Imus Institute College Department

Management Consultancy

Kriza S. Matro IV-BSA Mr. Valmores

Management Advisory Services Part 1 Page 1

CHAPTER 7

STAGES OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ENGAGEMENT - PART I

1. Describe the analytical approach and process as applied to MAS engagement.

Analytical approach and process refers to the systematic, objective and rational method of solving business problems. It involves a professional-level ability to ascertain pertinent facts and circumstance, define problem, evaluate the alternative courses of action and present conclusions and recommendations to solve the problem.

2. What are the basic stages of a management consulting engagement?

I. Negotiating the engagement II. Engagement planning III. Conducting a consulting assignment

A. Problem identification and solution B. Identification of suitable and accurate sources of information C. Data analysis and diagnosis D. Solution development E. Preparation and presentation of the report and recommended

solution F. Implementation G. Follow-up evaluation of the implemented solution

IV. Evaluating the engagement and post-engagement follow-up

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3. What is an MAS proposal letter? What are the content of this letter?

It is an advisable first step in most MAS engagement. It is written communication between the CPA and the client setting forth the terms and conditions of a proposed consultancy work.

Its contents generally include: 1. Objectives and benefits of the engagement. 2. Scope of the work and the role of CPA. 3. Approach to the study. 4. Project organization. 5. Fees and billing arrangements. 6. Firm qualifications, where appropriate.

4. What are the uses of an engagement plan?

a) Provide a means for arranging, distributing and assigning responsibility for various segments of an engagement.

b) Provide a means of control for determining g whether all segments of the engagement have in fact been completed.

c) Provide the framework for reporting progress of an engagement. d) Facilitate time and efficiency control over personnel assigned to the

engagement. e) Assist in an engagement review by a partner or supervisor. f) Provide the basis for estimating fees.

5. Give the advantages of preparing a proposal letter.

It minimizes misunderstanding between the CPA and the client.

It assists in better administration of the engagement.

6. What are the factors that should be considered in setting the fee to be charged to clients?

Nature of the MAS job.

The jobs degree of difficulty and complexity.

Qualifications of the staff required.

Time involved.

Technical importance of the service to the client.

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7. Define an engagement or work plan.

It is an operational plan for conducting a management service engagement and considered as a blueprint of the remainder of the project.

8. What are the basic contents of an engagement program?

The objectives and a description of each task to be accomplished.

A description of tangible output required at completion of each task.

A list of manpower required.

A list of the personnel assigned.

The starting and completion dates.

Project costs. 9. Describe the activities involved in the problem definition phase?

Identity of the problem.

Objectives of the problem-solving process.

Scope of the problem.

Intensity of the problem

Time dimensions of the problem

Location of the problem

Human elements involved in the problem

Support systems surrounding the problem

Tracking systems related to the problem

Institutional process for managing the problem 10. What are the data-gathering techniques available to a management consultant?

Interviews

Questionnaires

Observation

Document gathering

Charting Organization chart Data flow diagram System outflow Detail flowchart Decision table

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11. Give 5 internal sources of data and the corresponding data that may be obtained from such.

Sources Facts

Corporate planning -Corporate objectives -Expansion plans

Engineering -Engineering schedule for products

Research and development -New product development schedules

Manufacturing -Inventory status

Accounting -Product pricing and costing -Operating expenses

12. Describe the 4 approaches that a consultant may use in analyzing facts gathered in relation to the problem at hand.

Decision-Level Analysis has the purpose of depicting the varied interrelationships among the decisions made throughout the segments and levels of organization.

Input/output Analysis problem situation is analyzed in terms of its inputs and outputs.

Structured Analysis organization is comprised of a number of well-defined functions, which in turn are made up of a group of activities.

Less-Structured Analysis could be employed to a counteract some limitations of the structured approaches such as (1) difficulty in application and (2) stifling of creativity of the consultant.

13. Explain briefly the steps in the problem-solving process.

Problem identification and desired outcome begins with initial recognition of a symptoms pointing to the problem and ends with the complete problem description.

Identification of suitable and accurate sources of information and data-gathering - deals with fact sources and identifies places where the consultant can look to find facts associated with the operation of a client.

Data analysis and Diagnosis consultant needs to apply a variety of fact analysis techniques to determine the effectiveness of each decision made.

Solution selection

Preparation and presentation of the report and recommended solution

Implementation of recommended solution

Follow-up evaluation of the implemented solution

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14. Give 5 external sources of data the kind of information that may be drawn for them.

Sources Facts

Industry reports -Corporate data and analysis -Industry news

Competition -Products -Products literature

Distributors -Market conditions -Customer Analysis

Customers -Profile facts -Sales

Data base retrieval systems -Product, market and industry news and analysis -Economic forecasts

15. Discuss briefly (at least 5) most commonly used techniques in gathering facts.

Interviews considered the best way to zero in on problems. It can be conducted at all levels of the organizations.

Questionnaires restricts channel of communications and should be used with great care for the purpose of fact finding.

Observation useful in gathering facts prior to an interview, in verifying statements made during an interview, and in ascertaining relationships between individuals.

Document gathering collect all relevant documents to gain an understanding of what is presently done and how it is organized, what is not available, and perhaps what the client considers being important.

Charting fact gathering that provides a pictorial representation of a dimensions of the clients organization or of its activities.

16. Describe the following approaches to analysis:

Decision-Level Analysis has the purpose of depicting the varied interrelationships among the decisions made throughout the segments and levels of organization.

Input/output Analysis problem situation is analyzed in terms of its inputs and outputs.

Structured Analysis organization is comprised of a number of well-defined functions, which in turn are made up of a group of activities.

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Less-Structured Analysis could be employed to a counteract some limitations of the structured approaches such as (1) difficulty in application and (2) stifling of creativity of the consultant.

17. Discuss briefly the following analysis strategies.

a) Categorization process whereby data, facts or items are sorted into different groups by virtue of their features.

b) Classification process whereby items are sorted into different groups wherein defined by external criteria rather than by arbitrary features.

c) Numerical analysis numbers are combined in order to understand how they relate to each other.

d) Association recognition of two things that are connected in some ways. e) Correlation recognition that the variation in one variable occurs in step with

that of another. f) Causation explains correlation. It suggests that two variables are correlated

because there is a cause and effect link between them.

Multiple Choices

1. D 6. B 11. D 16. C 2. D 7. D 12. D 17. D 3. B 8. D 13. D 18. C 4. D 9. D 14. D 19. C 5. B 10. C 15. D 20. A

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CHAPTER 8

STAGES OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ENGAGEMENT - PART II

1. What are the steps involved in the solution development phase of the problem-

solving process?

Generation of solution alternatives

Evaluation of solution alternatives

Choice of preferred solution alternative

Detailed development of the selected solution

2. Give two approaches in generating alternative solutions in an environment of uncertainty.

SCAMPER Approach: Substitute, Combine, Adjust, Magnify, Put to other uses, Eliminate and Reverse.

Delphi approach: This employs an idea generation concept similar to brainstorming. Experts are individually polled for ideas and subsequently summarized and presented to each participant. Each participant reviews the feedback and the consultant again polls the experts to establish collective responses and the process is reported until the responses have stabilized.

3. What are the activities in the implementation phase of the problem-solving process?

Development of a work plan.

Establishment of controls over implementation activities

Selection and training of needed personnel

Installation of needed physical facilities

Development of standard and documentation

Testing of the solution being implemented

Follow-up and evaluation of the implemented solution

4. Why is there a need to make an evaluation of the implemented solution?

There is a need to make an evaluation of the implemented solution to know if the implemented solution is operative effectively in the clients business. It is also needed because users needs change over time and these changes will lead in time to the need for further improvements. In economic review, it is useful by learning the reasons for variances in cost. Operation review is evaluated to consider how well they function with particular emphasis on inputs, error rates, timeliness of outputs,

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and utilization of outputs. And lastly in future performance review, it identifies potential improvements to the implemented system and estimates the effort required to implement the improvements.

5. What is the rationale of conducting a post engagement follow-up?

Usually programs and systems appear to operate effectively during the first few months of implementation but later run into difficulty because of many reasons like the change in operating conditions and/or the design may prove to be faulty and that is the very reason there is post-engagement follow-up. It is the observation of a CPA to the clients programs and systems that are installed for a sufficient long period in order to early uncover deficiencies and to make the necessary modifications.

6. What are the benefits that may be derived in conducting post-engagement evaluation and follow-up?

It will provide direction for staff training program in the MAS division.

It will serve as a basis for evaluating on-the-job performance of staff personnel.

It will provide data for determining required resources for subsequent similar engagements.

It will provide tangible evidence of quality consciousness consistent with the other areas of a CPAs practice.

The benefit is a post-engagement follow up is the early detection of deficiencies and also helps in making necessary modifications.

7. What areas should be covered in conducting an evaluation of the consultancy engagement?

Proposal

Engagement Program

Work program and schedule

Source data and documentation

Reports

Results

Multiple Choices 1. B 2. D 3. D