Smurfit School responds to demands from Consulting Industry.
In response to increased demands from the management consulting industry for recognised qualifications and codes of practice, Smurfit School of Business has launched its first executive Diploma in Management Consulting at an open evening on Monday 25th July.
Research carried out by Smurfit School has shown that the reputation of the management consulting industry has been in steady decline over recent years.
Clients and established consultants speak of the need for more reliable, externally validated information; for a code of practice that provides clients with reassurance that consultants are genuinely acting in their interests and greater accountability across the board.
Despite these criticisms, management consultancy has become a huge growth industry in the last twenty years. In 1980, there were approx 18,000 management consultants worldwide earning an estimated USD $2
billion per year. By the late 1990s, the total value of the industry had skyrocketed to USD $62 billion worldwide, together with employment figures of approximately 140,000 consultants.
According to Kathleen O’ Reilly, Programme Director at Smurfit School, “The key challenge now facing the industry is how to balance a phenomenal growth rate with the realisation that clients are demanding
increased and better services. Consulting firms need to focus on increased industry professionalism and transparency, the continued demonstration of specialist skills and expertise, and the delivery of genuine value-added services. This new course will be a key step in addressing these issues.”
This one-year, part-time executive programme is offered to current and prospective management consultants, internal and external, in both the private and public sectors. It contributes toward the CPD (Continual
Professional Development) requirements for IMCI-accredited consulting practices, and the educational requirements of Certified Management
Consultant (CMC) certification.