subject: What is a consultant? [print this page] What is a consultant? What is a consultant?
No matter what industry you work in the chances are at some point you'll have come across consultancy services at some point. From maritime consultancy to shipping businesses to technology consultancy for IT projects, the profession fulfils a vital role in the modern business environment.
Unlike other job titles, 'consultant' doesn't really offer any clue to the area of work that this kind of professional deals with. Instead, it refers to the type of service they provide; expert advice in a particular area of expertise. Generally speaking, this means that consultancy is one of the furthest removed roles from an entry level job - typically people enter the profession after years of experience in the field, though in some cases extensive theoretical knowledge can compensate for less experience.
Consultants are at work at the upper levels of all kinds of business and even governmental bodies. Law and legal advice is perhaps the most common area of consultancy, yet there is no field where expert knowledge is not valued and in demand. At the heart of consultancy is the idea that expertise and experience can be constructively applied to different businesses and different situations, taught to clients as needed and used to inform best practice and internal processes.
Consultancy offers a way for firms to draw upon deeper levels of such expertise than would be feasible to retain in-house. This means that they can optimise each area of their business without the need to have such expertise internally employed on a permanent basis, allowing for great flexibility and the ability to tackle specific problems on an as-needed basis.
Another chief principle behind consultancy is the 'principal-agent' dilemma. Essentially, this refers to where both parties may not have the same interests, whilst the latter is expected to pursue the interests of the former. Whilst this is a relatively obtuse way of expressing the problems that arise when businesses are entirely managed and operated by those hired by the business; improvements to the status quo can be at risk when those in charge of them are responsible for the current state of affairs to begin with.
