When consultants go bad.

Actual case by personal experience. The quotes are pretty close to being accurate, but I can't say it is word for word.
One day, CEO decides to hire a consulting firm to review department A. This is a first for the employer's long history of operations.


Consultant: " We interviewed every employee in department A, and their biggest complaint about the work environment is that it is a good old boy culture. Is that true?"
HR Director: [Note: This is a loaded question. If you lie to the consultant and disagree with the employees' assessment, than you are considered 'out-of-tune' with the rank and file. If you tell the truth and state the employees are right, than that information goes immediately up to the CEO, and the consultant states "your HR Director is not a team member or part of the management team.
So, I stated the truth: "Yes, to a certain degree, I can see the employees point. There is a culture that favors males over females." [Note: When the current CEO use to dress-up in a cheerleaders outfit (blond wig, pronounced brazzier, skirt and poms poms) and dances around the office and outside company events, than you got example of a frat house mentality].
Consultant: "If it is a good old boy culture, what have YOU done to stop it?"
HR Director: " Change of culture is not initiated by HR manager, but by the senior executives. HR implements the new culture. I, as any other HR manager, advises execs of possible problems or a work environment that promotes a negative or worse, hostile work environment."
Consultant: "That sounds like you did not make much effort to change the perception of employees about the company."
HR Director: [Can now see he is not going to win this debate]. "It's not a perception, but a culture that has been established long before my arrival. I just advise on singular issues, that's about all I'm allowed to do. And it is not liked by my execs."
Consultant: "What are you going to do about the culture?"
HR Director: "Maybe I will wait for your recommendations. Have you told the execs on what the employees in this department stated about the work environment?"
Consultant: "Yes we did."
HR Director: "What was the response?"
Consultant: "The CEO did not agree with it. He stated 'how can we have a good old boy network? My brother-in-law was fired'.
HR Director: "Well, I guess that addresses that matter"

And so it goes. So after four months of "training" by consultants, who love to use buzz words, or as I call it, consultant speak, interrogated our department. We get a series a recommendations that are to be discussed with myself and senior execs. After attempts to set up a meeting, I get called up and asked to resign with absolutely no explanation, no reason given. Two weeks later, CEO fires consultant. But out of all that, the employer does change the logo and puts signs around the building reminding employees who are the customers (middle men, not actual purchases of our produts). There. Mission accomplished. The culture has been changed.