MPH_MZPO Management consulting

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Ing. Eva Švandová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Ing. Eva Švandová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Ing. Eva Švandová, Ph.D.
Department of Business Management – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Vlasta Radová
Supplier department: Department of Business Management – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Timetable
each odd Friday 10:00–11:50 S310, except Fri 17. 9.
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
MPH_MZPO/01: each even Friday 10:00–11:50 S310, except Fri 5. 11., E. Švandová
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 24 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/24, only registered: 0/24
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Management consuting is a dynamically evolving area in a highly customer-oriented service sector, even sometimes considered more as rhetoric than expert discipline. With the growing awareness of the managers on which the management consultancy is focused on, there is a need to deepen the specialization of consulting companies. With growing specialization accompanied by other social phenomena such as globalization and digitization, there is a need for integration or co-operation of consultants with other consultancy or technology companies, often across countries. In the client enterprise itself, there is a change in the integration of enterprise functions, as well as integration of the client with the environment. The goal is to seek integrated management solutions. Crucial consultancy emerges though in the field of strategy and inter-company cooperation, information technology, as well as the management of company efficiency, all with regard to the effort of the company to gain a competitive advantage. With the deepening digitization of the company, companies gain access to so called biga data that needs to be further processed. Consulting projects often become complex with the need to apply knowledge of project management.
The content responds to the above mentioned facts. The aim of the course is to introduce students the consulting process from the perspective of project management, to teach students a structured approach to data analysis and structured design of solutions and implementation. The use of a structured approach to the counseling and project management methods leads to the systematic work of the consultant, which is necessary with regard to critical approach to management consulting. Students will be informed about the criticism of consulting and thus will be able to respond to a negative approach better. The consulting projects will be seen as a research project. Possibilities of using information technologies and systems during the whole consultation process, as well as the possibility of processing large data, will be presented to the students during the course.
The course is not intended only for students who want to offer consultancy services externally, but also for students who may stand on the demand side for external consultancy services (for example, in the position of the company where they will have the competence to choose a consultant or to cooperate with him, the also area of ​​internal consulting that is experiencing a certain boom, is interesting).
Learning outcomes
After the course, students:

- will know what is the content of the management consulting, the importance of it; as well as the critical point of view on consulting, which is a prerequisite for the ability to persuade the client of the necessity to hire consultant in the case of a negative attitude towards consultancy
- will be aware of the ethical principles in the consulting and will use them in their counseling practice
- will know the phases of the counseling process and their content and purpose, including knowledge of project management methods and procedures in the various phases of the counseling process
- get an overview of software solutions that are usable during the project and will be able to use them in project
- will know the specifics of management consultancy in its various specializations (in the area of ​​strategy, organization, operational management, marketing, finance, information technology, etc.)
- know the prerequisites for successful management of an advisory firm; based on this knowledge will be able to establish and mainly manage their own business
- be able to conduct a structured analysis of the problem, structured solution and implementation of the solution; in the course they will apply knowledge about data collection and analysis.
- will be able to create a consultancy proposal, calculate the costs associated with the work of consultant and implement the proposed solutions to the problem
- will be able to evaluate the consulting project economically
- will be able to process reports for the client including the processing and active presentation of the project results to the client, using the knowledge of project management methods
- will be able to communicate with the client throughout the project
- will know the creative methods that will be able to apply within the project both in finding causes of problems and finding solutions
- verify the functioning of teamwork on the project.
Syllabus
  • Thematic plan of lectures:
  • 1. Basic definition of management consulting; cousulting as a service; introduction of the management consulting sector and its past and possible future development
  • 2. Ethical principles in managerial counseling
  • 3. Critical view of management consulting
  • 4. Management of a consulting organization, including its marketing
  • 5. Consulting process; entrry phase of the counsulting process
  • 6. Structured diagnosis, solution and implementation of the project
  • 7. Specifics of managerial consultancy in selected areas (Strategy, IT, Finance, Human Resources Management, etc.)
  • Thematic Plan of Seminars:
  • 1. Creating a business model of a consulting organization
  • 2. Creation of consulting offer, assignment and consulting contracts; project planning.
  • 3. Structured diagnosis
  • 4. Structured solution and implementation of the project
  • 5. Methods supporting creative thinking in a consulting project
  • 6. Reports and final presentation of the project
Literature
    required literature
  • BAAIJ, M. G. An introduction to management consultancy. First edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2014, xix, 580. ISBN 9781446256138. info
    recommended literature
  • BILLINGHAM, Vicky. Project management : how to plan and deliver a successful project. 2nd edition. Wales: Studymates, 2017, 288 stran. ISBN 9781842853238. info
  • CROWTHER, David and Geoff LANCASTER. Research methods : a concise introduction to research in management and business consultancy. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2009, viii, 292. ISBN 9780750689533. info
  • BISWAS, Sugata and Daryl TWITCHELL. Management consulting : a complete guide to the industry. Second edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001, xii, 336. ISBN 9780471444015. info
Teaching methods
Teaching takes place in the form of lectures, which are theoretical and practical preparation of students within the framework of individual topics discussed (according to the curriculum). During the lectures, students are involved in the discussed material in the form of discussion, solving case studies.
Seminars are also conducted in person (platform to be specified). Students will prepare assignments for individual seminars. The assignments for the seminars are related to the group project being worked on.
The group project is a project where students will experience a hands-on experience of the entire consulting process, from putting together a proposal to designing a solution and presenting the solution to a client. The project will be assigned by the instructor in the first week of class (the week after orientation week).
Assessment methods
The course ends with an examination. The examination is in written form. The test will include both theoretical questions and case study solutions. In case of a pre-requisite to online study, the exam will be oral and will be conducted via MS-Teams. Students will solve a pre-specified case study.
Each seminar will have an assignment that students will work on in groups as part of the assigned projects. There is no need to attend the seminars if the team agrees on a different time to work on the assignment for that week. However, the assignment and how best to process it will be specified during the face-to-face sessions. The completion of the tasks helps the implementation of the consultancy project (report on the porandes project) or the tasks are checkpoints for the implementation of the project. To successfully complete the project, the project and its solution must be presented to the sponsor.
The evaluation of the course is determined by the seminar part and the examination part. For the seminar part, students can get 20 points for the intermediate assignments and 40 points for the final project. The examination part contributes 40 points to the final grade. To successfully complete the course, a minimum of 60% is required for each part, i.e. 36 points for the seminar part and 24 points for the exam part.
Any copying, recording or taking out tests, use of unauthorized aids as well as communication devices or any other interference with the objectivity of the examination (credit) will be considered as a failure to meet the requirements for completion of the course and as a gross violation of the study regulations. As a result, the instructor will close the examination(credit) with a grade of "F" in the IS and the Dean will initiate disciplinary proceedings which may result in termination of the course of study." Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a6e81979fe556491890fde4e96d00a8a5%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=178b5937-c30b-4166-9f51-6cab4bbe4d99&tenantId=11904f23-f0db-4cdc-96f7-390bd55fcee8
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/autumn2021/MPH_MZPO