Dangerous Company: The Consulting Powerhouses and the Businesses They Save and Ruin

James O'Shea, Charles Madigan

Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 1997 - Business & Economics - 355 pages

Investment bankers were known as the masters of the universe during the 1980s. In the 1990s, that title has been usurped by the major consulting firms: McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Andersen Consulting. All exercise enormous power and influence in international business and increasingly in the public sector. Many companies do not undertake a major initiative - from the launch of a new product to a merger, to downsizing - without the assistance, advice and hefty fees of the consultants. AT&T during one recent year, for example, paid $347 million to consulting firms