Course Details

Course Overview:

Business consulting is a service, provided by an individual consultant or consulting firm to their clients, to help management solve complex issues that affect their business. Careers in business consulting often provide individuals an opportunity for challenging work, continued self-development, access to important social and professional networks, and, over time, significant financial rewards.

This course is an innovative, comprehensive program designed that allows you to immediately apply your skills in the workplace. Aegis Business Consulting program is developed to cater the growing need for skilled people power in the consulting field. This qualification develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours to operate as a Management Consultant.

In this course we explore what it means to be a business consultant, and will introduce students to consulting frameworks and methods; simulate consulting project activities and situations using business cases.

Learning Objectives:

1. Develop an understanding of the nature business consulting and to develop practical skills in business consulting fundamentals.
2. Learn how to identify, analyze, and negotiate consulting opportunities
3. Demonstrate problem solving and other analytical skills in the consulting process.
4. Practice and sharpen writing and presentation skills.

A student who has successfully completed the coursework should be able to clearly articulate how consultants add value; how consulting practices operate and secure an opportunity; how client relationships can be managed and what to do in problem situations; and have demonstrated skills used by consulting organizations today.

Who Should Attend

It course is intended for people who want to enter consultancy from a functional discipline, or for those who wish to develop the skills and knowledge needed in the field of consultancy.

• Executive providing consulting services to a client/ organisation on a contract or project basis.
• Individual entrepreneurial consultants.
• Aspire to work as internal consultants.
• Wish to make a career in consultancy.
• Business Analysts.
• System Analysts.
• Project Leaders and Managers.
• Technical Specialists or those aspiring to these position.

Course Structure and Administration:

The approach taken in this course is to 1) use traditional lecture on-line, in-class discussion, and reinforce basic concepts regarding the consulting process – which is defined as identifying and defining consulting opportunities, developing proposals, contracting, performing business diagnostics, managing and conducting consulting engagements, and developing the management presentation and support materials; 2) develop and demonstrate analytical skills in typical consulting settings using written case analyses. 

Course Evaluation:

This course will provide a variety of opportunities in the form of case studies to learn new facts, develop new skills and explore new ways of thinking. Final grades will reflect an evaluation of knowledge gained, skills developed and perspectives explored.

Requirements:

1. Written Reports - 5 Case Studies each worth 10% of Total Mark
2. Branding and Identity – Assignment and Presentation – 10% of Total Mark
3. Presentation - In class PowerPoint Case Study Presentation 10% of Total Mark
4. Final Case Study Report and Solution - 30% of Total Mark

Total Mark out of 100.

Course Topics :

Topic 1: Introduction to Consulting Practices
Course overview and introduction, the 5 phases of the consulting process, consultant assumptions and goals; completing the requirement for each consulting phase.

Topic 2: Project Pricing and Billing
Introduction to setting consulting rates and billing, negotiating contract disputes and elements of consulting agreements.

Topic 3: Discovery and Implementation
Discovery and findings; analytical tools and frameworks; how to implement change; how to lead change, how to make recommendations; what to do when confronted with resistance; project planning.

Topic 4: Presenting and Report Writing
Introduction to consulting presentations; how to be a persuasive and positive presenter; what to present; how to prepare; how to avoid common pitfalls; how to prepare and present a case study. Introduction to consultant report writing.

Topic 5: Business Development

Introduction on how to market yourself. Guest Lecturer on self-marketing.

Topic 6: Cracking the Case
Concept reviews and practical in class discussions of Case Studies from the Harvard Business School.

Case Studies:

The Cases Studies associated with the course will be made available at the beginning of the course. The Case Studies are all available from http://www.bized.co.uk/ or have been amended from the Acadia Institute of Case Studies.
Case Study 1 (Strategy) - Marketing, Ethics, Mission Statement and Profits
Case Study 2 (Marketing) – The Power of Advertising
Case Study 3 (Finances) – The Business of Money (2003)
Case Study 4 (People) – Changes in the Workplace
Case Study 5 (Operations) – Production Methods, Teamwork, Motivation and Change Management