MM384: Business and Management Consultancy Skills

Module code: MM384

Module provider: Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

ECTS credits: 10

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Jean- Anne Stewart, email: jean-anne.stewart@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 25 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module introduces business and management consultancy concepts to those wishing to gain a deeper understanding of consultancy and develop their skills to prepare them for a consultancy role or support them to engage effectively with consultants. There is no prior requirement for consultancy knowledge and experience, as this module will introduce core models and processes, along with intensive practical application working in small teams throughout the module. 

This module aims to:

• Provide an overview of the growth of business and management consultancy

• Introduce different styles of consultancy 

• Explain the purpose of teamwork for consultants

• Introduce and explore different consultancy processes and lifecycles

• Provide practical opportunities to apply this knowledge to case study projects

• Develop consultancy skills through practical interactive experiences 

• Advise on presentation techniques in the consultancy context

• Indicate potential challenges for consultants, particularly concerning ethical issues and AI.

• Provide an overview of how consultants continue to develop their skills and capability

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. To describe the development of consultancy and the different styles of consultancy, demonstrating analytical and critical thinking skills.
2. To apply appropriate consultancy processes to case study projects and to show teamworking, empathy, communication, and negotiation skills in practice.
3. To demonstrate the development of skills throughout, particularly focused on communication, active listening, resilience and agility with ‘client’ interactions (meetings and presentations).
4. To reflect on their experiences and learning to support self-awareness, and to appreciate the nature of lifelong learning, when delivering effective consultancy.

Module content

One workshop session per week covering topics as indicated above, plus intensive practical project work in teams, plus fortnightly project clinics, plus self-study. 

The module content will be structured to take students through the consultancy project lifecycle process, as they progress through the module.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Students will undertake a variety of learning activities including short lectures, project work on case studies in teams, in-class activities, role play and discussions, supported by supplementary research and reading.

Study hours

At least 27 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark. 

Through in-class activities, discussions, and case study work, students receive peer feedback and feedback from the tutor on their understanding of the subject. This will directly support work that needs to be undertaken for summative assessments.

Reassessment

Additional costs