Managing Professional Service Delivery: 9 Rules for Success / Edition 1

by Barry M. Mundt, Francis J. Smith, Stephen D. Egan Jr.

Overview

Although the nature of service delivery varies significantly from profession to profession, the way the service is delivered tends to be fairly consistent among professions—or, at least, it should be. A step-by-step guide, Managing Professional Service Delivery—9 Rules for Success describes in detail how to achieve the internal discipline and control necessary to manage professional service engagements and long-term success in the professional services industry. It details engagement-tested methods for success at every step in delivering a professional service and includes real-life examples from a number of professional service organizations.

Here’s What You Get:

• The steps for how to develop your niche in the marketplace
• A structure for how to manage professional service delivery, from start to finish
• Tips on how to set up an environment and develop a culture that will result in superior service delivery—such that the delivery process incorporates rigorous internal discipline and control
• Discussion of rapid implementation and deployment concepts that can be attained without compromising internal discipline and control
• Examples of documentation standards for professional service proposals and deliverables (reports)
• Discussion of application of the 9 Rules for Success in two engagements conducted by the authors

The authors draw on their many years of experience in the field of management science to lay out procedures, tools, and techniques that address each step of the life cycle of an engagement—from definition of the services to be delivered, to evaluation of the results with the client. They take a back-to-basics approach that can be used in any size organization, from a sole practitioner to a firm of up to 75 practitioners and support staff as well as larger firms that also may be experiencing sustainability issues with their process improvement initiatives. The book guides you—starting with the 9 Rules—through the maze of obstacles in delivering your professional service.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439851425
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/05/2014
Series:	Industrial and Systems Engineering Series , #6
Pages:	167
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

BARRY MUNDT Barry earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University and a master of business administration degree from Santa Clara University. He began his professional career in the aerospace industry, first with Aerojet General Corp. and then with Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. He joined a consulting arm of C-E-I-R, Inc. (a large computer service firm) in 1961, which was headed by three of his former Stanford professors. Barry has been a consultant to private- and public-sector organizations since that time. In 1965, Barry was asked to join the management consulting department of what was then known as Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (PMM), a global public accounting, tax advisory, and management consulting partnership. He was appointed partner in 1973. When Peat Marwick International merged with Klynveld Main Goerdeler in 1987 to form KPMG LLP, Barry assumed the role of international management consulting coordinating partner in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Barry was assigned to the firm's Department of Professional Practice for the two years prior to his retirement. During that time, he took the lead in preparing KPMG's Performance Improvement Consulting Services Manual. When Barry retired from KPMG in 1995, after thirty years of service, he set up his own management consulting practice, specializing in services to professional service firms. In that capacity, he has written KPMG's Global Management Consulting and Advisory Services Engagement Conduct Guides and participated in the preparation of Adjusters International's suite of Disaster Recovery Consulting Operational Guides, which includes an Engagement Conduct Guide. Barry is a fellow, life member, and past president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He is a member of the board of directors of Adjusters International, Inc., a nationwide group of public insurance adjusters and disaster recovery consultants. FRANK SM

Table of Contents

Delivery of Professional Services. Selling the Engagement. Setting up the Engagement. Adapting the Engagement Plan to the Real World. Conducting the Engagement. Closing the Engagement. Developing a Culture of Internal Discipline and Control. Lessons Learned (Do's and Don'ts). Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

"The authors are the foremost authorities in the subject area with vast experience in developing strategies for effectively designing and managing diversified professional groups to achieve the highest value to owners and shareholders of organizations. If you want to develop, manage, and be very successful with your professional group, then this book is a must."
—Gavriel Salvendy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

"… this book has potentially broad applicability for professional services delivery in many fields, including accounting, architecture, information technology, and management consulting. It would also be an appropriate book for people seeking entry-level consulting jobs, to familiarize themselves with the professional services environment, or for the independent consultant who is starting to manage his or her own engagements."
Dr. Nicole Radziwill in ASQ: Quality Management Journal, October 2014

From the Publisher