Management consultancy services in the Philippines : an industry analysis model / Romulo H. Borsoto. 6

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 2001.;A dissertation presented to the Graduate School of Business and Government in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Business Administration. 56

5

ABSTRACT: The researcher aimed to study Management Consulting Services in the Philippines as a growing industry and identify intervention strategies and opportunities that will help upgrade its standards and practice. An attempt was made to formulate a model that can serve as reference in the analysis of his particular industry to enhance its growth further. Particularly, the researcher sought the answers to the following questions: 1. What is the status of management consulting industry in the Philippines in terms of: 1.1 Profile of Consultants 1.2 Type of consulting services provided; 1.3 Number of years in the consulting industry; 1.4 Number of full-time and part-time consultants; 1.5 Number of projects undertaken; and 1.6 Fund sources of the client 2. What are the standards and practices of Management Consulting Industry in the Philippines in terms of: 2.1 Prospecting of clients 2.2 Packaging of proposals 2.3 Pricing and Billing 2.4 Service Delivery 2.5 Performance Feedback and Monitoring 3. Is there a significant difference in the perceptions of respondents on the standard and practices of management consulting industry when groups in terms of: 3.1 Consultants for public institutions; 3.2 Consultants for private businesses; 3.3 Consultants for International institutions 4. What are the dominant observations of the respondents about the management consulting industry in the Philippines? 5. What factors and interventions strategies are perceived important by the respondents to further develop the management consulting industry in the Philippines? 6. What model can be developed for further analysis of management consulting services industry in the Philippines? Research Hypothesis In this study, the significant difference on the perception of respondents was empirically tested in the null hypothesis; to wit: Null Hypothesis 1. There is no significant difference in the perceptions of respondents on the standards and practice of management consulting services in terms of: 1.1 Consultants for public institutions; 1.2 Consultants for privates businesses; 1.3 Consultants for International institutions. For a more complete and valuable knowledge about management consulting industry in the Philippines today for the last five (5) years, the descriptive research design method was utilized. Resulting generalization was verified inductively and deductively in order to propose possible interventions and approaches discerned from the research findings and from the predictive value that the simple model can yield. Management consultants of selected consulting firms and organizations, executive officers of funding institutions and representatives from state-owned and private corporations, government units and agencies in the Philippines had been tapped respondents to the survey/ A total of one hundred twenty (120) of them participated in the study. A big portion of the Results and Discussion consisted mostly of descriptive statistics. These highlighted the weighted mean of the primary data gathered and the interpretation of the results of the ANOVA tests that generally proved that there is a significant difference in the perceptions of respondents on the standards and practice of management consulting services in terms of consultants for public institutions, consultants for private businesses and consultants for international institutions. Conclusion As deduced from the findings of the study, it is very evident that the management consultants in the Philippines are aware of the existing problems confronting the industry. The data presented as a result of the survey can serve as empirical basis to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the profession and establish the proper focus though which effective actions can be taken to improve the present situation. It will now be easier for the active players in the consulting industry to arrive at a consensus and act together to overcome the present constraints and strengthen the industry for it to achieve the government's recognition as a real profession. The findings taken from the study can also give the signal for an urgent call for a meaningful dialogue among consulting firms and individual consultants, the users of their services, the funding agencies, and more importantly, the Government, to discuss common areas of concern that could enhance the practice of domestic consulting and make it globally competitive. It is also expected that further formulation of workable industry models can be inspired by the simple one crafted from this study. Attempt to expand this model to a more comprehensive format that this study failed to achieve for non availability of secondary data can be expected from those who will acquire similar interest to analyze the industry further as inspired or challenged by this study. Recommendation The recommendations given were categorized into three and were correspondingly addressed to each of the following groups, namely: the Government, the Institute of Management Consultants, and the individual consultants/consulting firms. What were stressed, among others, are the international consultancy groups and the support that the Government should provide in the development of domestic consultancy. It is also highly recommended that further studies on this topic should be conducted to consider other relevant factors and variables not included in the research. Subsequent studies can definitely enrich the findings and recommendations given. All of these, taken together, can help accelerate the development of management consultancy as a profession, in particular, and as an industry in general.

5