Managing Professional Service Organizations
Narendra M Agrawal
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
1.0 Introduction:
A professional service organization essentially relies on professionals to be able to
deliver what its customers require. A professional is the one who has systematically
acquired relevant knowledge and skill related to a field in which one wants to work.
Further, a professional is typically member of a professional association that expects the
professional to be guided by values and norms defined for the given association. The
professional association also acts as a forum where professionals from the given field can
share knowledge and professional concerns; and learn from each other. Thus a
professional is one who has relevant and valid knowledge in a given field and whose
decisions and behaviour should be guided by norms and values of one’s profession.
Further, since knowledge keeps evolving a professional has the compulsion and should
be willing to learn on a regular basis.
Law, accounting, consultancy, medicine and advertising are some of the oldest
professions. Investment banking and financial service are major emerging professions. In
addition, as a part of this course, we will also examine academics as well as software
services using professional service framework.
2.0 Objectives:
The course is designed for the participants who aspire to work in a professional service
organization. The course will specifically focus on the following learning objectives:
1. Unique aspects of professional service organizations in terms of their structure,
systems and processes.
The course will discuss cases related to consultancy, investment banking,
advertising, corporate hospitals, academics and software services.
2. The course will focus on design and management of knowledge management
systems. Both knowledge and knowledge workers are major resources of
professional service organizations. A professional service organization requires
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unique proprietary knowledge to be able to differentiate itself in the market from
other service providers. Hence, it must develop capabilities of knowledge
management. Specifically, it must create organizational processes for knowledge
generation, sharing, usage and storage.
3. The course will focus on challenges and issues in managing knowledge workers.
Professionals having relevant and valid professional knowledge can provide
services on their own and thus can create markets for themselves. Hence, it is
challenging to attract, retain and manage professionals in formal organizations.
They keep asking themselves and the prospective organizations how they stand to
benefit by being part of the organization. They look forward to be part of an
organization where they can experience autonomy, professionalism and learn on a
continuous basis.
4. The course will help you to learn to manage oneself as a knowledge worker.
A knowledge worker is part of multiple reference groups and those reference
groups have got multiple and many times conflicting expectations from the focal
person. In addition, a knowledge worker has one’s concept of self, vision and
values. These multiple pools and pressures lead to a knowledge worker struggling
to define one’s growth path.
3.0 Course Structure:
Module 1: Introduction to the Course
Session 1: Major elements of a professional service organization. Unique aspects of
professional service organizations.
Module 2: Leadership Challenges in Professional Service Organizations
Session 2:
Case: Cambridge Consulting Group: Bob Anderson

Managing self as a professional, delivering service to the customer versus
providing the leadership to the team members.

Challenges of coaching team members

Meeting the career and growth aspiration of team members.
Session 3:
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Case: Tom Tierney at Bain and Company (A)
Session 4:
Case: Lehman Brothers (A)
Module 3: Becoming a Professional

Challenges of institutionalizing professional ethics
Session 5 & 6:
Case: Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A)
Cases: Professionals’ Quandaries

Spadauling v. Zimmerman

Stacey Duquette

Lisa Jordon

Carlos Garcia

Dexter Simmons
Cases: Trade Offs

Darcy and Max : From South Yarra , Australia to Harrlem, New York

Jennifer and Steve: Oil and Water

Julia Mclaughlin
Module 4: Managing Talent
Session 7: A Panel Discussion
Module 5: Managing Professional Service Firms

Unique aspects of professional service organizations

Sources of organizational reputation and branding

Organizational structure and ownership

Professional service organizations in India
Readings:
Maister, David H. (1993). Managing the Professional Service Firm.
New York: Free Press Paperbacks
Session 8: Basics of Professional Service Firms
Maister (1993): Chapter 1 to 4
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Maister (1993): Chapter 5 to 8 – Client Matters
Session 9: Client Matters. People Matters
Maister (1993): Chapter 9 to 12 – Client Matters
Maister (1993): Chapter 13 to 18 – People Matters
Maister (1993): Chapter 19-21 – Management Matters
Session 10: Partnership Matters. Multi-site Matters.
Maister(1993): Chapter 22-26. Partnership Matters
Maister(1993): Chapter 27-31. Multi-site Matters
Module 6: Managing Knowledge and Knowledge Workers
Module Objectives
The module will facilitate participants to examine issues and challenges in designing and
institutionalizing knowledge management systems and processes. The module will focus
on issues related to creating a culture of learning, generating, sharing of knowledge. The
module will also focus on issues related with managing knowledge workers.

Understanding and identifying knowledge in organizations

Generating, disseminating and using knowledge in organizations

Role of knowledge in competitive advantage

Models of knowledge management

Organizational design for effective knowledge management

Creating a learning organization

Creating Communities of Practices

Leadership skills for managing the knowledge organization

Growth issues in knowledge organizations

Managing knowledge workers.
Session 11:
Case: McKinsey and Company
Session 12 and 13:

Context of Knowledge Management. Unique Characteristics of Knowledge
Organisations and Knowledge Workers. Defining and Managing Knowledge.
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Creating Learning Organisation. Knowledge Management and Competitive
Advantage.

Understanding and Identifying Knowledge in Organisations

Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge. Organisational Processes for Knowledge
Management.
 Individual Learning, Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management
 Readings:
 Narendra M. Agrawal “Creating an Organisational Culture for Knowledge







Management”, IIMB Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2001, 74-82.
Narendra M Agrawal and Sourav Mukherji: “Growth Issues in Knowledge
Organizations”, working paper, IIM Bangalore.
Narendra M Agrawal: “Managing Knowledge Worker: Benchmarking Indian IT
Organisation”, IIM B Management Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, June 1999, pp. 81-92
Abhoy K. Ojha “Knowledge Management in Organisations: An Overview” IIMB
Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2001; 52-56.
Ikujiro Nonaka and Noboru Konno “The Concept of “Ba”: Building a Foundation for
Knowledge Creation” California Management Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, Spring 1998;
40-54.
Michael H. Zack “Developing a knowledge strategy” California Management
Review; Vol. 41, No. 3, Spring 1999; 125-146.
Rishikesha T. Krishnan “Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage”,
IIMB Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 2001; 57-63.
Morten Hansen, Nitin Nohria, Thomas Tierney “What’s your strategy for managing
knowledge?” Harvard Business Review March-April 1999, 106-116.
Session 14:

Exercise 1: What is knowledge for me? How do I define what knowledge I need?
Defining what unique knowledge I have which could be of relevance to the
organisation.

Group Exercise 2: Getting in touch with organisational tacit knowledge?

Designing organisational space to convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge
and sharing the explicit knowledge across the organisation. Examine what is tacit
knowledge in context of IIM Bangalore. Work in small groups and convert it into
explicit knowledge.
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Session 15 and 16:
Knowledge Management in Organisations: Experiences from Indian Organisations.
Case 2: Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Case 3: Dipesh – The Project Manager
Case 4: Laxmi
Module 7: Presentation of Book Assignment by Participants – 2 sessions
Module 8: Me as A Professional – 2 sessions

My Personality Profile – My reflections and my understanding about myself.

Describe your ideal, projected and real self. Identify the gaps and analyze them. How
do you feel about it? What do you propose to do to bridge the gap?

My vision, my dreams – How do I see my self after three years? How does it match
with my personality profile?

What is my dream job and what knowledge, skills and competencies are required for
that job? What knowledge, skills and competencies I already possess for my dream
job?

What is my action-plan over the next two months to acquire additional knowledge
and skills for my dream job?
Module 9: Indian Cases - Presentation of Cases Developed by the Participants – 4
sessions
(Suggested industry and organizations. Participations can choose any other organization
not listed here).

Consultancy – BCG, KPMG,

Investment Bank and Financial Services – ICICI, Kotak Mahindra

Corporate Hospitals – Wockhardt, Apollo Hospitals

Law Firm

Advertising Firms

Software Service Organizations – Infosys, Wipro, Satyam

Academics – IIM Bangalore, I I Sc., I I I T, National Law School
Methodology: The course will operate with a premise that the teacher and the
participants are equal partners in the process of learning and both will learn from the
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course. The participants will actively contribute by sharing their experiences, developing
small cases, presenting readings and dialoguing with the colleagues.
Learning Evaluation: The learning evaluation will consist of following components:
Sl.
No.
1.
Assignment
Weightage Due Date
Case writing in groups of 3-4
30%
2.
Review of a book – Individual
assignment
Class Presentation, Participation
and Attendance
Final Examination
20 %
3.
4.
First Submission: 10%
Final Submission: 20%
10%
40%
Note: All the papers and assignments should follow standard referencing systems.
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