Amity Business School

MBA & Specialized MBA Class of 2020,

Management in Action- Social, Economic and Ethical Issues
MGMT705
 Amity Business School

Module II

The Process of
Management Consulting
 MEANING OF Amity Business School

CONSULTING
• It means providing the expert knowledge
to someone.
• Consulting is most often used when a
company needs an outside, expert opinion
regarding a business decision.
Eg- A company wants to sell its products
abroad may look for a consultant familiar
with the business practices of that
particular country.
 Amity Business School

Consulting Proposal
 A consulting proposal is a detail
document wherein job/services that are
to be offered to the prospective client are
mentioned at length.
 Consulting proposal is prepared only
after a detail meeting between the
consultant and the client was conducted
regarding the issue/problem for which
client is seeking consulting services
 It must include all the key elements like
issue statement, project detail, approach,
methodology, terms, timeline and
conclusion.
 Amity Business School

Essentials of Consulting Proposal

The proposal is made to convince the prospective client
regarding the expertise services of the consultant.
The proposal is a written document that helps in avoiding any
last minute confusion between the client and the consultant.
Therefore following should be considered while preparing the
proposal:
Consulting Proposals should be concise, clear and informative.
The proposal must be tailored to the needs, goal and
expectation of the client.
Methods, Deliverables, detailed steps and cost
Steps in Consulting Amity Business School
 Consulting Process Amity Business School

• First Meeting with Client

• Preliminary Problem
• Purpose Analysis Diagnosis
• Problem Analysis • Assessment Planning
• Fact Finding • Assessment Proposal to
• Fact Analysis client
• Feedback to
Client • Developing Solutions
• Evaluating Alternatives
• Proposal to client
• Planning for
Implementation
• Assisting with
implementation
• Adjusting • Evaluation
proposals • Final Report
• Training • Settling Commitments
• Plans for follow up
• Withdawal
 Amity Business School

Steps in Consulting
 Defining the problem/Issue : This ensures that consultants and the
clients are on the same page and catering in the same direction.
 Structure the Problem/Issue: Consider all the possible factors that
could possibly be influencing the situation and then structure the
problem accordingly.
 Prioritizing the issue: Identify the factors that are the most important
and relevant.
 Work Planning : Breaking down the project into steps with
specifying the deadlines and allocating talents to do the different
tasks.
 Conduct Analysis
 Synthesize Findings
 Recommendation
 Amity Business School

Define the problem

“……….Defining the Problem is very Crucial and it should not
lead to solving the symptoms”

“Let’s say a company is struggling with profitability”

This issue could be very simply be defined as the company is not
having growth.
As per the above problem the goal may be to drive more growth.
But it may not be the actual problem and restricted growth may
be a symptom to some deep rooted problem.

Therefore defining the actual problem without jumping to the

solution is very crucial.
 Amity Business School

Fact Findings
 Costs have remained relatively constant and are actually below
industry average so revenue must be the issue
 Revenue has been increasing, but at a slowing rate
 This company sells the product and have had no slowdown on
the number of units it has sold over the last five years
 However, the price per unit is actually below where it was five
years ago
 There have been new entrants in the market in the last three
years that have been backed by Venture Capital money and are
aggressively pricing their products below cost
 Problem Statement Amity Business School

“The company is struggling to increase profitability due to

decreasing prices driven by new entrants in the market. The
company does not have a clear strategy to respond to the price
pressure from competitors and lacks an overall product strategy
to compete in this market”

On the basis of Problem Statement Hypothesis may be developed

e.g.
Company has scope to improve its pricing strategy for increasing
profitability
Company can explore new market opportunities unlocked by new
entrants
Company can explore new business models or operating models with
the help of advancement in technology
 Amity Business School

Goal
“Increase Profitability”
 Amity Business School

Hypothesis Confirmed Through

Company has scope to  Analytics

improve its pricing strategy  Pricing Models
for increasing profitability  Interviews
Company can explore new  Competitive Analysis
market opportunities unlocked  Expert Interviews
by new entrants  Data
Company can explore new  Expert Interviews
business models or operating  Technology Pilot
models with the help of  Market Research
advancement in technology
 Amity Business School

Leading to Solution Development

Multiple possibilities must be explored

We can increase revenue or decrease costs
We can increase revenue by selling more or increasing prices
 Amity Business School

Implementation
The top-down approach, where solutions are implemented
by managers at a high level in the organization. This
approach often results in restructuring and re-engineering,
and is a top-down change where the results are expected to
reverberate down through the organizational levels of
divisions, functions, and individuals.

The bottom-up approach is implemented by employees at

lower levels of the organization, and rises to the top, until it
can be felt throughout the whole organization. In this type of
change implementation, employees are involved in the
process and provide their input, lessening resistance to
change.
 Amity Business School

Developing Strategies & Tactical Plans

Strategic Plans
Porter’s Five Forces: Barrier,
Buyers Power, Substitutes,
Competition
4Ps Product, Price, Promotion,
Place
4Cs: Cost, Customers,
Competition, Companies
Scenario Planning: Planning
done as per the required situation.
 Tactical Plans: Amity Business School

Some of the tactical plan used in the management consulting

are:
•Beneficiary, Target group: who will actually benefit from
the project.
•Purpose: What purpose has to be accomplished by the
project.
•Result: Project must be result oriented, what results are
estimated to be achieved
•Development Objective: It defines a wider perspective,
framework. It tell about the ultimate or long term objective.
•Output: What all delivered by the project and what all has to
be delivered in due course.
•Indicator of Achievement: Measurement of whether
objective is achieved and how successfully.
•Actions: A set of Actions to achieve and meet objectives
•Input: Resources to be utilized
 Amity Business School

Subcontracting
Subcontracting traditionally refers
to the practice of bringing in an
outside company or individual to
perform specific parts of a business
contract or project. It is the practice
of assigning a part of the
obligations and tasks under a
contract to another party known as
a subcontractor. Subcontracting is
especially prevalent in areas where
complex projects are the norm,
such as construction and
information technology.
 Amity Business School

Difference between Subcontracting and Outsourcing

The primary differences lie in the amount of control a company has
over the work process and whether the work could have been
performed in-house.

By outsourcing some functions, the company can reserve company

personnel for their key tasks. Outsourcing is supposed to provide a
cost-efficient solution.

The subcontracting company and the provider work closely

throughout the project, and the hiring party has a reasonable amount
of control over the process
In most cases, a company subcontracts another business to
perform a task that cannot be handled internally.
 Amity Business School

Pricing of Consultancy

Pricing is all about estimating your value as a consultant

Pricing is a big part of your how your audience perceives you

Consultants generally charge clients by the hour, day or project,

although some offer a retainer payment option.

The services you offer aren’t the only factor determining your pricing
Amity Business School
 Amity Business School

Acquiring and Developing Talents

Amity Business School
 WHAT IS PROPOSAL? Amity Business School

• Consulting Proposal is a written document or a

letter detailing the consultants ideas, planning and
methodology proposed for carrying out a given
assignment.
• The consulting proposal enables the client to
assess, evaluate, and select the most suitable one
for appointment for carrying out the assignment
• Proposals are prepared and submitted in
response to a “Request for Proposal”, generally
after following a short listing process

24
PROPOSALS ARE INVITED… Amity Business School

 To solicit offers from prospective consultants

 Determination of Market rates
 Transparency in the selection process
 To select the best services at lowest rates
 Tool for negotiation – desired Quality and price
 It provides the evaluator a mechanism to make
an informed decision, achieve economy and
avail of best of professional services
25
 Amity Business School

STEPS FOR WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE PROPORSAL

26
 BEFORE GETTING STARTED Amity Business School

• Learn as much as you can about the job under consideration. A consulting
proposal isn't like a resume — it's not a good idea to just send yours out to as
many recipients as possible to drum up business. Each proposal should be
tailored specifically to the client you're trying to get. The more knowledgeable
you are about the client and his or her needs, the better you can write your
proposal, so your first step should always be to educate yourself.

• Come to an agreement on what your exact role will be. You don't want to
sign on to work as a consultant only to have your client pressure into doing work
you didn't agree to. Having a very clear picture of what the client expects from
you is important — this way, you can word your proposal so that your work will
be limited only to what has been agreed upon. Things to note include:
• Your precise duties and the result the client hopes to achieve
• The time frame for your work
• Specific milestones that need to be reached by certain dates

27
 Amity Business School

• Find the client's financial commitment. This is perhaps the most

important piece of information of all. If the client isn't willing to pay you what
you think the work is worth, you don't even need to bother writing the
proposal. Have an agreement with the client about how much (as well as
how often) you will be paid before you start writing. This way, you can refer
to the agreed-upon payment in your proposal, which the client will need to
sign and agree to to hire you.

28
 MAKING THE PROPOSALS Amity Business School

• Begin your proposal by addressing the prospective client. Start your

proposal like you would start a letter: with a short paragraph summing up
that you want to do the work for the client and that you are the best
candidate for the job . Here, it's OK to be somewhat "warm" and personal in
your tone, though you should always stay professional.

• Describe the job in the first paragraph. Draw from the discussions you
have already had regarding the job to show your client, in a few sentences,
that you know what you need to do. Show that you understand the problem
that needs solving, the duties the client expects you to perform, and the
scope of your work (one-time gig, long-term, etc.).

29
 Amity Business School

• In the second paragraph, describe your qualifications. Here, you're

trying to sell yourself as the best possible person for the job. Draw attention
to things like your training, your experience, and jobs you've done in the
past that have gotten positive feedback. You can also reference your
attitude and values, though these should take a back seat to more concrete
qualifications.
• Remember that you may be in competition with other consultants. Try to
paint a picture of how you will provide a measurable benefit to the client in
terms of money or time saved. This way, you can give yourself an edge over
a competitor with similar or better qualifications who doesn't articulate this
as well.

• In the next paragraph, describe the work you propose. List, using strict
terminology and specific details, what you will do to solve the client's
problem. Pinpoint the exact results the client will see from you consultation.
Be specific regarding your methods and time frame here.

30
 Amity Business School
• Describe what you will not be doing during your consultation. As a consultant,
you want to avoid the problem of "mission creep" — gradually having your
responsibilities grow without receiving any extra compensation. Isolate the problem
you will be addressing and indicate very clearly that related issues are not included
in this proposal.

• Propose a price for your consultation. This depends on what you are doing and
who your client is. Remember that you may be competing against other
consultants, so try to keep your rate competitive for your industry and your
situation.

• Close by summarizing your proposal. Like in an academic essay, the goal of the
concluding paragraph is to offer a quick, succinct summary of the rest of the
proposal was about. Reiterate your fitness for the job, your preparations for the
consultation, and your confidence in attaining results. Here, as in the opening
paragraph, you can be a little more "warm" and refer to the client by name. When
you're finished, sign and date the proposal, leaving a space for the client's
signature.
31
 MAKING AN EFFECTIVE Amity Business School

PROPOSAL
• Stay short and sweet. Keep your proposal as short as it needs to be to
accurately describe yourself and the job. Quality is your goal here, not quantity.
Any excuse the client has to stop reading your proposal and pick up another
consultant's is something you want to prevent, so make your proposal a quick
read.
• Keep your focus on the client. While you'll always want to devote some
space to your qualifications, the most important person in the proposal isn't you
— it's your client. Even when you're talking about yourself, frame your
discussion in terms of how well you meet the client's needs (not how great you
are).
• Avoid buzzwords. Many clients (corporate clients especially) spend all day
hearing empty, meaningless phrases parroted by people trying to sound
important. Spare them this unnecessary tedium. Instead, write your proposal
with clear, succinct language. Don't try to make your promises sound more
exciting than they are with flashy jargon. Instead, just make exciting promises.
• Examples of buzzwords include things like "best practices," "synergy,"
"disruptive," "optimized," and more
32
 Amity Business School

• Pay attention to spelling and grammar. This may seem nit-picky, but it's
essential. Even if you're not consulting for a position that requires any
writing, clean, professional communication shows that you've taken the time
and energy to present your best self. Mistakes don't mean you're less-
qualified for the job, but they do mean that you didn't pay enough attention
to get your proposal exactly right. In a tight competition between two
consultants, this may be the deciding factor.
• Structure it for Success-The most effective consulting proposals have a
clear logical structure that supports the decision making process. Here is
what you’ll often want to include:
• Goals, objectives, project details, responsibilities, terms, summary.
• Quantify the results the client can expect.-Some consultants create
proposals that overemphasize their consulting process and methodologies.
Most clients buy results, not tools or methodologies.

33
 FRAMEWORK Amity Business School

• [PARAGRAPH 1]: list the objective.

• [PARAGRAPH 2]: List a plan to solve
problem.
• [PARAGRAPH 3]: List the timeframe.
• [PARAGRAPH 4]: List expectations that
need to be met to ensure job is completed
as promised.
• [PARAGRAPH 5]: List your price.
34
 Amity Business School

SAMPLE OF PROPOSALS

35
 Enhancing Employee Performance through Greater
Amity Business School
Role Clarity and Measurability

• Project Objective:- KRIBHCO wishes to clarify Job Descriptions and KRAs

for all its officers across functions and locations and has invited organization
to assist them in the same

• Engagement Background
• KRIBHCO is one of the leading Fertilizer co-operatives in India, operating a
Fertilizer Complex in Hazira, Gujarat manufacturing Urea, Ammonia and
Bio-Fertilizers. Additionally it also processes Seeds at ten plants in various
states
• Annual production capacity is to the tune of 1.7mn TPA for Urea, 1mn TPA
for Ammonia and 250 TPA for Bio-Fertilizers
• The Co-operative has grown steadily over the years. Earnings have
increased from ~ Rs 1,200 cr in 2001-02 to Rs 4,500 cr in 2012-13 with a
PBT of c. Rs 365 cr

36
 Amity Business School
• The management believes that this performance can be improved further
and the first step towards performance improvement and effective
performance management is to ensure role clarity amongst the officer cadre
within the Company. Cascading further down is a natural next step to be
undertaken in due course of time
• Clearly defined Job Descriptions (JDs) and Key Result Areas (KRAs) would
serve to eliminate subjectivity and bias from the annual appraisals and is a
pre-requisite to an effective performance management process
• This engagement is required to cover the Fertilizer and Seeds businesses
covering Plant Operations and HO functions including Finance, HR &
Admin, IT under the engagement scope. Marketing function is excluded
from the scope

• KRIBHCO has invited Consulting organization to assist them in undertaking

this exercise in order to improve efficiencies and prepare for growth

37
 PROPOSAL BY AVALON Amity Business School

• OBJECTIVE- to clarify Job Descriptions and KRAs for all its officers across
functions and locations.
•
• Scope and Methodology
• Module 1:- Clarification and Articulation of Strategy
• Deliverables
• Workshop with senior KRIBHCO management team to understand strategy
for the Fertilizer and Seeds businesses
• Strategic Objectives at the business level will be translated into specific
Objectives at the Plant level and functions within the Corporate office ,

• Methodology
• Initial discussions with senior management to understand KRIBHCO’s
medium term Goals, Strategy and key objectives being pursued
• This will be followed by one on one meetings with the Functional Heads to
understand Functional strategies designed to fullfil the Company’s objectives

38
 Amity Business School
• Module 2 Detailing Job Descriptions for Key Personnel
•
• Job Descriptions (JDs) – Avalon will draft JDs for all positions from A
Grade to H Grade
• JDs are a detailed articulation of the Roles and Responsibilities associated
with the position

• Methodolgy
•
• KRIBHCO’s existing JDs (where available) and appraisal templates will be
used as a starting point for the exercise
• JDs will be drafted keeping in mind the Roles, Responsibilities and
Expectations from the particular position emanating from the Business and
Functional Objectives

39
 Amity Business School
• Timeframe
• We expect to complete the engagement in 10 weeks
• Client meetings will be held regularly to discuss issues and progress
• All meetings will be accompanied by appropriate discussion papers

• The engagement will be driven by a client consultant team

• Steering Committee Director, Human Resources, KRIBHCO
• Other KRIBHCO nominee
• Engagement Director – Avalon Consulting
• Engagement Manager – Avalon Consulting

• Profile: Director and Sector Leader

• Professional Experience:
• One of the promoters & a Director of Avalon Consulting
• Previous experience as Consultant with the Project Appraisal Group,
Planning Commission in the Government of India for evaluating Public
Sector Investment and with BPCL in Corporate Planning
40
 Amity Business School
• General Terms
• Avalon Consulting agrees to treat all Confidential Information provided by
KRIBHCO as secret and confidential and take all necessary steps to
preserve such confidentiality. It will not use any such Confidential
Information other than for the purpose of performing its obligations for
assignment and, in particular, not to use or seek to use such confidential
information to obtain (whether directly or indirectly) any commercial, trading
or other advantage (whether tangible or intangible) .

• Expenses, Taxes and Levies

• The consulting fee for this study will be Rs 14,00,000 (Rupees Fourteen
lakhs only)
• All out of pocket expenses (OOP) for boarding, lodging, travel and
communication for the study will be extra and will be charged at actuals.
Expenses will be approximately 10 to 15% of the fees

41
 TYPES OF OUTSOURCING
Amity Business School

There are many typologies of outsourcing. Some of them are as follows-

•Conventional outsourcing-
In a conventional outsourcing, the people, the facilities, the equipment, the
technology are transferred to the service provider.

•Greenfield outsourcing-
In a greenfield outsourcing, the company buys new services from a service
provider that it would normally have performed in-house (this is a make vs.
buy decision) . The outsourced services will cost less and be better.
 MEANING OF Amity Business School

CONSULTING
• It means providing the expert knowledge
to someone.
• Consulting is most often used when a
company needs an outside, expert opinion
regarding a business decision.
Eg- A company wants to sell its products
abroad may look for a consultant familiar
with the business practices of that
particular country.
 WHO IS CONSULTANT ? Amity Business School

A person who provides expert advice

professionally in various fields.
 Eight Roles of a Amity Business School

Consultant
• Objective Observer:
In this the consultant observes the client’s
behaviour and provides feedback.
• Process Counselor:
The role consists of observing the client’s
problem solving processes and offering
suggestions.
 Amity Business School

• Fact Finder:
In this the consultant collect the information
which is important to the client.
• Identifier of Alternatives:
Then the consultant identifies alternative
solutions to a problem.
• Joint Problem Solver:
The consultant works actively with the client to
find out the accurate results.
 Amity Business School

• Trainer:
The consultant provides instructions,
information or other kind of directed
learning opportunities for the client.
• Information Specialist:
The consultant serves as content expert for
the client that defines what is right and
what is wrong approaches to a problem.
 Amity Business School

• Advocate:
The consultant uses his power and influence
the client’s choice of goals and means.
 DEVELOPING TALENTS Amity Business School

FOR CONSULTING
After Second World war many changes
could be seen in the HRD department
such as:
• Public Relation
• Employee Management
• Personnel Management
• Labour Relations
• Human Capital Advisory
 MAJOR CONCERN Amity Business School

The major concern for leading business all

over the world is how to improve
employee’s performance and to improve
and develop the right talent.
 HOW TO ACQUIRE Amity Business School

TALENT
Increasing the number of consultants is the way
to achieve growth in an industry.
In order to acquire the right talent consulting
firms often compete against each other and
with other sectors to make their firm more
competent than its other counterparts.
The consulting firms provides better career
options and attractive offers to the
individuals.
 Amity Business School

THANK YOU

52
 Amity Business School

Finding Fact

• Information gathering or data collection.

• formal process of using techniques to collect information about systems, requirements

and preferences.

System
System
Planning
Planning

System √ Requirements Gathering

System
Analysis Data Modeling
Analysis
Process Modeling

System
System
Design
Design

System
System
Implementation
Implementation

System
System
Maintenance
Maintenance
 Amity Business School

• The System Analyst.

• The Analyst especially needs to develop a detective mentality to be able to discern relevant
facts.

System Development Life Cycle.

• System Analysis Phase

• Study Phase
• Definition Phase
• Selection Phase
• Design
• Post Implementation Review
 Amity Business School

Any information System can be examined in terms of four building blocks

Data

Geography Processes

Interfaces
 Amity Business School

There are seven common fact-finding techniques

•Sampling of existing documentation, forms and databases

•Research and Site visits

•Observation of the work environment

•Questionnaires

•Interviews

•Prototyping

•Joint requirements planning

•Rapid Action Development

•Rapid Action Development (RAD)

 Amity Business School

Fact Finding Strategy

1. Study in the existing documents, forms, reports and files.

2. If appropriate, observe the system in action.

3. Given all the facts that are already collected, design and distribute questionnaires to clear
doubts.

4. Conduct interviews or JAD. Verify and clarify the most difficult issues and problems.

5. Follow up.
 Amity Business School

• Effective Fact-Finding techniques are crucial to the application of systems analysis and
design methods during systems projects.

• Fact finding is performed during all phases of the SDLC.

• The System analyst plays a major role in collecting the facts because Time is Money it is
wise and practical to use a fact-finding strategy to maximize the value of time spent with
end-users.
 Amity Business School

CONSULTIG PROPOSALS

MADE BY-
TANYA KANSAL
A-31
MBA-HR
A0102315008
59
 WHAT IS PROPOSAL? Amity Business School

• Consulting Proposal is a written document or a

letter detailing the consultants ideas, planning and
methodology proposed for carrying out a given
assignment.
• The consulting proposal enables the client to
assess, evaluate, and select the most suitable one
for appointment for carrying out the assignment
• Proposals are prepared and submitted in
response to a “Request for Proposal”, generally
after following a short listing process

60
PROPOSALS ARE INVITED… Amity Business School

 To solicit offers from prospective consultants

 Determination of Market rates
 Transparency in the selection process
 To select the best services at lowest rates
 Tool for negotiation – desired Quality and price
 It provides the evaluator a mechanism to make
an informed decision, achieve economy and
avail of best of professional services
61
 Amity Business School

STEPS FOR WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE PROPORSAL

62
 BEFORE GETTING STARTED Amity Business School

• Learn as much as you can about the job under consideration. A consulting
proposal isn't like a resume — it's not a good idea to just send yours out to as
many recipients as possible to drum up business. Each proposal should be
tailored specifically to the client you're trying to get. The more knowledgeable
you are about the client and his or her needs, the better you can write your
proposal, so your first step should always be to educate yourself.

• Come to an agreement on what your exact role will be. You don't want to
sign on to work as a consultant only to have your client pressure into doing work
you didn't agree to. Having a very clear picture of what the client expects from
you is important — this way, you can word your proposal so that your work will
be limited only to what has been agreed upon. Things to note include:
• Your precise duties and the result the client hopes to achieve
• The time frame for your work
• Specific milestones that need to be reached by certain dates

63
 Amity Business School

• Find the client's financial commitment. This is perhaps the most

important piece of information of all. If the client isn't willing to pay you what
you think the work is worth, you don't even need to bother writing the
proposal. Have an agreement with the client about how much (as well as
how often) you will be paid before you start writing. This way, you can refer
to the agreed-upon payment in your proposal, which the client will need to
sign and agree to to hire you.

64
 MAKING THE PROPOSALS Amity Business School

• Begin your proposal by addressing the prospective client. Start your

proposal like you would start a letter: with a short paragraph summing up
that you want to do the work for the client and that you are the best
candidate for the job . Here, it's OK to be somewhat "warm" and personal in
your tone, though you should always stay professional.

• Describe the job in the first paragraph. Draw from the discussions you
have already had regarding the job to show your client, in a few sentences,
that you know what you need to do. Show that you understand the problem
that needs solving, the duties the client expects you to perform, and the
scope of your work (one-time gig, long-term, etc.).

65
 Amity Business School

• In the second paragraph, describe your qualifications. Here, you're

trying to sell yourself as the best possible person for the job. Draw attention
to things like your training, your experience, and jobs you've done in the
past that have gotten positive feedback. You can also reference your
attitude and values, though these should take a back seat to more concrete
qualifications.
• Remember that you may be in competition with other consultants. Try to
paint a picture of how you will provide a measurable benefit to the client in
terms of money or time saved. This way, you can give yourself an edge over
a competitor with similar or better qualifications who doesn't articulate this
as well.

• In the next paragraph, describe the work you propose. List, using strict
terminology and specific details, what you will do to solve the client's
problem. Pinpoint the exact results the client will see from you consultation.
Be specific regarding your methods and time frame here.

66
 Amity Business School
• Describe what you will not be doing during your consultation. As a consultant,
you want to avoid the problem of "mission creep" — gradually having your
responsibilities grow without receiving any extra compensation. Isolate the problem
you will be addressing and indicate very clearly that related issues are not included
in this proposal.

• Propose a price for your consultation. This depends on what you are doing and
who your client is. Remember that you may be competing against other
consultants, so try to keep your rate competitive for your industry and your
situation.

• Close by summarizing your proposal. Like in an academic essay, the goal of the
concluding paragraph is to offer a quick, succinct summary of the rest of the
proposal was about. Reiterate your fitness for the job, your preparations for the
consultation, and your confidence in attaining results. Here, as in the opening
paragraph, you can be a little more "warm" and refer to the client by name. When
you're finished, sign and date the proposal, leaving a space for the client's
signature.
67
 MAKING AN EFFECTIVE Amity Business School

PROPOSAL
• Stay short and sweet. Keep your proposal as short as it needs to be to
accurately describe yourself and the job. Quality is your goal here, not quantity.
Any excuse the client has to stop reading your proposal and pick up another
consultant's is something you want to prevent, so make your proposal a quick
read.
• Keep your focus on the client. While you'll always want to devote some
space to your qualifications, the most important person in the proposal isn't you
— it's your client. Even when you're talking about yourself, frame your
discussion in terms of how well you meet the client's needs (not how great you
are).
• Avoid buzzwords. Many clients (corporate clients especially) spend all day
hearing empty, meaningless phrases parroted by people trying to sound
important. Spare them this unnecessary tedium. Instead, write your proposal
with clear, succinct language. Don't try to make your promises sound more
exciting than they are with flashy jargon. Instead, just make exciting promises.
• Examples of buzzwords include things like "best practices," "synergy,"
"disruptive," "optimized," and more
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• Pay attention to spelling and grammar. This may seem nit-picky, but it's
essential. Even if you're not consulting for a position that requires any
writing, clean, professional communication shows that you've taken the time
and energy to present your best self. Mistakes don't mean you're less-
qualified for the job, but they do mean that you didn't pay enough attention
to get your proposal exactly right. In a tight competition between two
consultants, this may be the deciding factor.
• Structure it for Success-The most effective consulting proposals have a
clear logical structure that supports the decision making process. Here is
what you’ll often want to include:
• Goals, objectives, project details, responsibilities, terms, summary.
• Quantify the results the client can expect.-Some consultants create
proposals that overemphasize their consulting process and methodologies.
Most clients buy results, not tools or methodologies.

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 FRAMEWORK Amity Business School

• [PARAGRAPH 1]: list the objective.

• [PARAGRAPH 2]: List a plan to solve
problem.
• [PARAGRAPH 3]: List the timeframe.
• [PARAGRAPH 4]: List expectations that
need to be met to ensure job is completed
as promised.
• [PARAGRAPH 5]: List your price.
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SAMPLE OF PROPOSALS

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 Enhancing Employee Performance through Greater
Amity Business School
Role Clarity and Measurability

• Project Objective:- KRIBHCO wishes to clarify Job Descriptions and KRAs

for all its officers across functions and locations and has invited organization
to assist them in the same

• Engagement Background
• KRIBHCO is one of the leading Fertilizer co-operatives in India, operating a
Fertilizer Complex in Hazira, Gujarat manufacturing Urea, Ammonia and
Bio-Fertilizers. Additionally it also processes Seeds at ten plants in various
states
• Annual production capacity is to the tune of 1.7mn TPA for Urea, 1mn TPA
for Ammonia and 250 TPA for Bio-Fertilizers
• The Co-operative has grown steadily over the years. Earnings have
increased from ~ Rs 1,200 cr in 2001-02 to Rs 4,500 cr in 2012-13 with a
PBT of c. Rs 365 cr

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• The management believes that this performance can be improved further
and the first step towards performance improvement and effective
performance management is to ensure role clarity amongst the officer cadre
within the Company. Cascading further down is a natural next step to be
undertaken in due course of time
• Clearly defined Job Descriptions (JDs) and Key Result Areas (KRAs) would
serve to eliminate subjectivity and bias from the annual appraisals and is a
pre-requisite to an effective performance management process
• This engagement is required to cover the Fertilizer and Seeds businesses
covering Plant Operations and HO functions including Finance, HR &
Admin, IT under the engagement scope. Marketing function is excluded
from the scope

• KRIBHCO has invited Consulting organization to assist them in undertaking

this exercise in order to improve efficiencies and prepare for growth

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 PROPOSAL BY AVALON Amity Business School

• OBJECTIVE- to clarify Job Descriptions and KRAs for all its officers across
functions and locations.
•
• Scope and Methodology
• Module 1:- Clarification and Articulation of Strategy
• Deliverables
• Workshop with senior KRIBHCO management team to understand strategy
for the Fertilizer and Seeds businesses
• Strategic Objectives at the business level will be translated into specific
Objectives at the Plant level and functions within the Corporate office ,

• Methodology
• Initial discussions with senior management to understand KRIBHCO’s
medium term Goals, Strategy and key objectives being pursued
• This will be followed by one on one meetings with the Functional Heads to
understand Functional strategies designed to fullfil the Company’s objectives

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• Module 2 Detailing Job Descriptions for Key Personnel
•
• Job Descriptions (JDs) – Avalon will draft JDs for all positions from A
Grade to H Grade
• JDs are a detailed articulation of the Roles and Responsibilities associated
with the position

• Methodolgy
•
• KRIBHCO’s existing JDs (where available) and appraisal templates will be
used as a starting point for the exercise
• JDs will be drafted keeping in mind the Roles, Responsibilities and
Expectations from the particular position emanating from the Business and
Functional Objectives

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• Timeframe
• We expect to complete the engagement in 10 weeks
• Client meetings will be held regularly to discuss issues and progress
• All meetings will be accompanied by appropriate discussion papers

• The engagement will be driven by a client consultant team

• Steering Committee Director, Human Resources, KRIBHCO
• Other KRIBHCO nominee
• Engagement Director – Avalon Consulting
• Engagement Manager – Avalon Consulting

• Profile: Director and Sector Leader

• Professional Experience:
• One of the promoters & a Director of Avalon Consulting
• Previous experience as Consultant with the Project Appraisal Group,
Planning Commission in the Government of India for evaluating Public
Sector Investment and with BPCL in Corporate Planning
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• General Terms
• Avalon Consulting agrees to treat all Confidential Information provided by
KRIBHCO as secret and confidential and take all necessary steps to
preserve such confidentiality. It will not use any such Confidential
Information other than for the purpose of performing its obligations for
assignment and, in particular, not to use or seek to use such confidential
information to obtain (whether directly or indirectly) any commercial, trading
or other advantage (whether tangible or intangible) .

• Expenses, Taxes and Levies

• The consulting fee for this study will be Rs 14,00,000 (Rupees Fourteen
lakhs only)
• All out of pocket expenses (OOP) for boarding, lodging, travel and
communication for the study will be extra and will be charged at actuals.
Expenses will be approximately 10 to 15% of the fees

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