Consultants and Experts in the area of total quality management are vital
Most of the Asian Productivity Organisation member countries definitely need consultants and experts in the area of total quality management. Realistically most of the member countries including Fiji are on the way of accelerated economic development.
Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations permanent secretary/APO director for Fiji Salaseini Daunabuna said this phase of national development needs experts and consultants that can transform businesses, implement innovation, and boost productivity at all levels.
Ms Daunabuna officiated at the opening of Workshop on Management Consultancy in Total Quality Management at the Tanoa International Hotel Nadi yesterday. The event was organised by the Asian Productivity Organisation and implemented by the National Training and Productivity Centre of the Fiji National University. The five-day workshop will enable the participants to overcome challenges and help groom them into professional and ethical consultants.
Numerous challenges for consultants:
Consultants are sometimes criticised for over-use of buzzwords, reliance on and propagation of management fads, and a failure to develop plans that are executable by the client.
Ms Daunabuna added that number of critical books about management consulting argue that the mismatch between management consulting advice and the ability of executives to actually create the change suggested results in substantial damages to existing businesses.
“Consulting firms are sometimes accused of delivering empty promises, despite high fees, and charged with “stating the obvious” or lacking the experience upon which to base their advice,” she said.
“These consultants bring few innovations, instead offering generic and “prepackaged” strategies and plans that are irrelevant to the client’s particular issue.
They may fail to prioritise their responsibilities, placing their own firm’s interests before those of the clients.
Consultancy Activities in Fiji
In Fiji, there is a strong presence of the large multinational consulting firms, like Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte, Ernest and Young, KPMG and others. These consultancy firms provide services in a range of subject areas, with Accounting and Auditing as the most common ones. In addition,there are a number of local institutes that provide structured or unstructured consultancy support to the industry.
“We however feel that there is still a substantial vacuum, as on most occasions, we in Fiji have to hire consultants and firms from offshore to assist us,” she added.
Consultancy Activities of the NTPC
The National Training and Productivity Centre of the Fiji National University also provide consultancy services in the area of its core competencies to the industries in Fiji.
“The volume of consultancy activities of NTPC, in comparison to the training activities, is lower due to its current organisational strategy to focus on in-service training,” Ms Daunabuna said. However, the NTPC delivers a number of unstructured, informal and voluntary consultancy services in its areas of core competency, to clients on request.
In the last two years it has assisted more than five companies including several organisations in the area of 5S, Quality Circles, Lean Management, TQM and business excellence.
Ms Daunabuna concluded saying the common goal is transforming the Asia-Pacific region into a prosperous and productive society. Meanwhile, Management Consultancy is the work of giving professional advice in a particular field , usually referred to as Management Consultancy, and the person who gives the advice referred here is called the consultant.