SOL12 Management Consulting

• Topics

  This course focuses on how a management consultant (MC) may work in the best interest of a client through interacting and communicating with the client. Developing the MC-client relationship is emphasized to encourage collaboration and open exchange and production of information.

  Students will work on cases on problem solving applying key theoretical tools learned in this course so that MC works appropriately with client.   

  This course aims to prepare participants to conduct management consulting in practice by elevating student competence in communicating with and giving advice to managers.

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge

  Upon course completion, the students knows and have insights into:

  • What it means to serve client's interests.
  • How the consultant develops a trusting and close relationship with the client.
  • How to communicate with the client to exchange and produce information in humble inquiry.
  • Three models as a tool to help the client to solve their problems.
  • How to diagnose, define and solve client's problems.

  Skills

  Upon course completion, the students will be able to:

  • Apply knowledge on how to build a trusting and close relationship with the client.
  • Apply three models in handling the client's problems.
  • Help to diagnose, define, and solve client's problems in humble inquiry.

  General competence

  • Students as future management consultants and managers, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, will be able to define root cause problems in organizations in line with theory.

• Teaching

  Three teaching hours per week. The teaching is divided into two activities; lectures and group work. The groups work to internalize theory and produce a written term paper under supervision. This course emphasizes a student-oriented teaching methodology integrating teaching and written term paper.

  Physical attendance is recommended but not mandatory.

• Required prerequisites

  None

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  SOL12 is the equivalent to VOA033, and students will not get credit for both courses.

• Compulsory Activity

  Students have to obtain course approval in order to submit their term paper. The requirements for course approval are:

  - Students have to register in a group within a deadline.

  - Groups submit a text linked to the term paper within a deadline.

  For further information, see course plan in Canvas. This is published at the start-up of the course.

  Previous acquired course approval is no longer valid. The course approval is only valid for the semester it has been obtained.

• Assessment

  Written group-based term paper (counts 100 % of grade). 5-6 students in each group. The whole paper may be written in English or Norwegian. The groups will be working on their written term paper during the last part of the course, and have approximately seven weeks to complete the paper before the submission deadline.

• Grading Scale

  Grading scale A-F

• Literature

  Selected book chapters and articles (will be made available in Leganto)