Consultant 542306 224791959 2008-07-10T12:56:12Z Olegwiki 2760152 /* See also */ {{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}} {{otheruses}} A '''consultant''' (from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''consultare'' means "to discuss" from which we also derive words such as ''consul'' and ''counsel'') is a [[professional]] who provides advice in a particular area of expertise such as [[accountancy]], the [[environmental consulting|environment]], [[technology]], [[law]] ([[tax law]], in particular), [[human resources]], [[marketing]], [[medicine]], [[finance]], economics, [[Public administration|public affairs]], [[communication]], [[engineering]], [[Audio engineering|sound system design]], [[graphic design]], or [[waste management]]. A consultant is usually an expert or a professional in a specific field and has a wide knowledge of the subject matter. A consultant usually works for a consultancy firm or is self-employed, and engages with multiple and changing clients. Thus, clients have access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and to purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired. It is generally accepted good corporate governance to hire consultants as a check to the [[Principal-Agent problem]].{{Fact|date=September 2007}} 'Consultant' is also the term used to denote the most senior medical position in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (e.g., a consultant [[surgery|surgeon]]). ==Ways in which consultants work== Often a consultant provides expertise to clients who require a particular type of knowledge or service for a specific period of time, thus providing an economy to the client. In other situations, companies implementing a major project may need additional experienced staff to assist with increased work during that period. More recently the term is also used [[Euphemism|euphemistically]] for temporary staff. That resource is only [[permatemp|temporarily]] employed by a company to augment the company's core set of employees without providing any unique expertise. This usually indicates that the consultant could be expended when demand for that particular skill diminishes, though this expendability is sometimes recompensed with higher pay.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} In this usage, the consultant is usually employed through a [[limited company]] which they themselves own, or through an [[umbrella company]]. Consulting has come under some criticism because of staff augmentation and the high amount of jargon consultants use, also known as consultantese.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Sometimes a consultant is not an independent agent but is a partner or an employee of a consultancy, that is a company that provides consultants to clients on a larger scale or in multiple, though usually related, skill areas. This has advantages both to the client and to the consultant by:{{Fact|date=September 2007}} * Providing a pool of talent that can be quickly mobilized as required * Reassuring the client about the quality of the consultants supplied * Giving the client access to the experience and methodologies of the whole consultancy rather than an individual * Introducing the consultant to new experiences and techniques which may, eventually, permeate through the consultancy as a whole A consultant giving career advice and training to an individual or a team is often termed a [[coaching|coach]], and a consultant assisting an organization to develop a new strategy or solve a particular problem is sometimes referred to as a [[facilitator]]. Strategy consultants are common in upper management in many industries. There are also independent consultants who act as interim executives with decision-making power under corporate policies or statutes. They may sit on specially constituted boards or committees. <!-- removed until ISBN and proper documentation can be found about these books ==Criticism of Consultants and Consultancy== The term consultancy is sometimes used euphemistically to indicate the provision of services which might be termed meaningless or trivial by most individuals, but which reap significant profits and payments on behalf of the consultant {citation needed}. Criticism of consultancy often centres around the lack of transparency and understanding in what particular types of services it is that consultants actually provide (an ambiguity which undoubtedly centres upon the lack of understanding of both the work of consultants and also the actual commodity which they are paid for – namely, advice) {{citation needed}}. The perception of a disproportionately high degree of pay for consultants (with respect to the worth of the services provided for that pay) is common and prevalent and a recurring misunderstanding which undermines the ethical basis upon which consultants might otherwise suppose as a valid reason for their employment{{citation needed}}. ==Books about consulting== #Managing the Professional Services Firm, by David Maister #Guerrilla Marketing for Consulting, by Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W. McLaughlin #Flawless Consulting, by Peter Block #The Professional Services Firm Bible, by John Baschab #Managing Transitions, by William Bridges --> ==See also== *[[Management consulting]] *[[Tax advisor]] *[[Information technology consulting]] *[[Foreclosure consultant]] *[[Human Resource Consulting]] *[[Public consultation]] *[[Umbrella company]] *[[Certified Management Consultant]] *[[Political consulting]] *[[Consultant (medicine)]] *[[Independent contractor]] *[[Contingent Workforce]] *[[IRS Reclassification]] *[[Permatemp]] ==External links== <!--Please do not add consultant agencies or blogs of individual consultants --> {{Wiktionary|consulting}} [[Category:Consulting]] [[Category:Business and financial operations occupations]] [[de:Consultant]] [[es:Consultor]] [[fr:Consultant]] [[id:Konsultan]] [[nl:Adviseur]] [[ja:コンサルティング]] [[no:Konsulent]] [[pt:Consultor]] [[ro:Consultant]] [[ru:Консалтинг]] [[sr:Консултант]] [[fi:Konsultti]] [[sv:Konsult]] [[zh:顾问]]