Criticism
Despite consistently high and
growing revenues, management consultancy also consistently attracts a significant amount of criticism, both
from clients as well as from management scholars. "Management consultants are often criticized
for overuse of buzzwords[4], reliance on and propagation of management fads, and a
failure to develop plans that are executable by the client." A number of critical books about management
consulting argue that the mismatch between management consulting advice and the ability of business executives
to actually create the change suggested results in substantial damages to existing businesses.[5] In
his book "Flawed Advice and the Management Trap," Chris Argyris believes that
much of the advice given today has much in it of real merit. However, a close examination shows that most advice
given today contains gaps and inconsistencies that may prevent positive outcomes in the future.[6]
Disreputable consulting firms
are often accused of delivering empty promises, despite high fees. They are often charged with "stating the
obvious" and with lacking the experience on which to base their advice. These consultants bring few
innovations, instead offering generic and "prepackaged" strategies and plans that are irrelevant to the
client’s particular issue. They may fail to prioritize their responsibilities, placing their own firm’s
interests before the clients'. [7]
Another concern is the promise
of consulting firms to deliver on the sustainability of results. At the end of an engagement between the
client and consulting firms, there is often an expectation that the consultants will audit the project
results for a period of time to ensure that their efforts are sustainable. Although sustainability is
promoted by some consulting firms, it is difficult to implement because of the disconnect between the client
and consulting firms after the project closes.
Further criticisms include:
disassembly of the business (by firing employees) in a drive to cut costs[4], only providing analysis reports, junior consultants charging senior rates,
reselling similar reports to multiple clients as "custom work", lack of innovation, overbilling for days not
worked, speed at the cost of quality, unresponsive large firms and lack of (small) client focus, lack of
clarity of deliverables in contracts[8],
and secrecy[9].
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