17
Chapter 3.13 --- Implications to Small-scaled Marketing Consulting Firm --- p.18
Chapter 3.2 --- MARKET TRENDS IN HONG KONG: THE NEED FOR MARKETING CONSULTING --- p.19
Chapter 3.3 --- MARKET'S SPENDING HABITS --- p.20
Chapter 3.4 --- MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS --- p.20
Chapter 3.41 --- Dependence on the Retail Environment --- p.20
Chapter 3.42 --- Business Opportunities at the Higher-ended Consumer Brand Market --- p.21
Chapter 4. --- COMPETITIVE PROFILE
Chapter 4.1 --- TMM'S RELATIVE STANDING --- p.23
Chapter 4.2 --- TMM VS. ADVERTISING AGENCY --- p.24
Chapter 4.21 --- Difference in Pricing Structure --- p.24
Chapter 4.22 --- Competitive Strengths of TMM Over Advertising Agency --- p.25
Chapter 4.3 --- THE THREAT OF SUBSTITUTION --- p.26
Chapter 5. --- CLIENT PROFILE
Chapter 5.1 --- CLIENT PROFILE --- p.27
Chapter 5.11 --- Hua Guang Hang --- p.27
Chapter 5.12 --- Maas Corporation --- p.28
Chapter 5.13 --- Maxly Limited --- p.29
Chapter 5.2 --- SURVEY ON KEY CLIENTS --- p.30
Chapter 5.3 --- RESEARCH OUTCOMES & ANALYSIS --- p.31
Chapter 5.31 --- Reasons for Using TMM's Services --- p.31
Chapter 5.32 --- The Evaluation of TMM's Performance --- p.32
Chapter 5.33 --- Projects in which Clients are Highly Satisfied With --- p.33
Chapter 6. --- COMPANY PROFILE
Chapter 6.1 --- ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE --- p.36
Chapter 6.2 --- MISSION STATEMENT --- p.36
Chapter 6.3 --- ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTHS --- p.37
Chapter 6.4 --- FACTORS THAT HINDER THE ORGANIZATION FROM INCREASING POSITION IN THE MARKET --- p.38
Chapter PART III --- KEY STRATEGIC ELEMENTS
Chapter 7. --- KEY STRATEGIC ISSUES --- p.40
Chapter 8. --- TARGET MARKET IDENTIFICATION --- p.42
Chapter 9. --- MARKETING OBJECTIVES / PROFIT FORECAST --- p.44
Chapter 10. --- IMPERATIVES IN SETTING MARKETING STRATEGIES
Chapter 10.1 --- THE NEED FOR SERVICE MISSION --- p.46
Chapter 10.2 --- THE NEED FOR QUANTIFIABLE MEASURES --- p.47
Chapter PART IV --- STRATEGIES & TACTICS
Chapter 11. --- SERVICE OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY
Chapter 11.1 --- CONSOLIDATION OF CURRENT SERVICE OFFERINGS --- p.49
Chapter 11.11 --- Strengthen the Financial Aspect of Retail Project --- p.49
Chapter 11.12 --- Strengthen Relationship with Retail Renters --- p.50
Chapter 11.13 --- Strengthen Connections with Various Distribution Modes that Foreign Brand Owner Could Consider --- p.51
Chapter 11.2 --- CLIENT /ORGANIZATIONAL INVOLVEMENT IN SERVICE DESIGN --- p.52
Chapter 11.3 --- DEVELOP NEW SERVICES OFFERINGS AND RELEVANT SKILLS --- p.52
Chapter 12. --- PRICING OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY
Chapter 12.1 --- MAINTAINING EXISTING PRICING POLICY --- p.54
Chapter 12.2 --- ESTABLISHING PRICING POLICY FOR NEW CLIENTS --- p.55
Chapter 12.3 --- PRICING STRUCTURE BASED ON CLIENT VALUE --- p.55
Chapter 13. --- COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY
Chapter 13.1 --- COMMUNICATIONS 一 A HOLISTIC VIEW --- p.56
Chapter 13.2 --- COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN TMM --- p.56
Chapter 13.21 --- "Documented Policies, Procedures, and Strategic Frameworks" --- p.56
Chapter 13.22 --- Computerized Marketing Information System --- p.58
Chapter 13.23 --- More Employee Participation --- p.59
Chapter 13.3 --- COMMUNICATIONS WITH CURRENT CLIENTS --- p.59
Chapter 13.4 --- COMMUNICATIONS WITH PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS --- p.60
Chapter 13.41 --- Get Articles Published --- p.60
Chapter 13.42 --- Reaching New Target Segments --- p.61
Chapter 13.5 --- COMMUNICATIONS WITH ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS AND COOPERATING PARTIES --- p.62
Chapter 14. --- SALES OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY
Chapter 14.1 --- RESPONSIBILITY OF SELLING IN THE COMPANY --- p.63
Chapter 14.2 --- CHIEF MOTIVATOR OF SALES --- p.63
Chapter 15. --- CHANNEL OBJECTIVE & STRATEGY --- p.65
Chapter 16. --- TACTICAL ACTION PLAN --- p.66
Chapter 17. --- CONTROL & BUDGET
Chapter 17.1 --- CONTROL & MONITORING OF THE MARKETING SYSTEM --- p.68
Chapter 17.2 --- PRELIMINARY BUDGET --- p.69
Chapter PART V --- APPENDIX & BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX --- p.71
BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.85

Management consulting firms are typical examples of knowledge-intensive organisations in which the consultants’ knowledge, in particular tacit knowledge, is critical to the success of the firms. The firm’s success depends on its continuous effort to retain the consultant’s tacit knowledge. This chapter will explore the conversion processes of consultants’ tacit knowledge to the organisational explicit knowledge by focusing on how organisational structure, culture and information technologies support the conversion processes. For the purpose of this study, Nonaka and Takeuchi’s (1995) spiral evolution knowledge conversion model will be revisited. To address the issue, three case studies on management consulting firms in Australia were conducted. Findings of research will report on the respondents’ perception of the importance of tacit knowledge and conversion of consultants’ tacit knowledge to organisational explicit knowledge with reference to organisational structure, culture and information technology. From the findings, the researcher will establish the so-called guidelines for converting such knowledge and, hence, propose a suggestion for future research.

A maturity model in the enterprise content management (ECM) sphere serves to evaluate an organization's performance against an assessment framework, and to determine roadmaps for optimizing that performance. Such tools are developed typically by academics, informed by considerable research, or by consulting firms that use their maturity model tool to promote the sale of their own products and services. Therefore, the experience of practitioners with using ECM maturity models is underrepresented in the literature. Practitioners require tools that are quick to implement whilst providing useful insights. This chapter explores two case studies in which the author conducted quick assessments using a maturity model as a guide. The case studies indicate that while quick assessments are useful, they need to be included as part of a maturity tool to ensure that the implementation method is repeatable and the results consistent.