Definition of Managment Consulting I ve modified the paragraph discussing the types of firms to use the more narrow term strategy consulting rather than management consulting Managment consulting currently has a very broad meaning IT intellectual property management law and accounting all involve choices that can have a profound effect on the opportunities and resources of an organization In current usage it seems that the term management consulting refers to any sort of consulting activity that has strategic implications for the future requires senior or upper level managment champions and buy in To distinguish a Bain from a PWC we need to focus on difference between strategy and implementation Strategic IT strategic IP management and management accounting and other new forms of consulting all have a blend of implementation and strategy in common I think what distinguishes a Bain from a PWC is Bain s exclusive focus on the strategic elements of a problem Bain will tell you why you need to do something and some general ideas of how given your current resources but leave the rest to you Firms like PWC and Proudfoot have built their reputation on taking at least joint responsibility for the implementation