Critically discuss two or more key elements of the process of consulting, with reference to your group work/ project and academic literature, and illustrating your learning.
1. The summative essay is due in on Tue 5th May. There might be a temptation to keep on thinking about what you could have done better for the project and client. And also, perhaps, then give quite a lot of descriptive detail about the project. This is very understandable in the week in which you do your project presentations.But it is NOT what the essay asks you do to. And we would be sorry to have to discount sections of essays if they did not address the question.
The essay title asks you to select interesting / challenging/ surprising things you have learned about the processes of management and consulting, to analyse them, and to do so referring to appropriate literature (like literature on management consulting as well as aspects of the consulting process…) and your own ideas and experiences. So the project experience is covered in the service of explaining and exploring this learning. We are especially looking for critical review and analysis.
It does mean you have to step into a different point of view on your project experience. But it also means that ‘complications’ and even disappointments in the project can become great essay material. If something did not work out as well as you hoped, for example, you can think through the issues that might have contributed to that, and relate that review to potential learning about the processes of management and consulting, working with literature to elaborate and extend your thinking.
An indicative (but not exhaustive) list of potential elements of the process of consulting is:
– Working through relationships
– Diagnosing (Framing and re-framing)
– Research and project planning and managing
– Developing strategic options
The essay will be assessed in relation to how you:
• Address the question
• Critically engage with key literature sources
• Show your understanding of key ideas relating to the topic
• Explore and reflect on the assumptions underpinning the ideas and frameworks you use
• Consider potential applications of ideas and frameworks into practice
• Develop and illustrate your analysis from your experience on the module, giving examples
• Support and critically evaluate your argument