Management Consulting
This thread has been started so professionals or others involved in this sector can post their job related descriptions and experiences to help you better determine if this is the career/job you would like to pursue in the future.
Professional: Please tell what the job involves, the pros and cons, usual salary, and kinds of promotions
Future Professional: You may ask questions here, but please be specific
Note: This board should not be used for discussions relevant to other boards.
I think that defining the job position is a good start. Wiki defines it as such:
QUOTE |
Management consulting (sometimes also called strategy consulting) refers to both the practice of helping companies to improve performance through analysis of existing business problems and development of future plans, as well as to the firms that specialize in this sort of consulting. Management consulting may involve the identification and cross-fertilization of best practices, analytical techniques, change management and coaching skills, technology implementations, strategy development or even the simple advantage of an outsider's perspective. Management consultants generally bring formal frameworks or methodologies to identify problems or suggest more effective or efficient ways of performing business tasks. |
I have sixteen years experience in the fields of Customer Service, Sales, Marketing and Corporate Communications. I have worked with several multinational and local organizations; spanning industries including, Insurance; Manufacturing; Information Technology; Tourism & Hospitality; and Entertainment.
I have served as the Honorary Cultural Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and has served in several different capacities with energy-based consortiums. I have worked for Santana Energy Inc., Petro Chemical Industry Inc.,Borde Communications, CCS, Fujitsu ICL, Superclubs, Jamaica; Hugh Wood Canada, NGC and the Memisa Centre, I have done Artiste Relations and Independent Management Consultancy also in the entertainment industry and for entertainers including Ky Mani Marley, Farenheit, Tricia Lee Kelshall, Rene Castle and Orange Sky to name a few. (International, Regional and Local to Trinidad)
It is because of this unusual and eclectic mix of Industry Experience combined with ongoing studies and movement into Emerging areas of business in the region I began to work as a Consultant. I do not have a University degree but what I have is a Degree from the Life of work experience and know how.
My clients were always trying to pick my brains, because I would give suggestions on System and Procedures or Operations or some new Marketing Campaign and they would use my suggestions. It came natural to me using my past experience and industry knowledge combined with market intelligence and experience of living in England and Canada for extended periods. I was able to give my client constructive feedback with an unbiased view point and quite often they would try to hire me or offer me a freelance project.
Outsourcing became the norm, a regular business practice in the areas of Marketing Communications especially because of all the new media like www's / e-commerce impact on the way businesses were communicating and operating and this was being done with technologically advancements . The timing was perfect for my mix of knowledge and skills and depth of contacts most of whom were the Decision Makers and Economic Decision Makers of the organizations (EDM).
This was a time in the landscape of Trinidadian Business Culture and the Region in General when EDMs of companies realised Staff who stayed in the same job for years was not necessarily the best option for growth and productivity of their Business. Management Jobs in the areas of Marketing Communications were opening up either being created or portfolios being shifted as they realised they would have to train and retrain or make redundant or replace many positions with in companies to keep up with the changes in the Global Landscape of Business and remain competitive.
So it augered well for me that I was so dynamic in moving from project to project from industry to industry gathering enough experience and contacts to be able to marry all my skills and networking partners together. They didn't seem to be able and still don't seem to be able to find enough people with these skills. Many other service providers in the Market such as Advertising Agencies and the Multi-National Auditing Firms started to vigourously pursue HR & Marketing Communications projects with in the Expanded Management Portfolio.
I have achieved alot of success in my Career Path. I have worked in Canada, have served as the Honourary Cultural Ambassador to the Dominican Republic in Trinidad, I have worked for Superclubs, All Inclusive Hotel Chain in the Caribbean and Brazil, reporting in Jamaica but based in Trinidad and I have worked with Energy Based Projects including partners and service providers such as Motorola, Southwire, Kaiser, GE, Kaiser Engineers just to name a few.
As far as the pros and cons of the business.. it is as far as it is wide, because every project is different in Scope of Work that is. So it is determined by the size of the company, the needs of the company, their goals & objectives their bottomline (budgets) their structure...
Salaried jobs within Trinidad and the Region vary from TT$6,000 to US$25,000 per month based on the industry and size of the company or project and the Scope of work within that companies structure and the portfolio itself.
As far as Consultancy goes it varies from TT$250.00/hour to US$50,000.00/ Month
depending on how the contract is set up, many independent consultants may use a Retainership system and bill the Client as the Services are provided. It really depends on the Company and the terms you can negotiate the size of the project the scope of work for the project and the Industry.
I love the Corporate work that I do, it is very challenging and fast paced, right now I am going after a couple new contracts, this is a very dynamic business and you have to be ready to wake up the next day and be prepared to deal with major Global shifts.
Also very noteworthy, this job requires alot of research about the client, the way they do business, their markets, etc.
You have to also always be intune with new business practices and emerging business trends / practices.
Eventhough I have been doing this type of work for a while it is only now I have completely transitioned in to Management Consultancy.
My next area of study to pursue will be with Leadership Management and Service Quality Institue to become a full Associate practicing their Business methods. They are currently service providers to Delta, Walmart and other Global Captains of Industry at the cutting edge of the Global Economy.
I am already tutoring Middle Managers from The Government Sector pursuing associate degrees.
Edited: aaa on 28th May, 2007 - 5:34am