Management as Consultancy
Neo-bureaucracy and the Consultant Manager
- Authors:
- Andrew Sturdy, University of Bristol
- Christopher Wright, University of Sydney
- Nick Wylie, Oxford Brookes University
- Date Published: April 2017
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781316619742
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
The nature of management is changing: managers are becoming more like consultants, focusing on projects, functional integration, change and 'clients'. This timely book is based on a large-scale, international study of new management practices and examines the emergence of consultant managers. It breaks new ground in our understanding of this hybrid role, uncovering working practices, identities and occupational dynamics, to shed light on both management and consultancy. It unpacks the changing relationship between external consultants and management to reveal important implications for the future of consultancy. Both private and public sectors are covered, with a focus on managers in large and multinational organisations such as former consultants and those in specialisms such as human resource management who adopt consulting roles. In addition to advancing our understanding of changes in management, this book offers a demystifying view of consultancy as a whole, from one of the largest ever studies of this occupation.
Read more- Uncovers an important new form of management where managers act like consultants - 'consultant managers' - focused on projects, change and clients
- Unpacks the changing relationship between external consultants and managers to reveal important implications for the future of consultancy
- Written by leading international experts, it is one of the largest ever studies of management consultancy, covering private and public sectors
Awards
- Winner, 2016 Urwick Prize, The Worshipful Company of Management Consultants
Reviews & endorsements
'The central proposition of this book is highly intriguing and captured my attention immediately. The authors argue convincingly that we need to re-think our assumptions about what management is and the role of management consultants as external experts doing different things to managers. It will have a very substantial impact on academic debate and, perhaps more importantly, on how practicing managers see their roles and careers.' Timothy Morris, University of Oxford
See more reviews'In an age of information and connectivity, power and advantage for organisations is no longer gleaned through controlling information flows and decisions through a structured chain of command. Organisations are evolving to respond to the new 'networked economy', and from this has evolved what Sturdy, Wright and Wylie term the 'consultant manager'. Management as Consultancy is thought-provoking, and provides important insights for organizations to grasp in the evolving world of work.' Charlotte Park, Partner and Managing Director, Mercer Singapore
'Both the research and conclusions in this book are aligned with learnings from our global network of internal management consultants, many of whom are internal consultants by role but not in formally designated groups. These are often subsets of various functional areas of the enterprise which have business partnering type roles - such as HR, IT, Quality, Auditing, Project Management and others - and are increasingly realizing its importance for future success. Our focus is to help develop the necessary level of professionalism to maximize their impact, and this book provides … [a] useful resource.' Bill Trotter, Managing Director, Association of Internal Management Consultants, USA
'… of interest to managers fascinated by the theory of management or to students studying management at postgraduate/post-experience level … This is a complex book, offering food for thought and many topics for debate … worth reading by a serious manager or leader.' Andy Cowe, Management and Consulting Book Club, Chartered Management Institute
'Overall, the book is a timely contribution, not just to research on consultancy, but more broadly to our understanding of management. Few studies successfully manage to do both and this certainly succeeds in opening up an area for future research to more fully explore the extent to which consultancy has pervaded the field of management.' Crawford Spence, Management Learning
'This book is a good reminder that management consultant is not a homogeneous group and that there are distinct classes of professionals within it … Original and stimulating work … illustrating the blurring of management and consulting careers in neo-bureaucratic organizations.' Marion Brivot, Organizational Studies
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: April 2017
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781316619742
- length: 252 pages
- dimensions: 230 x 152 x 13 mm
- weight: 0.38kg
- contains: 13 tables
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
1. Management as consultancy - a case of neo-bureaucracy
2. Neo-bureaucratic management and consultancy
3. The research study
4. The work activities of the consultant manager
5. Managing relationships as a consultant manager
6. The occupational and career tensions of the consultant manager
7. The identity boundaries and threats of the consultant manager
8. Conclusion
Appendix 1. Details of UK interview respondents
Appendix 2. Details of Australian interview respondents
Appendix 3. Key features of UK internal consultancy units (ICUs)
Appendix 4. Data analysis on standardisation in UK and Australian case studies
References
Index.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×