Consulting industry is a modern industry that adapts to the development of social informationization, scientization and modernization, and it is also one of the fastest growing industries in the tertiary industry. The core function of modern consulting industry is to improve the scientific level of people's decision-making and behavior, which plays a very important role in the country's economic development and maintaining international competitive advantage. In the current China market, foreign consulting companies occupy a monopoly position. To develop the local consulting industry, we must first understand the development characteristics and direction of foreign consulting companies, so as to catch up. After decades of development, foreign management consulting industry has become a rapidly developing knowledge-based industry sector, and has been listed as an important field of high-level intellectual property rights, and many consulting companies with high level and reputation have been established.
75% enterprises in the United States should consult consulting companies, and 50% enterprises in Japan should improve their management with the help of consulting companies. The expansion of the market has brought about a substantial increase in income. The annual income of management consulting in the United States was $654.38+0 billion in the 1960s, increased to $2 billion in the 1970s and reached $5 billion in the 1980s. So far, it has reached $6543.8+300 million. In western European countries, it also shows stable and rapid growth.
With the professional differentiation becoming more and more detailed, emerging industries are constantly emerging, and consulting companies are constantly expanding the scope of services and tailoring consulting solutions for different enterprises. In the second half of 1970s, American management consulting companies were able to provide 1 15 kinds of consulting services. Including production management consulting, personnel consulting, marketing consulting, accounting consulting, administrative consulting, etc. 1 1. With the development trend of economic globalization and the vigorous development of information technology, communication technology and computer technology in recent years, the scope of management consulting has been further expanded and the methods have been further changed.
In order to promote the rapid development of consulting industry under the condition of market economy, western countries attach great importance to the establishment of management consulting industry associations. Founded in 1929, American Association of Management Consulting Companies (ACEM) is the earliest management consulting association with a history of 69 years. In addition, Management Consulting Association (AMC) and Career Management Consulting Association (SPMC) established by 1959, Management Consulting Association (IMC) established by 1968 and Internal Management Consulting Association (AIMC) established by 1970 are also prestigious management consulting industry organizations in the United States. In addition to the United States, management consulting industry associations such as British Management Consulting Association (IMC), Management Consulting Association (MCA), French Consulting and Research Group Association (SYNTEC), Canadian Management Consulting Association (CAMC), German Business Consulting Association, Japanese Business Association and SME Diagnosis Association also play a very active role in the development of management consulting industry in China. On the whole, consulting associations in western countries represent the whole consulting service industry in this country. Consultants and consulting companies set up professional associations with resource nature, with the purpose of making the associations represent their interests, organizing consultants and consulting companies to carry out various exchange activities, and playing an important role in establishing qualification standards, stipulating professional codes of conduct, improving consultants' quality through training, and expanding the influence of consulting industry, so as to make the whole industry enter a standardized, orderly and reasonable competition. In western countries, having the membership of national consulting industry association is an important capital for individuals and units engaged in this field to expand their business and improve their social status.
One of the winning factors of comprehensive and transnational consulting companies is all-round information, and a remarkable feature of this intangible input of information is "* * *" and "scale effect". A consulting company with outlets all over the world will be able to enjoy information resources on a global scale, with greatly reduced costs and outstanding competitive advantages. In addition, in order to occupy the market, large consulting companies should also seize the opportunity to set up branches around the world.
Therefore, with the rapid development of economic globalization, western consulting companies are moving towards integration, scale and transnational operation. Nowadays, world-famous consulting companies such as McKinsey, roland berger and PricewaterhouseCoopers have set up branches all over the world to expand their markets. China is becoming the business development target of these big companies because of its good development prospects.
The consulting industry has developed rapidly in many countries for more than 100 years. These consulting powers have their own strong fields and are unique in the consulting industry. For example, Britain has obvious advantages in international organizations, Germany in engineering technology, the United States in enterprise management and Japan in industrial intelligence. Let's discuss the development characteristics of these consulting powers and provide reference for China's management consulting industry.
America 1
America is the most developed country in consulting industry in the world. This not only benefits from the rapid development of American economy and technology since World War II, but also benefits from American innovation and leading style. Scientific management concept and comprehensive diagnosis method were first applied to American consulting companies. In addition, the difference between American consulting industry and foreign countries is that there are a number of powerful large companies, such as RAND Corporation, which are mainly engaged in military research and consulting; Stanger international consulting organization serving the government, enterprises and organizations; Brookings Institution focusing on economy, foreign policy and government activities; The American Enterprise Policy Institute focuses on protecting the liberal system and developing the economy and domestic problems. These consulting companies have huge organizations, concentrated research talents, sufficient funds, the strength to undertake some overall, strategic and comprehensive research topics, and strong international competitiveness, which is conducive to the democratization and scientificization of national policies and reduces the will of the Chief Executive.
2. Britain, Britain
There are more than 2,000 consulting enterprises of various sizes in Britain, and their service scope can be divided into three categories: engineering consulting, product and technology consulting and management consulting. There are more than 900 engineering consulting companies with about 90 specialties. There are about 1000 product and technology consulting companies with 200 specialties. There are hundreds of management consulting companies. The development of British consulting industry has always been valued by the state. The Association of Consulting Engineers was established as early as 19 13. Due to its strict membership conditions, its members have a high social status. In addition, the overseas business of British consulting industry is developed and developed rapidly. The important reasons are as follows: ① Commonwealth countries are favorable conditions for developing overseas consulting; ② The government's attention and support for the development of overseas consulting business; (3) the state stipulates that foreign aid projects shall be undertaken by domestic consulting companies; (4) Consulting institutions have a strong pioneering spirit.
3. Germany
The consulting industry in Germany began in 1950s, and the consulting institutions developed rapidly, showing a polarization trend. At present, there are thousands of consulting institutions in various forms in Germany. It is mainly divided into four categories: one is the government decision-making advisory body, which can put forward the development direction and prospect of emerging technologies and industries for government departments, conduct in-depth research on the theory and technical methods of consulting industry, conduct technical and economic argumentation on important topics, and promote and transfer the research results of scientific research departments to enterprises. The second category is consulting institutions with investment functions, mostly backed by associations or science and technology departments. For example, in the Engineering Technology Center in Berlin, engineering consulting is the fastest-growing consulting project in Germany and the most advanced in the world. The third category is consulting institutions that promote the latest research results of scientific research departments and universities to enterprises in a timely and effective manner. The fourth category is purely profitable consulting institutions. In recent years, the consulting industry in Germany has developed rapidly, and some large consulting institutions have formed a few comprehensive "consulting giants" through mergers and business infiltration. Small consulting institutions are also competitive in the consulting market because of their flexible operation, low fees and certain professional characteristics.
4. Japan
There are more than 65,438+0,000 consulting institutions in Japan, mainly concentrated in several big cities such as Tokyo. Their characteristics are: first, the role of government-run advisory bodies is outstanding. More than 200 deliberation committees composed of experts and scholars under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister and provincial departments provide decision-making consultation. Second, there are more than 100 "brain banks" in China to serve local economic construction. Third, attach great importance to enterprise diagnosis. After World War II, Japan introduced enterprise management consulting from Europe and America, called "enterprise diagnosis", which was most welcomed by small and medium-sized enterprises. Since the early 1950s, the government has successively promulgated the Basic Outline of Diagnosis for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the Law on Guidance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and other laws and regulations, which provided legal protection for enterprise diagnosis.
In addition to the characteristics of each country, we can see that the common feature of developed countries in the consulting industry is the government's attention and support. Whether it is the Japanese legislation, the American government's dependence on consulting companies, or the British protection policy for consulting industry, etc. It reflects the country's encouragement and attention to this industry. Countries have also adopted policies such as tax relief and low-interest loans to encourage enterprises to use consulting services.