Chapter 4-5 Flashcards
These skills include both understanding and experience in a technical discipline - such as information technology, marketing, engineering and organizational behavior.
Technical skills
These include personal attributes that make an individual amiable among people and effective in accomplishing desirable objectives through people.
Interpersonal Skills
These skills involve the ability to understand and use the following approach in solving business problems:
1. Identify the cause of problems or inefficiencies
2. Identify alternative solution
3. Select the most desirable alternative
4. Implement the chosen solution
Consulting process skills
Regardless of a person’s area of specialization, the following common core courses should be included in the educational program to be a consultant:
- Communications
- Mathematics and statistics
- Computer data processing
This refers to the consultant’s degree of mental organization and development that enables him/her to absorb and relate facts in a logical and orderly fashion and to reason inductively and deductively.
Intelligence or capacity for logical thinking and reasoning
This pertains to the number of attributes, such as moral and ethical soundness; fairness; equity; ability to distinguish between right and wrong; honesty; dependability; freedom from corrupting influence or practice: and strictness ni the fulfillment of both the letter and the spirit of agreements made regardless of personal considerations.
Integrity
This interpersonal skill requires that the consultant must have the ability to anticipate human reactions to differing situations; to establish and maintain friendly relations and mutual confidence with people at all levels; and to recognize and respect the rights of others.
Understanding ofpeople (human relations; empathy)
This refers to the management consultant’s ability and reasoning power to arrive at a wise decision, a course of action or a conclusion, especially when only meager or confused facts are available.
Judgment
This refers to the consultant’s strength of mind and character that enables him/her to encounter disagreement, difficulties, and obstructions with firmness of spirit and determination, and to consider them as challenges rather than something to be avoided or feared; the ability ot stand by one’s convictions regardless of pressure.
Courage
This pertains to the consultant’s ability to view situations ni perspective and to take action needed on a calm and controlled basis without being diverted from a sound, logical and ethical course by outside pressure.
Psychological maturity
This attribute requires that a consultant needs a high-energy level ot (1) support. his/her intellectual and emotional activities, (2) enable him/her to withstand pressure and frustration, and (3) avoid physical illness.
Physiological equilibrium
This is one of the fundamental communication skills. This is not only a way to get information (though this is important). It is also a way to build rapport and to control the direction of a conversion.
Questioning
__________ is ability to focus and direct the individuals in an organization in a way that brings the whole organization benefits. it is perhaps the most valuable commodity a seniormanager can ofer his or her organization. It draws together a variety of relationship skills - not least articulation of vision, motivation and communication - into a coherent behavioral strategy.
Leadership
This phase has the purpose of fully describing the underlying problem. It begins with the initial recognition of a symptom pointing to the problem and ends with the complete description of the problem.
Problem definition phase
This is described as the fact-finding and analysis phase which involves the gathering of facts needed to solve the problem and analyzing these facts in order to clarify the requirements of the best solution.
Identification of alternative solutions
Also known as the solution development phase, this involves the selection ofthe optimal solution to the problem and developing a detailed plan of action. This plan of action should include the rationale for its selection; expressed in terms of benefits and advantages, the schedule ofits installation and the needed resources
Selection of the most desirable alternative
This phase has the purpose of putting the detailed plan into operation and should be the least difficult to do if the previous phases have been performed well.
Implementation phase
This attribute states that a management consultant must have the desire and motivation to earn and obtain full recognition for the attainment of professional status.
Ambition
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport is easy to define.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport is easy to define and easy to recognize.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport is hard to define and hard to recognize.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport is hard to define but easy to recognize
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport can only be built through written communication
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport is confined to face-to-face communication
FALSE
It is a feature of all communication
Rapport
TRUE OR FALSE
Rapport can be built through written and verbal communications as well
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Questioning is a way to build rapport.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Questioning is a way to control the direction of the conversation
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
A client is most interested in the consultant’s knowledge of a technical area
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
A client is most interested in the consultant’s ability to use their knowledge in a way which creates value for the business.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Converting technical ideas into plain language is NOT important in consultancy.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
The need to negotiate is an admission that there is necessarily a conflict between the client and the consultant.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
The need to negotiate is an admission that there is necessarily a conflict between the client and the consultant.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
The need to negotiate is a recognition that the consultancy exercise will work best when both client and consultant have clear expectations as to what will result from the consulting exercise and what the responsibility ofboth parties wil eb ni achieving them.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Communication of ideas must be backed up with information.
TRUE
This is a course of action specified in order to achieve a certain objective
A plan
TRUE OR FALSE
Even a simple plan wil demand that different people carry out a number - often a considerable number - of tasks at different times.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Timetabling is not needed in planning and prioritizing tasks
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Some tasks may be performed alongside each other. Some tasks must be given priority over others if resources are to be used effectively.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
A project in which task order and priority have been well defined will be delivered in a shorter time period and at lower cost than one where they have not.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
A project in which task order and priority have been well defined will be delivered in a longer time period and at lower cost than one where they have not.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
A project in which task order and priority have been well defined will be delivered in a shorter time period and at higher cost than one where they have not.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
A project in which task order and priority have been well defined will be delivered in a longer time period and at higher cost than one where they have not.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
All management activity demands that money be spent.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Profiles of expected expenditure - budgets - must be set during the project so that the resource requirements may be understood.
FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE
Profiles of expected expenditure - budgets - must be set before the project starts so that the resource requirements may be understood.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Not every member of the team can or should attempt to undertake every task. It is unlikely, given people’s individual preferences, that they would wish to.
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
Generally, businesses rarely recognize good ideas instantly and pursue them without question.
TRUE
The consultant must be aware that disappointment in consultancy (for both client and consultant team) results more from ________________ than from poor outcomes.
unclear expectations
This is a recognition that the consultancy exercise will work best when both client and consultant have clear expectations as to what will result from the consulting exercise and what the responsibility of both parties will be in achieving them.
Negotiation
These must be used to encourage people to follow them as courses of action
Ideas
Conviction results if ideas are communicated in a manner that is _____________________________.
appropriate to the audience
Consultancy, as a ‘product’, does not usually respond to a ____________
“hard sell” approach.
A _____________________________ should be used as the tactic in a well-thought-through selling strategy in consultancy
formal selling approach
TRUE OR FALSE
Many consulting tasks (especially those of major significance) require a team effort
TRUE
Critical aspects of planning include:
- defining tasks
- ordering them
- understanding the resource implications of the task sequence
A good decision-maker is active in:
auditing the information that is available to be used in a decision-making situation
______________________ is a fundamental measure of a business’ success
Financial performance
Financial analysis is easiest and most rewarding when _________________________________________.
undertaken with the guidance of formal ratio methods
This is the total of demand for a particular good or service
market
Significant matters about the engagement should be documented in any of the three:
- formal contract
- letter of understanding
- file memorandum
______________________ encourages the involvement of management, helps preserve management’s role as decision-maker, and keeps management informed of progress towards the final conclusions, recommendations, and accomplishments.
Interim communication
This should be made to the client upon
completion of an engagement to ensure
that results and recommendations are
communicated. Also, this should be responsive to the objectives and scope of the engagement.
Final report
This develops and maintains the capabilities that enable a professional accountant to perform competently within the professional environments
continuing professional development
The following are circumstances where professional accountants are or may be required to disclose confidential information or when a disclosure may be appropriate:
a. Disclosure is permitted by law and is authorized by the client or the employer
b. There is a professional duty or right to
disclose, when not prohibited by law
This represents the attitude, principles and
approaches that have been found to contribute most to success and make for equitable and satisfactory client relationships
Code of Conduct for Management Consultants
