Consultants. Choosing and managing consultants. How can consultants help a company? The sequence of steps when recruiting an external consultancy for a company

Training in companies. How can companies decide what type of training or development is needed? Coaching vs. mentoring. What are the differences of these two training programmes? (their aims; participants; duration; learning styles applied).

Plan:

1 - Defenition of training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies.

Defenitionof coaching, with a professional coach, is the practice of supporting an individual, referred to as the client or mentee or coachee, through the process of achieving a specific personal or professional result.

Defenition of mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)"

2 - Professional and personal qualities

3 - Differences between mentoring and coaching

4 - The main problem finding a suitable mentor

5 - conclusion

1.First of all we should decide on what kind of qualities we talk about- professional or personal. Talking about professional qualities I think a teacher or a trainer should know well the field they work in, its peculiarities & written & unwritten rules, also they should be good physiologists, because they work with people most of the time & they should set an example of behavior to their students or trainees. As for personal qualities, on my opinion, they should be patient, tolerant, honest & kind.

2. When you coach people, you improve on their skills so that they can do a better job. People may already have the knowledge or basic skills to do smth, but they don’t know how to do it effectively. These skills can include many business management skills such as negotiating, time management, preparing meetings or organization. Coaching isn’t only for managers; anyone in the company might do this sort of programme. This course can be intensive or over the long period of time, but the objective is to improve an employee`s specific skills & improve company results.

3. The original idea of mentoring programmes is that they are long-term career programmes which are specifically designed for a select few in multinationals. This training programme is more elitist. It`s usually for people with a lot of potential who will end up being managers in 2 or 3 years time.

The mentoring programme is in fact only a part of a bigger picture, because the participant or mentee may probably be attending other training & personal development programmes. Mentoring programmes are designed to retain talented people within the organization.

Mentor can`t be the mentee direct manager or boss. Usually the mentor is someone who is high up in the company, who has a lot of experience & know-how & very important is someone who likes teaching & sharing knowledge. It has be someone who can be objective if the mentee has a problem at work or come for advice.

Mentoring programme usually lasts a year & a half, but the mentor & mentee may only meet once a month.

Some online courses offer “blended learning”, where there is a mixture of face-to face tuition and e-learning. Which style of learning do you prefer and why? Would you consider doing an online MBA? What are the advantages associated with Universities 21 Global? And the disadvantages?

 

Blended learning in educational research refers to a mixing of different learning environments. It combines traditional face-to-face classroom methods with more modern computer-mediated activities. According to its proponents, the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and learners. Formerly, technology-based materials played a supporting role to face-to-face instruction. Through a blended learning approach, technology will be more important.

 

To my mind the most effective is learning by doing, because you can use your knowledge in the practice. That’s why you will remember it much better and you will be know how to use your knowledge in the right way.

Established in 2001, U21Global is the world's premier online Graduate School that offers globally recognised postgraduate programmes. The graduate school is in close partnership and collaboration with four prestigious partner universities - the University of Birmingham, the University of Melbourne, the University of Nottingham and the University of Virginia. U21Global combines the traditional quality of its founders and partners with innovative modes of delivery on the Internet, providing students with substantial learning advantages that is relevant to current management thinking, while balancing work, travel and family life.

U21Global has students from 72 countries around the world including those from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The graduate programmes draw upon the best practices in online learning.

The online institute makes higher education accessible to more people. E-learning is seen as offering less rote learning and allows instructors to act as facilitators or mentors. It also allows for greater expression, giving everyone in the virtual classroom space an equal voice.

Modular training is the most popular MBA program in Russia. Modular programs are designed for people living far away from the business school and not having the opportunity to study in the evenings. Every two months students come to school for 3-7-day session. Executive MBA is designed for senior executives. An important component of the Executive MBA program is the uniformity and interactive group work.In the past years, the popularity of such programs is growing in Russia.

As for the Universitas 21 Global, then Russia is not its key market, because that distance learning does not have great popularity among the students.

Currently, the MBA programme at the Universities 21 Global offers 18 subjects; there are plans to introduce new disciplines - such as masters in information systems, public policy or public health. Universitas 21 Global is offering an alternative route for students in Asia, who cannot afford to pay for higher education or travel to the US, UK or Australia. To make its online MBA programme affordable, the institute charges varying tuition fees, depending on where the students come from. Pricing model takes into account the GDP [gross domestic product] of each country.

MBA includes 10 core and 7 elective subjects. On average, the MBA programme will take about two-and-a-half years to complete.

1. -5 Partnerships and their types. What is a public-private partnership? What are the benefits associated with PPPs for private and for public sectors? PPPs in developed countries: talk about the PFI in the UK.

 

Today the topic of my presentation is the private sector and private public partnership in Russia. Firstly, I would like to begin by the definition of a private sector. Then I would like to make a few remarks concerning areas that the private sector operates or helps public services in our country.

Private sector is the part of the economy that is not state controlled, and is run by individuals and companies for profit. Public-private partnership (PPP) describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies.

Russia has signalled a massive expansion in Public Private Partnership. Public Private Partnership is most common in such arias as hospitals and health care, schools and education services, housing and urban planning, utilities, infrastructure projects and transport.

Today in Russia, about a half million students study in private higher education institutions, so their role in the educational life of the country is essential. Private universities more quickly respond to changes in the labor market, mobile in the opening of new specialties and areas of training. More than 30% of the scientific discoveries of all higher education is done in the private education sector.

In addition, the private sector is represented on the market for medical services. Increasing number of private clinics and pharmaceutical companies. The state's role in the health sector is to avoid infringement of such social indicators as equity in health.

No less attractive destination for private sector is housing. Attracting private investors to create objects of low-rise housing will significantly improve the efficiency of their construction and subsequent operation. Foreign experience convincingly proves that private sector participation in infrastructure projects leads to a reduction in construction time, minimize the total costs for construction and operation as well as increase customer satisfaction services.

In recent years, the private sector is actively involved in investing of infrastructure projects and transport.

It is important to note that private companies are more efficient, and Public private partnership can improve efficiency in many sectors of the economy Russia such as education services, housing and urban planning, utilities, infrastructure projects and transport.

But despite all the benefits of Public private partnerships, there are sectors of the economy that should be public. These include the space industry, defense industry, army.

 

 

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function.

Among the developing regions, Latin America account for 48% of the cumulative investment in infrastructure. In this region private participation in infrastructure was often part of a broader sectoral reform programme, aimed at enhancing performance through private operation and competition and generating the financial resources. Private participation in infrastructure in developing countries has been concentrated in the telecommunications sector and energy.

Infrastructure projects in the developing world are accompanied by many risks, threats and challenges. Political risk is high that’s why lenders are reluctant to back projects. Companies invested heavily before the regulatory regimes were worked out, so they were building the foundations on shifting sand.

Another difficulty is that infrastructure projects generate local currency revenue, while the long-term financing is in dollars or euros. Besides financing difficulties.recoupinginvestments remains a challenge. The World Bank estimates that power prices cover an average of about 60 per cent of the costs, while water prices cover just 30 per cent. The private sector can't recoup the investment, and the public systems don't get expanded and become decrepit.

The participation of multilateral institutions is seen as one answer. The IFC hopes to foster public-private partnerships by providing upfront financ-ing. Advising governments on how to structure contracts and establishing transparent processes, thus creating conditions it believes can attract investors. Other opportunities lie between big government and donor- funded projects and primitive systems such as collecting water from bore holes or using wood as fuel. Local entrepreneurs can provide services.

In the few places in the world where this is permitted - as in Yemen and Cambodia - hundreds of small companies have bought generators and established wires connecting neighborhoods or villages. Prices are higher than for national systems, but there are no modern systems, so people prefer this to nothing

 

Business brief

 

8). Alternative energy sources. How many alternative sources of energy are you aware of? What are some of the advantages, disadvantages and technological drawbacks of these alternatives? Which sources of energy do you predict we will rely on in the future? Hydrogen economy: a dream or reality? Prove your position.

There are a number of alternative sources of energy and environmentally friendly fuels available to combat the damage to the environment caused by Fossil Fuels.

Fossil Fuels such as coal and gasoline provide most of the energy needs of the world today, but because of their diminishing reserves, high prices and most importantly, their damaging effect on the environment, alternative sources of energy and environmentally friendly fuels are now being developed. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “There are more than a dozen alternative and advanced fuels in production or use today.” From the perspective of protecting the environment, alternative fuels and alternative sources of energy usually fall under seven broad headings.

 

Biofuels, Natural Gas, Wind Energy, Hydroelectric Power, Solar Energy, Hydrogen, Nuclear Energy

 

Biofuels

Any kind of fuels made from plants or animals. These include wood, wood chippings, methane from animal excrement or as a result of bacterial action and ethanol from plant materials.

Natural Gas

Although a fossil fuel, Natural Gas is cleaner burning than gasoline, but does produce Carbon Dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Like gasoline natural gas is a finite source, but unlike it, there is still a very plentiful supply still available.

 

Wind Energy

One of the oldest and cleanest forms of energy and the most developed of the renewable energy sources. There is the potential for a large amount of energy to be produced from wind. Unfortunately wind farms, whether onshore or off shores are unsightly, noisy and generate a lot of opposition.

Hydroelectric Power

Like wind energy, a very old and well developed energy source, but unlike wind energy its capacity for expansion is limited. Over development and unrestricted harnessing of water power can have devastating effect on the local environment and habitation areas.

Solar Energy

Apart from Nuclear Energy, all other forms of energy result from solar energy. Fossil fuels, biofuels and natural gas are in effect “bottled” solar energy. The wind and rivers which provide renewable energy are the result of solar energy reacting with the earth’s atmosphere. It is also possible to harness this inexhaustible supply of energy directly through photoelectric cells or using Thermal Power plants.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen could be a very environmentally friendly fuel, and with the advent of the fuel cell it has been proved a viable fuel source for vehicles. But there are serious questions on its production, storage and distribution.

Nuclear Energy

Once thought to be the “Jewel in the Crown” of alternatives to fossil fuels, Nuclear Energy received a very bad press after the “Three Mile Island” incident and the Chernobyl accident. Nonetheless it had enjoyed a comeback of sorts in the earlier years of the new millennium, but now after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushema power plant, caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011, there is a question mark over nuclear power as an alternative source of energy.

9) The future of work. Is the way we work really changing fundamentally? How new technologies changed the way we work? Job enlargement and the “hour-glass” economy, their consequences. Employment trends in Russia.

What are the main benefits and problems of managing a call centre in India? Talk about revolving-door culture and its consequences; attrition rates; how do companies try to solve the problem of high staff turnover and insufficient staffing? Some ways to increase job satisfaction.

Call center is an office where people answer customers' questions, make sales etc by using the telephone rather than by meeting people.

Call-centre is an office in which large numbers of telephone calls are handled and providing the customer services functions of a large organization.

There are some main benefits and opportunities of managing a call centers in India.

One benefit has been for companies to choose more isolated locations. Nevertheless, the strategy has its risks. India has a lot of English speakers, but investors should not overestimate the number that are ready to work.

Another remedy is to make the workplace more attractive. Some companies have introduced salsa classes. Others have moved to multi-cuisine canteens. Almost all have on-site recreational facilities, such as football tables and cafes, albeit with limited success.

Companies are also becoming more alert to dealing with employee trauma, particularly for those who work on the telephone, for example abusive calls. 'It helps the employee realise that it was nothing personal. In fact, only about 1 per cent of calls are abusive and training can do much to help.'

Another solution - is to hire part-time older employees, including housewives, and to allow them to telecommute from home.

Another option is to open a call centre on campus and allow students to drop in and out and work part-time.

In spite of the benefits and opportunities, there are the two core problems. The first is the permanent 'jet-lag syndrome'. It means that very few people like to sleep during the day and work at night. The second problem is that most work in call centers is repetitive and is likely to remain so.

Besides, workforce will pose a mortal threat to India's continued expansion. Call-centre attrition is a universal problem. It has got worse in India.

As an example of domestic call centers can name SPF "Bercut" LONIIS, "Inline Technologies", "Ruslan communications."

There are such benefits as efficiency, low carrier-specific cost of the workplace, commitment to a better customer service, steady growth of interest in outsourcing services and a focus on multi-channel communications - this is one of the major recent trends in the Russian market of call-centers.

There are such problems as: lack of staff, lack of managers and operators for call centers, lack of specialists to work in call-centers, the lack of their experience, staff turnover, operators are forced to work with several systems, some of the information and opportunities for sales are lost, the business requirements are growing and changing faster than IT can implement, and measurement of process and performance is absent or "lame." etc.

11 ) Business ethics: corporate social responsibility and corporate citizenship. How do companies address the issue of CSR? Examples of unethical behaviour of companies (employment practices; environmental concerns; product pricing;

The topic I’m going to deal with is Business ethics and corporate social responsibility.

My presentation consists of 4 parts:

1. Definition of Business ethics and corporate social responsibility

2. Name some companies that had bad press over one of the following issues:

•     employment practices;

•     environmental concerns;

•     product pricing;

•     financial irregularities.

3. Was anything done to rectify the problems as a result?

4. PSLU business ethics code.

To begin with I want to give the definition of Business ethics.

Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.

Corporate responsibility it is how companies manage their production processes, or their core businesses, in order to create an overall positive impact on society.

Corporate responsibility is largely to do with the action taken by companies in relation to the local environment and is a kind of compensation paid back to the society. Many companies only pay lip service to these issues. However, if company is involved in unethical practices, it will be found out by its shareholders in the long run. It’s also difficult for multinationals to ensure workers in developing countries have decent wages due to local labor laws. It is up to governments to ensure that companies respect not only labor laws but also the human dignity of their employees.

Nestle, Toyota and Mattel - currently top the list of international socially irresponsible companies.

Nestle company was listed for violations of labor law: the exploitation of child labor and "contribute to obesity," the American nation.

Toyota showed up opposition to government measures to increase fuel economy standards and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time spending millions on "green" marketing. Company Mattel - not once caught in the manufacture of toys containing lead. So it is companies such Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and Philip Morris.

Solving ethical dilemmas is not easy. In many cases, each possible decision can have both unpleasant consequences and positive benefits that must be evaluated. Coming to the conclusion I’d like to say that companies must be responsible ethically and socially.

12. Finance and banking. Recent changes and future developments in international banking. What major factors have affected international banking? The role of new technologies. New banking services, products and delivery channels.

 

The advantages of Internet banking are convenience, flexibility, 24/7 availability of banking services, better interest rates on CDs and savings accounts that are opened online, wider array of financial products and services for customers and so on.

The disadvantages of Internet banking are the threat of identity theft, hacking of banking accounts, worms, spyware attacks and phishing.

Recently, during the 70s, only large companies had access to capital markets. Nowadays, small and medium-sized companies also have access to the capital markets. So, nowadays, companies instead of requiring the more traditional banking services, like commercial bank lending, companies are in need of more sophisticated banking services, such as, for instance, bond issues, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring to name a few.

There are 4 major factors which have affected international banking recently. These are: globalization, secondly, the new regulatory frameworks, thirdly, technology aspects and finally, direct access to capital markets by essentially small and medium-sized companies.

Markets use nowadays very powerful technology platforms which allow banks, as well as large corporations, to transfer money at the click of a mouse, so they have the ability therefore to carry out international transactions in a way which could have not been done before.

New banking services which have resulted from this technology developments like electronic letters of credit, electronic direct debits or even international cheque truncation where paper doesn’t travel any more.

I prefer to use the services of the Savings Bank, because Savings Bank of Russia - is a stable bank, which guarantees the reliability and offers investors several types of deposits.

It is recognized as one of the most reliable banks in Russia. However, for most investors it is important not only reliability, but also the stability of credit institutions. In the "Savings Bank" involved not only a large amount of assets, but also the largest number of funds of individuals.

 

 

 

Consultants. Choosing and managing consultants. How can consultants help a company? The sequence of steps when recruiting an external consultancy for a company.

 

I would like to begin my presentation by definition of consultant and management consultant.

Consultant - someone whose job is to give people or businesses advice or training in a particular area.

Management consultant - someone who is paid to advise the management of a company how to improve their organization and working methods.

Consultants provide advice or a service to make your business more successful. Consultants usually help with a specific problem or task when your company simply doesn’t have the know-how. For instance, a consultant might provide training. You might take on a consultant to improve overall managerial performance and they also manage specialist projects.

Selecting the right consultant for the company and the type of problem at hand is a vital part of the process. The first step is to assemble a list of candidates by getting recommendations from people in the same line of business. It is important to avoid selecting a consultant based upon a current management fad; instead, the decision should be based upon the company's particular needs.

There are two types of consultants:

Internal Consultant - someone who operates within an organisation but is available to be consulted on areas of specialism by other departments or individuals (acting as clients).

External Consultant - someone who is employed externally (either by a firm or some other agency) whose expertise is provided on a temporary basis, usually for a fee. As such this type of consultant generally engages with multiple and changing clients.

       It’s really important for the company to establish objectives and goals. There five principles of SMART. It stands for: Specific, measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-limited. The client then needs to set a timescale, a budget and a brief.

Brief should includes a description of your organization, what it does and its size and structure, an explanation of the problem and what you want to achieve.

There are a lot of consultants out there. And you need choose a reliable one. You should choose one that has experience of businesses of your size, that understands your industry, and that is, ideally, a member of a professional body like the Institute of Management Consultancy. Next step is you need to come up with a shortlist of three consultants and ask them to submit written proposals. Proposals should include their understanding of the problem, any relevant experience of the consultancy firm, a work plan and schedule, the reports and any systems that will be supplied. Next step is you have to agree on a written contract, describing both the work to be done and the conditions. A written contract should include objectives, a brief, how and for how long the consultancy will be managed, fees and the deliverables. Deliverables are the goods or services that are going to be delivered. Also one of important factor is fee or price. It’s likely to fall into one or two types: T&M contracts, which are for time and materials, or fixed-price contracts. The main difference lies in the risk factor. The risk of running over in cost. With a fixed-price contract, the consultant assumes most risk, whereas in a T&M contract, the client will assume most risk, but not all.

The important thing to remember is if you are not happy with any aspects of the proposal, don’t take them on. It’s important to make sure the chemistry is right.

 

14. Consultants. What are the possible benefits and drawbacks of working as a consultant? The professional code of conduct. Skills needed to find and recruit a consultant. Is there a way to avoid mistakes when choosing a consultant?

 

Consultant-someone whose job is to give people or businesses advice or training in a particular area.

Advantages

Additional skills.
The usual reason to hire a consultant is to get access to some of their skills that are scarce or nonexistent in your own company. Beware that the more narrowly a consultant defines himself or herself (e.g. "I develop mail-order catalog website back-ends with Ruby on Rails"), the less helpful they will be. When you hire a button-pusher, don't expect miracles — expect buttons to be pushed.

Intelligent advice.
This is the original and best reason to hire a consultant, and where 'miracles' can occur. Real consultants are people you can consult. Sadly, the art of asking good questions, gathering information about problems and giving advice based on experience and observations has almost become a lost art among today's see of 'consultants', who technically should call themselves independent contractors, not consultants

Outsider perspective.
"The imaginative user of "outsiders" can encourage each of the types of mindfulness just mentioned. Just as a traveler to a foreign culture notices what people indigenous to that culture take for granted, an outsider in a company may notice when the corporate natives are following what may now be irrational traditions or destructive myths."

Disadvantage

Cost.
Consultants can be expensive, but usually this is only a problem when you are hiring a consultant to be doing something that an employee should be doing. Most of the value you will get from consultants is from their advice, observations and some focus work, so a couple hours from a consultant could save you months of wasted employee/contractor time

Quality control.
If you're hiring a stranger, you really know nothing about whether their skills will help or hinder your project. And consultants often work on their own time, in their own way. This lack of visibility, necessary for good consulting (and a legal requirement for independent consultants), can also hide shoddy work. Hire consultants based on referrals and give them smaller initial projects so that you can judge them based on results rather than marketing glitz.