A Survey of the Client - Consultant Relationship:The Perception of Management Consultancy Firms in Kenya
Abstract
It is no big secret that the client-consultant relationship is fraught with potential pitfalls,
disappointments, and frustrations. Its very success or failure hinges on the delicate balance
between expectations met versus expectations which remain unarticulated or unanswered. The
emerging challenges of globalization, new technologies and competitiveness required by firms to
operate have lead to the increasingly important role of management consultancy firms.
The objectives of the study were to determine the client- management consultant relationship as
perceived by management consultants and to establish the factors that influence the relationship
of the client and management consultant. The study was to benefit the existing and new
management consultancy firms in identifying and sustaining the client consultant relationship.
Further management consultancy firms may be able to consider service offering competences in
mind of clients' success factor considerations like fitness, consulting integrity, client readiness
and involvement, client agreement and control. The population of the interest in this study
consisted of all management consulting firms in Nairobi. This is due to the fact that most of the
management consultant firms in Kenya are found in Nairobi, which is the main industrial and
Commercial centre of Kenya. A sample of 50 firms was randomly selected for the study. This - represents 62% of the population considered for the study. All the firms in the population could
not be studied due to time and cost limitations. In recognition that most of the firms have almost
had similar problems and work environment 50 firms was considered sufficient.
The study found out that most of the respondents agreed to a great extent that mapping out the
network or relationship in the management consultant was operating roles and methods of
intervention in the clients' management consultancy relationship were extremely important.
Categories of client-management consultancy relationship was considered very important by
most of the respondents. Key factors in taking up management consultancy assignment by the
companies were extremely important to consider. Maintenance of the relationship with the firms
by the Me was considered to a very great extent by the majority of the respondents. Most of the
respondents have strongly agreed that management consultant influenced their work with the
clients. Obstacles considered in this study were strongly agreed majority of the respondents to
client management consultant relationship. It was clear from the study that most client
management relationship has had problems for largely non-technical reasons.
Sponsorhip
The University of NairobiPublisher
School of Business ( SOB )