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KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE FIRMS 51

accordingly, in order to participate in professional development without any signifi-
cant disruption of project work occurring.
Training for consultants has never been considered an issue within the firm. Man-
agement has always believed that the quality of the people employed negates any
need for systematic training. It is assumed that if dedicated training is required, for
example, in the use of particular software application for project work, then consul-
tants are sufficiently skilled to train themselves at times that suit them.

>> IT USAGE
Significant resources have always been made available for investment in any technol-
ogy that might facilitate project working. An e-mail system was introduced in 1990
to facilitate communication between consultants. By this time, the firm had grown
to around 100 consultants, and the opportunities for regular face-to-face contact
with everyone were rapidly diminishing. The e-mail system began to be used exten-
sively almost immediately, as there were very few formal systems or procedures in
use for communication, and on any 1 day, significant numbers of consultants would
be working remotely at client firms. By 1996, consultants were receiving between
100 and 150 e-mails each day, and despite attempts to curtail the use of e-mail
for trivial matters, consultants today still receive about this number. This is because
no protocols are used to classify mail sent, other than to attach a prefix of SOC for
‘social’ communication and INNOV for an e-mail where the sender is searching for
information.
It is the e-mail system that is generally used to broadcast requests for informa-
tion when putting together proposals for clients. Anyone who wants to be involved
in a potential project initially communicates in outline their potential contribution,
in terms of skills and expertise, via e-mail. The system works well in this respect
as the medium is good for communicating low-level information, quickly and
across the whole firm. However, the level of e-mail communication consultants
are exposed to on a daily basis is recognized generally as a significant burden.
Norms have developed, such as sending replies to everyone in the firm and fail-
ing to edit the title of e-mails to ensure that it relates to the content of the e-mail.
These norms, while making the use of e-mail relatively thoughtless, informal and
simple, have generated a somewhat chaotic and haphazard system of communica-
tion. For example, some consultants, when faced with ever-increasing numbers of
e-mail, choose not to bother reading the majority, and only use the system when
absolutely necessary.
Other technologies such as groupware technologies are occasionally used and
intranets have been set up in and across divisions. Consultants are aware that pack-
ages such as Lotus Notes can provide useful project documentation. However, the
majority of projects continue to be documented in a highly idiosyncratic manner
because project leaders are free to provide documentation in whatever way they
deem appropriate. Client requirements need to be fulfilled in this respect. However, if
the client is satisfied with the documentation produced, no further effort is directed at
producing, recording and classifying project documentation in a consistent manner

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