Management of parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of management consulting

Grabozdin Yu. P. Management of Parameters for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Management Consulting. Bulletin of Buryat State University. Economy and Management. 2023; 2: 70‒76 (In Russ.).

The object of the study. Management Consultants Performance Assessment Parameters.

The purpose of the study. The purpose of the study is to disclose the basic parameters for assessing the activities of management consultants.

Research methodology. This article uses the results of the author's research based on the comparative analysis of the management consultants' activities in the implementation of projects at the customer's enterprise. The following methods were used: analysis, observation, modeling, as well as sociological methods.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The problems of the development of management consulting and related industries were studied in the works of D. Bell, M. Bittner, F. Kotler, M. Porter, A. Smith, K. Haksever, T. Hill. Among Russian scientists, it is necessary to note the works of I.I. Eliseeva, A.P. Gorn, G.M. Kulapina, L. G. Kukhtinova, M. Yu. Ivanov, L. N. Semerkova, Eu. Yu. Rubin, Yu. Eu. Solodyashkina, J. I. Vlasova, N. A. Salnikova, P. F. Lobachev, S. V. Isaenko,

A. M. Muravyev, V. V. Gerasimov, I. V. Yakhneeva, S. V. Noskov, M. V. Botnariuk, O. G. Melchekova, N. A. Serebryakova, A. P. Zhabin, E. A. Kandrashina et al. [1-9]. In turn, the issues of organizational evaluation of the formation and development of management consulting remain insufficiently studied, which further increases the level of relevance of the topic of this work.

The results of the study. Based on the fact that the author of this study considers management consulting as a mechanism for improving the management of the customer company, this fact implies the formation of a comprehensive methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of consulting itself in the management system of the enterprise. Let's consider the main elements of the proposed method. A methodology for assessing the effectiveness of management consulting using accompanying training consulting, which is designed to assess the effectiveness of the interaction between the management consultant and the client. This includes financial analysis and peer review. The structural diagram of the procedure is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Structural diagram of the methodology for assessing the effectiveness of management consulting using accompanying training consulting

For a comprehensive assessment of effectiveness, the use of a panoramic index of accompanying training counseling is proposed, reflecting summary data on the assessment of various indicators / effects (in accordance with the indicators stated in the contract) on the part of the customer and the consulting company (groups of consultants [1,6,7,4,8]).

,  S E„

I  S E 2 i

I — the panoramic index of accompanying training counseling

Е 1 i — the effect calculated by the customer's expert team

E 2 i — the effect calculated by a team of expert consultants

Accompanying training counseling was used by the author of the study in projects when organizing management consulting in the Samara, Penza, Rostov regions and in the Czech Republic.

Table 1 presents the results of the above work, which confirm in practice the feasibility of the stated goals in the process of interaction between management consultants and customer enterprises. The presented results of the adequacy and effectiveness of the method proposed by the author of the present study.

Summary of Accompanying Training Counseling Results

Table 1

Indicators	AO "PROM-ENERGO-KOMPLEKT"	CKD BLANSKO HOLDING A.S.
Operational objectives of the enterprise	Implementation of new corporate standards for quality management and training of personnel	Revenue growth
Consultation support period	2022	2021
Financial and economic indicators at the end of the support period	Revenue growth (2,3%) Net cash flow (+4,4%)	Revenue growth (4,3%) Net cash flow (+2,2%)
Organizational and management results of support	Management costs (-1,3%) Number of management personnel (-3%)	Management costs (-4,3) Number of management personnel (-5%)
Other results	Increase of labor productivity, training of management staff	Organization of M&A processes and organizational optimization

Methodology for assessing the effectiveness of management consulting activities. Despite the fact that the results of consulting activities can be determined in the form of dynamics of qualitative and quantitative indicators, which are equally understood and interpreted by the participants in the implemented consulting projects, difficulties arise taking into account the specific manifestations and results of management decisions and other factors of the external and internal environment that could directly or indirectly affect the result.

As a result. The method of expert assessments is proposed, where the experts are project participants (team from the contractor and customer)

In the proposed methodology, the effectiveness of management consulting is proposed to be evaluated in the form of a product of the total result by the share coefficient of the contribution of management consultants to the final result with an adjustment to the assessment of the implemented consulting project by stakeholders who are determined individually in each company and can include a wide list of participants from owners to regulatory bodies and the media. Therefore, the target efficiency of the management consulting project is defined as the ratio of the initial and subsequent state of the enterprise management system.

The following elements are selected by the parameters of the management system assessment, according to which the following elements will be monitored: finance, clients, processes, innovations, personnel qualification, qualification of top management, process time, and the effectiveness of management consulting is assessed as the arithmetic mean between the consolidated assessments of the consulting project team and the assessment of stakeholders (stakeholders of the company), which are determined in each project individually directly or indirectly affecting the activities of the customer company management. (Table 2).

Table 2

Example of Management Consulting Performance Assessment

Indicator MS	Grade (max)	Average grade (team)	Average grade st
Finance	1,0	+0,9	+0,3
Clients	1,0	+0,7	+1,0
Process	1,0	0	+1,0
Innovations	1,0	-0,5	-0,9
Qualifications (personnel)	1,0	+0,6	+0,4
Qualification (top)	1,0	+0,8	+1,0
Process time	1.0	+1,0	+1,0
Total	7	3,5	3,8
Average	Х	3,65

The maximum possible grade for each of the control system indicators is 1 point. In total, the maximum possible amount for all indicators is 7 points.

Estimates of project participants and stakeholders can be as follows: + 1.0 point (achievement of the result. Effective value), 0 points — neutral value, the indicator did not change the value, -1.0 point, (unsatisfactory result). Graphically, this approach can be represented as a scale that defines the areas of effective and ineffective management consulting (Figure 2).

The field of effective counseling Zero field

The field of ineffective counseling Neutral field

Figure 2. Diagram of the effectiveness of management consulting

Based on the results of the implemented management project presented in Table 1, we will issue tabular information on the assessment of consulting by project participants and stakeholders from the standpoint of efficiency or inefficiency of management consulting.

Table 3 Management Consulting Performance Summary Sheet

Indicator MS	Average grade (team)	Efficiency (EC\IC\ZF\NF\)	Average grade st	Efficiency (EC\IC\ZF\NF\)
Finance	+0,9	EC	+0,3	NF
Clients	+0,7	EC	+1,0	EC
Process	0	0	+1,0	EC
Innovations	-0,5	NF	-0,9	IC
Qualifications (personnel)	+0,6	EC	+0,4	NF
Qualification (top)	+0,8	EC	+1,0	EC
Process time	+1,0	EC	+1,0	EC
Total	3,5	Х	3,8	Х
Note: EC — The field of effective counseling, IC — The field of ineffective counseling, ZF — Zero field, NF — Neutral field

The overall assessment of the effectiveness of management consulting is assessed using the formula:

E

cons

( Z E team ⁺ E s.^

Z E

max

In the case under consideration, the final knowledge of the efficiency of management consulting was 0,52, this indicator is located at the upper border of the neutral field, which shows a measure of improving the efficiency of management due to the implementation of management consulting, with the presence of a stock of growth in the future, for which it is necessary to carry out additional work on indicators that received minimum estimates in the project. Speaking about the dynamics of changes in individual indicators in the management consulting process, you can determine the degree of influence of each on the development of the customer company. For clarity, a graphical representation of the dynamics of changes in the management system indicators assessed during the management consulting process is offered.

0,6

0,6

0,53

Figure 3. Diagram of the effectiveness of management consulting

The expert assessment method has both advantages and disadvantages when implemented in management consulting. Among the advantages, it is necessary to note the use of a large number of options for the development of events and forecasting the result, as well as the involvement of experts from various fields necessary to solve the assigned management task. The method of expert assessments includes flexibility of approaches, namely, based on the specifics of corporate governance and the impact of the external environment, company stakeholders (for example, represented by founders) can set their limitations in the work of management consultants with management and both positively and negatively adjust the effectiveness of the project. Of course, the expert method is a high degree of subjective assessment (and the risk of a low level of expert qualification) and the need to check decisions made and planned activities in reengineering business processes, within the framework of this work this negative factor is partially adjusted taking into account the assessment of the effectiveness of management consulting by several parties.