> _Indeed, where ever there has been a financial disaster in the world, if you look around, somewhere in the background, McKinsey & Co. is nearby._
It seems that selection bias is something journalists really struggle with...
Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
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Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#12Is there any chance to get a comparison between companies who use McKinsey and ones that don't? Compare stock prices, profitability, public image, long term prospects ...
This could become a nice Rorschach test, where eveybody can come to different conclusions based on which metrics they pick as important.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#13I’d love to hate on McKinsey, but this piece is just anger with a few cherry picks. It’s a bad habit to take this seriously.
It doesn’t even address the simplest explanation for most of this: big companies that are doing bad contact McKinsey to try and change strategies, so of course many bankruptcies follow hiring them. It’ll be like blaming the fire department for fire deaths because the trucks always seem to be near a fire.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#14McKinsey is merely a byproduct, if you want to get to the root you have to analyze Capitalism, the system out of which McKinsey-like entities emerged as the best fit for its natural selection.
This is exactly the thing
Capitalism is the system out of which these problems have sprung. People keep shouting about "real" or "pure" capitalism being better but that's all a lie spread by the capital owners through their think-tanks. Its propaganda
If we organize corporations to be owned by the workers instead of shareholders, the few with real capital, then the interest of the corporation will shift to that of the workers instead of driving profits to shareholders. A corporation with the interest of workers won't hire consultants like McKinsey
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#15Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#16McKinsey is merely a byproduct, if you want to get to the root you have to analyze Capitalism, the system out of which McKinsey-like entities emerged as the best fit for its natural selection.
This is exactly the thing Capitalism is the system out of which these problems have sprung. People keep shouting about "real" or "pure" capitalism being better but that's all a lie spread by the capital owners through their think-tanks. Its propaganda If we organize corporations to be owned by the workers instead of shareholders, the few with real capital, then the interest of the corporation will shift to that of th…
> A corporation with the interest of workers won't hire consultants like McKinsey
Consultancy might still exist as it provides value, it's just that some kind of suggestions would be completely unacceptable if your priorities are worker welfare and prosperity and you are not allowed to externalize costs on society.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#17McKinsey is doing what they're paid to do - take the blame for bad decisions and deflect attention away from the leadership of companies who actually choose to follow their advice.
Even from this article you can see they're doing an excellent job.
If I were an executive I would absolutely hire them after reading this article since I can just use them to enact unpopular changes I've always wanted, and wouldn't be blamed if it goes south.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#18McKinsey is merely a byproduct, if you want to get to the root you have to analyze Capitalism, the system out of which McKinsey-like entities emerged as the best fit for its natural selection.
This is exactly the thing Capitalism is the system out of which these problems have sprung. People keep shouting about "real" or "pure" capitalism being better but that's all a lie spread by the capital owners through their think-tanks. Its propaganda If we organize corporations to be owned by the workers instead of shareholders, the few with real capital, then the interest of the corporation will shift to that of th…
I think that is too simplistic. I believe the "McKinsey problem" is that of higher management (including the board) whos interest do not align with the owners or workers.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#19I’d love to hate on McKinsey, but this piece is just anger with a few cherry picks. It’s a bad habit to take this seriously. It doesn’t even address the simplest explanation for most of this: big companies that are doing bad contact McKinsey to try and change strategies, so of course many bankruptcies follow hiring them. It’ll be like blaming the fire department for fire deaths because the trucks always seem to be ne…
The author doesn't do a great job making the point, but there's more to it than that. In many cases, McKinsey encouraged strategies that harmed either the company, society, or both:
- Shady accounting at Enron
- Aggressive denial of claims at Allstate
- Aggressive marketing of opioids at Purdue Pharma
These strategies were not just one-off misfires, but deeply involved McKinsey's senior leadership over multiple years.
EDIT: after poking around for more info on the Enron-McKinsey relationship, I'm not sure what is known with certainty other than that Jeffrey Skilling, CEO during the scandal, was a former McKinsey consultant, and McKinsey was doing stuff with Enron the whole time. McKinsey appears to have successfully convinced everyone that they weren't involved in the accounting scandal.
Re: Is McKinsey and Co. The Root of All Evil? (2011)
#20McKinsey is merely a byproduct, if you want to get to the root you have to analyze Capitalism, the system out of which McKinsey-like entities emerged as the best fit for its natural selection.
This is exactly the thing Capitalism is the system out of which these problems have sprung. People keep shouting about "real" or "pure" capitalism being better but that's all a lie spread by the capital owners through their think-tanks. Its propaganda If we organize corporations to be owned by the workers instead of shareholders, the few with real capital, then the interest of the corporation will shift to that of th…
There's always going to be "management", especially if ownership is diffuse. Where there is management, there will be management consultants (of one style or another).