Educational Objectives

This course builds on the Q3 offering “Strategy in Professional Service Firms” and delves in-depth into professionalism, leadership, and strategy in professional service firms (PSFs). The course will help you understand the duties and responsibilities of professionalism, and allow you to engage with topics of special relevance to PSFs. It is meant to be particularly useful if you are contemplating establishing a career in professional services, or studying PSFs closely.

Course Content and Organization

Course Structure

The course is comprised of three modules.

The first module on Professionalism identifies the distinguishing characteristics of professional service, and the consequent responsibilities and rights of professionals and PSFs. We discuss why professionals are held to specific standards of conduct, and the implications of these standards on competition and industry structure in the professions, as well as the role of professional associations. Cases include a discussion of the role of professionals in the Enron collapse, KPMG’s dispute with Prince Jefri of Brunei; the challenge faced by Hewlett Packard’s general counsel and board in relation to an issue with their CEO, and opportunities and challenges facing the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration.

In the second module, Topics in Professional Services, we discuss a potpourri of particular subjects of relevance to PSFs, including digital PSFs, compensation in PSFs, PSF mergers, and leading change in PSFs. Sessions include a discussion with Zinnov on the landscape of digital consulting, and case studies on the edTech firm Emeritus, the compensation system in Brainard Bennis Farrell, and the challenge of leading change in Linklaters.

The third module on Professional and Personal Success takes the individual as the unit of analysis. We discuss strategies of managing effectively the various demands on a professional’s time and attention. We explore the challenge of navigating an organization through turbulence. We discuss how to start a PSF career with positive momentum and what leads professionals to experience a sense of professional success and personal fulfillment over their careers. Sessions include vignettes on challenges facing professionals at the beginning, in the prime, and the evening of their respective careers; considerations in the minds of MBA graduates on how to approach their first few months in a PSF; a video case study on leadership and teamwork in the face of extraordinary tumult; and a panel discussion with professionals reflecting on their career paths.

The Approach of the Course

The course employs a combination of inductive learning through PSF case studies, deepening the learning by comparing and contrasting across multiple PSF cases, adding insights gleaned from reflections of case protagonists and experts, and relating the case-based observations to research findings and concepts related to professional services.

Our primary learning tool is the case study method. We will discuss a mix of cases—some examining the current challenges facing PSFs, others focusing on landmark events that have influenced particular professions significantly, and yet others that look at classic themes that have stood the test of time. Several of the case studies take a longitudinal perspective, following professionals and their enterprises over extended periods of time. Thus, we have the opportunity not only to determine the sources of performance at any given time, but also to identify the capabilities and processes that sustain success over time and to learn how PSFs respond to change.

The cases are situated in different professional service settings: management consulting, accounting, law, and education. We will study established industry leaders as well as entrepreneurial PSFs. Case protagonists will attend several of the class sessions.

We will also utilize other learning tools besides printed cases. Some sessions will include panel discussions. One session will employ a video case study.

Course Administration

Course grades are determined by two elements: class participation (50%) and a final paper (50%). The paper can be developed together by a team of two or three students (although, a student writing the paper individually would also be welcome).

Writing the paper will help you practice a valued skill in a PSF: how to develop a persuasive and cogent written analysis on a particular topic. It also offers you an opportunity to understand in-depth a particular profession or PSF, explore intensively an entrepreneurial idea in professional services, and contribute meaningfully to course development.

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