2024-02-01 05:00:27
The book. “There is no secret society shaping every major decision or determining the course of human history. That said, there is McKinsey & Company”. The words are those of a former consultant for the American consulting giant. They evoke both the power of the firm and its ability to work in the shadows. Two major characteristics of the company which are precisely highlighted in a work by two journalists from New York Times, Walt Bogdanich et Michael Forsythe.
Over the course of a long-term investigation, they propose, in McKinsey, for better and for worse (Buchet-Chastel, 2023), an edifying dive into the heart of the multinational, relying on numerous testimonies and internal documents to reveal the sources of its power, its strategies of conquest and the many gray areas of its activities.
McKinsey has succeeded, in a century, in becoming a key player in consulting, the eminence grise of public powers and private companies across the planet. She built her reputation on her ability to « quantifier [les] issue[s] » and to propose sharp cost reduction policies, allowing profits to be maximized. At the same time, she has woven a web across the global economic and political spheres with striking ease. The network of former McKinsey consultants is sprawling, many of them continuing their careers at the head of public or private institutions.
Conflicts of interest
Over the years, the company has methodically and coldly conquered numerous markets, supporting players with sometimes questionable methods. The speeches around “values” carried out by the organization have often been contradicted by the facts. “Contrary to the firm’s public statements that it was ‘committed to protecting the planet’, the firm was proud to help coal mines become more profitable”, explain the authors. They continue: “By serving not only tobacco and vaping, but also (…) opioids, the firm has discreetly been able to profit greatly from the addiction economy. » Likewise, she “increasingly works for authoritarian governments around the world or for public companies that help consolidate their power”.
The investigation also shows that this frantic conquest of new customers has repeatedly raised the question of conflicts of interest. “Working for both the regulator and the regulated is an integral part of the mode of operation de McKinsey », note MM. Bogdanich and Forsythe. Thus, McKinsey was able to simultaneously have as clients American pharmaceutical companies and the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency which ensures the safety of drugs authorized for sale in the country.
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