Department of Business Administration

Title:

Indirect Management Consulting – Evaluation of an alternative consulting method Fredrik Skålén

Author:

10 credits

Thesis

Study programme in Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management

Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management

Title Level Adress

Author Date Supervisor Abstract

Indirect Management Consulting – Evaluation of an alternative consulting method Final Thesis for Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management University of Gävle Department of Business Administration 801 76 Gävle Sweden Telephone (+46) 26 64 85 00 Telefax (+46) 26 64 85 89 Web site http://www.hig.se Fredrik Skålén 2007-07-22 Dr. Maria Fregidou-Malama Indirect Management Consulting (IMC) is a new concept within organizational change management consulting. The basic principle is to make the client more active in the change effort compared to conventional management consulting where the consultant actively drives the change. With IMC, the client is provided with a tailored set of skills and methods that makes him able to lead a change project and to make sure that the new organization is sustained. The IMC-model is a combination of management consulting and e-learning, where the consultant has an indirect role in supporting the client. This study has shown that the IMC-model increases the chance for successful change implementation by increasing knowledge and involvement of the managers in the client organization. A common problem with conventional consulting is that the new organization fails to persist some time after the change project has ended and when the consultants have left the organization. This is overcome by the IMC-model since it transfers necessary knowledge and tools to the client’s managers who then can drive the change as well as ensure sustainability long after the project itself is completed. The IMC-model is more cost-efficient than conventional consulting