Management consultancy – then, now and next?

Cardiff Breakfast Briefing asks whether companies still need management consultants.

Cardiff Business School’s Executive Education section hosted its second Cardiff Breakfast Briefing at the purpose-built Postgraduate Teaching Centre on Wednesday June 24^th 2015.

Dr Joe O’Mahoney, reader at Cardiff Business School and a regular Executive Education course leader, and Professor Andrew Sturdy, from the University of Bristol’s Department of Management, asked whether companies still need management consultants.

The briefing, based on academic research, posited that management consultancy has adapted and morphed over time. This re-framing of the role means that while it may not always be recognisable as the past model it is a function that continues. Whatever its label, management consultancy is still helping companies meet and respond to contemporary business challenges.

Evidence has shown that there has been an internalisation of consultancy and a rise in the manager-consultant, reflecting an appreciation of the role of management consultancy if not its old associations.

Following the presentations from Dr O’Mahoney and Professor Sturdy, the 40 strong audience engaged in an animated discussion with frontline, real world examples put forward to support, rebuff and extend the theories articulated.

Debate centred on the public versus private sector as well as international divergences and industry specific requirements. Attention was paid to economic, social and political contexts and how changes in these spheres have impacted and influenced the evolution of management consultancy.

Dr Maike Bohn, Director of Education at Cardiff Business School, said: “It was a lively debate which followed the presentations by Joe and Andy with differing viewpoints and experiences put forward. This is exactly what we want the Breakfast Briefing series to be – stimulating, relevant and engaging.  We want to open, and develop, the dialogue with local business and share the knowledge and expertise of the business school widely.  Tell us what you’d like to hear, what topics are important for your business and join the conversation.”

The next Cardiff Breakfast Briefing will be held on Friday 11 September 2015 on Europe’s new economic architecture. Information will be available through the School website.