ARM402 :: Lecture 22 :: ROLE OF CONSULTANCY ORGANISATIONS
                  
				
Learning  Objectives 
•         Consulting Model 
•         Consulting Matrix 
Introduction  
                    In competitive and  constantly changing marketing conditions, the production of quality goods at a  minimum cost depends solely on the availability and fusion of the latest  technical know-how. Modernization for higher productivity also depends on this  technical know-how, essential for the healthy growth of the small-scale  industry. This technical know-how, however, depends on industrial research,  particularly in the small scale Seder, which not only ensures stability -in  marketing and profits, but is essential for the very survival of a unit. 
                    A consultant sells  advice and counsel for a fee. You not only have the right, but also the responsibility  to charge for what you know. Similarly, as a consultant, you must generate  enough revenues to underwrite your venture and make it worth your time and  effort. 
                    Consulting Model  
                    In the competitive  post liberalization environment characterized by rapid technological  innovations on new hand, and the prospect of an increasing number of highly  experienced international giants entering the domestic market, on the other,  the very future of organizations seems rather foggy and endangered. The free  market, being ruthless, strictly adheres to the principle of survival of the  fittest. 
- The vision to provide the and driving duel;
 - Appropriate business strategy, based on correct environmental scan (or distinctive advantage or the capacity to develop it soon);
 - The appropriate organisational structure (with coordination processes);
 - The means and ways of synergizing the efforts of people to achieve the business goals.
 
Very often one reads these days about the various modem forms of organisational Structures, about business strategies and Identifying vision, environmental scanning, identifying distinctive capabilities, leading to determination of business portfolios, thrust areas, business goals and the Strategic Plan process reengineering. But unless there is an alignment or congruence between all these, i.e., the strategy, the structure and the processes or system, the enterprise just does not benefit.
 
                    MHB Counsel’s  Consulting Model for Business and Organisational Transformation
Franchising  
                    Have you ever felt  like quitting your job and starting on your own? Chances are that you have.  But, before examining the option of going into any business, you may want to  ask yourself a few questions like whether you are suited for business. 
                    Is there a congenial  business opportunity available? Do you have the resources ‘to set’ up a  business? If you conclude that business is what you want to do, you could  either set up on your own or better still franchise. 
                    Franchising as defined  by the International Franchise Association is a continuous relationship in  which a franchiser provides a licensed privilege to conduct business in,  addition to providing assistance in organizing, training and merchandising, in  return for these services the franchiser receives a certain’ amount from the  franchisee. To elucidate, a franchiser could be an organisation, which provides  the business package while the franchisee, an entity that adopts the business  package. 
                    There are three kinds  of franchising. Product Franchising, one of the oldest forms of franchising, is  when a dealer signs up to sell a product and uses the manufacturers name to do.  For instance, vehicle dealers from Maruti or Bajaj are product franchisees. 
                    Trade name  Franchising, the second form of franchising, allow a franchisee of use an  organization’s name without using a particular product. For example, department  or retail stores like Mark & Spencers or Wall Mart. 
                  The  most commonly recognised form of franchising is known as Business Format  Franchising. 
Consultancy Matrix  
                  Management, according to Drucker, is what tradition is used to  call a liberal art: ‘liberal’ because it deals with the fundamentals of  knowledge, self-knowledge, wisdom, and leadership; ‘art’ because it is practice  and application. Managers draw on all the knowledge and insights of the  humanities and social  sciences - on psychology and philosophy; on economics and history, on the  physical sciences and on ethics. But the have to focus this knowledge on  effectiveness and results on healing a sick patient, teaching a student,  building a bridge, designing and selling a ‘user- friendly’ software  programme. For these reasons, management will increasingly coordination,  functional systems of people. Synergising their efforts to be the discipline through  which the ‘humanities’ will again acquire recognition, impact and MHB Counsel’s  Consulting Model for Business and relevance. 
Consultancy Cooperation Matrix
| Characteristics | Countries    | 
                    |
 Strengths  | 
                      Developed  | 
                      Developing  | 
                    
Rigour in data handling   | 
                      Understanding of dynamics of the local situation    and effective   | 
                    |
Limitations  | 
                      Unfamiliar with local needs   | 
                      Inexpensive   | 
                    
Two Key Roles  
                    In  facilitating practicing managers to apply this knowledge,-consultants have two  important roles to play: 
- Bringing new knowledge to the visible proximity of the practicing manager.
 - Acting as ‘information carriers’ on examples of knowledge application – from industry to industry and from - sector to sector.
 
In short, consultants must be good conceptualizes and communicators. The traditional concept views a consultant as a problem solver and if a problem is posed to him, he will find a solution and. make a report to the client. This is not true, as the resources for solving a problem are invariably available within the organisations. It is the consultants ability to help them use effective tools and techniques: to find their own unique solutions to their own special problems, which is the more important aspect.
Production  
                    As regards production,  product research and research in equipment and processes are important. 
- Product Research: It is the study of a product’s design, colour brand, etc. which enriches the managements knowledge of the product and helps it to stabilize and. ‘expand which sales. It also evolves the necessary technical know-how of a-product.
 - Equipment and Process Research: It is the study of industrial processes and methods, tools and equipment and handling devices to produce a product on a commercial basis at the minimum cost. The development of new methods and mechanisms for increasing the safety processes are fertile fields for this type of study.
 
With  a view to increasing production and employment and stimulating. The development  of industrial co-operatives, the small-scale Industries Board” has constituted  a working group, which has, laid emphasis on- technical assistance. 
                      Technical Assistance Suggests  
- Survey both -economic and technical viabilities to develop small-scale industries;
 - Present schemes for the purpose of starting production throughout common service facilities and demonstrations;
 - Distribute improved tools arid equipment; and
 - Encourage design and research. The emphasis on technical assistance aims at ensuring a rapid growth of small industrial units and making them more efficient rather than protecting them against competition from the organised sector of industry. This activity may be provided in the form of systematic techniques, standardization and improved designs. In other words, technical know-how is the bedlock of the small-scale industry.
 
Role of the State  
                    The  Government of India has been encouraging the growth and development of small  industries because of their important contribution to the nation’s economy. The  Small Industries Service Institute and the Development rendering valuable  assistance and advice to small industrialists because the latter, unlike the  big industrialists, cannot afford the financial cost of their own staff of  qualified specialists. In order to make this service as complete and  comprehensive as possible, a Design Cell was set up in each of the four  Regional Institutes at Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. 
                    The object of setting  up of these cells was to study and improve the designs of the products of small  industries. In August 1959, in order to improve its services, the Design Cell  as centralized in one office at New Delhi because common workshop facilities  were available there for purposes of experiment and building with attached  workshops consisting of a tool room, a machine shop, a ceramic shop, a ceramic  shop and laboratories for chemical and electrical research, and a reading room  and library containing many books on industrial designs. 
The Industrial Design Cell  
                  Since the setting-up  of the Industrial Design Cell, the small-scale industry in India has reportedly  made tremendous progress in the field of technology and marketing. 
                  To  cope with the constant demand for improvement in the products, the Industrial  Design Cell has peen engaged involving new designs, which are suitable for  production in the all-scale sector with its limited resources, and mechanical  and technical ability. 
                  The principal function  of an industrial design is to create product which is functionally perfect and  has a ‘strong aesthetic’ appeal, besides being economical and convenient in  terms of production. The designer studies the capacity of the manufacturer in  order to determine how a product should. be designed. He also considers the  total personality of the product, in such a way, that the product acquires a  form, which clearly expresses its function. 
                  From  the manufacturers point of view, the most important purpose of industrial  designing is to render the production of his products economical and  convenient. A good design means significant savings in skilled labour,  reduction in the number of production operations and better utilization of raw  materials. These savings cannot be brought about at the cost of the utility and  function of a product; this can best be accomplished when the designer has a  good understanding of the machines, workers and the existing production methods  of the manufacturer. 
Areas of Technical Know-how to  Industry
                  Some of the percepts  of modern industrial design and what it tries to accomplish may be summarized  here.A modern design should fulfill the practical need of modern life.
                  It should express the  spirit of our times and should also take advantage of new materials and  techniques and develop utilitarian products. It should develop the forms,  textures and colours that spring from the direct fulfillment f requirements in  appropriate materials and techniques and should express the purpose of an  object and techniques, and should also indicate as handicraft or simulating a  technique which has also not been used. At the same time, it should be simple;  its structure evident in its appearance and it should avoid extraneous  enrichment. 
                  A modern  design should muster the machine for the service of man and should serve as  wide a public as wide a public as possible, considering the modest of needs and  limited costs on less challenging than the requirements of pomp and luxury.
                  The  industrial design cell has played a vital and significant role in helping the  small-scale sector in product designs. Till recently, most of the products  manufactured in the small scale sector were either imitations of imported  products, irrespective of any
                  consideration of  suitability of Indian conditions, or were functionally bad. The industrial  design cell has made efforts to overcome these shortcomings and has helped the  small-scale sector to improve its product design and its viability. At present,  the industrial design cell specializes in designs for the following industries.
- Cutlery and domestic utensils;
 - Domestic electrical appliances;
 - Furniture and woodwork;
 - Ceramics;
 - Leather goods;
 - Builders hardware; and
 - Plastic goods
 
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