In 1963 Bruce Henderson billed a total of $500 for his first month 's work at the Boston Consulting Group. Little did he know that over the next 40 years, his company of 1 employee in Boston would grow to more than 2,600 employees throughout 37 countries, together, generating over $1 billion a year in profit. Today, with 60 offices worldwide, the company is prospering beyond Henderson 's wildest dreams.
I selected this firm after seeing their list of areas of expertise. It was extensive. With almost 20 areas in which the firm specializes in, it was the last one on the list - travel and tourism - that caught my eye. I love to travel, and the thought crossed my mind that it must be interesting to do consulting work in that field. My decision was made. I wanted to know more about why consulting was needed in the travel and tourism industry as well as how it was done. To begin, I looked into the company as a whole to get some background before delving further into a specific area.
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a firm that deals with strategic planning and general management. Their clients include those that are on the list of the 500 largest companies in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia, as well as smaller non-profits and government agencies. The mission of BCG is "to help leading-edge businesses gain lasting strategic and competitive advantage through a combination of breakthrough thinking, rigorous analysis and, applied creativity" (bcg.com). It is apparent from this mission statement that this consulting firm is focused on leadership and strategic thinking. In fact, numerous concepts that were developed by BCG consultants are now taught in leading business schools across the country. Concepts such as the experience curve, sustainable growth, and total shareholder value can all be attributed to BCG. "We see the essence of our work as a virtuous circle of insight, impact, and trust" (bcg.com). What