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The New York Times has been running a whole series now on McKinsey with a new article about once a month or so highlighting example after example of alleged ser

The New York Times has been running a whole series now on McKinsey with a new article about once a month or so highlighting example after example of alleged serious ethical lapses at the firm. Have things really gone downhill or do some journalists just have an ax to grind with McKinsey?

coderintherye 8y ago
I talked with one ex-McKinsey person who went from a true believer to questioning recently, starting with when McKinsey held a corporate retreat a mile away from a Chinese internment camp https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-china-uighur-corporate-retreat-china2018-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-china-uighur-corpor...
- jahlove 8y ago
  The New York Times should get credit for doing that reporting, not BI (who just summarized NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china-russia.html?module=inline https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china...
seem_2211 8y ago
The NYT have a team of investigative reporters who've been taking a big look at McKinsey and found something smelling off. Sort of like the New York Times and Uber (with Mike Isaac) and some of their Facebook reporting. Most newspapers will have a few investigative reporters who run series on things that are dodgy. And it's not often that it's a single thing - think about Uber's many problems (sexism, greyball, lack of executive oversight on key functions etc) The Times actually ran an article today about the McKinsey investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-hedge-fund-reporting-investigation.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fmichael-forsythe&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-he... > We were intrigued by a company that seemed to be everywhere — and nowhere at the same time. As a private company, it had no obligation to report information to the public. And as a consulting company, it wasn’t regulated. Other types of companies, especially accounting firms and investment banks, have similar client rosters, but they are overseen by government agencies. This lack of accountability, particularly for a firm as influential as McKinsey, beckoned us to dig deeply into its conduct around the world. > The most basic question we set out to answer was this: Did McKinsey’s pristine reputation as the foremost purveyor of “best practices” match its record? After nearly a year of reporting, we found that the answer was often no. > That point was driven home in startling fashion when we recently reported that the Massachusetts attorney general had accused McKinsey of fanning the flames of the opioid epidemic. In legal papers, the attorney general alleged that McKinsey had instructed the maker of a powerful opioid on how to “turbocharge sales” of the drug, how to counter efforts by drug enforcement agents to reduce opioid use and how to “counter the emotional messages from mothers with teenagers that overdosed” on the drug.
AJ007 8y ago
I've noticed that 'ax to grind' also tends to equate with a PR firm didn't write these articles.

coderintherye 8y ago

I talked with one ex-McKinsey person who went from a true believer to questioning recently, starting with when McKinsey held a corporate retreat a mile away from a Chinese internment camp https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-china-uighur-corporate-retreat-china2018-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-china-uighur-corpor...

jahlove 8y ago
The New York Times should get credit for doing that reporting, not BI (who just summarized NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china-russia.html?module=inline https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china...

seem_2211 8y ago

The NYT have a team of investigative reporters who've been taking a big look at McKinsey and found something smelling off. Sort of like the New York Times and Uber (with Mike Isaac) and some of their Facebook reporting. Most newspapers will have a few investigative reporters who run series on things that are dodgy. And it's not often that it's a single thing - think about Uber's many problems (sexism, greyball, lack of executive oversight on key functions etc) The Times actually ran an article today about the McKinsey investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-hedge-fund-reporting-investigation.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fmichael-forsythe&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-he... > We were intrigued by a company that seemed to be everywhere — and nowhere at the same time. As a private company, it had no obligation to report information to the public. And as a consulting company, it wasn’t regulated. Other types of companies, especially accounting firms and investment banks, have similar client rosters, but they are overseen by government agencies. This lack of accountability, particularly for a firm as influential as McKinsey, beckoned us to dig deeply into its conduct around the world. > The most basic question we set out to answer was this: Did McKinsey’s pristine reputation as the foremost purveyor of “best practices” match its record? After nearly a year of reporting, we found that the answer was often no. > That point was driven home in startling fashion when we recently reported that the Massachusetts attorney general had accused McKinsey of fanning the flames of the opioid epidemic. In legal papers, the attorney general alleged that McKinsey had instructed the maker of a powerful opioid on how to “turbocharge sales” of the drug, how to counter efforts by drug enforcement agents to reduce opioid use and how to “counter the emotional messages from mothers with teenagers that overdosed” on the drug.

AJ007 8y ago

I've noticed that 'ax to grind' also tends to equate with a PR firm didn't write these articles.