Read the companion cases “McKinsey & Co.—Protecting Its Reputation (A)” and “McKinsey & Co.—Protecting Its Reputation (B)” in your coursepack.
By failing to monitor the environment for issues, McKinsey & Company allowed an issue to escalate to a potential crisis that jeopardized its reputation. The company had little control over how the crisis rolled out; it could only control how it reacted to the crisis—not the best position in which to be.
Collaborate with your group members, using the small group space under Course Essentials as needed, to respond to the cases. Be sure to address all of the following:
Define McKinsey & Company’s DNA.
Define at least two points at which McKinsey could have identified the emerging issues that would create conflicts between its employees and its DNA.
Rajat Gupta was no longer at McKinsey when the alleged insider violations occurred. Was this problem McKinsey’s problem? Explain your answer.
List any positives or negatives that you find in McKinsey’s crisis response.