Boston Consulting Group
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Categories: Companies established in 1963 | International management consulting firms | Privately held companies of the United States | Economics consulting firms | Companies based in Boston, Massachusetts
The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy founded by Bruce Henderson in 1963. The company was formed when Henderson, a Harvard Business School alumnus, left Arthur D. Little to accept the challenge from the CEO of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company to start a consulting arm for the bank. In 1965 Henderson thought that to survive, much less grow, in a competitive landscape occupied by hundreds of larger and better-known consulting firms, a distinctive identity was needed, and pioneered "Business Strategy" as a special area of expertise for BCG. As his client list grew, Henderson targeted the nation's best business schools. At some point he was said to have eclipsed McKinsey as the top recruiter at Harvard, aggressively wooing its best students with high salaries and the chance to make a difference in a cutting-edge firm. He encouraged the young minds he hired to come up with innovative ideas that were meant to dazzle hardened corporate veterans. In 1973 Bill Bain and others left BCG to form Bain & Company, and two years later Henderson arranged an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), so that the employees could take the company independent from The Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company. The buyout of all shares was completed in 1979. In 1998 BCG created The Strategy Institute. Its purpose is to enrich the firm's strategic thinking by applying insights from a variety of academic disciplines to the strategic challenges facing both business and society. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ranked 11th overall and 1st among smaller companies in Fortune Magazine's 2008 "100 Best US Companies to Work For" survey, based on strong employee development, a supportive culture, and progressive benefits.[1]
CompetitorsToday BCG competes principally with McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company. None of these can be considered large in the management consulting market, however, they compete for the most lucrative market segment, consulting to top management. BCG has 66 offices in 38 countries, and its current CEO is Hans-Paul Bürkner. RecruitingBCG typically hires for an Associate or a Consultant position. Whilst so called "lateral hires" as Project Leader, Principal or Partner are possible, they are not the norm. BCG recruits MBA graduates to join as Consultants from the world's top business schools[2]. Additionally, increasing effort is being placed on hiring advanced non-business degree holders. Graduates holding JD's, MD's and PhD's in disciplines like engineering, science, and liberal arts receive training in business fundamentals and then typically join the firm as Consultants. There is also an opportunity to join as a Summer Associate or Summer Consultant (internship) position for 10 weeks, which for the majority of interns will result in an offer for full-time position. Insiders estimate that BCG North American offices receive around 10,000 resumes every year for the Associate position. Typically, 1 to 2% of candidates are extended an offer to join the firm, ~70% of whom accept - ratios that are considered in line with competitors. After a two year tenure, some BCG Associates choose to stay for a third year as Senior Associates and have the opportunity to work abroad in a foreign office through BCG's Associate Exchange Program. Many Associates are also sponsored by BCG to attend business school and rejoin the company afterwards as Consultants. Interview ProcessBCG uses the case method to conduct interviews, which is an interview technique designed to simulate the types of problems inherent in management consulting and to test the qualitative and quantitative skills deemed important for abstract thinking in a business setting. The first round of interviews consists of two 45 minute case interviews with BCG consultants. Successful candidates may be passed onto the second round corresponding with a regional office. The second round consists of three 30-45 minute interviews with principals or partners from that office in a similar format to the first round interviews. PublicationsEvery year, BCG publishes articles, industry reports, government commissioned studies and books relating to particular industries or authorial practice areas. Many partners have written books on issues facing management in the modern business environment. Some recent publications: Payback - Reaping the Rewards of Innovation. By James P. Andrew and Harold L. Sirkin, 2006. Published by the Harvard Business School Press, Payback has become a staple in the MBA curriculum. Blown to Bits - How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy. By Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster, 2000. Treasure Hunt - Inside the Mind of the New Consumer. By Michael J. Silverstein with John Butman, 2006. The Change Monster - The Human Forces that Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation and Change. Jeanie Daniel Duck, 2002. BCG growth-share matrix
The chart was popular for two decades and "continues to be used as a primer in the principles of portfolio management," as BCG says. OfficesOffices in Asia Pacific
Offices in Europe and the Middle East
Offices in the Americas
Notable current and former employeesBusinessIndra Nooyi - CEO of Pepsi Politics and Public ServiceIra Magaziner - Aide and policy advisor to President Clinton, CEO of SJS Advisors and co founder of Brown University's open curriculum OthersKaz Uchida- Professor, Waseda University, Tokyo [3] References1.http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0701/gallery.bestcos/8.html See alsoHenderson Typeface family designed in 2006-07 for the BCG exclusive use: External linksde:Boston Consulting Group fr:Boston Consulting Group it:Boston Consulting Group ja:ボストン・コンサルティング・グループ fi:Boston Consulting Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
