The article provides a great illustration of how some large businesses derive value from hiring management consultants: to give legitimacy to an unpopular decis

The article provides a great illustration of how some large businesses derive value from hiring management consultants: to give legitimacy to an unpopular decision. In some cases, of course, management consultants are hired to give cover to unpopular decisions or even to send a message to one’s workforce. In The Firm, Duff McDonald argues McKinsey in particular “might be the single greatest legitimizer of mass layoffs in history.” “If you were a CEO and felt you needed to cut 10% of costs but didn’t feel you were getting buy-in from your employees,” he wrote, “the hiring of McKinsey generally got the point across quite clearly.”