Managing a Scientific Consulting Organization

Abstract

Principles of business management, as discussed in every college-level course with that catalog name, present good initial guidelines for managing the business of scientific consulting. The components, with some variations, can be found in the usual course syllabus: financial control, communications, hierarchy of reporting responsibilities, human resources, production control, public relations, and so forth. These textbook approaches to good management are useful as a foundation for everyday business practices, but the scientific consulting organization has unique attributes that require more elaborate procedures and strategies.