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So why look at management ideas?
Why look at power?
Firstly, consultants main role
is to spread management ideas.
Nigel Thrift called them,
"Capitalism's commissars."
They have very important
agents in spreading
new management practices
throughout the world,
throughout organizations.
There are lots of
other people who are
involved in that, lots
of other ways in which
management's ideas are spread.
But consultants are very important
in the United States, Northern
Europe, in particular, and,
increasingly, in Asia and
throughout the rest of the world.
They're involved in
generating, packaging,
disseminating, and,
also, giving legitimacy,
or rubber stamping management ideas.
And so historically,
they've been involved
in the multidivisional form of
an organization, an organization
structure that's very
common throughout the world,
the development and promotion
of strategy and lots of ideas
often with three letter
acronyms like BPR, Business
Process Reengineering, or HRM.
And at a broader level, they've
been involved in promoting things
like privatization and
other general ideas
about how to organize
societies and organizations.
Most of their influence
is typically seen as being
within projects with clients.
But we are going to look
more broadly than this.
They're involved in
publicizing ideas,
what's called thought leadership.
An example of that would be
writing books and articles,
and, increasingly, internet
blogs and use of social media
to promote ideas.
And, also, spreading consultancy
through working for organizations,
not just as consultants,
but taking on jobs
when they've left consultancy, what
we call the consulting diaspora.
Finally, they're
influential as a model
in themselves of best practices,
role models, if you like.
And so consultancy firms have been
seen as excellent and innovative
in knowledge management,
management of culture,
and up or out process, which it means
that you only stay in the firm
if you progress.
If not, you're encouraged to leave.
And, also, they've been very
influential in showing what it is
to be a professional manager, to
be an innovative, forward thinking,
exemplary manager.
And this is one of the examples
that we're going to look at shortly.
That's why we're looking at ideas
and why we're looking at
consultancy as the heart
of spreading management ideas.
But why look at power?
Well, power is needed
to move ideas and to get
them to take root somewhere.
Ideas don't just work on their own.
Just because you've got a
good idea, it doesn't mean
to say that it's going to spread.
As Rogers, a leading figure
on the innovation field says,
"Ideas do not sell themselves,
but require opinion leadership
from those in the system
who possess power,
status or technical expertise."
But who is influential
in selling ideas
is different, according to context.
It's directly in terms
of different countries,
and, also, different situations.
So if you wanted to persuade
someone to adopt a particular idea
in your family, you wouldn't
be the same sort of person
as trying to sell an
idea to a chief executive
of a business organization.
So who is significant?
Who has power and expertise in
different contexts will vary.
So we've established
that consulting's
important in terms
of management ideas,
and that power is needed
for ideas to flow.
What we will be doing is taking
the case of McKinsey & Company, one
of the most well known
companies of consulting.
