Business Consultancy (Level 3 Diploma)

Business Consultancy (Level 3 Diploma) 

The Level 3 Diploma in Business Consultancy will particularly appeal to those who wish to enter the profession of Management Consulting. This may be pursuing a career in an international consulting firm that offers business advisory services to clients or by taking up an internal consulting position within a business organization. The course equally provides a foundation for those looking at postgraduate studies in Management or Management Consulting or those seeking to study the subject at higher or further education.

Recent years has witnessed some re-alignment of the profession. In the United Kingdom the Institute of Management Consultants has allied itself with the Chartered Management Institute. On the international stage the CMC qualification is rapidly gaining status as the definitive qualification for recognizing practicing management consultants who abide by a professional code of ethics, are properly qualified and subscribe to a practice of Continuing Professional Development. The need for expert guidance has seen an increasing number of publications and job opportunities in this area.

This course together with its accreditation from NCFE and the Institute of Management Specialists promises to be an exciting and highly desirable qualification for all students.

All Students must be 16 years of age or above.

The good news is that no prior learning knowledge or experience is essential to take this course.  This course is openly available to anyone wishing to learn more about Business Consultancy and would like to take part in a highly rewarding home study course. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

You have the freedom to start the course at any time and continue your studies at your own pace for a period of up to 12 months from initial registration with full tutor support.

How is the course structured? 

This Quality Assured Level 3 Diploma in Business Consulting course is aimed at providing a foundation in business consulting skills. It will contain 10 carefully selected and created modules to cover all aspects of Business Consultancy from Stakeholder Management to making Client Presentations. The widely recognised accreditation of this course will look great on a CV and be particularly appealing to prospective employers.

Module 1
Introduction to Business Consulting
The first module will focus upon the development of business advisory or consulting skills. It will examine how the Administration function interfaces with external consultants and business service providers. It seeks to ramp up the business knowledge of consulting skills and provide an improved understanding of the importance of these skills, together with the service they provide. Consultants are normally used in the capacity of "Corporate Problem Solvers", provision of specialist services e.g. Strategy studies, business process reviews, HR consulting etc. and as a valuable aid to busy executives in the form of interim management services of a specialist nature.

Students will gain an appreciation of:

The business of consultancy
Conducting consultancy projects
Creating change
Effective report writing
Data collection and analysis
Rational persuasion
Making client presentations
Training Sessions and Workshops

The course will also explore the international dimensions of Management Consulting, with particular emphasis on the work carried out by ICMCI the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes and how this regulates the profession for CMC members on a world-wide basis.

Management Consultants are expected to obtain a higher perspective of the business and thereby add value to the Corporate decision making process. They are often subject matter experts and contain a diversified range of business experience. The question of raising your head above the parapet also involves risk and this has to be managed in accordance with the benefits that are to be derived.

Module 2
The business of Consultancy and Advisory services
This part of the course will focus upon the consulting process. How the profession of consultancy is changing within the context of the new global economy. The reasons that consultants are employed and the type of engagements that they will be expected to perform. Added focus will be on the roles of the professional bodies providing governance to the Consultancy profession and how they are evolving and changing within the context of globalization.

The course will examine the major attributes required by the professional Management Consultant and includes:

Code of Conduct
Consulting descriptions
Types of engagements
Professionalism - meaning of trust
Professional membership
International Consulting roles
Consulting assignments
Evolution of consultancy
Impact of the information age

The course will look at sample work settings and provide suitable illustrations from the following business settings:

Manufacturing and Industrial Organizations
Banks and Financial Institutes
Government and Public sector Organizations
Education Sector
Professional firms
Medical Sector

Module 3
Effective Stakeholder Management
This course will be focused on how to build key client business relationships, maintaining confidence and trust of clients, delivering quality services, managing client expectations and achieving value-added contribution raising client satisfaction indicators.

Objectives for stakeholder management

Building the client / consultant relationship
Understanding the client
Building trust and confidence
Phases of the relationship
Use of intervention
Understanding problems
The meaning and importance of quality
Value-added contributions
Maintaining the business relationship

The course will contain a number of additional learning modules made up as follows:

Understanding client entry phase
Purpose of the entry phase
Stages of the entry phase
Brief and scope of assignments
Planning the project
Putting together a proposal
Presenting a proposal
Gaining consent

The student will gain an appreciation of dynamics, how little cogs can drive big cogs. Leveraging ideas from colleagues and utilizing best practice guidelines provided by the profession

Module 4
Key Consultancy Skills
This section is all about techniques and skills that the qualified Management Consultant will employ on business engagements. The creation of business networks, leveraging on the strength of the IMC profession, developing respected professional consulting skills

Different approaches to consulting engagements
Use of proprietary methods
Building your own toolbox
The value of effective research
No substitute for training in acquisition of skills
Examination of key techniques and skills required

Students will gain an appreciation of:

Conducting interviews
Conducting Client meetings
Presentations to Executives
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Report Writing
Preparing Summary Reports
Types of research - conducting research
The meaning of truth - honesty in reporting
Instilling confidence
Effective listening skills
How to add value

Module 5
Managing Project Assignments
Project Management is best defined as Planning, Organization and Control in a structured and managed environment. This unit focuses on managing third party and sub contract relationships, managing consultancy staff, record keeping, client progress reporting, seeking closure, maintaining client relationships

On successful completion of this course the student should gain an appreciation of:

The fundamentals of Project Management
An overview of the planning process
Understanding sub contractor relationships
Dealing with third party relationships
Managing client engagement teams
Project Controls - setting up a project
How to manage risks
How to establish change control procedures
Configuration Management
Aspects of due diligence
Resource Management

Module 6
Planning Consultancy Assignments
This course will focus upon the Planning consultancy engagements, methods of costing assignments, how to manage the engagement. A logical extension of the previous unit but directly focused on the business planning of consultancy engagements

Students will gain an appreciation of:

Project Planning techniques
Use of Excel
Use of Microsoft Project
Estimating
Managing resources
Importance of critical path analysis
Fixed duration contracts
Incremental delivery
Mitigating client risk

Module 7
Data Collection and Analysis
Techniques for collection and assessment of information / data. How data is to be interpreted, sifting facts from opinion, creating objective and reliable information. The course will cover the following components:

Types of information and data
Determination of what data to collect
How to determine the data capture method
Analysis of data
Presentation of data
Dissemination of data
Sourcing data
Researching data
Importance of Evidence
Data Integrity

The student will gain an appreciation of the complexity of information and data. How to deal with large volumes of data and information and filter this into a set of precise requirements in order to meet management objectives. The techniques for dissemination of information and providing reliable sources of information with data integrity. The techniques for presenting information including use of tables, statistics, graphs and business models

Module 8
Effective Report Writing Skills
Writing effective management reports, techniques for board room presentations. The course will cover the following components:

Is a report really needed?
When to write reports
Types of Reports
Executive Summaries
Quality in reports
Presentation of information
Use of diagrams and illustrations
Writing the report
Delivering the report
Concept of hard and soft copies

The student will gain an understanding and appreciation of writing consultancy style management reports. How to gain Executive "buy in" and management inclusion in the submission of final assignment reports. Particularly exploring aspects of quality and presentation

Module 9
Making Client Presentations
The art of making efficient client presentations, use of software, technique of delivery, different types of presentations and techniques to use. The course will cover the following components:

Constraints on presentations
Preparing for presentations
Environment
Media for presentations
Effective speaking
Audience participation
Judging the mood
Delivering the presentation
Learning from mistakes
Dressing for the occasion

The student will gain an appreciation of how to prepare for and conduct business presentations. A look at the consultancy techniques that make this means of visual /oral communication so powerful.

Module 10
Rational Persuasion
The technique of gaining support for your arguments and winning through on business recommendations. The course will cover the following components:

The anatomy of rational persuasion
Preparing for persuasion
Techniques of persuasion
Conducting a meeting
Listening skills
Balanced arguments
Inspiring confidence
Planning an outcome

The student will expect to gain an understanding and appreciation of how people will react in varying situations. How consultants have to explain decisions to clients, the rationale behind judgements and business recommendations. How to persuade a client to take a specific course of action in order to achieve a desired result.

OLQA Level 3 Business Consultancy Diploma 
This course leads to a Level 3 Diploma for successful learners. This means that it is accredited at a level of learning equivalent to level 3 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (in which case GCSE's are at levels 1 and 2 and A Levels are at level 3). In accrediting the programme at level 3, OLQA attests that its learning outcomes are at an equivalent level to a level 3 national qualification.

Accreditation by OLQA is a guarantee of quality. It means that this learning programme has been scrutinised and approved by experienced educational professionals and is quality assured by OLQA.

The enrolment fee for the  Diploma in Business Consultancy home study course is £581.25, though for a limited time we are offering you the opportunity to pay only £465 which is a 20% discount if you enrol online and pay in full.