E-Consulting in Virtual Negotiations

In the e-world where many of us live and work, virtual work arrangements will become increasingly commonplace. This paper reports on an exploratory study into the way in which consultants can ply their trade virtually with clients whom they never meet. US-located e-consultants provided advice to Hong Kong-located web site developers on the interface and content aspects of a website that was being developed for an international audience. Extensive analyses of the communication between the consultants and developers is undertaken, in parallel with an analysis of survey data obtained from the two sets of stakeholders. Lessons are drawn for future research and practice.     

Assessment and selection of management consultants: A comparative cognitive study between small- and large-scale companies

This paper explores alternative ways of evaluating and ultimately hiring a generalist consultancy for short- and medium-term projects, and how this is shaped by the size of the clients’ company. What buying factors do managers of small and large firms have in mind when hiring consultants for their projects?Instead of employing surveys incorporating predefined buying factors based on what the researchers think would be important, a cognitive mapping methodology - the repertory grid technique - is applied to investigate the underlying phenomena. Using the repertory grid technique to draw mental models is a novel research technique within the supply management field. Recent behavioral supply chain management research found the behavior of managers to be critically influenced by mental models: the lenses through which managers perceive, simplify and interpret the world.Results show differences between the buying factors used in small- and large-scale companies: managers of large companies are more ‘reputation and outcome-oriented’ and managers of small businesses are more concerned with ‘how the services are rendered’. However, both constituents stressed the importance of expertise, quality and the relationship between the client and the management consultancy, although the character of such a relationship differed between small- and large-scale firms. Results also point out criteria that managers of small and large companies employ to discriminate between good and poor performing consultancies and to judge service delivery. The practical implications for both companies hiring consultancies and the consultancy companies are discussed. For consultancies, our findings can help tailoring their efforts to a differing clientele when marketing and selling their services. For companies hiring consultancies, fixating too much on particular buying factors may lead to biased decisions.     

基于贝叶斯网络的咨询公司ERP咨询项目风险评估

针对咨询公司ERP咨询项目风险的特点和风险定量评估要求,提出了基于贝叶斯网络的ERP咨询项目风险评估方法。在风险辨识的基础上,根据风险之间的相关性,建立了贝叶斯风险网络模型;依赖领域专家的主观判断并借助项目经验确定网络中的概率参数,通过专家信息融合克服主观判断的缺陷;运用贝叶斯网络推理工具定量估计风险的发生概率及其影响,进一步评估风险强度并对其进行排序,以确定整个网络图中各风险的控制优先级。最后通过实例验证该方法的有效性。     

BIM发展趋势下造价咨询行业的“转型”研究

随着BIM时代的到来,建筑业的各领域正在面临深刻的变革。本文通过对BIM发展趋势下的造价咨询行业存在的矛盾进行分析,总结出我国造价咨询行业"转型"需要解决的问题,最后提出造价咨询行业"转型"的建议。     

工程造价咨询企业发展对策研究——以神华集团为例

通过赴国内外知名企业现场实地调研,对比国际国内一流咨询公司,研究分析我国咨询行业尤其是造价咨询业当前存在的问题。并以神华集团为例,探索研究专业化咨询公司的市场定位、发展战略以及具体业务定位,提出适合专业工程咨询公司发展战略的对策和建议。     

Non-compensation-related consultant service and CEO compensation

This study examines how consultants’ non-compensation-related consulting service (NCS) affects the contractual usefulness of accounting and stock information in executive compensation, as reflected in pay-performance sensitivity. The hypothesis is based on anecdotal evidence suggesting that consultants’ provision of NCS is likely to adversely affect the quality of CEO compensation plans. We investigate whether the consultants providing NCS are involved in potential conflicts of interest. The results show that CEO pay is higher in companies where consultants provide NCS and have a higher NCS fee ratio. The pay-performance sensitivity in CEO compensation decreases when consultants engage in NCS. The overall results are consistent with NCS representing a conflict of interest and compromising the quality of compensation committees.     

Keeping Public Institutions Invested in Tobacco

Increasingly through the 1990s, tobacco control advocates questioned the practice of public institutions investing in tobacco company stocks. The questioning was framed in at least three ways. First, is it ethical to fund public expenditures with profits from a product that causes addiction and disease? Second, is it sound social policy to derive public income from a product that increases healthcare costs and reduces worker productivity? Finally, is it sound fiscal policy to invest in an historically profitable industry facing multiplying legal and regulatory challenges? While the tobacco industry preferred to restrict discussion to the fiscal question, and offered an affirmative answer, its position was weakened by depressed stock prices brought on by actions of the industry as much as by tobacco control activism. As part of a campaign to restore its credibility as an investment vehicle with public fund managers, Philip Morris (PM) commissioned a report from the influential investment managers/advisors Wilshire Associates. However, Wilshire had only recently conducted such a study for the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB), assuring the board that the value tobacco stocks added to an investment portfolio – if any – was too small to be measured. Nonetheless, within a year, Wilshire produced a report for PM which appeared to laud the investment value of tobacco and to dismiss tobacco-excluded investment alternatives. This paper examines how Wilshire produced apparently diametrically opposed reports for clients with different interests. It reveals a pattern of potential conflicts of interest among tobacco companies, financial analysis firms, investment authorities, and institutional fund managers. It demonstrates substantial violations of two generally accepted ethical principles of business consulting: veracity and transparency.     

工程咨询企业国际核心竞争力评价指标体系研究

本文阐述了建立工程咨询企业国际竞争力评价指标体系的必要性基本原则,确定了适合我国工程咨询企业国际核心竞争力的评价指标体系,运用ISM模型,对各因素进行分级评价,将工程咨询企业国际核心竞争力的评价指标划分成最终指标、高级指标、次高级指标以及基础指标的四级递阶系统,为我国工程咨询企业提升竞争力的评价研究,提供一定的参考依据。     

低质量数据下的知识获取方案研究

数据挖掘已经成为重要的知识来源。随着信息化的深入,企业对数据挖掘有了较大的需求,但数据质量差往往会造成数据挖掘的结论可信度低,从而影响了数据挖掘的应用。本文以可拓学方法,通过系统分析产生脏数据的原因,提出了基于学科链方法的数据清洗方案。通过数据挖掘手段发现数据质量差距,追溯到软件设计、实施、维护等上游环节,提出从来源环节解决问题的系统方法,并提出通过数据挖掘应用咨询促使数据质量改进的措施,从而降低数据清洗的工作量,使数据质量不高的企业也可以实施数据挖掘项目,获取决策支持所需的知识。     

建设项目工程咨询发展实践与探索

本文阐述了"云浮国际石材产业园"以科学发展观为理念统领工程咨询工作,以适应长远经济发展为核心,推动工程咨询行业发展,提出了促进建设项目协调与可持续发展的方法和经验,供参考.