A paper on the best practice for information systems consultancy Essay

A paper on the best practice for information systems consultancy projects - Essay Example In accordance with the above, consultants need to have the ability to understand the current needs of the firm and propose the most appropriate solution taking into account the current trends of the market and the ability of the firm to follow the project proposed regarding a specific issue. Current paper will discuss the intervention of consultancy in the area of information technology. At the same time particular aspects of consultancy are going to be examined taking into account that firms tend to differentiate their behaviour within a specific market in order to keep their performance at a standard level – wherever such a strategy is applicable. As already stated above one of the most important elements of consultancy is knowledge. This knowledge refers not only to the knowledge of consultant regarding a particular problem of the firm but mainly to the knowledge available to the company on a constantly basis. Indeed, the study of Bollinger et al. (2001, 8) showed that ‘knowledge is a resource valuable to an organizations ability to innovate and compete’. On the other hand, it is noticed by Anand et al. (2003, 15) that ‘the knowledge possessed by an organization and its members can be classified as explicit or tacit; explicit knowledge can be codified and communicated without much difficulty while tacit knowledge--such as the manner of operating sensitive equipment or interpersonal skills--is not so easily articulated’. Consultants should be able to process effectively all types of knowledge ensuring the viability of the firm in the long term. Consultancy was precisely described by Wood (2002). In his book, he stated that consultancy can refer to the following activities: 1 Management and administration: including management consultancy, legal, accounting, financial strategy and fiscal advice, mergers, and takeovers and