Publications

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Creating Value in Your Business Ecosystem

Wal-Mart's and Microsoft's dominance in modern business has been attributed to any number of factors, ranging from the vision and drive of their founders to the companies' aggressive competitive practices. But the performance of these two very different firms derives... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

February 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

ENSR International

What is the best way to "sell" consulting services? Should the firm focus on key accounts? Should it have dedicated salespeople? How should the firm account for "selling" activities in its compensation plan? ENSR is an environmental consulting firm located in Westford,... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

01 Nov 2021
News

How Long Does It Take to Improve an Organization’s Culture?

January 2003 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Planning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

In this case, four consultants discuss business planning issues that they are each having within their respective consulting firms. The case addresses how professional compensation, project staffing, hours worked, overhead costs, and billing rates impact profitability. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Strategic Planning; Profit; Consulting Industry

April 2003 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Developing Professionals-The BCG Way (A)

By: Ashish Nanda

This case provides a brief history of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the firm's approach to development and mentorship of its consultants. It also discusses the challenges facing three consultants who are nearing the two-year mark of working at BCG. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Consulting Industry

February 2008
Case

Monitor's Opportunities in India (A)

By: Juan Alcacer and Jan W. Rivkin

The CEO of a strategy consulting firm must decide which of the firm's functions, if any, to move to India. In particular, he wonders whether business research--currently conducted by highly paid consultants in developed countries--can be conducted more efficiently and... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consulting Industry; India

June 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Supplement

Andersen Consulting--EMEAI: Bill Barnard on Organizational Change

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Ashish Nanda

Supplements Andersen Consulting - EMEA: Reorganization for Revitalization. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consulting Industry

Career Coach

Lisa Li

Lisa is excited to help students who are navigating the consulting recruiting process as well as current consultants who may be looking for career transitions into investing or operating roles. She is most... View Details

Bushra Guenoun

Bushra is a doctoral student in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School. Her research interests include trust, morality, social identity and mentorship/advising. She received an A.B. in Psychology from Harvard College in 2017. Previously, she worked as a... View Details

05 Feb 2015
Blog Post

Crossing the Atlantic

Coming to Harvard Business School was a forcing function to re-think my career path. One thing was for sure, I was committed to not return to consulting post-HBS. Therefore, it was a surprise to my friends, and most of all me, when I... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consulting

March 2023
Module Note

Client Interviewing and Data Collection

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Client Interviewing and Data Collection" introduces the essentials of client interviews and provides best practices for early career consultants and advisors. View Details

Career Coach

Marsha Faradina

Marsha has 8 years of experience in the energy industry (oil & gas/power generation) and was in consumer goods for her first job. She switched to consulting and moved from Asia to the US. Therefore, she enjoys assisting students... View Details

Career Coach

Kara Hardie

Kara Hardie is an experienced healthcare consultant and an MBA/MS Biotechnology candidate. Kara spent four years at The Boston Consulting Group, partnering with clients across the healthcare sector on... View Details

Career Coach

Pav Guraya

Pav is a social impact/nonprofit industry veteran (consulting/advisory) and career-switcher (strategy consulting). He enjoys assisting students interested in making career changes, particularly into consulting and especially for... View Details

December 1997 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Shanghai Real Estate (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Harold F. Hogan Jr

An independent consultant from the United States must decide what to do when faced with his client's apparent violation of an agreement with a third party. The consultant is American, the client is a Chinese real estate developer, and the third party is a French... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Contracts; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Law; Agreements and Arrangements; Alliances; Corporate Accountability; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; China; United States; France