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Graduate
Board of Management Consulting GBM ™
Business and Management Consultant Certifications:
As business
becomes more complex, firms are continually faced with new challenges.
They increasingly rely on management analysts to help them remain
competitive amidst these changes. Management analysts, often
referred to as management consultants in private industry, analyze
and propose ways to improve an organization’s structure, efficiency,
or profits.
For example,
a small but rapidly growing company might employ a certified
consulting consultant who is an expert in just-in-time inventory
management to help improve its inventory-control system. In
another case, a large company that has recently acquired a new
division may hire management analysts to help reorganize the
corporate structure and eliminate duplicate or nonessential
jobs. In recent years, information technology and electronic
commerce have provided new opportunities for management analysts.
Companies hire consultants to develop strategies for entering
and remaining competitive in the new electronic marketplace.
(For information on computer specialists working in consulting,
see the following statements elsewhere in the Handbook: computer
software engineers; computer systems analysts; computer scientists
and database administrators; and computer programmers.)
Both public
and private organizations use consultants for a variety of reasons.
Some lack the internal resources needed to handle a project,
while others need a consultant’s expertise to determine what
resources will be required and what problems may be encountered
if they pursue a particular opportunity. To retain a consultant,
a company first solicits proposals from a number of consulting
firms specializing in the area in which it needs assistance.
These proposals include the estimated cost and scope of the
project, staffing requirements, references from a number of
previous clients, and a completion deadline. The company then
selects the proposal that best suits its needs. Some firms,
however, employ internal management consulting groups rather
than hiring outside consultants.
Management
analysts might be single practitioners or part of large international
organizations employing thousands of other consultants. Some
analysts and consultants specialize in a specific industry,
such as health care or telecommunications, while others specialize
by type of business function, such as human resources, marketing,
logistics, or information systems. In government, management
analysts tend to specialize by type of agency. The work of management
analysts and consultants varies with each client or employer,
and from project to project. Some projects require a team of
consultants, each specializing in one area. In other projects,
consultants work independently with the organization’s managers.
In all cases, analysts and consultants collect, review, and
analyze information in order to make recommendations to managers.
Like their
private-sector colleagues, certified management analysts in
government agencies try to increase efficiency and worker productivity
and to control costs. For example, if an agency is planning
to purchase personal computers, it must first determine which
type to buy, given its budget and data-processing needs. In
this case, management analysts would assess the prices and characteristics
of various machines and determine which ones best meet the agency’s
goals. Analysts may manage contracts for a wide range of goods
and services to ensure quality performance and to prevent cost
overruns.
After obtaining
an assignment or contract, management analysts first define
the nature and extent of the problem that they have been asked
to solve. During this phase, they analyze relevant data—which
may include annual revenues, employment, or expenditures—and
interview managers and employees while observing their operations.
The analysts or consultants then develop solutions to the problem.
While preparing their recommendations, they take into account
the nature of the organization, the relationship it has with
others in the industry, and its internal organization and culture.
Insight into the problem often is gained by building and solving
mathematical models, such as one that shows how inventory levels
affect costs and product delivery times.
Effective
management of a client’s human capital is the primary work of
consulting firms that offer human resources consulting services.
Firms that focus on this area advise clients on effective personnel
policies, employee salaries and benefits, employee recruitment
and training, and employee assessment. A client with high employee
turnover might seek the help of a human resources consulting
firm in improving its retention rate. Human resources consulting
firms also might be asked to help determine the appropriate
level of employer and employee contributions to health care
and retirement plans. Increasingly, firms are outsourcing, or
contracting out, the administrative functions of their human
resources division to human resources consulting firms that
manage timekeeping and payroll systems and administer employee
benefits.
Once they
have decided on a course of action, consultants report their
findings and recommendations to the client. Their suggestions
usually are submitted in writing, but oral presentations regarding
findings also are common. For some projects, management analysts
are retained to help implement the suggestions they have made.
Notice
on Accreditation in the U.S.
The United
States has no Federal Ministry of Education or other centralized
authority exercising single national control over postsecondary
educational institutions in this country. The States assume
varying degrees of control over education, but, in general,
institutions of higher education are permitted to operate with
considerable independence and autonomy. As a consequence, American
educational institutions can vary widely in the character and
quality of their programs.
In order
to ensure a basic level of quality, the practice of accreditation
arose in the United States as a means of conducting non-governmental,
peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs. Private
educational associations of regional or national scope have
adopted criteria reflecting the qualities of a sound educational
program and have developed procedures for evaluating institutions
or programs to determine whether or not they are operating at
basic levels of quality.
Standards:
The accrediting agency, in collaboration with educational institutions,
establishes standards. Self-study: The institution or program
seeking accreditation prepares an in-depth self-evaluation study
that measures its performance against the standards established
by the accrediting agency. On-site Evaluation: A team selected
by the accrediting agency visits the institution or program
to determine first-hand if the applicant meets the established
standards. Publication: Upon being satisfied that the applicant
meets its standards, the accrediting agency grants accreditation
or pre accreditation status and lists the institution or program
in an official publication with other similarly accredited or
preaccredited institutions or programs. Monitoring: The accrediting
agency monitors each accredited institution or program throughout
the period of accreditation granted to verify that it continues
to meet the agency's standards. Reevaluation: The accrediting
agency periodically reevaluates each institution or program
that it lists to ascertain whether continuation of its accredited
or pre accredited status is warranted.
Types of Accreditation
There are
two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified
as "institutional" and one referred to as "specialized"
or "programmatic."
Institutional
accreditation normally applies to an entire institution, indicating
that each of an institution's parts is contributing to the achievement
of the institution's objectives, although not necessarily all
at the same level of quality. The various commissions of the
regional accrediting associations, for example, perform institutional
accreditation, as do many national accrediting agencies.
Specialized
or programmatic accreditation normally applies to programs,
departments, or schools that are parts of an institution. The
accredited unit may be as large as a college or school within
a university or as small as a curriculum within a discipline.
Most of the specialized or programmatic accrediting agencies
review units within an institution of higher education that
is accredited by one of the regional accrediting commissions.
However, certain accrediting agencies also accredit professional
schools and other specialized or vocational institutions of
higher education that are free-standing in their operations.
Thus, a "specialized " or "programmatic "
accrediting agency may also function in the capacity of an "institutional
" accrediting agency. In addition, a number of specialized
accrediting agencies accredit educational programs within non-educational
settings, such as hospitals.
Non-governmental
Coordinating Agency
For more
than 50 years, there has been some type of nongovernmental coordinating
agency for accreditation. This body, whatever its form, has
existed primarily for the purpose of coordinating and improving
the practice of accreditation. For example, the Council on Post
secondary Accreditation (COPA), which was established in 1974
and existed until December 1993, served as a nongovernmental
organization whose purpose was to foster and facilitate the
role of accrediting agencies in promoting and ensuring the quality
and diversity of American postsecondary education. Through its
Committee on Recognition, COPA recognized, coordinated, and
periodically reviewed the work of its member accrediting agencies
and the appropriateness of existing or proposed accrediting
agencies and their activities, through its granting of recognition
and performance of other related functions. COPA itself was
created through the merger of two organizations: the National
Commission on Accreditation, founded in 1949 as the first national
organization to develop criteria and recognize accrediting agencies;
and the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commission of Higher
Education.
After COPA
voted to dissolve in December 1993, a new entity, the Commission
on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA) was established
in January 1994 to continue the recognition of accrediting agencies
previously carried out by COPA until such time as a new national
organization for accreditation could be established. CORPA was
dissolved in April 1997 after the Council on Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA) was created. CHEA is currently the entity
that carries out a recognition function in the private, nongovernmental
sector.
Note: The
U.S. Department of Education does not have the authority to
accredit private or public elementary or secondary schools,
and the Department does not recognize accrediting bodies for
the accreditation of private or public elementary and secondary
schools. However, the U.S. Department of Education does recognize
accrediting bodies for the accreditation of institutions of
higher (postsecondary) education. If an accrediting body which
is recognized by the Department for higher education also accredits
elementary and secondary schools, the Department's recognition
applies only to the agency's accreditation of postsecondary
institutions.
Accreditation does not provide automatic acceptance by an institution
of credit earned at another institution, nor does it give assurance
of acceptance of graduates by employers. Acceptance of students
or graduates is always the prerogative of the receiving institution
or employer. For these reasons, besides ascertaining the accredited
status of a school or program, students should take additional
measures to determine, prior to enrollment, whether or not their
educational goals will be met through attendance at a particular
institution. These measures should include inquiries to institutions
to which transfer might be desired or to prospective employers
and, if possible, personal inspection of the institution at
which enrollment is contemplated. http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg2.html#U.S.