2023-2024
CONSULTING
,INHOUDSOPGAVE
Goals of the course ..............................................................................................................................7
What is consulting? ..............................................................................................................................7
Consultants .....................................................................................................................................7
HR consulting: today ........................................................................................................................9
Flawless consulting .............................................................................................................................9
The consultant’s skills .................................................................................................................... 10
Technical skills ........................................................................................................................... 10
Interpersonal skills ..................................................................................................................... 10
Consulting skills ......................................................................................................................... 10
Phase 3: feedback. ..................................................................................................................... 11
Phase 5: extension, recycle or termination ................................................................................... 12
Operating at two levels ................................................................................................................... 12
Content level .............................................................................................................................. 13
Relational, affective level ............................................................................................................ 13
Assumptions of the consultant .................................................................................................... 13
Developing client commitment: a secondary goal of each consulting act ........................................... 14
Consultant roles............................................................................................................................. 14
Expert ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Pair of hands .............................................................................................................................. 15
Partner/collaborative role ............................................................................................................ 16
Consultant’s goals ......................................................................................................................... 16
Trends in management consulting vs. management research ............................................................... 17
Rhetorical questions to keep in mind: .............................................................................................. 17
Management trends (management fads).......................................................................................... 17
The relationship between consulting and management-research ...................................................... 19
3 phases/views (Nicolai & Röbken, 2005): .................................................................................... 19
Take home message .......................................................................................................................... 21
Management fads: emergence, evolution and implications for managers (Gibson, J.W.; Tesone, DANA.V.).
......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Journal of organizational change management emerald article: towards a general model of consultancy:
foundations (Lundberg, C.C.). ............................................................................................................ 23
Emerald article: scientification, immune responses, and reflection: the changing relationship between
management studies and consulting (Nicolai, A.T.; Röbken, H.) ........................................................... 25
First phase ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Second phase: management trends as a foreign body ...................................................................... 26
Third phase: management trends as an object of scientific reflection ................................................ 27
1
, Additional clarification ................................................................................................................ 28
The consulting-science relationship from a self-referential system’s perspective .............................. 29
Explained once again step by step ............................................................................................... 29
Latent functions of management methods ....................................................................................... 30
Destruction of latent functions through reflection ............................................................................ 31
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 31
(1) The changing relationship between management studies and consulting .................................. 31
(2) Why management modes should be the subject of scholarly reflection ..................................... 32
(3) Implications for research on management modes .................................................................... 32
(4) Role of advisory literature ....................................................................................................... 32
What bandwagons bring: effects of popular management techniques on corporate performance,
reputation, and CEO pay (Staw, B.M.; Epstein, L.D.) ............................................................................. 33
Results .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Table 1: Intercorrelations among key variables (1994-1995) ........................................................... 33
Table 2: Effects of popular management techniques on organizational performance (1995) ............ 33
Summary of findings – corporate reputation ................................................................................. 33
Summary of findings – CEO compensation ................................................................................... 34
Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 36
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 39
Management fashions ........................................................................................................................ 39
One of the strongest myths: typologies................................................................................................ 39
A crazy example: enneagram ........................................................................................................... 40
The theory .................................................................................................................................. 40
Partially true theories...................................................................................................................... 40
Cognitive dissonance ......................................................................................................................... 41
Slapp suits ..................................................................................................................................... 41
The problem .................................................................................................................................. 41
Why would we use science and evidence at work ................................................................................ 42
Factfulness quiz ............................................................................................................................. 42
Who or what to trust? ......................................................................................................................... 43
Trust your memory? ........................................................................................................................ 44
ChatGPT ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Trust your own eyes? ...................................................................................................................... 44
Our brain is our worst enemy. .......................................................................................................... 44
The solution: think, read and be critical ............................................................................................... 45
The arguments against evidence based? .......................................................................................... 45
Falsehood 1 – conversation starter .............................................................................................. 45
2
, Falsehood 2 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 3 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 4 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 5 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 6 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 7 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 8 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 9 ................................................................................................................................ 48
Falsehood 10 (interesting according to the prof) ........................................................................... 48
Falsehood 11 .............................................................................................................................. 49
Yep, science is not perfect, alternatives are worse! .......................................................................... 49
Isn’t it too boring? ....................................................................................................................... 49
I’m more of a “feeling” person and I don’t like all that ratio ............................................................ 49
We did our own study .................................................................................................................. 50
Evidence-based working is too slow, it is slowing down innovation ................................................ 50
Some things are difficult to study ................................................................................................. 50
It is a moral duty ......................................................................................................................... 50
The search for reliable information .................................................................................................. 50
Sometimes it is hard ................................................................................................................... 50
Sometimes it is easy ................................................................................................................... 51
Sometimes it is fun ..................................................................................................................... 52
Tips & tricks ................................................................................................................................ 52
Take home messages ......................................................................................................................... 53
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 54
Psychology based on biology (2) ......................................................................................................... 54
Recruitment and selection ................................................................................................................. 55
Learning and development ................................................................................................................. 55
Evidence based management ............................................................................................................. 56
What is it? ...................................................................................................................................... 56
Evidence-based practice ................................................................................................................ 57
The 5 steps of EBP (see later) ....................................................................................................... 57
Intuition or evidence-based? ....................................................................................................... 57
Five good EBP habits ................................................................................................................... 58
Where does it come from? .............................................................................................................. 58
What field is this?........................................................................................................................ 58
Medicine: founding fathers .......................................................................................................... 59
Problem 1: too much information................................................................................................. 59
3
CONSULTING
,INHOUDSOPGAVE
Goals of the course ..............................................................................................................................7
What is consulting? ..............................................................................................................................7
Consultants .....................................................................................................................................7
HR consulting: today ........................................................................................................................9
Flawless consulting .............................................................................................................................9
The consultant’s skills .................................................................................................................... 10
Technical skills ........................................................................................................................... 10
Interpersonal skills ..................................................................................................................... 10
Consulting skills ......................................................................................................................... 10
Phase 3: feedback. ..................................................................................................................... 11
Phase 5: extension, recycle or termination ................................................................................... 12
Operating at two levels ................................................................................................................... 12
Content level .............................................................................................................................. 13
Relational, affective level ............................................................................................................ 13
Assumptions of the consultant .................................................................................................... 13
Developing client commitment: a secondary goal of each consulting act ........................................... 14
Consultant roles............................................................................................................................. 14
Expert ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Pair of hands .............................................................................................................................. 15
Partner/collaborative role ............................................................................................................ 16
Consultant’s goals ......................................................................................................................... 16
Trends in management consulting vs. management research ............................................................... 17
Rhetorical questions to keep in mind: .............................................................................................. 17
Management trends (management fads).......................................................................................... 17
The relationship between consulting and management-research ...................................................... 19
3 phases/views (Nicolai & Röbken, 2005): .................................................................................... 19
Take home message .......................................................................................................................... 21
Management fads: emergence, evolution and implications for managers (Gibson, J.W.; Tesone, DANA.V.).
......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Journal of organizational change management emerald article: towards a general model of consultancy:
foundations (Lundberg, C.C.). ............................................................................................................ 23
Emerald article: scientification, immune responses, and reflection: the changing relationship between
management studies and consulting (Nicolai, A.T.; Röbken, H.) ........................................................... 25
First phase ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Second phase: management trends as a foreign body ...................................................................... 26
Third phase: management trends as an object of scientific reflection ................................................ 27
1
, Additional clarification ................................................................................................................ 28
The consulting-science relationship from a self-referential system’s perspective .............................. 29
Explained once again step by step ............................................................................................... 29
Latent functions of management methods ....................................................................................... 30
Destruction of latent functions through reflection ............................................................................ 31
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 31
(1) The changing relationship between management studies and consulting .................................. 31
(2) Why management modes should be the subject of scholarly reflection ..................................... 32
(3) Implications for research on management modes .................................................................... 32
(4) Role of advisory literature ....................................................................................................... 32
What bandwagons bring: effects of popular management techniques on corporate performance,
reputation, and CEO pay (Staw, B.M.; Epstein, L.D.) ............................................................................. 33
Results .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Table 1: Intercorrelations among key variables (1994-1995) ........................................................... 33
Table 2: Effects of popular management techniques on organizational performance (1995) ............ 33
Summary of findings – corporate reputation ................................................................................. 33
Summary of findings – CEO compensation ................................................................................... 34
Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 36
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 39
Management fashions ........................................................................................................................ 39
One of the strongest myths: typologies................................................................................................ 39
A crazy example: enneagram ........................................................................................................... 40
The theory .................................................................................................................................. 40
Partially true theories...................................................................................................................... 40
Cognitive dissonance ......................................................................................................................... 41
Slapp suits ..................................................................................................................................... 41
The problem .................................................................................................................................. 41
Why would we use science and evidence at work ................................................................................ 42
Factfulness quiz ............................................................................................................................. 42
Who or what to trust? ......................................................................................................................... 43
Trust your memory? ........................................................................................................................ 44
ChatGPT ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Trust your own eyes? ...................................................................................................................... 44
Our brain is our worst enemy. .......................................................................................................... 44
The solution: think, read and be critical ............................................................................................... 45
The arguments against evidence based? .......................................................................................... 45
Falsehood 1 – conversation starter .............................................................................................. 45
2
, Falsehood 2 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 3 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 4 ................................................................................................................................ 46
Falsehood 5 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 6 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 7 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 8 ................................................................................................................................ 47
Falsehood 9 ................................................................................................................................ 48
Falsehood 10 (interesting according to the prof) ........................................................................... 48
Falsehood 11 .............................................................................................................................. 49
Yep, science is not perfect, alternatives are worse! .......................................................................... 49
Isn’t it too boring? ....................................................................................................................... 49
I’m more of a “feeling” person and I don’t like all that ratio ............................................................ 49
We did our own study .................................................................................................................. 50
Evidence-based working is too slow, it is slowing down innovation ................................................ 50
Some things are difficult to study ................................................................................................. 50
It is a moral duty ......................................................................................................................... 50
The search for reliable information .................................................................................................. 50
Sometimes it is hard ................................................................................................................... 50
Sometimes it is easy ................................................................................................................... 51
Sometimes it is fun ..................................................................................................................... 52
Tips & tricks ................................................................................................................................ 52
Take home messages ......................................................................................................................... 53
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 54
Psychology based on biology (2) ......................................................................................................... 54
Recruitment and selection ................................................................................................................. 55
Learning and development ................................................................................................................. 55
Evidence based management ............................................................................................................. 56
What is it? ...................................................................................................................................... 56
Evidence-based practice ................................................................................................................ 57
The 5 steps of EBP (see later) ....................................................................................................... 57
Intuition or evidence-based? ....................................................................................................... 57
Five good EBP habits ................................................................................................................... 58
Where does it come from? .............................................................................................................. 58
What field is this?........................................................................................................................ 58
Medicine: founding fathers .......................................................................................................... 59
Problem 1: too much information................................................................................................. 59
3
