Consulting in its most basic definition is the professional advice given by an individual for the benefit of a client. The consulting world is not new. From ancient times, the great Masters or Teacher who were knowledgeable on topics such as art, literature or Science would offer their knowledge for a fee. They opened their homes and doors to potential pupils that wanted to learn the art of Consulting. These Consultation Masters were not limiting the education with just knowledge. They began imparting techniques and exercise for scrutinizing human behavior in order to fully develop the capacity to use it once finished with their coursers.
After developing various studies and defining certain human behavior the Masters discovered, there was another spectrum to this new field. The ability to work with clients became complicated. Therefore, Consultants and the discipline of Customer Service were born. This new field of Consultancy branched out into areas of Economy, Marketing, Science, Art to name a few of the sectors. They were experts in their field. For example if a Finance Consultant gave consultation to a client, they utilized their efficiency in the field of finance and offered a creative solution to the problem.
In the last few decades Environment issues Scientific Research Marketing and Media have become increasingly complex. In the world we live in businesses are no longer able to evaluate all the aspects relevant to a decision on the basis of personal experience or to predict the outcome of a given course of action from intuition alone. Therefore, the need for some systematic means of dealing with complex problems has led to a growing interest in the analytical consulting framework. Whether decision-making or managing departments companies sought candidates that had on the job experience rather than book knowledge. This in turn opened doors to Specialized Consultants.
Everyday within this global market we discover various ways and different techniques in addressing problems. Due to this growing trend Consultants are becoming more specialized in their fields. There isn’t “One School of Thought” for consulting any longer. The archaic methods and analysis used for finding solutions are no longer applicable. Rather than scrutinize and discuss the vast areas of methods we will touch on the history of Management Consultation
Historical points in consulting works
- Arthur D. Little, a MIT professor, founded the first management consulting firm in 1886 under the name Arthur D. Little.
- Mark Hanna, the political advisor to President William McKinley, is often referred to as the first political consultant. In California during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Whitaker and Baxter was established and became the first true consulting firm
- Luca Pacioli is credited for being the founder of modern accounting.
- Horwath Asia Pacific, which was established in 1987 in Asia, became the first international hotel and tourism consultancy firm in 2002.
