Management as Consultancy
Neo-bureaucracy and the Consultant Manager

Written for researchers, professionals and students, this book examines the dynamics and dilemmas of internal management consultancy.

Andrew Sturdy (Author), Christopher Wright (Author), Nick Wylie (Author)

9781107020962, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 February 2015

254 pages, 13 tables
23.5 x 16 x 2.2 cm, 0.52 kg

'This book is a good reminder that management consultant is not a homogeneous group and that there are distinct classes of professionals within it … Original and stimulating work … illustrating the blurring of management and consulting careers in neo-bureaucratic organizations.' Marion Brivot, Organizational Studies

The nature of management is changing: managers are becoming more like consultants, focusing on projects, functional integration, change and 'clients'. This timely book is based on a large-scale, international study of new management practices and examines the emergence of consultant managers. It breaks new ground in our understanding of this hybrid role, uncovering working practices, identities and occupational dynamics, to shed light on both management and consultancy. It unpacks the changing relationship between external consultants and management to reveal important implications for the future of consultancy. Both private and public sectors are covered, with a focus on managers in large and multinational organisations such as former consultants and those in specialisms such as human resource management who adopt consulting roles. In addition to advancing our understanding of changes in management, this book offers a demystifying view of consultancy as a whole, from one of the largest ever studies of this occupation.

1. Management as consultancy - a case of neo-bureaucracy
2. Neo-bureaucratic management and consultancy
3. The research study
4. The work activities of the consultant manager
5. Managing relationships as a consultant manager
6. The occupational and career tensions of the consultant manager
7. The identity boundaries and threats of the consultant manager
8. Conclusion
Appendix 1. Details of UK interview respondents
Appendix 2. Details of Australian interview respondents
Appendix 3. Key features of UK internal consultancy units (ICUs)
Appendix 4. Data analysis on standardisation in UK and Australian case studies
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Management & management techniques [KJM], Consultancy & grants for businesses [KJL], Sociology: work & labour [JHBL]