The Client-Consulting Relationship: A Case Study Of Critical Success Factors At MQ Telecommuniques
Authors: Appelbaum Steven H. , Steed Anthony J. 
Published: February 2016

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The primary intent of this study then, is to examine recent projects involving external management consultants at MQ TeleCommuniques, from the employees&rsquo; point of view, to </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">measure the extent to which the aforementioned &ldquo;critical success factors&rdquo; were perceived as being evident. A secondary purpose was to examine <span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt;">which, if any, of these factors differ between more or less successful consulting projects with a view to building a model to predict employees&rsquo; perceptions of the level of the projects&rsquo; success. A third objective was to gather employee opinions on other factors that might contribute to the success of consulting projects. A fourth, and final, objective was to gather general employee opinions on the use of management consultancy at MQ TeleCommuniques. </span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: normal; mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A total of 102 employees responded to a questionnaire consisting of 59 questions. </span></span>A model including six independent variables was able to predict overall rating of project success, with an adjusted R<sup>2</sup> =0.68, F=27.81 (p&lt;.0001).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The significant variables, in order of importance, were:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the solution took into account our internal state of readiness;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the project included prototyping new solutions;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the project deliverables were clear;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the consultant partnered with the project team throughout;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the consultant was professional; and </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt 1in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">the consultant understood our sense of urgency. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">There were substantial differences seen on most measures between projects judged &ldquo;successful&rdquo; and projects judged &ldquo;not successful&rdquo;. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that many of the success factors suggested in the literature, and proposed under &ldquo;an ideal client-consultant engagement&rdquo;, were judged as present in management consulting projects at MQ TeleCommuniques, to one degree or another. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>General opinions of management consultants were mixed and somewhat negative. Employees at MQ TeleCommuniques certainly do not agree with the traditional benefits of management consultants promoted by the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Finally, the results of this study certainly support the anecdotal and theoretical models in particular those emphasizing the importance of process issues, the client-consulting relationship and their impact on project outcome.</span></span></p>