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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.