Introduction

The development of internal strategies for the operation and management of information systems technology often requires the use of consultation services. It is not uncommon for newly developing corporations or organizations to seek the support of some form of IT consultant to promote successful use of information systems technology and to develop long-term planning for this area of the organization. In existing corporations, the use of consulting services to support the introduction of new technologies, the creation of new ways of using technologies, or the retraining of employees in new systems based on existing technologies occurs frequently in the modern organization.

Though the general reference to consulting services suggests that there is one single formula through which the acts of a consultant are applied to the IT segment of an organization, Schein (1988) argues that there are three specific categories or models that define the role of the consultant in the modern organization. These models include (a) purchase or sale of expertise, (b) doctor-patient, and (c) process consultation. Depending on the organizational scenario, one or more of these models may be applied to different changes in the organizational setting (Schein, 1987; Schein, 1988; Schein, 1992; Schein, 1999). For IT consultation, there are benefits and limitations to the application of each of these roles, and the impact of each role can be defined by the specific scenario within which IT consultation is used (Smith, 2001).

Management Consultants

In understanding the application of Schein's models for management consultants, it is important first to assess the industry view of consultation and the way in which management consultants have been defined in the current literature. Biswas and Twitchell (2002) argue that management consultants can fill a number of different roles within the organizational structure. These can include:
1. Officiating as experts in a given industry, operational function, or business situation;
2. Serving as unbiased, external third parties to validate a concept or argument;
3. Confirming a hypothesis or point of view through exhaustive analysis;
4. Acting as conflict resolution mediators;
5. Teaching organizations how to make decisions;
6. Facilitating discussions to convert information into knowledge (Biswas & Twitchell, 2002, p. 7).
The focus of management consultants and the development of their operational strategies

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