IMC Jordan’s Annual Conference

The Future of Management Consulting in Jordan and the Arab World- Vision and Challenges  

An attendee at the Jordan Conference, Ms Sawsan Abu Omar, wrote the following observations and review…

Being in Jordan gives you a great opportunity to a wide variety of conferences and seminars in many topics and fields. And given the heavy marketing and promotional efforts, some of them are not as useful or beneficial as they claim to be. However, after giving it much thought, I was lucky to attend the IMC Jordan conference that took place on November 20th in Amman, Jordan.

The conference was an extensive full-day conference that included an impressive panel of speakers, and it was an eye-opener to what consultancy really is, and how professionals can become certified consultants.

Some of the key speakers who made an impact and gave great insights about the world of consultation were Dr. Ahmad Hindawi from Hindawi Excellence Group, UAE; Mr. Mohammad Taqatqa, Lawyer in Jordan; Mr. Sorin Caian, Chairman of ICMCI, Bucharest, Romania; Mr. Basil Marji, Izzat Marji Group Co; Mr. Mahmoud Alnajami from Ram Pharma Co; Dr. Ali Al-Merri, Executive President of MBRSG, Dubai, UAE, among many others.

          

The main topics that the conference revolved around was the important role of consultation, the future of management consulting services, the legal status of management consulting, and success stories.

The one main thing that caught my attention was how in businesses, the word “consultant” has been loosely used by people. Anyone can call themselves a consultant with no basis whatsoever, unlike in medicine, engineering or law, where such things are regulated with rigorous guidelines and systems. It is same as on social media platforms where you find most people on your timeline calling themselves gurus, experts, entrepreneurs, etc. You know the drill. PS. There are 14,000 certified management consultants around the world.

However, there IS a certificate that business professionals can take so they can qualify as “consultants”, which is the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) that is offered by IMC Jordan. Becoming a certified consultant requires many steps, which clearly means that most consultants you meet online and offline are far from being one, and must earn it and work hard at it, so that they are deserving of that title.

Therefore, think twice before someone gloats in front of you that they are a so-and-so consultant, especially in this part of the world!