Management as Consultancy

Andrew Sturdy is Professor of Management at the University of Bristol. His research interests focus mainly on issues of power and identity in the production and use of management ideas, especially in relation to management consultancy and organisational change. He has advised on consultancy to the UK Management Consultancies Association (MCA), Institute of Consulting, the UK National Audit Office and the media. Christopher Wright is Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on managerial and professional identity and organisational change. He has acted as a consultant and adviser to a range of private and public-sector organisations on the use of consultants and organisational change. Nick Wylie is Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Oxford Brookes University. He researches the links between internal consultancy and the HR function, and has published widely in this field. His work on internal consultancy received a best paper award at the 2010 Academy of Management Conference. He is an adviser to the Institute of Consulting in the UK and has substantial management experience in a number of multinational financial services organisations.

• 1. Management as consultancy - a case of neo-bureaucracy; 2. Neo-bureaucratic management and consultancy; 3. The research study; 4. The work activities of the consultant manager; 5. Managing relationships as a consultant manager; 6. The occupational and career tensions of the consultant manager; 7. The identity boundaries and threats of the consultant manager; 8. Conclusion; Appendix 1. Details of UK interview respondents; Appendix 2. Details of Australian interview respondents; Appendix 3. Key features of UK internal consultancy units (ICUs); Appendix 4. Data analysis on standardisation in UK and Australian case studies; References; Index.

'The central proposition of this book is highly intriguing and captured my attention immediately. The authors argue convincingly that we need to re-think our assumptions about what management is and the role of management consultants as external experts doing different things to managers. It will have a very substantial impact on academic debate and, perhaps more importantly, on how practicing managers see their roles and careers.' Timothy Morris, University of Oxford