Types of consulting firms. Types of counseling Types of consultants

1. diversified companies, specializing in audit, information technology, legal or financial consulting. Management consulting there -- additional service existing to reinforce the core.

In multidisciplinary companies, management consultants are essentially support staff and are required primarily in a subordinate, executive role. On the other hand, they study related business well and skillfully interact with financial, legal and other consultants. And this is a chance to create complex consulting teams, for which there is a good demand.

2. management consulting. And all other types of management consulting are also being introduced to support the central, main consulting product. For example, there are consulting firms that specialize purely in motivation (building systems wages, social packages, premiums, bonuses, etc.), restructuring, reengineering, strategy, etc. They create their own professional schools. Some of these consulting firms spring up in response to fetishized demand, trying to cover it as much as possible, but as this demand dries up, they either have to disappear or specialize in new needs.

3. leadership organizations. They fold around strong personality high-class specialist, his ideologist. Very strong leaders can keep up to 20 employees around them at all times. Others have one or two employees who adapt to the leader's work style. Some of them create so-called shell organizations, i.e. they invite their colleagues for specific projects, and as soon as these projects end, they disperse until the next client or forever.

4. partnership it is a group of consultants, each of whom is a decent specialist in his field, each has his own clientele and can work independently of the others. However, they prefer to jointly finance shared office, office equipment in it, secretariat, accountant and other support staff. Then everyone in turn can use this office as their own: invite clients there, arrange personal presentations, receive the necessary information and send out their own, and conduct current work. The circle of such partners most often consists of 6-8 people. From time to time they invite each other to their consulting projects for joint work from the client, adopt each other's methods, experience. In addition, they periodically hold internal seminars in their office to discuss difficult cases, new trends in consulting, literature, joint publications, etc. together.

5. individual consultants, one way or another shaping their legal status on the market, and sometimes without it. It is these consultants that make up the majority in the "shells" of other firms. Their success depends on respect and reputation in professional circles.

Classification of consulting services: general management, administration, financial management, personnel management, marketing, production, information technology, specialized services. Their specifics.

1. Consulting on general management , i.e., assistance in solving problems related to the very existence of the object of counseling and the prospects for its development. Consultants deal with such issues as assessing the state of the organization as a whole and characterizing the external environment for it, determining the goals and value system of the organization, developing a development strategy, evaluating the effectiveness of management, forecasting, organizing branches and new firms, innovation management, competitiveness and market conditions, change forms of ownership or composition of owners, acquisition of property, shares or shares, improvement of organizational structures, privatization, project management, quality management, etc.

2. Consultants for administration (administration) deals with issues such as the formation and registration of companies, office organization, office management, risk management, data processing, administrative control system, etc. Their main task is to optimize the management of the organization.

3. Consultants for financial management assist in solving the following main tasks:

Search for sources of financial resources;

Assessment and improvement of the current financial efficiency of the organization;

strengthening financial position organizations for the future.

They deal with issues financial planning and control, taxation, accounting, evaluation of capital investments, placement of shares and units on the market, credit, insurance, profit and cost, insolvency, etc.

By its very nature, finance is integral part many types of management consulting services. Financial expertise, for example, is an essential part of diagnostic studies. economic activity. During the execution of the project, consultants for financial matters may work closely with consultants in other areas, especially in manufacturing and marketing, to assess the financial implications of their proposals.

4. HR consultants develop solutions for recruitment, workforce planning, control personnel, wage systems, incentive and reward systems, motivation, advanced training and personnel management, labor protection, health and safety of personnel and the psychological climate in the team.

Their main task is to assist managers in optimizing the attraction and use of such a key factor for any organization as human resources.

5. Marketing Consultants provide managers with assistance in solving a vital task for any enterprise operating in a market economy: ensuring its functioning in such a way that effective demand is presented for the goods and services it produces. They deal with market research and provide decision-making in the areas of sales, pricing, company image and public relations, advertising, development new products, service, design, direct marketing, after-sales service, socio-economic research and forecasting, retail and dealerships, etc. Since in a market economy the most difficult problem for an enterprise is not the production, but the sale of products, marketing is one of the most important areas of business consulting.

6. Consultants for the organization of production combine knowledge of economic, managerial and engineering issues, assisting managers in solving such problems as the choice of production process technology, work organization scheme, regulation of internal distribution of materials, stimulation of labor productivity, productivity, evaluation and control of product quality, analysis of production costs, production planning , use of equipment and materials, design and improvement of products, evaluation of work, etc.

Manufacturing process requires decision-making on the part of the manager in order to obtain products of the right quality, in the right quantity, on time and at minimal cost. Thus, the task of the consultant is to help find the best ways to achieve these goals.

7. Information technology consultants are developing recommendations for the introduction of computer-aided design systems (CAD) and automated control systems (ACS), information retrieval systems, the use of computers in accounting, computer auditing, the selection and installation of systems and other quantitative methods for assessing the activities of an enterprise.

Information technology is essential for modern organizations. But the changes that accompany the use of new information technologies are associated with the very organizational foundations of the enterprise, such as the principles of building its structure.

8. Specialized consulting services- these are the types of recommendations that do not belong to any of the seven groups described above. They differ from them either in methods (training consulting), or in objects (electricity management consulting, telecommunications, environmental, procurement, public sector consulting, small business consulting), or in the nature of the implemented knowledge (engineering consulting, legal advice).

Types of counseling, types of clients and consultants in psychological counseling

Types of Counseling

Before discussing the types of psychological counseling proper, it should be noted that counseling as such exists in a number of other professional areas, different from psychology (for example, technical), as well as closer to it - natural sciences and the humanities. These include medical consulting, legal, management consulting, etc.

The classification of psychological counseling proper, which, as mentioned above, refers to the provision of psychological assistance to mentally normal people in order to achieve their goals of personal development, can be approached based on different criteria.

So, taking age as a classification criterion, we single out types of counseling depending on age periodization.

Infancy (from birth to 1 year);

Pre-school childhood (1-3 years);

Preschool childhood (3-6 years);

Jr school age(6-10 years);

Adolescence (10-15 years old);

I period (senior school age 15-17 years),

II second period (17-21 years);

mature age:

I period (21-35 years),

II period (35-60 years);

Old age (60-75 years);

Senile age (75-90 years);

Long-livers (90 years and above).

If in the second case, the age from 0 to 90 years and above can theoretically be the age of the person about whom the consultation took place, then in practice the real age limits are somewhat narrower: from pre-preschool childhood to old age.

Moreover, the restriction of the age of the counselees is associated both with a certain age problem, personal maturity necessary for solving psychological problems, and the essence of the counseling itself as a method.

Counseling a child under the age of 15 is pointless: he cannot yet be responsible for himself and be a productive person. The personality itself has not yet been formed, therefore, not advisory, but psychotherapeutic assistance is applicable to children, as well as a number of special branches: training, education, correction and development.

In the elderly, and especially senile age, counseling loses its effectiveness every year, as the needs corresponding to the age and the personality itself change, the person can less and less be responsible for himself, his own productivity is lower and lower.

From this point of view, 2 types of counseling can be distinguished:

1. Contact, in which a psychologist-consultant meets with a client, a face-to-face conversation takes place, what is called "face-to-face counseling" in foreign literature.

2. Remote consulting, which is divided into telephone and written.

Synonymous with the first type of counseling is "full-time counseling", the second - "correspondence".

The next basis for classification should take into account the number of clients consulted by one consultant at the same time. According to this criterion, consultation can be, firstly, individual, and secondly, group. Moreover, the latter should be understood as a conversation between a psychologist and two or more clients, since in a number of socio-psychological works the association of two, and even more so three people, is already called a small group.

Another classification of counseling can be built on the basis of the scope of application and depending on individual characteristics clients and the problems for which they turn to psychological counseling. In this case, the following types of psychological counseling can be distinguished:

School counseling;

professional;

Family and matrimonial;

Oriented to problems of personality and others

The first type of counseling is personal psychological counseling, the need for which arises quite often for many people. This type includes counseling on such issues that deeply affect a person as a person, cause him strong feelings, usually carefully hidden from people around him. These are, for example, problems such as psychological or behavioral deficiencies that a person would like to get rid of, problems associated with his personal relationship with significant people, various fears, failures, psychogenic diseases that do not require the intervention of a doctor, and much more. This may also include a person's deep dissatisfaction with himself, problems of intimate, such as sexual, relationships.

The next type of psychological counseling in terms of importance and frequency of occurrence in life is family counseling. It can include counseling on issues that arise in a person in his own family or in the families of other people close to him. These are, in particular, the choice of a future spouse, the optimal construction and regulation of relationships in the family, the prevention and resolution of conflicts in intra-family relationships, the relationship of a husband or wife with relatives, the behavior of spouses at the time of divorce and after it, the solution of current intra-family problems. The latter include, for example, the solution of issues of distribution of responsibilities between family members, family economics, and a number of others.

The third type of counseling psychological and pedagogical counseling. This includes the discussion by the consultant with the client of the issues of teaching and raising children, learning something and improving the pedagogical qualifications of adults, pedagogical guidance, managing children's and adult groups and teams. Psychological and pedagogical counseling includes issues of improving programs, honey and teaching aids , psychological substantiation of pedagogical innovations and a number of others.

The fourth of the most common types of psychological counseling is professional business counseling. It has as many varieties as there are different types of activities in humans. In general, such consulting is called business consulting, which is associated with the solution of business problems by people. These include issues of choosing a profession, improving and developing a person's abilities, organizing his work, increasing efficiency, conducting business negotiations, etc.

Each of the listed types of psychological counseling is somewhat similar to others, for example, in that problems that are identical in their psychological interpretation can arise in different types activities and in different situations. But at the same time, each of these types of psychological counseling has its own peculiarities.

Intimate-personal counseling usually requires a confidential relationship between the consultant and the client, which is closed from strangers and at the same time open for communication. Such psychological counseling requires the creation of a special environment, as it resembles a confession. This type of counseling, by the very nature of the problems it directly concerns, cannot be episodic or short-lived. It presupposes, firstly, a large psychological pre-adjustment for him by both the counseling psychologist and the client himself; secondly, a long and difficult conversation between a consultant psychologist and a client; thirdly, a sufficiently long period for solving the client's problem. The latter is due to the fact that most problems of an intimate-personal nature are not immediately solved.

Family counseling, in turn, requires the psychologist-consultant to know the essence of family problems, ways to resolve them, preferably from their own experience. family life. It is unlikely that people who do not have or did not have a family can successfully engage in family counseling. As it is quite probable, the opposite can also be assumed: a person who himself has repeatedly tried to create or save a family, but he did not succeed, is unlikely to become a good psychologist-consultant on family issues.

Psychological and pedagogical counseling, in turn, implies that the consultant has pedagogical education and experience in teaching and educating people. Good psychologists-consultants on psychological and pedagogical issues usually become, for example, former teachers and educators with experience in teaching and relevant education.

The same goes for business consulting. It can be most successfully dealt with by people who, from their own experience, are well aware of the field of activity in which they are going to conduct psychological counseling.

External consultants - independent firms or individual consultants providing services to clients on the basis of a contract.

Internal consultants - specialists in economics and management employed in the staff of a company, often constituting the "headquarters" subsystem of the organization.

Types of consultants:

- according to A.I. Prigogine (Doctor of Philosophy, Prof.): "specialists", "generalists".

- according to V.D. Shapiro (Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Prof.): expert, process, teaching, generalists, conceptualists.

"Specialists". These include masters of solving some specific managerial tasks. For example: there are people who specialize in organizing office work and document management. Such services are needed by any more or less large organization. Moreover, innovations in this area appear continuously. Or there are specialists in motivation, personnel audit, personnel certification. They own well-established technologies for the production of these works and can provide services to a fairly large number of clients in a short time. Solving the problems of undervalued assets, mergers and divisions of companies, restructuring and much more are becoming the subject of more and more in-depth specialization. "Specialist" solves a limited set of tasks, his advantage in deep knowledge of the subject, in the provision of services highest quality in a narrow field.

"Generalists" do not seek direct problem solving. They offer methods to solve them. But on the other hand, they have such a large number and variety of these methods that they cover the needs of the client. Among these methods there are universal ones suitable for a variety of tasks: group and intergroup work, game and facilitation methods, moderation, etc. There are special methods that are acceptable only for a small number of tasks, for example: the scenario method, the technology for increasing customer orientation and the methods of team building, strategy development, etc. Advantages"generalists" in a very wide coverage of interrelated problems of the organization, in their complex solution, in the possibilities of long-term work with the same organization. Limitation them in their lack of awareness in special areas. But each task is special in some sense. "Generalists" get out of these difficulties in two ways: firstly, for such specific tasks they invite appropriate "specialists", and secondly, once they themselves, working in the "generalist" mode, find such solutions, which then in finished form can be offered to other customers in the "specialist" mode.

Expert Advisors answer the question "what to do?" and are, as a rule, professionals in any subject area of ​​activity and reproduce this activity within the framework of the client's company. They must be noticeably stronger than the person being consulted: faith in their professionalism must be unshakable.

Process consultants answer the question "how to do" help to comprehend already set goals and organize activities to achieve them. In fact, this is advice on how to achieve the goal. The vast majority of consultants on the market today are process consultants. They undertake to establish one or another process at the enterprise (set up management accounting, develop and implement a marketing policy, establish financial management, etc.), depending on the area in which they consider themselves specialists

Educational consultants - usually university professors managerial profile or people from the system of retraining of personnel, advanced training (representatives of this category: employees of the Institute for Investment Development, the company "PM Consulting", the Institute for Investment Development and the School of Management Consultants at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation).

Conceptualists(they are closest in their capabilities to the "generalists"). They are not very widely represented, but they work very effectively with tasks that are of great conceptual complexity (among the well-known Moscow firms, they include PM Consulting, the Concept analytical center, and some others).

There are also many consulting firms specializing in rather narrow, but important issues– risk management, "social mechanics", system analytics, etc.

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

(exam)

Development history of consulting and state of the art consulting.

The first consulting firm was established in 1885 and specialized in accounting consulting.

1914 Chicago - "Business Research Service" Edwin Booze.

The origins of management consulting were classical managers. The need for enterprise management is changing, there is an interest in consulting in the field of human relations. Consulting evolves with management.

In the 20s of the 20th century, counseling appeared in Russia, but in a specific form - research institutes instructors. The main work was carried out in the training of instructors who were taught rational methods of work.

The development of counseling resumed in the post-war years.

The first wave of consulting in Russia - 70s.

1976 - Section of the sociology of organization.

The first management consultants are Estonians Jaak Leimann, Madis Habakuk, Raul Yuksvyarav.

Official mention in the press "management consultant" - August 19, 1982 in the newspaper "Pravda".

1991 - Association of Management and Organizational Development Consultants.

992 - the first school of consultants at the Academy of National Economy.

The first consulting firms appear in the early 90s. In parallel with them, Western consultants are coming to the Russian market. The first direction in their activity is expert consulting and audit.

The Big Four firms that exist today are:

· Price Waterhouse Coopers;

Deloitte

In 1998, a crisis occurs - Western firms leave Russian market. The number of firms in Russian consulting is decreasing. There is practically no consulting activity.

2000 - 2003 - the rise of consulting in Russia. Medium business consulting.

2004 - 2007 - a massive turn to counseling.

2001 - 2002 - a stunning growth in consulting services in the field of information technologies.

2002 - 2003 - the years of firms turning to consulting from just information technology.

Unipravex - developed a consulting map for 2003.

RA Expert.

Consultants cooperate - subcontract.

IT consulting firms work in the following areas:

business consulting;

reengineering;

unification of motivational schemes, processes;

budget management;

Implementation of business applications;

· optimization of management structures;

· statement of IFRS, creation of internal control systems;

· quality system certification;

development of a number of management processes for authorities;

· regulatory and legal consulting for the public sector;

· Personnel direction: development of personnel leasing programs, outsourcing, etc.

Classic HR consultants:

· increase in efficiency;

problems of personnel development.

Strategic consulting:

full planning and consulting support for the implementation and implementation of projects;

· optimization of the structure of authorities;

regulation of processes and activities of authorities;

management by results;

· development of strategies and programs for the socio-economic development of subjects of the federation.

The most closed areas for IT consultants.:

· grade;

tax consulting;

legal consulting

A special place in consulting is occupied by marketing consulting.

Siberian market lags behind the Russian market by 2-3 years.

Moscow firms are actively advancing.

Most consulting firms are concentrated in Novosibirsk. The demand for business process optimization is constantly growing.

Industry priorities have changed slightly. Staff training, sales strategy development, logistics audit, financial consulting.

Consultant.

1. Consultant as a professional in the provision of management services.

1.1. Types of consultants.

1.2. Types of consulting firms.

2. Professional associations of consultants. Code of Conduct.

Question: Consultant as a management services professional

Criteria for the professionalism of a consultant:

* knowledge and skills, competence;

* interests of the client;

* impartiality and objectivity;

* the ability to critically evaluate their knowledge and skills;

* good product for good money;

* ethics in marketing;

* public interest

Criteria for the professionalism of consultants:

1. Knowledge and skills of consultants.

2. Service and public interest.

3. Ethics. Determine what behavior in the provision of services is correct and what is not.

4. Self-discipline and self-control.

5. The ability to critically evaluate their knowledge and skills. It is considered unprofessional to "grab" any task if the consultant does not understand the problem. Figuratively speaking, a consultant is a person who borrows a watch from another to tell him what time it is.

6. Impartiality and objectivity.

7. Privacy.

8. "good product for good money". It is believed that a highly professional consultant should receive at the level of the director of the enterprise. It is considered unprofessional to request high price from an uninformed client.

Inside information cannot be used for the personal benefit of the consultant.

You can not offer the client's employees a job (poach them).

If the consultant is late in solving problems, then he must warn the client in advance.

The consultant must organize his work in such a way that it is more convenient for the client (taking into account the interests of the client).

There is no need to fear that the client's employees will become competitors, as a professional consultant is constantly evolving.

Additional remuneration or remuneration based on the result. In some countries there is a ban on additional remuneration to a consultant. For example, in the United States from 1972 to 1981, there was a prohibition in the code of consultants on remuneration based on performance.

Ethics in marketing is that you should not speak badly about other consultants and create a false impression of the capabilities of your firm.

public interests. If the interests of the client may conflict with the interests of society, then the consultant should explain to the client the socio-economic consequences of these decisions. If the client cannot be persuaded, then the consultant should refuse to provide services.

Types of consultants

Consultants include management, engineering, legal, financial, accounting etc.

Consultants can also be divided into two groups:

1. Station wagons- General consultants.

2. Specialists- consultants with a specific focus.

For example, in most consulting firms there is a division of labor between specialists and generalists. Experts are familiar with all the innovations in a particular industry. Generalists pay attention to the coordination of various areas of management. As a rule, generalists prepare and coordinate large tasks, diagnose and schedule tasks, and prepare reports. In general, they perform supervisory and managerial functions.

There are two types of consultants:

1. Internal consultants. These are the consultants who are on the staff of the organization.

2. External consultants. External consultants come to the organization from outside.

To date, the number of internal consultants is increasing. This speaks to the recognition of the power of the consultative approach.

External consultants consider internal consultants dependent, and therefore subjective.

Internal consultant	External consultant
We are financially and administratively dependent on the employer.	Material and financial responsibility within the contract amount.
Has personal interests in the organization. Depends on results of work and consequences of changes.	There is no fundamental dependence on the organization. Administratively independent, emotionally free from conventions and obligations, objective and unbiased.
Is in labor relations with the organization. Understands the intricacies of business and organization. Familiar with the system of formal and informal relations in the organization.	Has no personal interests in the organization. Does not depend on business development. It is hired for a certain period to solve certain problems.
He works alone, has a low level of payment for services, so he is treated superficially.	High cost of services.
Has information based on personal experience, its goals are the interests of the organization.	Works in a team, attracts partner organizations.

Reasons for internal counseling:

1. Awareness of the technical and methodological advantages of counseling.

2. Availability of the consultant at any time.

3. Knowledge of all the features of the internal affairs of the organization: the style of management, the culture and policies of the company, as well as confidentiality.

4. Cost factor. Internal consulting is 30% - 50% cheaper than external consulting if there is enough work for it.

External consultant:

· has information about problems and solutions;

owns methods and technologies that are constantly being improved;

focuses on solving the problem, not on the development of personnel;

The goal is to make a profit.

Recently, internal and external consultants have been working together. Internal consultants determine the terms of reference of external consultants, can evaluate the professionalism of external consultants, participate in project discussions, in the evaluation of its implementation. In the course of working with external consultants, they are trained, improve their qualifications and competence.

Types of consulting firms

There is a wide variety of firms providing a variety of consulting services.

Types of consulting firms:

1. Large (international) multifunctional firms. The size of a firm is determined by the number of employees. If the number of employees exceeds 1000 people, then this company is a giant. Majority large firms has branches in different countries. Their size allows you to work with any problem. These are full service companies.

2. Consulting services of large audit firms(Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Andersen, etc.).

3. Small and medium consulting firms with a staff of 50 to 100 people. They advise small and medium-sized firms to a limited extent and specialize in one or more areas (for example, strategic development firms, personnel management, assessment of the complexity of work, production management system, marketing, etc.). Also, one can observe specialization by focus, or by industry affiliation.

4. Firms providing special technical services(mathematics, computers, econometrics, operations research, strategic research, consumer demand models, automation of the production process, etc.). Such firms can be either independent or affiliated with technical centers.

5. Consulting divisions in organizations, banks.

6. Single consultants. Their services are usually cheaper and they mostly run small businesses.

7. Consulting teachers.

8. Non-traditional sources of counseling services. This group includes organizations that provide consulting services as an addition to other goods and services (banks and investment companies, Insurance companies).

Currently, there is uncertainty in the names of consulting services, although the name indicates the subject matter of the service, i.e. its thematic focus (for example, agricultural or management) or the methodological characteristics of the service itself (for example, individual or group).

From the point of view of service consumption, its subject characteristic is more understandable, from the point of view of consultants - its methodological characteristic, since it describes the methods and methods of their work.

For clarity, unambiguity and clarity in the description of consulting services, it is desirable to use the methodological characteristic as an adjective to the word consulting, and be sure to place it in the first place, for example, individual or group counseling.

It is advisable to place the subject characteristic of consulting after the word "consulting" and highlight the phrase: "in the field", if we are talking about the subject area as a whole, or "on" and the name of the subject area or "on issues", if we are talking about individual thematic areas selected area, such as agricultural consulting or agriculture, or consulting on livestock issues.

In terms of belonging to the firm, there are external and internal consultants.

External - these are independent consulting firms or individual consultants that provide services for the implementation of a specific order to clients on the basis of an appropriate contract.

Internal - these are full-time employees of organizations (specialists in economics and management), who make up the analytical, "headquarters" subsystem of the organization's management. They are divided in turn into generalists, i.e. experts involved in common problems and management principles, such as information support for projects, and specialists who solve specific, recurring problems both in the organization itself and in the region or industry, such as legal advisers, advisers, etc.

Internal consultants can address specific issues that arise from the needs of the organization. Therefore, in some cases it is difficult to attribute them to consultants in the traditional sense of the term. For example, in the company Mitsubishi, which specializes in the production of automobiles, household appliances, banking, the task of the division of internal consultants of the subsidiary consulting firm Tokyo Research International is to provide information support for transactions of the parent company. The consultants collect information about the state of the market of the country where the export is carried out, such as exchange rates, price fluctuations, etc. In addition, the firm deals with transfers to foreign languages technical literature, provides training for dealers, organizes internships that are not directly related to the functioning of the parent company, but bring income to the company.

Thus, the information and consulting firm Tokyo Research International is the intellectual center of Mitsubishi. The peculiarity of this organizational structure is that even translators are included in the service of internal consultants.

But the line between internal consultants and regular employees is very thin, and sometimes it is difficult to call them consultants.

In practice, the use of internal counseling provides the following advantages:

• - the internal consultant knows his organization well;
• - he is familiar with all the shades of the internal affairs of the organization, the style of work and management, culture and politics;
• - the consultant is always "at hand" with the manager, you can talk to him about any problem (which contributes to its structuring), you can get an alternative point of view;
• - there is the possibility of quick response and orientation in any working situation;
• - confidentiality (information does not go outside the organization);
• - the availability of the consultant in many internal divisions;
• - the personnel of the enterprise, managers of any level know that their work is controlled. Consequently, their exactingness to their own work and labor productivity increase;
• - payment for the services of internal consultants is cheaper than external consultants (less overhead, travel and other expenses), - in some cases, a controversial advantage;
• - the enterprise can assist in solving problems and creating effective organization dealers, suppliers, partners by providing consulting services, free or paid.

However, the use of internal counseling also has negative aspects, such as:

• - the growth of the qualifications of an internal consultant, the acquisition of versatile experience by him is slowed down. Over time, he is unlikely to be able to look at the enterprise from the outside;
• - internal consultants must be paid a fixed salary;
• - it is necessary to spend money on their education;
• - consultants are not subject to external criticism from outside;
• - mistakes made by internal consultants are rarely detected;
• - internal consultants do not have constantly updated experience in other firms and industries;
• - there may be a lack of creativity in the work of internal consultants;
• - Delegating to an internal consultant powers that duplicate managerial functions, or recognizing him as having the right to have a decisive opinion "de facto" can lead to the creation of a second center of power in the enterprise.

The payment system for an internal consultant is determined by the contract. As a rule, there are guaranteed and premium parts of the payment. The greatest incentive for the quality of the consultant's work is provided by the payment of the entire bonus part at the end of the contract. Big guarantees to the consultant are provided by monthly and quarterly payments.

External consultants are highly qualified specialists, professionals in the information sphere. They act both on their own behalf (individual consultants) and on behalf of the consulting firm.

Further in the text, the term "consultant" will refer to any consulting structure, regardless of whether it is a consulting firm or an individual consultant. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, it will be mainly about external consultants.

External consultants have a number of advantages over internal consultants. Among them are the following:

• - a broader outlook and knowledge of various areas management (possession of a large amount of preliminary information for conducting analytical work in a particular area, as well as experience in conducting analytical work at various objects related not only to this area, but also to related areas) due to less workload with current management problems;
• - focus on broad study and transfer of experience of other organizations;
• - with the help of external consultants, it is possible to strengthen the analytical departments of enterprises or even entrust them with the temporary management of analytical work;
• - external consultants, as a rule, are armed with a methodological base that provides a systematic approach to conducting analytical work (possession of a methodology that makes it possible to make the analysis comprehensive, highlighting the most significant issues for the company);
• - impartiality of the analysis of the situation due to independence and impartiality of views, since the consultant does not depend on the head of the enterprise and is not subordinate to him, has no personal interests in the enterprise;
• - the external consultant should strive to give objective assessment situations rather than trying to please anyone in the organization;
• - the consultant's duty is not only to describe what is happening, but also to develop recommendations - practical orientation (moreover, the recommendations should be such that the client can actually implement them);
• - the opportunity to get new ideas as a result of a fresh look at the company's problems (this applies to the consultant himself, and in no way affects the client's problems).

However, external consultants have a number of disadvantages:

• - lack of guarantee of the quality of the services provided (this risk can be minimized by using the consultant selection system; at the same time, attention should be paid to certification and availability of recommendations from previous clients);
• - insufficient amount of information in the company (since the consultant spends limited time in the office of the client company);
• - the use of standard schemes and methods of work that are not adapted to the characteristics of a particular company (deteriorates the quality of the analysis of the situation);
• - high fees in comparison with the remuneration of the organization's specialists;
• - bear the burden of stereotypes of previous projects;
• - it takes time to recognize the degree of professionalism and qualifications of external consultants;
• - there is a real threat of disclosure of confidential information;
• - it takes time to familiarize the consultant with the problem of the organization.

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, and an internal consultant, especially at the initial stage of work in an organization, may outperform an external consultant in all of the above characteristics. In practice, the following points must be taken into account:

• 1. In project-based consulting, the external consultant knows that his work ends with the project. It doesn't make sense for him to embed in organizational structure enterprise consulting function. Its sole purpose is to create a quality product. In contrast, for an internal consultant, there is a need to determine his place in the structure, so his goal is twofold - a quality product and a comfortable own position. It is not difficult to predict that in some cases the goals will come into conflict. Objective opinion is devalued to some extent.
• 2. An in-house consultant may feel that bringing management to management's attention to management's shortcomings too often could result in the consultant being fired, or at least not receiving a raise. This encourages him to manipulate information. The consultant's judgments are also perceived by management as biased: if an external consultant is invited to recommend the dismissal of a specialist, he cannot be suspected of personal interest; if the same proposal comes from an internal consultant, the manager begins to evaluate the personal motives for the recommendation. Independence of judgments can also be called into question.

An analysis of the work of domestic and foreign consultants shows that two types of consulting prevail in their activities:

• - normative - consulting based on laws, developed rules and recommendations, standards, etc. (consulting on legal issues, accounting, foreign economic activity, taxation, privatization, audit);
• - developing - consulting, not based on a set of any laws and rules (consulting on transferring an enterprise from its current state to a desired one, on diagnosing an enterprise, developing programs to overcome deadlocks, reorganizing the management system, developing a marketing policy, etc.) .

From the point of view of the service execution methodology, which is professionally focused on the consultants themselves, there are expert, process and training consulting.

In expert consulting, the consultant, as a narrow specialist, independently carries out diagnostics, development of solutions and recommendations for their implementation. The role of the client is mainly to provide the consultant with access to information, control activities, evaluate results, assimilate recommendations and make appropriate management decisions.

In process consulting, the consultant organizes group work of employees of the client organization to find the right solution to the problem, using active methods training at all stages of the project, actively interacts with the client, encouraging him to express his ideas, considerations, suggestions. With the help of a consultant, problems are analyzed and solutions are developed by absorbing (collecting) these external and internal ideas, evaluating the solutions obtained in the process of working together with the client, and bringing them into a system of recommendations.

In training consulting, the consultant not only collects ideas, analyzes solutions, but also prepares the ground for their emergence, providing the client with relevant theoretical and practical information in the form of lectures, seminars, manuals, etc. In the classroom, the consultant demonstrates the developed ways and ways to solve various non-trivial problems (he can conduct additional training sessions). The advantage of counseling is its concrete-individual, "piece" approach. At the same time, the knowledge possessed by consultants is transformed in such a way as to solve the specific problems of a particular enterprise.

During training, knowledge in the field of management, economics, law, etc. is transferred to managers in a general form and then they are already applied by them in practice. Positive sides both ways of transferring knowledge are combined in training and process consulting.

Of course, in specific projects or at their various stages, combinations of all three of the listed types of consulting can be used, and then it becomes expert-process, process-training, expert-training, etc.

In industrialized countries, process and expert-process consulting is predominantly carried out, while in Russia expert and expert-training consulting is most widely used. This is primarily due to the unpreparedness of the Russian clients themselves to creative work with consultants, the desire of managers to get ready-made solutions. This situation often leads to negative consequences and dissatisfaction with the results of consulting projects, since, firstly, the client may not perceive at all ready-made solutions if they are not developed jointly with him; secondly, some essential information cannot be obtained by the consultant outside the mode of active dialogue with the client.

In specific projects or at their various stages, combinations of all of the listed types of consulting can be used, and then it becomes expert-process, process-training, expert-training, etc.