Discuss Data Gathering and Presentation Skills of Consultants.
Consultants must possess a variety of skills that help to enable them to provide the best advisory services to their clients. Two of the important skills that contribute to their profession and ability to perform the required work are data gathering and presentation skills. Exceptional presentation proficiency is especially necessary because it is essential throughout the engagement. These skills are used to pitch to clients, communicate to the staff especially in the data gathering period, to present their recommendations and persuade their clients to implement their proposal, and also to speak at conferences, workshops and training sessions.
At the start of the project the problem is defined by the consultant and confirmed by the client. The next step in the consulting process is data collection via a variety of methods. The process of data gathering can be both long and tedious and thus it is essential that consultants attain quality over quality. Some of the most frequently used techniques include group data gathering, interviews, focus groups, surveys, compiling existing documentation and on-site observation. Also some of the common tools used include the STEP analysis- a framework that reviews the external environment by focus on social, technological, environmental and political factors, the SWOT analysis that focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relating to the organization, trend analysis and the identification of core competencies.
If the problem is researchable it is best dealt with a group approach which was pioneered by Management Performance Concepts. Good research is usually started with a hypothesis provided by the client; the consultants then use their research skills and variety of data gathering methods to either reject or accept the hypothesis after analyzing the situation and then will provide recommendations. The group interchange often contributes well to the data collection process due to the creative and thought provoking verbal discussions that aim to ensure that relevant information is not excluded.
Consulting interviews can be a difficult task; however, it is often one of the most important methods of data gathering. The best way to start the interview process is by the consultant and the CEO, or a department head, providing the interviewees with a statement that states the purpose of the engagement, the interview topics and its length, a request for cooperation and a promise of confidentiality. In the interview more comprehensive information is usually better gathered from statements rather than questions which can lead to narrow answers.
Marketing research has become a very important part of small businesses and large corporations gaining information about their customers and how they feel about their products and services. According to Philip Kotler, "Marketing research is systematic problem analysis, model building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision-king and control in the marketing of goods and services (Kotler & Keller, 2012)”. The initial step in the marketing process is to identify the problem the company is having and then decide the way the marketing team would like to conduct the research. The marketing team will devise a plan on how to gather the information and set a budget for the research project. In the planning of how they will conduct the
[Accessed: 20 Feb 2014]. Appendix Interview questions How long have you been a manager at this business for? Do you have a degree in management or a qualification in it? Have you received any managerial training in this job or a previous job? How long did it take you to become a manager?
In Sophoclese’ play “Oedipus The King”, the fate of Oedipus, the main character, was foretold at his birth that he would kill his own father and marry his mother. As a young adult, he went to see an oracle after hearing rumors. The oracle told him of his foul fate and he ran away trying to escape the chances of this awful future unaware he running towards what he thought he would escape. Oedipus was partially responsible for his downfall because let curiosity lead him to the oracle where he found out his horrifying fate, he killed his own father when he should have avoided killing anyone, and if he wanted to avoid marrying his mother, he should have never married anyone older than he. After the birth of Oedipus, his parents Lias and Jocasta, King and Queen of Thebes sentenced him to death because the oracle told them that he would kill his father and marry his mother. They were unaware of the fact that did not die, but was adopted by the king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus was never informed that he was abandoned at a young age, found by a shepherd and adopted. One day while attending a dinner, a drunken man accused him of being a bastard. “And I went at last to Pytho, though my parents did not know. But Phoebus sent me home again unhonoured in what I came to learn, but he foretold other and desperate horrors befall me, that I was fated to lie with my mother, and show to daylight an accursed breed which men would not endure, and I was doomed to be the murderer of the father that begot me.”(1735, 860-868) In utter fear of his newfound knowledge, he fled from Corinth to make sure to none of what the oracle said would come true. On his travel, he took little precaution in the field ensure falsifying the oracle’s prediction. Demanding to know all details about King Lias’ death he was described the site where three crossroads met. Upon being told this information, Oedipus recalled the time when had just fled Corinth and came to a spot similar to the one described. Being so distraught with fear and so overwhelmed with emotions, his thinking and reasoning was clearly impaired. “…I was encountered by a herald and a carriage with a man in it…He led the way and the old man himself wanted to thrust me out of the way by force.
79). Over the last few years I have been working on educational research projects. My tasks involve meeting with the client to identify the needs of the project. Then I work with a team of course designers on developing a training program that meets the needs of the project to be provided to field staff. I am responsible for doing extensive review of debriefing reports, meeting with the client to discuss issues and identify solutions that can be included as part of the training program. I consider myself an expert in this area of business skill since I have extensive experience with working with the client and identifying the needs.
Interviews are very popular among most individuals especially researchers and scholars as they attempt to obtain information and data from an interviewee. However, there are many factors that influence the interview and which determines its success or failure. Often, the interviewer takes charge of the situation, and they have the sole responsibility of asking the questions while the interviewee provides an explanation or an answer to the question asked. As a result, an interview can be defined as a consultation or a discussion in person through which information and data are exchanged regarding a particular phenomenon event with the intention of establishing the interviewee’s position. It is easy to tell the mood and success of the interview
My consulting vision is based on more than a decade of working as a continual improvement consultant, I have worked with a diverse client base and I have been able to identify my consulting passion. With a plethora of experience, focused on customer service, productivity, efficiency, and the corporate bottom line, I have developed a personal theory that has altered my consulting techniques. I was able to identify the impact my work had when I focused on improving the individual experiences of employees. By assessing the situation with a dynamic approach, I was able to identify each individual working within the organization in addition to the complexities that
Oedipus was born with a terrible Prophecy. From the start it was foreseen that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. His parents, Laius
A methodology is “The strategy, plan of action, processes of design lying behind the choice and use of particular methods to the desired outcomes” (Crotty, 2003). In the process of conducting the study, the researcher will apply appropriate methods of data collecting and analysis methods together with experience to shape the process of data collection and analyzing.
Oedipus the King is about the effect of blindness on a person’s fate. In this play by Sophocles, a man, Oedipus, is given power over Thebes after answering a simple riddle. The Oracle of Delphi tells Oedipus he is “fated to couple with your mother” and “kill your father,” (Sophocles 873-5). Oedipus, the adoptive son of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, pooled all of his effort together to reverse this prophecy, but by this time, he had already fulfilled it. In the eyes of the ancient Greeks, free will was unattainable because they believed in the truth of the gods and the prophets. Oedipus’ metaphorical blindness made him disregard his prophecy, and although he tried to use free will to change his fate, the gods had already set it and that was that.
As mentioned above, will be using the qualitative data analysis, in which would be conducting interviews with managers. The interview data would need to be transcribed, documented and collated. A detailed written description would be prepared for each interview by reference to the interview themes outlined.
Effective communication is essential when working with a client. There are many ways a communication can go wrong. Good communication is a major component of collaboration and collaborating with the client is what a professional should be working towards. The purpose of this discussion is to demonstrate effective communication using one scenario. The scenario, in this case, is as follows:
Poor Oedipus discovers that he had killed his father and married his mother at the climax of the play when the Shepard is questioned. He states "I stand revealed at last - cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!"³ He then finds his mother after she has committed suicide and proceeds to gouge out his own eyes with her brooches.
Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, is a play about how Oedipus lives up his fate that he will kill his father and marry his mother, both of which are extremely bad in the Greek society, even though he thinks he is getting away from it. Despite the Greek notions of supreme power of the gods and fate, Oedipus' downfall is primarily the result of King Laius' and his own actions and attempts to defy the gods, consequently Sophocles says that prophecies from the gods of someone's fate should not be ignored. Prophecies from the Oracle of Delphi are told to King Laius and Queen Jocasta, and to Oedipus.
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the minor character of Tiresias is responsible for foreshadowing Oedipus’ fate, developing the theme of blindness, and also illustrating dramatic irony. Tiresias is responsible for further developing the theme of blindness, by using his own physical blindness to reveal to Oedipus his mental blindness. Lastly, Tiresias is ultimately responsible for imposing dramatic irony because of his great knowledge of the truth of Oedipus. As a fortune teller, Tiresias is able to see the fate and destruction of Oedipus’ life. Tiresias uses his great ability to reveal to the reader the downfalls in Oedipus’ life that will soon occur because of his quest to know his fate. The character of Tiresias demonstrates the use of foreshadowing in order for the reader to be aware of Oedipus’ fate.
Oedipus The King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles warning about the dangers of arrogance and power, as well as the power of fate and the Gods. Oedipus is the tragic hero of the plot who was destined from birth to kill his father and marry his mother, which prompts his parents, the King and Queen of Thebes, to send him to the mountainside to die. However, the King and Queen of Corinth save him from death. As a man, he returns to Thebes, in order to not fulfill the prophecy against his parents, but he does not know about his origins. On his way to Thebes he kills a man, and at Thebes he solves the riddle of the Sphinx which earns him the title of King and marries the queen. When the murder mystery of the previous king, King Laius, resurfaces, it is discovered the Oedipus killed King Laius without knowing he was king or his father and married his mother, this fulfilling the prophecy. Full of misery and guilt, the queen Jocasta, commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself. Due to Oedipus’ excessive hubris, he creates his own misery throughout the play and his downfall. The notion of hubris is introduced when Oedipus reopens the murder case of King Laius, followed by his blindness to the truth, and the end of his reign and banishment from Thebes.