module specification

Imagine yourself stepping into one of the most dynamic and influential sectors: consultancy. This field is booming, with a strong growth trend that shows no signs of slowing down. In the UK alone, you will find an industry that employs over 255,000 professionals and is valued at an estimated £16 billion per annum, making it the second largest consultancy hub in the world after the US.

As a management consultant, you actively engage with stakeholders to deliver objective, specialist advice. You diagnose issues and inefficiencies, solve problems, improve performance and implement solutions that drive complex change, maximise growth and create value for organisations.

In the Practice of Consultancy module, you gain the practical research and consultancy skills essential for a successful consulting career while preparing for your final-year Consultancy Project. This module introduces you to key research methods, equipping you with a hands-on understanding of the tools and techniques for problem analysis and issue clarification.

You will apply a range of frameworks to structure your diagnostic analysis and strategic thinking. Management consulting encompasses a wide array of activities, and as a consultant, you must be both client-oriented and solution-focused. In this module, you will develop expertise, resourcefulness, critical analysis, creative thinking, relationship management, empathy and communication skills; each essential for building trust and ensuring your recommendations are implemented effectively.

Advances in technology now provide organisations with unprecedented access to vast amounts of data that you can harness for evidence-based consultancy. You will explore how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, are transforming traditional consultancy practices. You will learn to integrate these tools with conventional desk research to validate and contextualise your data findings, thereby enhancing the robustness and relevance of your recommendations. You will also explore hypothesis testing to uncover actionable insights from data and drive evidence-based decision. This hands-on experience equips you with both critical analytical skills and the ability to communicate your insights effectively, ensuring you remain competitive in the dynamic world of business consulting.

In summary, this module aims to:

1. Develop your diagnostic ability to identify and clarify root issues within an organisation;
2. Hone your skill in applying appropriate methods to solve complex consultancy challenges;
3. Strengthen your ability to combine analytical frameworks, AI-supported insights and independent analysis to assess market opportunities and formulate actionable recommendations, and
4. Cultivate the capability to critically interpret statistical outputs and effectively communicate your findings to support robust, evidence-based decision making.

Data Analysis for Business Decision Making or Equivalent at Level 4

This module focuses on the practices and research methods you will use to deliver consultancy projects.

Part 1: Discovery and Problem Definition
The first part centres on the discovery phase, emphasising the client-consultant dialogue that facilitates the identification and clarification of an organisation’s root problems. It explores the consulting process and the role of divergent thinking in generating creative solutions. In addition, students learn practical data collection and analysis methods, such as interviewing and thematic analysis, that underpin effective consultancy. Finally, this part introduces diagnostic analytical tools, including the problem definition worksheet, MECE principle, issue trees, hypothesis-driven consulting and root-cause analysis, to equip students with the structured approaches for uncovering underlying business challenges.  (LO1)

Part 2: Models, Research and Enhancing Consultancy with Emerging Technologies
The second part of the module introduces essential research methods and models designed to inform the problem solving process. Students will learn to develop business frameworks that not only analyse issues but also provide structured approaches for critical thinking, guide decision making and facilitate the communication of recommendations to clients. These frameworks are organised into three broad categories: competitive and situational analysis; portfolio, performance and potential analysis, and organisational and strategic analysis. Specific frameworks and tools, such as PESTLE, Porter’s five forces, competitor analysis, market entry frameworks and portfolio analysis, key performance indicators and benchmarking will be examined. Students will evaluate data to ensure informed decision making and provide evidence-based solutions to clients.  (LO2)

AI is rapidly transforming business consulting by augmenting how consultants gather, process and interpret data to inform strategic decision making. Building on the rigorous evaluation of primary and secondary data, students will explore how emerging technologies, particularly AI, can further enhance their consultancy practice. Students are expected to actively integrate AI-driven tools alongside comprehensive desk research to independently validate and contextualise findings, while applying critical thinking to evaluate their assumptions, limitations and ethical implications.  (LO3)

Part 3: Statistical Consulting for Evidence-Based Decision Making
This part responds to the growing demand for professionals who can harness and interpret data to drive business success. Expanding on the statistical knowledge obtained at level 4, inferential statistics and SPSS are introduced to develop the skills needed to critically assess test outcomes and to communicate findings effectively.  (LO4)

The presentation of solutions and implementation of recommendations are central themes. Creative thinking, problem resolution and communication skills are developed at each stage.

Learning and teaching are structured around three hours of class contact time per week and take the form of a 2-hour lecture and 1-hour interactive seminar. Some seminars may be delivered in a computer lab. Students will receive learning materials, including weekly presentation slides, activities with solutions, videos, AI conversation exercises and self-tests via WebLearn. Computer-based tasks, where relevant, are blended into the weekly activities.

The lectures introduce students to the research methods, business frameworks and metrics that inform the consultancy process. The interactive seminars adopt a problem-focused approach and facilitate learning through individual and collaborative practical activities, such as performing business diagnostics, evaluating a company’s competitive position, analysing macro-environmental factors, interpreting data and calculating metrics, evaluating possible solutions and reporting activities and presentations. 

A range of tasks are completed in class, though others are completed outside formal contact hours. It is expected that for every 3-hours spent in class, students spend a further 5 hours a week on independent study, such as conducting research and completing activities. A total of 54 hours is allocated for assessment preparation. 

Reflective learning is incorporated into the module and students are actively encouraged to discuss their learning experiences with peers and tutors during seminars. By engaging with the weekly feedforward opportunities, students can continually develop their skills, refine their work and enhance their learning effectiveness.

Learning Trough Assessment
Summative Assessment Strategy: The module has one summative assessment, contributing 100% to the overall mark. The coursework brief and assessment criteria are uploaded to WebLearn and discussed in sessions to ensure clarity of requirements and transparency in marking. Students work in pairs to complete a portfolio of three tasks, covering Issue Identification, Market Opportunity Assessment, and Statistical Evidence Evaluation (multiple choice). The portfolio has a maximum length of 2000 words and is designed to assess all four learning outcomes. It is due at the end of week 12, with provisional results released on WebLearn in January.

Formative Support: Feedforward opportunities re embedded to help students prepare for the portfolio. Draft work can be shared in seminars for feedback, with particular emphasis on problem identification and analysis stages.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

LO1. Identify and clarify issues within an organisation; 

LO2. Demonstrate an ability to apply appropriate methods for solving consultancy problems;

LO3  Apply analytical frameworks alongside AI-supported insights and independent analysis   to assess market opportunities and formulate actionable recommendations;

LO4. Critically interpret inferential statistical outputs and effectively communicate findings to support robust, evidence-based decision making.

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