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== Recruiting ==
== Recruiting ==

{{refimprovesect|date=December 2007}}

PA Consulting Group has six consulting ranks: Analyst, Consultant Analyst, Consultant, Principal Consultant, Managing Consultant, and Partner. PA recruits actively at all these levels.
PA Consulting Group has six consulting ranks: Analyst, Consultant Analyst, Consultant, Principal Consultant, Managing Consultant, and Partner. PA recruits actively at all these levels.


Line 110: Line 113:
The Analyst role can last between 1-2 years, with outstanding performers being promoted at 1 year. A Consultant Analyst is generally a graduate with 2 to 3 years of relevant work experience. There is a lot of emphasis placed on career progression at PA. Consultants tend to follow a long-term career path with the company, progressing swiftly into the management ranks and eventually becoming Managing Consultant and Partner. PA also recruits extensively at senior levels from outside the organization – recruiting people with significant experience either from industry or the consulting sectors.
The Analyst role can last between 1-2 years, with outstanding performers being promoted at 1 year. A Consultant Analyst is generally a graduate with 2 to 3 years of relevant work experience. There is a lot of emphasis placed on career progression at PA. Consultants tend to follow a long-term career path with the company, progressing swiftly into the management ranks and eventually becoming Managing Consultant and Partner. PA also recruits extensively at senior levels from outside the organization – recruiting people with significant experience either from industry or the consulting sectors.


The interview process, while very selective, is similar at all levels and follows a case-study approach.
The interview process, while very selective, is similar at all levels and follows a case-study approach.


== PA ventures ==
== PA ventures ==

Revision as of 08:21, 8 December 2007

PA Consulting Group Ltd.
Company typeEmployee-owned
IndustryIT Services, Consulting
Founded1943 (Personnel Administration)
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Jon Moynihan, Executive Chairman
Alan Middleton, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Hooke, Chief Operating Officer
Number of employees
~3,000 (2006)
Websitewww.paconsulting.com

PA Consulting Group (PA) is an international management consulting firm known for its expertise in technology and new product development.[1] As of 2007 it operates in more than 35 countries.

The firm works across both the private and public sectors. It has won independent awards and recognition for its client work in financial services, energy, life sciences[2] and healthcare, government and public services, manufacturing, defence, and telecommunications.[3] PA's Report and Accounts for 2005 defines its services as: helping clients to design strategies for growth, achieve effective IT that improves business performance, mobilise human resources, deliver complex programs and major business transformations, and develop breakthrough products and processes. The latter are created at PA's dedicated applied technology facilities at Melbourn, Cambridge, UK, and Princeton, NJ, USA.[4][5]

PA is entirely an employee-owned company. PA has no audit practice and does not form exclusive alliances with third-party vendors or service providers. PA does, however, work in non-exclusive alliances on specific programs when it is in the best interests of its clients.[4][5]

Principal offices

PA operates worldwide in more than 35 countries. Its principal office locations are listed below. Office contact details

Second Life

File:800px-Office 1 002.jpg
PA's office in Second Life.

In November 2006, PA Consulting Group became the first management consulting firm to establish a presence in Second Life[6]. PA uses Second Life to host virtual conferences, recruitment events and as a tool for its clients to simulate new product and service offerings[7]

History

1940-1950

Personnel Administration (PA) was founded in 1943 by three Englishmen: Ernest E. Butten, Tom H. Kirkham and Dr David Seymour. Britain's war effort created an insatiable demand for munitions and goods, which had to be produced by a relatively unskilled work force. Butten and co formed Personnel Administration Limited to provide advice to industry as to how to improve the productivity of their workers.

Like the other three firms that dominated consulting in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, PA was an offshoot of the pre-war Bedaux Company. Bedaux in turn was descended from the time and motion 'scientific management' theories of Frederick Winslow Taylor and Frank Gilbreth.

The founder of PA, Ernest Butten, sought to take the somewhat mechanistic and task-orientated concepts of scientific management and add a human dimension to them. The chief idea, along the lines of McGregor's 'Theory Y', was that by involving the worker in the process of change, greater gains could be made both by the worker and the organisation. To date, time and motion management consultants had been seen as the enemies of the workforce leading to resistance and even violence (see a spoof of the role of a management consultant in the Ealing comedy I'm Alright Jack).

PA's new approach was considerably less confrontational and more successful than its predecessors. PA's first assignment in 1943 was to train housewives in the difficult task of assembling the tail gun section for the Lancaster Bomber, as part of Britain's policy of bringing women into the factories in order to free-up male workers for the armed forces.

The war ended a year or so after the formation of PA, and with its end began the demand for production of civilian goods, coupled with the return of large numbers of servicemen seeking employment in industry. Butten and colleagues seized the opportunity and expanded rapidly. By 1950 the company had 84 consultants.

1950-1970

Over the next 20 years PA's approach succeeded so well that, by 1970, PA was (by headcount) the largest management consulting firm in the world (closely followed by Booz Allen and McKinsey). In the meantime PA had expanded geographically, mostly along the lines of the British Empire. Indeed its operation in Australia was so large that it provided roughly a third of revenue.

In the 1960s PA diversified its revenue sources significantly by more or less inventing the 'newspaper box' advertisement for recruitment purposes. This concept spread rapidly across Europe and the Far East: in some countries, during the 60s, the 'PA Supplement' was an extra section of the newspaper filled entirely with advertisements from PA Recruitment.

In the meantime Butten had, in 1958, sold his 100% shareholding in PA to the Butten Trust, which was intended as a long term guardian of PA's fortunes and an assurance that the company would be 'owned by the employees'. In 1970 Butten retired entirely from PA, handing over management responsibilities. This coincided with a downturn in the industry overall, and of PA in particular. For the following quarter century PA's position as the largest consulting firm in the world was rapidly eroded, as emerging competitors such as McKinsey and the strategy consulting firms (Boston Consulting Group and Bain) redefined the concept of management consulting, and took market share away from the increasingly poorly managed and unfocused PA, and others of its ilk.

1970-1992

While during the 70s and 80s PA had occasional years of resistance with strong revenues, the company was never very profitable and endured a number or economic crises which progressively weakened the company. Part of PA's problem was that while being 'owned' by the Butten Trust, it was owned by an institution, but by no human.

One bright element during this period of general decline was the emergence of what has probably become the world's best Technology Consulting practice, located in Cambridge, UK. (In this instance 'Technology' refers to the overall concept, rather than specifically computers or IT.) PA rapidly built up a major strength in advising companies on multiple arcane technologies and their potential application to business issues. Arising out of this success, major technology centres were built in Melbourn, UK and Princeton, USA.

Towards the end of the 80s PA enjoyed the benefits of a temporary upsurge in the industry, and decided it wished to go public. The Butten Trust, after an application to the courts in the UK, agreed to give 15% of its shares to its employees, as part of a long-term plan to float. However these hopes were dashed in the subsequent consulting industry downturn of 1989 to 1992 and, by the end of that downturn, PA was essentially bankrupt, with some £30 million (US$ 57 million) of debt, significant annual losses and a rapid outflow of staff.

1992-2005

Between 1991 and 1994, PA lost almost half of its people, partly because of its downturn in fortunes, and partly because companies such as IBM and EDS had started to enter the consulting market and were aggressively hiring - almost indiscriminately. However, as had happened with other companies going through bad times, those that remained at PA were determined to turn the company around and restore it to its former greatness.

The good reputation that PA had enjoyed throughout its existence, and the fact that it was bad management, rather than bad consulting, that had brought PA to its impasse, meant that there remained within the company a very strong set of skills and capabilities. Consequently PA was able, relatively rapidly, to turn itself around (see The Wall Street Journal article of 1997),[8] and by 1995 was enjoying record profits relative to any previous year in the company's history. However much rebuilding still had to be done, as a result of which PA was still too weak to fully capitalise on the emerging years of the dotcom boom in 1997/98. (This would appear to have been partly a blessing, as shown by the eclipse of many dotcom consulting firms once the end-of-millennium bubble had burst).

By 1999 PA was in robust health and enjoying record revenues, profit and growth. It expanded significantly into the US, through the acquisition of Hagler Bailly, and now has a presence in ten offices throughout the United States.

PA suffered, along with the rest of the consulting industry, in the consulting recession of 2001-2004, which saw such a significant decline in revenues for consulting firms that it represented probably the worst downturn the industry has ever had in its century-long existence. However PA did not suffer as much as its competitors, with the result that the bounce back in 2004-2006 has allowed the company to outpace its competitors.

Today

Today's PA has extensive operations in Europe (particularly Scandinavia where it is recognised as the number one consulting firm), the Americas and the Far East. Its 2004, 2005 and 2006 results were each, in turn, record years for the company.

In recent years PA has also significantly diversified its activities into ventures. Some 50% of PA's return to shareholders, over the years 2002-2006, has come from its non-consulting activities.

In 2006 PA's profile is of a major global consulting firm, working in both the Private and Public sectors, both in general and in information technology as well as the other major sectors of consulting such as Strategy, Human Resource Consulting, Project Management, with industry specialisations such as Energy, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Financial Services and Telecommunications.

In 2007 PA made a difficult decision and closed down operations in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. This highlights the ongoing view of management to achieve profit at the cost of growth.

Recruiting

PA Consulting Group has six consulting ranks: Analyst, Consultant Analyst, Consultant, Principal Consultant, Managing Consultant, and Partner. PA recruits actively at all these levels.

PA's Analysts are typically recent college graduates. No specific educational specialism is required, but an aptitude for problem-solving and analytics is considered essential, and a very strong academic record. PA’s training and development programs are designed to make the Analysts' move into consulting a smooth one. Demand for Analyst positions is high, with approximately 1% of applicants being hired.

The Analyst role can last between 1-2 years, with outstanding performers being promoted at 1 year. A Consultant Analyst is generally a graduate with 2 to 3 years of relevant work experience. There is a lot of emphasis placed on career progression at PA. Consultants tend to follow a long-term career path with the company, progressing swiftly into the management ranks and eventually becoming Managing Consultant and Partner. PA also recruits extensively at senior levels from outside the organization – recruiting people with significant experience either from industry or the consulting sectors.

The interview process, while very selective, is similar at all levels and follows a case-study approach.

PA ventures

PA's venture programme (PAGroup Ventures) was established in 2000 to exploit the ideas and intellectual capital generated from its consulting work. This has been highly value generating: for example PA created a third-generation mobile phone business called UbiNetics which was sold in two tranches for a total of $133 million in 2005; and Meridica - a drug delivery system company - was valued at time of sale to Pfizer at $125 million in 2004. Each sale generated a return of many multiples of PA's total investment in its ventures programmes to date.[9][10][11]

Aditon

Aditon is PA's latest venture, a mobile advertising application service provider offering operators, advertisers and mobile content owners new revenue streams and channels to market. Aditon's mobile advertising platform powers U Daily - a channel delivering individually-tailored information and entertainment from content owners that is pushed daily via the mobile phone's idle-screen to mobile operators' customers. Aditon

Aegate

PA venture Aegate is developing a next-generation approach to patient safety by providing authentication services for pharmaceutical products at the point of dispensing. Aegate received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Entrepreneurial Company in recognition of its "unique and commercially attractive solution to combat pharmaceutical counterfeiting and fraud".[12] The pharmaceutical authentication company launched its service in Belgium, November 2006, in collaboration with L’Association Pharmaceutique Belge (APB), the professional pharmacy association that represents 90% of independent pharmacies in Belgium. Belgium is the first country to pioneer this new patient safety system.[13] Aegate

ProcServe

PA venture company ProcServe provides E-procurement solutions and professional services. This systems provider offers a range of buyer and supplier procurement solutions, managed services, implementation support and professional services. It enables organisations to achieve value and cash benefits from implementing electronic procurement systems and processes.[14] ProcServe

The ProcServe solutions and services build on PA's experience of the Zanzibar project - the e-Procurement solution for the UK public sector. The Zanzibar Managed Service is now delivered by a ProcServe-led consortium that includes PA Consulting Group. Zanzibar has been adopted by a number of public sector organisations in the UK, including the DWP, DfES, the Environment Agency, NHS Trusts and the DCLG.[15] Zanzibar

Cubiks

Cubiks, the specialist HR consultancy, completed the final stage of its management buy-out from PA Consulting Group in July 2007. This former PA venture company specialises in helping employers to tackle the constantly evolving challenges of personnel selection, development, performance management, and retention.[16] Cubiks

UbiNetics

PA venture UbiNetics was founded in 1999, born out of the Wireless Technology Practice of PA. In six years UbiNetics developed new products for the fast-growing wireless communications market, becoming a world leader in 3G test and measurement products, and in next-generation multimode 2G/3G/HSDPA cellular software and technology. It supplied many of the world's leading telecoms operators and semiconductor and handset and device manufacturers. In May 2005 the Test and Measurement division of UbiNetics was sold to Aeroflex for $84.5 million, and in July 2005 PA agreed to sell the other half of the venture - Volume Product Technology - to CSR plc for $48 million.[9][10] UbiNetics

Meridica

Meridica is a former PA venture company developing and licensing drug delivery devices and products for the pharmaceutical industry. It was established in May 2001 as part of PA’s venture program. Following a licensing and equity deal with Pfizer Inc. for Meridica’s Dry Powder Inhaler, Xcelovair™, PA subsequently sold the remainder of the shares in this successful venture for $125 million to Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, in November 2004, in order to help Pfizer accelerate the development of allergy and respiratory drug candidates in its development pipeline.[11][17][5]


Awards

Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Management Awards

These Awards are organized by the MCA, and run in association with the UK business magazine Management Today. Some 50 firms enter the competition every year, including many of the major global consulting organisations.[18][19]

The Awards are independently judged and aim to identify the best case studies in each of 18 categories, where organizations, in the private or public sector, have achieved a significant improvement in performance with the assistance of management consultants, either in-house or external.[19]

PA Consulting Group was named the overall winner in 2006 for its work with the Georgian Government and US Agency for International Development. "PA Consulting Group battled corruption, improved performance and secured electricity supply for the Georgian people (an average 30% more electricity), proving that proper management can turn around any troubled organization", said the MCA and Management Today magazine.[19]

In the eight years that PA has entered these Awards the firm has received an unprecedented 32% of all the top awards (Overall Platinum and Gold Category Winners). This includes winning the Overall Award on four occasions, and securing 16 Gold Award Category Winners.[5][18][7]

References

  1. ^ A Brief History of the Management Consulting Profession
  2. ^ For Life sciences sector: PA recognized for role in client achieving 2002 Queen's Award to Industry. PA Consulting Group (1 May 2002) press release: "PA Consulting Group instrumental in Queen's Award for The Female Health Company, developer of state-of-the-art female contraceptive, FEMIDOM®"
  3. ^ For all other sectors in this list: Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Best Management Practice Awards won by PA 1998-2006. PA Consulting Group (2006). "Celebrating current and past successes of the MCA's most prolific winner", Ref LON 11802, published by PA Consulting Group; pages 3, 24-25.
  4. ^ a b PA Consulting Group's Board of Directors, and auditors Ernst & Young LLP (2006)."PA Holdings Limited Report and Accounts Year ended 31 December 2005", Ref Lon 11723, published by PA Consulting Group.
  5. ^ a b c d PA Consulting Group has waived the copyright it may have owned in descriptive texts in the above paragraphs, excepting trading names, trademarked names, registered logos and domain names, for use in Wikipedia and derived works within the scope of GFDL licence. Source: A. Adams, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, PA Consulting Group, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "waiver" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Donahue, Marylyn. "Setting Up Shop on Second Life". Pharmaceutical Executive. Retrieved 2007-11-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ a b Nehmzow, Claus. "PA joins leading retail and higher education brands in new communications medium". PA Consulting Group. Retrieved 2006-11-26. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) Cite error: The named reference "PACG" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ The Wall Street Journal Europe (9 July 1997). Article by Shailagh Murray: "British Consultancy Found Needy Client In Its Own Office - PA Group's Overhaul Offers Lesson in How to Survive Increasingly Tight Sector"
  9. ^ a b PA Consulting Group (23 May 2005). Press release: "PA Consulting Group and 3i announce sale of UbiNetics' testing business".
  10. ^ a b PA Consulting Group (28 July 2005). Press release: "PA Consulting Group and 3i announce sale of UbiNetics" Cite error: The named reference "saletwo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b PA Consulting Group (12 November 2004). Press release: "Pfizer completes acquisition of drug delivery technology venture from PA Consulting Group"
  12. ^ Aegate (27 October 2005). Press release: "Aegate receives the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Best Practice Award for Entrepreneurial Company"
  13. ^ Financial Times (16 October 2006). Article by Andrew Baxter: "Online system to fight drug fraud"
  14. ^ ProcServe (2006). Web site statement at: http://www.procserve.com/index.htm
  15. ^ PA Consulting Group (15 February 2006). Press release: "Boosting public sector buying power - PA Consulting Group welcomes first customers to Zanzibar, Government’s new eProcurement and marketplace service
  16. ^ Cubiks (2 July 2007). Press release: "Cubiks completes Management Buy-Out from PA Consulting Group"
  17. ^ PA Consulting Group (2005). "From insight to implementation" Ref LON 9548, published by PA Consulting Group; pages 3, 15-17
  18. ^ a b J. Hewgill (2006), MCA Marketing Director, Management Consultancies Association, 49 Whitehall, London SW1A 2BX, UK.
  19. ^ a b c M.Gwyther (2006). "MCA Management Awards 2006", ISSN 0025-1925 , published by Management Today magazine, Haymarket Business Publications: pages 2, 3

External links

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