Individual Consultancy Report
PART ONE
The consultancy was carried on behalf of Individualism, which is a clothing line that specialises in male clothing. As part of carrying out the consultancy, Consultancy Model developed by Cockman et al. (1992) was adopted. The seven-stage model of consultancy was chosen over other models because it has been found to function successfully. The seven-stages of model of consultancy is demonstrated and exemplified below as provided by Cockman et al. (1992).
Figure 1: The seven-stage model of consultancy
The Seven Phases and Application in Consultancy
Stage 1: Engaging
The first step of the cycle in the seven-stage model of consultancy entails making the initia contact, in addition to establisihng a strong effective relationship with group members and staff in Individualism. As noted by Cockman et al. (1992), it is in this stage that the initial contact between the consultant and our client (Individualism) was made. Expectations of each party were established through effective communication, to ensure effective collaboration and teamwork. Besides, it is at this stage that we built trust, confidentiality, and a positive client-consultant relationship. The bond created in this stage promoted positive relationship and teamwork, in addition to ensuring that the project was a success.
Stage 2: Contracting
This is the second phase of the model that is used to outline what activities shall be carried. For example, during this phase, the nature of the overall project was discussed, followed by the constraints and the parameters of the project (Cockman et al. 1992). For instance, the aim of the project was to develop a comprehensive business plan that would propel Individualism as the world’s number one men’s style resource for the average man in the next five years. Additionally, Individualism management provided the available resources, background information of the organisation, and time for undertaking the consultation (Paton & McCalman 2000). Bruckman and Iman (2000) states that the desired results and the overal ground roles related to confidentiality are discussed at this stage. In the context of the consultations, our group in collaboration with Individualism management laid down ethical considerations and rules that were to be followed in the course of carrying out the consultation.
Other tasks involved in this stage were such as establishing our role and expectations from all parties involved (Cockman et al. 1992). A list of what we were prepared to undertake and what people involved were expected to contribute was also provided in this phase. After all requirements and expectations were discussed, an agreement and commitment towards the achievement of the shared objectives was initiated.
Stage 3: Collecting information
This was the most important part of the consultation as we were able to collect data that was used to provide a solution to the client’s situation. Other than identifying the clients’ situation, the key priorities such as improving the use of social media networks and branding were identified (Neumann, Kellner & Dawson-shepherd 1997). As part of the consultancy work on addressing issues related to branding and Individualism online presence, our team and Individualism’s marketing and technology staff agreed to carry out an audit provision in ICT. Through collaboration, the major loopholes and issues were identified and formulated ready for analysis as recommended by (Cockman et al. 1992).
Stage 4: Making sense of the information and identifying priorities
According to Smith et al. (2006), effective consultancy is all about assisting staff members to make sense of the data and information gathered, in addition to issues clarification and understanding. This assists the staff in making effective decisions to improve the situation. As part of consultancy, we made sense of their data and identified the priorities. For example, we informed the staff of Individualism that absence of strong branding and not maximizing on YouTube were the major reasons why the company was not competitive. After an agreement was reached, it was time to move to the next step.
Stage 5: Generating options, making decisions, and planning
Multiple alternatives were identified, while the consulting team assisted in simplifying, clarifying, and restructuring the information to generate possible options (Paton & McCalman 2008). A SWOT analysis was part of the approach adopted. The ultimate options were to employ branding and the use of YouTube to increase its presence in the online stream. All the Individualism Staff worked with the consulting team during the planning stage.
Stage 6: Implementing the plan and taking action
The success plan of any project relies on four major factors, which are: (1) ownership, (2) leadership, (3) capacity, and (4) organization (Kubr 2002). Since Cockman et al. (1992) advises that effective consultancy entails all the listed factors, it is vital to note that the consulting team considered all the mentioned factors. To ensure ownership of the project, majority of staff were involved during the different phases of the consultancy cycle. Moreover, this approach ensured that conflicts were reduced as Individualism Staff felt that the change was their own (O'Rourke & Collin 2009). All the senior executives of Individualism were involved, and they supported the proposed solution (Clegg 2012).
As recommended by Block (2011), the consulting team provided support and feedback, suggested modification, help the change agents work together with Individualism staff to work together (Czerniawska & May 2006), while avoiding assuming project control (Bouno 2001). The consulting team though not the head of the implementation process, monitored, challenged, and supported the plan. After the exit of the consulting team, the management of the Individualism agreed to monitor the change practice with the aim of achieving the shared goals. Necessary training and development on social media marketing was provided.
Stage 7: Exiting
Exiting included an evaluation and review of the undertaken work, in addition to identifying the outcomes, blockages experienced, and resources to remove these hurdles (Cockman et al. 1992). Some of the activities involved in the exit strategy were training and developing staff of Individualism to adopt a carry out the role of the consulting team and gradually reducing our influence slowly by slowly. An agreement on planned follow-up of six months after the initial consultancy was agreed upon (Paton & McCalman 2000; Paton & McCalman 2008). In case of similar issue in the future, it was agreed that the model of consultancy would be used.
References List
Block P 2011, Flawless Consulting, Jossey- Bass, San Francisco.
Bouno, A F 2001, Current trends in management consulting, Information Age Publ., Greenwich.
Bruckman, J C & Iman, S 2000, ‘Consulting with small business:A process model’, Journal of Small Business Management, pp. 41-47
Clegg, S, Kornberger, M & Pitsis, T 2012, Managing & Organizations, Sage, London.
Cockman, P, Evans B & Reynolds P 1992, Client-Centred Consulting – a practical guide for internal advisers and trainers, McGraw-Hill, London
Czerniawska F & May, P 2006, Management Consulting in Practice, Kogan Page, London.
Kubr, M 2002, Management consulting: A guide to the profession, International Labour Office, Geneva.
Newmann, J E Kellner, K & Dawson-Shepherd, A 1997, Developing Organizational Consultancy, Routledge, London.
O'Rourke, J S & Collin, S D 2009, Managing conflict and workplace relationships, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason.
Paton, R A & McCalman, J 2000, Change Management, Sage, London.
Paton, R A & McCalman, J 2008, Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation, Sage, London.
Smith, A, Van Vuuren, L & Visser, D 2006, ‘Client-consultant ethical relationship considerations within management consulting’, SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 83-92.
