Matching Task to Information Environment - Term Paper Example

1. Introduction In modern market the need for continuous improvement of managerial strategies has led many firms in outsourcing. In this context, consultants have to proceed to the appropriate measures for the development of business performance. In order to successfully complete their role, it is necessary that the appropriate information is provided to them. In other words, knowledge becomes a critical criterion for the measurement and the evaluation of business decisions. Towards this direction, it is supported by Bendler et al. (2001, 8) that ‘knowledge has become the pre-eminent production factor, and it needs as much careful, conscious management as its traditional counterparts’. In accordance with the above, consultants need to have the ability to understand the current needs of the firm and propose the most appropriate solution taking into account the current trends of the market and the ability of the firm to follow the project proposed regarding a specific issue. Current paper will discuss the intervention of consultancy in the area of information technology. At the same time particular aspects of consultancy are going to be examined taking into account that firms tend to differentiate their behaviour within a specific market in order to keep their performance at a standard level – wherever such a strategy is applicable. 2. Consultancy – description and characteristics As already stated above one of the most important elements of consultancy is knowledge. This knowledge refers not only to the knowledge of consultant regarding a particular problem of the firm but mainly to the knowledge available to the company on a constantly basis. Indeed, the study of Bollinger et al. (2001, 8) showed that ‘knowledge is a resource valuable to an organization's ability to innovate and compete’. On the other hand, it is noticed by Anand et al. (2003, 15) that ‘the knowledge possessed by an organization and its members can be classified as explicit or tacit; explicit knowledge can be codified and communicated without much difficulty while tacit knowledge--such as the manner of operating sensitive equipment or interpersonal skills--is not so easily articulated’. Consultants should be able to process effectively all types of knowledge ensuring the viability of the firm in the long term. Consultancy was precisely described by Wood (2002). In his book, he stated that consultancy can refer to the following activities: 1 Management and administration: including management consultancy, legal, accounting, financial strategy and fiscal advice, mergers, and takeovers and restructuring; 2 Production: including architectural and engineering consultancy, distribution logistics, operational leasing, repair and maintenance, and quality control; 3 Research: including contract research, testing and specialist advice; 4 Human resources: including training, recruitment, job evaluation and temporary workers; 5 Information and communications: including data banks, information services, software services, technical computing, systems design and implementation, advanced telecommunications and express mailing and 6 Marketing: including advertising, sales, promotion, market research, direct marketing, public relations, export promotion, and fairs and exhibitions’ (2002, 5). The above description of consultancy refers to all aspects of the particular activity explaining its importance for modern commercial market. 3. Consultant and professional code Generally consultants have to follow specific rules and principles which are stated specifically by the law in each particular state. Moreover, it could be supported that ethics are the main criterion for the development of professional code of practice regulating the relations of consultants with their customers. In this context, it has been found by Takala (2006, 4) that ‘ethics means pursuing “the good life“; business ethics can be defined as the pur­suit of a good business life; ethical grounds for such reflection can be found, for example, in utilitarian­ism, the ethics of utility, and in deontol­ogy, the ethics of duty’. In other words, ethics as criterion for the evaluation of professionalism of consultants are usually formulated under the influence of social responsibilities and obligations developed through the years in a particular society. Despite this relation of professional code of consultants with local culture, it could be stated that there are many elements of this code that are common among countries in the international market. In their majority, business ethics are formulated under a common legal framework for most countries around the world. A significant issue when referring to consultants’ professional code is that of trust. Regarding this particular issue Lindfelt (2006, 12) stated that ‘the ethics code constitutes legitimacy, a ‘license to operate’ in a world of integrated diversity; if suc­cessful, it creates a good image – but vice versa, if unsuccessful it may cause a scandal; as the interpretation of the ethics code must partly be left to various stakeholders and other actors, also the good image of a successful company is partly left to the pow­ers of individual interpretation when people across the world make sense of an ethics code of a particular company’. In other words, business ethics are based mainly on trust among the parties involved in a particular transaction. However, trust is not the only issue arising in such relationships. It is just the criterion for the development of a specific legal reaction in case that the confidence required for a specific commercial transaction was not applied by one of the parties involved in the above transaction. In this context, specific legal consequences are resulted for the party that has the responsibility for the breach of the specific agreement. 4. Consultancy in the information systems area The role of consultancy in relation with the information systems has been extensively examined in the literature. However, in most cases the plans proposed by consultants regarding the administration of the firm’s information systems can fail mostly because the firm’s employees lack of the appropriate competence to apply these projects in practice. In this context, Zarowin (2000) presented a survey conducted by PC Computing magazine in which it is revealed that ‘54% of white-collar workers confessed they lacked the skills needed to take advantage of the current technology--forget the technology that's right around the corner’ (2000, 22). The above problem can be met in most firms internationally. The weakness of the HR department to identify the key skills of employees - in accordance with the firm’s needs - can be considered to be the main reason for this outcome. On the other hand, the study of Cartellieri et al. (1997) led to the conclusion that ‘the Internet can set new standards for total relationship management in both breadth and depth. "Breadth" means that a relationship will increasingly last for the entire ownership experience, including the time before and after the purchase of the product or service. "Depth" reflects the degree of interaction with consumers at any given point in their experience of a product’ (1997, 52). In fact Internet can influence the business performance in many other aspects. It is for this reason that all consultants involved in business activities should measure carefully the strength of each particular firm to respond to the requirements of a specific project. Possible turbulences of the market should be taken into consideration. Particularly regarding the projects referring to the administration of information systems, these should be well structured and flexible offering to the firm the chance to alternate the plan in case that specific market conditions impose such a decision. In other words, when dealing with projects referring to information systems, consultants should bare in mind that these plans are very likely to be proved inappropriate for a specific firm in case that certain conditions related with this firm are changed. It is for this reason that these plans have to be flexible containing alternative solutions that will help the firm to avoid a damage in case of extremely adverse market conditions. Regarding this issue it is supported by Mirchandani et al. (2003, 22) that ‘Internet abuse could be viewed as a kind of systems risk, i.e., the likelihood that a firm's information systems are insufficiently protected against certain kinds of damage or loss’. In accordance with the above, consultancy projects related with information systems should be considered as having an increased risk if compared with consultancy plans referring to other business activities. 5. Consultancy, change and project management Consultancy is considered to be closely related with change. In fact most plans proposed by consultants globally refer to the change of a particular situation. In this context we could refer to the study of Greve (1998, 59) who stated that ‘change within organization can be regarded as ‘an outcome jointly determined by motivation to change, opportunity to change, and capability to change’. In most cases the change proposed by consultants is the only appropriate solution for facing a specific problem effectively. Towards this direction, Poole (1998, 45) noticed that ‘when change is needed in an organization it is likely the culture or identity of the organization will be targeted for change; the transformed organization, whether it be minor (first-order change) or major (second-order change), will not be the same as its predecessor’. Moreover, it was found by Eoyang et al. (2001, 5) that ‘many organization change initiatives start at the top and deal strongly with any resistance from system agents that blocks progress; common ways of responding to resistance include downsizing, restructuring, and re-engineering’. In other words, change is a significant part of any business strategy. However, the level of change applied within a specific organization and its particular aspects have to be precisely described in advance. This task is the main part of the responsibilities of a consultant towards a specific organization. Moreover, this change can be expanded in many business activities causing turbulences in existed organizational structures and practices. For this reason, Huy (2002) came to the conclusion that ‘‘fundamental change in personnel, strategy, organizational identity, or established work roles and interests often triggers intense emotions’ (2002, 31). From a different point of view Grit et al. (2002) tried to identify the main methods for the evaluation of business performance in order to propose the appropriate plan of change. In other words, consultants should use specific methods when measuring the performance of a firm within a specific market. Indicatively, we could refer to the study of the above researchers who noticed that consultants could be led to accurate assumptions regarding the business performance if they use one of the following techniques: ‘a) the assessment of the efficiency of the organization and b) the diagnosis of the organizational weaknesses and strengths’ (Grit et al., 2002, 377). Other methods for the evaluation of business performance can be also used only if they are appropriate for the organization under examination. 6. Conclusion and recommendations The development of consultancy within the modern market has been continuous. Regarding this issue, it is supported by Czervianska (1999, 2) that ‘consultancy is becoming more pervasive for two reasons: in the first place, it is a trend which reflects the increasing complexity of business; secondly and partly as a result of this growing complexity, the line which has traditionally separated consultancy advice from management action is becoming blurred’. There is however the risk of failure of the plans proposed by consultants mostly because firms cannot appropriately adopt these plans within their strategies. Regarding this issue, it is stated by Bunker et al. (2005, 12) that ‘much of that failure stems from not understanding how to manage the structural side of change and the human dynamic of transition’. For this reason, it is necessary that consultants in the modern market will follow a specific method of action trying to incorporate innovation and flexibility in their projects. In this context, O’Neill (2002) came to the conclusion that in order to achieve their targets managers in firms internationally should follow the next steps: ‘a) focus, b) committed and engaged leadership, c) setting the bar high, d) sustained excellence, e) result desired is an exponential increase in performance, f) measure the right things and g) clear expectations for individual and collective goals’ (2002, 15). The presentation of the above issues can explain the importance of consultancy for modern commercial markets. However, in order for this activity to be proactive for all activities involved, it is necessary that specific principles and ethics are applied in accordance with the framework already described above. Of course, it could be supported that because of the turbulences occurred in the commercial transactions on a daily basis, the creation of a stable and safe framework for consultancy in modern market is a challenging task. The application of the ethics and the principles related with consultancy can be a first step towards the development of the role of consultancy in modern market. The proposal of innovative projects by consultants in markets around the world could be a significant initiative towards this direction. Generally, it could be stated that consultancy projects involving information systems are not much differentiated from projects referring to other business activities. Only the issue of accuracy of data and the safety of transactions involved could be regarded as presenting particular difficulties for consultants that deal with the resolution of business problems of that kind. References Anand, V., Clark, M., Bruhn-Zellmer, M. (2003). Team Knowledge Structures: Matching Task to Information Environment. Journal of Managerial Issues, 15(1): 15-23 Bendler, A., Elzenheimer, J., Hauschild, S., Heckert, U., Kluge, J., Kronig, J., Licht, T., Stein, W., Stoffels, A. (2001). Knowledge Unplugged: The Mckinsey & Company Global Survey on Knowledge Management. New York: Palgrave Bollinger, A., Smith, R. (2001). Managing organizational knowledge as a strategic asset. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5(1): 8-18 Bunker, K., Wakefield, M. (2005). Changing Workforce: Leading Effectively When Change Is the Norm Canadian Government Managers Discover How to Weather Draconian Layoffs and Budget Cuts by Turning Inward to Become More Authentic. The Public Manager, 34(4): 9-17 Cartellieri, C., Parsons, A. J., Rao, V., Zeisser, M. P. (1997). The Real Impact of Internet Advertising. The McKinsey Quarterly, 3: 44-55 Czerniawska, F. (1999) Management Consultancy in the 21st Century. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan Eoyang, G., Olson, E. (2001). Facilitating Organization Change: Lessons from Complexity Science. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Greve, H. (1998). Performance, Aspirations and Risky Organizational Change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(1): 58-63 Grit, K., Dolfsma, W. (2002) ‘The dynamics of the Dutch health care system – a discource analysis’, Review of Social Economy, 60(3): 377-393 Huy, O. (2002). Emotional Balancing of Organizational Continuity and Radical Change: The Contribution of Middle Managers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1): 31-66 Lindfelt, L. (2006) Making Sense of Business Ethics– About Not Walking the Talk Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 11(1): 10-15 Mirchandani, D., Motwani, J. (2003). Reducing Internet Abuse in the Workplace. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 68(1): 22-29 O’Neill, R. J. (2002). Government's Change-Management Challenge: Key Questions to Which Government Leaders Should Find Answers as They Embark on Systemwide Reform. The Public Manager, 31(1): 15 Poole, P. (1998). Words and Deeds of Organizational Change. Journal of Managerial Issues, 10(1): 45-47 Takala, T. (2006) ‘An Ethical Enterprise: What is it?’ Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 11(1): 4 Wood, P. (2002) Consultancy and Innovation: The Business Service Revolution in Europe. London: Routledge Zarowin, S. (2000). Technology for the New Millennium. Journal of Accountancy, 189(4): 22-29 Read More