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What are Consultants for?
Type: HR, Report if not a HR topic
Posted 08-10-2008Reply
"A Consultant is someone who charges a lot of money to tell you what your staff already know." Discuss.
__________________________
I'll give my take on this after 48 hrs, I want to see what other people think first.
On a serious note:
We all need to that service isnt it? Sometimes we all get stuck in the same dimension and become so oblivious to our environment, we always forget the obvious. So, a fresh perspective to reveal what we knew but werent ready to take on board always helps. In addition to that a consultant cant add value to any situation if he or she doesnt get the picture in the organisation. When we are ill we know it and need a doctor to treat us for that. We go to the doctor and tell how we feel. Similarly if an organisation is sick then we call in a consultant..Why should it be different when you meet a consultant?
From an epistemological perspective:
Fantastic frameworks and or strategies that worked globally wouldnt take off if the solutions are adopted than being adapted. In that context he or she has to build something from the understanding of the situation from that organisations context. So, they create something out of something everyone knew. A good consultant however would innovate solutions that build on something every one know or knew but add a twist through their insights and experience. Very rarely do you come across consultant who create something out nothing... A very rare breed.. I should say...
From a lighter perspective:
A medical doctor, an engineer, and a management consultant were arguing about what was the oldest profession in the world. The doctor started "Well, in the Bible, it says that God created Eve from a rib taken from Adam’s body. This must have required surgery, and so I can claim with a high degree of confidence that mine is the oldest profession in the world." The engineer responded, and said, "But earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most impressive application of civil engineering. Therefore, dear doctor, you are wrong: mine is surely the oldest profession in the world." The management consultant leaned back in his chair, smiled, and then said confidently, "Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?"
We all need to that service isnt it? Sometimes we all get stuck in the same dimension and become so oblivious to our environment, we always forget the obvious. So, a fresh perspective to reveal what we knew but werent ready to take on board always helps. In addition to that a consultant cant add value to any situation if he or she doesnt get the picture in the organisation. When we are ill we know it and need a doctor to treat us for that. We go to the doctor and tell how we feel. Similarly if an organisation is sick then we call in a consultant..Why should it be different when you meet a consultant?
From an epistemological perspective:
Fantastic frameworks and or strategies that worked globally wouldnt take off if the solutions are adopted than being adapted. In that context he or she has to build something from the understanding of the situation from that organisations context. So, they create something out of something everyone knew. A good consultant however would innovate solutions that build on something every one know or knew but add a twist through their insights and experience. Very rarely do you come across consultant who create something out nothing... A very rare breed.. I should say...
From a lighter perspective:
A medical doctor, an engineer, and a management consultant were arguing about what was the oldest profession in the world. The doctor started "Well, in the Bible, it says that God created Eve from a rib taken from Adam’s body. This must have required surgery, and so I can claim with a high degree of confidence that mine is the oldest profession in the world." The engineer responded, and said, "But earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most impressive application of civil engineering. Therefore, dear doctor, you are wrong: mine is surely the oldest profession in the world." The management consultant leaned back in his chair, smiled, and then said confidently, "Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?"
+1
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