Premier Professional Services, Inc

Abstract

This case and the iThink simulation model focus on how senior management's decision policies could be causing the company's oscillatory growth pattern. Students can use a systems simulation model to understand how the interaction of the company's hiring and layoff policies for consultants and the system delays might be causing the undesirable dynamics. The simulation model is available in the iThink software from High Performance Systems or from the authors at the Darden School. Excerpt UVA-OM-0967 Rev. Dec. 12, 2014 PREMIER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, INC. Premier Professional Services (PPS) was a consulting firm formed by three consultants who had previously worked for Arthur & Associates. At that company, they had developed a close working relationship and often talked about their dream to work in a smaller firm under their ownership and control. PPS was the realization of that dream. After a slow beginning, the three consultants added new clients at a pace that surpassed even their own ambitious expectations. They attributed this to positioning themselves as experts in systems dynamics, a body of concepts, skills, and modeling that was increasingly gaining the interest of businesses and academia. Additionally, as they pointed out, the quality of their work gave the organization favorable word-of-mouth advertising that resulted in referrals and positive notices in the trade press. While many of the major management-consulting firms scrambled to add systems dynamics capability to their businesses, it was often as an additional service rather than the central focus of the business as it was at PPS. Throughout this period, PPS was able to attract capable employees who combined their general management-consulting skills with the systems dynamics modeling acumen. The firm grew to approximately 100 professionals, with 50 associates on the payroll and served more than 125 clients. . . .