When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm

 
　　作為全球最具聲望的顧問公司，麥肯錫為各大企業甚至是國家政府，提供增加獲利、拉高整體效率的顧問服務，他們宣稱，公司以「打造一個更美好的世界」為目標。而他們的名聲和服務，也不斷吸引來自世界各地的精英成為這個大家族的一份子。然而，這間公司所從事的業務內容，具體上來說究竟是什麼呢？
 
　　本書由兩位獲獎記者撰寫，揭開該公司與大眾認知完全不同的一面。麥肯錫所提供的服務，總的來說就是一件事：降低成本支出。手段包括裁員、降低維護成本等，以此在短時間獲取利益，讓公司的股價快速上漲──也就是犧牲勞工來換取上位者的財富。同時，他們擁有的客戶，不少處於同業競爭關係，麥肯錫卻對外聲稱這一切不涉及任何利害衝突。
 
　　憑藉著保密協定，麥肯錫的工作內容輕鬆地逃過了大眾視線的檢驗，例如與菸草電子菸商、鴉片藥物供應商、石油公司，甚至是高壓政權等等的合作，還有為了增加保險公司獲利，將保單條件設計成讓受害者難以索賠、協助華爾街公司規避審查、幫助開發中國家政府的貪污行為、暗中破壞美國健保法案的進程等等。
 
　　透過數百次的秘密訪談和關鍵資料，並遵照偵查中最重要的一點：跟著錢的流向走──兩位作者一步步揭開麥肯錫神秘的面紗，如實紀錄下該公司究竟是如何破壞這世界的公平、如何讓這世界變得更加腐敗和危險。(文/博客來編譯)

　　An explosive, deeply reported exposé of McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm that advises corporations and governments, that highlights the often drastic impact of its work on employees and citizens around the world

　　"Meticulously reported, and ultimately devastating, this is an important book." —Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing

　　McKinsey & Company is the most prestigious consulting company in the world, earning billions of dollars in fees from major corporations and governments who turn to it to maximize their profits and enhance efficiency. McKinsey's vaunted statement of values asserts that its role is to make the world a better place, and its reputation for excellence and discretion attracts top talent from universities around the world. But what does it actually do?

　　In When McKinsey Comes to Town, two prizewinning investigative journalists have written a portrait of the company sharply at odds with its public image. Often McKinsey's advice boils down to major cost-cutting, including layoffs and maintenance reductions, to drive up short-term profits, thereby boosting a company's stock price and the wealth of its executives who hire it, at the expense of workers and safety measures. McKinsey collects millions of dollars advising government agencies that also regulate McKinsey's corporate clients. And the firm frequently advises competitors in the same industries, but denies that this presents any conflict of interest.

　　In one telling example, McKinsey advised a Chinese engineering company allied with the communist government which constructed artificial islands, now used as staging grounds for the Chinese Navy—while at the same time taking tens of millions of dollars from the Pentagon, whose chief aim is to counter Chinese aggression.

　　Shielded by NDAs, McKinsey has escaped public scrutiny despite its role in advising tobacco and vaping companies, purveyors of opioids, repressive governments, and oil companies. McKinsey helped insurance companies' boost their profits by making it incredibly difficult for accident victims to get payments; worked its U.S. government contacts to let Wall Street firms evade scrutiny; enabled corruption in developing countries such as South Africa; undermined health-care programs in states across the country. And much more.

　　Bogdanich and Forsythe have penetrated the veil of secrecy surrounding McKinsey by conducting hundreds of interviews, obtaining tens of thousands of revelatory documents, and following rule #1 of investigative reporting: Follow the money.
When McKinsey Comes to Town is a landmark work of investigative reporting that amounts to a devastating portrait of a firm whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt, and more dangerous.