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Explores the extent to which academic offerings are serving the consulting industry and identifies ways that academia can help. The numbers of management consulting courses, field experiences in consulting and consulting concentrations by graduate business schools were tracked over a three‐year period to assess the current state of offerings. A survey of members of the Academy of Management's Management Consulting Division was conducted to gather perceived developmental needs for career stages and types of consulting. Proposes the potential future of courses in management consulting. Provides suggestions for course offerings to meet developmental needs by career stages of consultants that are currently being overlooked. Offers practical advice to academia to serve the consulting industry better and ideas for the consulting industry to consider in the ongoing development of consultants. Encourages managers who engage consultants to demand better educated consultants. Further research is needed to investigate the developmental needs of internal consultants and the apparent resistance of the consulting industry to turn to academia as a resource.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in compensation related to gender concentrations among industries at different organisation levels of management to identify gender‐based patterns of compensation at the macro level not investigated in previous studies that simply suggest industry or occupational differences. Findings provide guidance for selection processes, career path management for maximising compensation and policy‐making.

Data from the Current Population Surveys and the Standard and Poor's ExecuComp database were used to examine differences in compensation of managers and top executives.

Findings suggest that men and women must seek different paths and endpoints to optimize compensation. Maximising compensation for women requires working as a minority and changing industries. Men, on the other hand, may work in male‐dominated industries at every level or may move to female‐dominated industries at the managerial and executive levels and still receive equitable pay.

The paper was conducted on a USA sample so further research should examine data from other countries.

In practice, this paper suggests that men and women must seek different paths and endpoints to optimize compensation. Human resource managers should be aware of these potential biases and try to rectify them within their organisations through the use of appropriate selection and compensation practices. At the macro‐level, policy‐makers can identify patterns of inequity to address.

Gender‐related difference studies of compensation offer little understanding about how to maximise compensation during one's management career as it progresses through management levels and across industries.

To provide insights into the experience of women aspiring to the CEO position, particularly regarding qualifications and compensation expectations.

The ExecuComp database of executives at 1,500 large US corporations from 1992 to 2004 was used to identify women CEOs and to examine gender differences in compensation of executives over that period. Additional information about the backgrounds of female CEOs was collected from company press releases and regulatory filings.

Women are not as highly compensated as men before becoming CEO but the few who reach the CEO position receive similar compensation as men. While women CEOs are younger on average than men, they have impressive work experience and education.

The study covers relatively large US companies that are publicly traded; thus, smaller firms and privately‐held firms are not included.

Impressive work experience, usually from within the company, and a strong education seem to be associated with promotion to the CEO position. Female executives should be more aware of the existence of gender differences in compensation at positions other than the CEO.

Much is written about the gender‐based duality of the leadership career and the overall gender gap in compensation. This study adds an in‐depth analysis of compensation at the top of the executive ladder to better understand who makes it to the top and whether they are equitably rewarded.

Describes how actionable knowledge is created to successfully initiate consulting relationships designed to promote changes in the composition of corporate boards and, ultimately, social change to eliminate exclusionary practices that are keeping women from consideration for board seats.

Examines the work of The Boston Club in promoting women on corporate boards to build needed theory to guide change efforts.

Concludes that no one theoretical perspective supplies the necessary guidance. Presents a model that combines psychodynamic, organizational learning, open systems, and critical management studies views.

Presents the push/pull approach taken by The Boston Club that addresses perceived social constraints and psychological needs involved in changing behavior to create commitment to adding women to boards. Suggests that the sequencing of push and pull techniques may be an important consideration in designing change efforts.

New models of career management require individuals to harvest as much learning as possible from situations wherever and whenever feedback is possible. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of positive affect (liking) on feedback giving behavior since authors have suggested a potential bias but little empirical evidence exists on the topic.

Data were collected from 77 trainer‐trainee dyads in a formal field‐based training program over a 60‐day period. Additionally, critical incidents accounts of career setbacks were collected from MBA students and consulting clients.

Less positive and less specific feedback was reportedly given to liked individuals, compared to disliked individuals, when performance was not attributed to internal causes. Also, an interaction between performance level and affective relationship explained amounts of negative feedback received in low internal attribution group. Less liked trainees received similar amounts of negative feedback despite performance level, while more liked trainees received more negative feedback when performing poorly than when performing well. The qualitative data support quantitative findings and add insights into why liked individuals receive less feedback of the nature that can further enhance career development.

Liked individuals need to be especially vigilant in pursuing feedback necessary for personal development. Managers should be encouraged to monitor the amount of critical feedback given to liked and disliked employees. Specific suggestions are offered.

Objective performance measures may not be available in other field settings. Even so, an objective performance assessment is what is needed to understand the full impact of positive affect on feedback giving behavior and subsequently, personal development.

Few studies regarding feedback giving behavior exist. The only previous study found that investigated the role of positive affect in feedback giving behavior was a lab study dealing only with poor performers. This field study shows how attributions interact with positive affect in feedback giving behavior while controlling for a natural range of performance. More importantly, this study adds a caveat to LMX findings about the advantages of a positive affective relationship.

The purpose of this research is to propose a model for acquiring political intelligence by describing steps for assessing feasibility that can be used to systematically evaluate a situation. The paper also aims to discuss individual and situational biases to acquiring an accurate political feasibility assessment.

A pre‐ and post‐test method was used to compare a sample of novice managers who received training with the feasibility assessment model to experienced, politically savvy managers.

Assessing the political feasibility of a decision is a skill that can be developed to acquire the political intelligence necessary for today's politically‐laden, uncertain competitive environment.

Political intelligence is at the heart of avoiding political blunders and conflict in organizations. When time and money are spent promoting decisions that are unlikely to succeed, managers can derail their careers from backing initiatives from a declining dominant coalition rather than an emerging one. Yet, these blunders are avoidable. While previous authors agree on the need for political intelligence, little is offered about how to acquire it. This paper offers a model that helps managers acquire the information needed to make politically feasible decisions that develops political intelligence.

Part‐time work has been put forward as a solution to the problem of balancing career and family demands. However, there is mounting evidence that most part‐time arrangements do not regularly produce such positive solutions. Looks into the causes of women′s different reactions to part‐time arrangements. Draws from a literature review, case studies of individuals who work part‐time, and case studies of organizations who employ part‐timers. Finds evidence for both negative and positive outcomes resulting from part‐time employment. Analyses the organizational factors which influence negative and positive outcomes. Ends by summarizing the lessons for individual women that can be drawn from the research.

The consulting industry is facing an inflection point as it shifts to being more populated by publicly traded entities than by private firms. Associated career patterns are affected in ways that have not yet been explored.

In this paper we describe the industry shift to public ownership and resulting changes in consulting careers from a psychological contract perspective. We conclude by discussing the impact of emerging career dynamics that could impact the future effectiveness of the consulting industry.

There are dramatic transitions underway regarding career dynamics of professionals in major consultancies. We foresee a troublesome picture in some respects and a promising outlook in other respects for individuals and their firms in the consulting profession.

Aspiring consultants will find this paper informative as a way to assess fit with career models offered by consulting firms. Firms can use points in the paper to understand their potential shortcomings associated with their current and evolving career models to manage career transitions and negative consequences.

This conceptual paper draws attention to the potentially negative consequences of inappropriate career models for consultancies in general, and with different firm strategies. It is a first look at career changes in consulting due to the drastic shift of the industry to public entities.

EEO and the management of diversity Volume 8 Number 5 of the Journal of Organizational Change Management contains an article by Maria Humphries and Shayne Grice entitled “Equal employment opportunity and the management of diversity: a global discourse of assimilation?”