The document provides an overview of case interviews for management consulting roles. It discusses what a case interview is, why companies use them, and how to manage the interview. It then focuses on frameworks that can be used to structure analysis, including economic frameworks like supply/demand and profitability, industry frameworks like Porter's Five Forces, and firm-level frameworks like the Growth-Share Matrix. The document emphasizes using frameworks to drive structured analysis within time constraints.
At every job fair, there's a company missing: yours. Here's a quick look at the types of companies you might start (pursuing scale, reliability, or freedom) and how to get started.
Book coming soon at http://startupcareerguide.com
At every job fair, there's a company missing: yours. Here's a quick look at the types of companies you might start (pursuing scale, reliability, or freedom) and how to get started.
Book coming soon at http://startupcareerguide.com
This is a preview of the Complete Business Frameworks Reference Guide/Toolkit. The full document can be downloaded here:
https://flevy.com/browse/business-document/complete-business-frameworks-reference-guide-644
The Complete Business Frameworks Reference Guide is a very comprehensive document with over 300+ slides--covering 50 common management consulting frameworks and methodologies (listed below in alphabetical order). A detailed summary is provided for each business framework. The frameworks in this deck span across Corporate Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Organization, Change Management, and Finance.
These frameworks and templates are the same used by top tier consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Booz, Monitor Group, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, E&Y, LEK, AT Kearney, Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, and others.
INCLUDED FRAMEWORKS & METHODOLOGIES:
1. ABC Analysis
2. Adoption Cycle
3. Ansoff Market Strategies
4. Balanced Scorecard
5. BCG Growth-Share Matrix
6. Benchmarking
7. Blue Ocean Strategy
8. Break-even Analysis
9. Business Unit Profitability
10. Economics of Scale
11. Environmental Analysis
12. Experience Curve
13. Cluster Analysis
14. Company & Competitor Analysis
15. Core Competence Analysis
16. Cost Structure Analysis
17. Customer Experience
18. Customer Satisfaction Analysis
19. Customer Value Proposition
20. Fiaccabrino Selection Process
21. Financial Ratios Analysis
22. Gap Analysis
23. Industry Attractiveness & Business Strength Assessment
24. Key Purchase Criteria
25. Key Success Factors (KSF)
26. Market Sizing & Share
27. McKinsey 7-S
28. Net Present Value
29. PEST Analysis
30. Porter Competition Strategies
31. Porter's Five Forces
32. Portfolio Strategies
33. Price Elasticity
34. Product Life Cycle
35. Product Substitution
36. Relative Cost Positioning
37. Rogers' Five Factors
38. Scenario Techniques
39. Scoring Models
40. Segment Attractiveness
41. Segmentation & Targeting
42. Six Thinking Hats
43. Stakeholder Analysis
44. Strengths & Weaknesses Analysis
45. Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP)
46. SWOT Analysis
47. SWOT Strategies
48. Treacy / Wiersema Market Positioning
49. Value Chain Analysis
50. Venkat Matrix
The level of detail varies by framework, depending on the nature of the management model. Examples, templates, and case studies are provided.
Building off the basics presented in VC 101, we will be using the components of a traditional VC investment memo as a vehicle to examine the aspects of an investment opportunity, and the associated analysis, that matter to VCs and why.
Redefining Corporate Innovation Performance Measurement
The core of the case study ‘Redefining Corporate Innovation Performance Measurement’ is a framework dedicated to the performance assessment of a multitude of innovation unit archetypes. A set of premises, which replenish the output evaluation method, precedes the framework. In the beginning, a categorization of different corporate innovation unit archetypes introduces the topic. In the end, an opinion on COVID-19’s impact on corporate innovation rounds the case study off.
Why everyone needs a business analyst on the IT project? Which responsibilities BA has? To make things clearer, we made this influential SlideShare for Business Analysts in IT.
IT organizations are faced with a rapidly evolving environment coupled with a
more headcount-constrained staff, where standardization on optimal systems
and procedures is a critical success factor.
Case Interviews, Killer Frameworks - Nevin Kamath and Ivy ExecIvy Exec
You can ace the case interviews at all levels if you are using the right framework. In this webinar, you will learn strategy frameworks that will help you succeed in your next case interview. Our presenter, Nevin Kamath, founder of The Case Coach, and a former consultant with McKinsey, helps elite professionals, MBAs, and PhDs prepare for case interviews.
Our presenter, Nevin Kamath, is a former Senior Associate with McKinsey & Company and an alumnus of Harvard Law School. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, teaching a course on career development and professional communication to undergraduate students. Through his executive coaching firm, The Case Coach, LLC, Nevin has partnered with numerous clients who have gained offers at top consulting firms including McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Deloitte, as well as boutique firms such as Partners in Performance.
How to use Business Model Canvas to design projectsJörgen Dahlberg
A project is a delivery format for change acceleration and gives people and organizations possibilities to focus on a specific result with a specific timeline and dedicated resources. The key to success as we believe is to actually use the same design pattern as we do when we design companies and organizations, namely the Business Model Canvas.
The term ‘Business Analyst‘is synonymous with a career in the IT industry. The most successful and valuable analysts are those who understand the “business” rather than those who understand “IT“.
Proposals That Persuade: Writing a Winning Business ProposalRasmussen College
To lead your organization through change, write a winning proposal. In this presentation you’ll learn the characteristics and components of writing a persuasive proposal. Allow your audience to discover the problem for which you have a solution and then reveal the costs and benefits to win ultimate approval. Our business subject matter expert, Soma Jurgensen, shows us how business proposals are the first step to bringing about measured change.
Watch the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oc24JQqRi3Y
Featured Speaker:
Soma Jurgensen
School of Business Program
Coordinator, Minnesota and North Dakota
Rasmussen College
Leading with Culture: Talent Acquisition at Netflix Teamable Software
Netflix made waves when it published its Culture Deck in 2009 and since then the company has grown into a market leader, redefining how content is created and consumed. Today, Netflix is simultaneously a leading Hollywood studio and a cutting edge tech company going up against the likes of Amazon in the streaming business.
Ask the executives what is behind their success and you’ll get a simple answer, a culture of freedom and responsibility. But, how does that culture translate into talent acquisition and recruiting?
Join Lynn Carter, Director of Talent Acquisition at Netflix as she discusses how recruiting at Netflix:
Leads with culture
Empowers recruiters and hiring managers to be partners
Drives innovation
- Why benchmark - and why can it be useful?
- What can we benchmark against, and who can help with the process?
- Benchmarking processes and techniques
- Pros and cons of different benchmarking options
- A suggested model for benchmarking the procurement function
- Developing improvement plans
This is a preview of the Complete Business Frameworks Reference Guide/Toolkit. The full document can be downloaded here:
https://flevy.com/browse/business-document/complete-business-frameworks-reference-guide-644
The Complete Business Frameworks Reference Guide is a very comprehensive document with over 300+ slides--covering 50 common management consulting frameworks and methodologies (listed below in alphabetical order). A detailed summary is provided for each business framework. The frameworks in this deck span across Corporate Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Organization, Change Management, and Finance.
These frameworks and templates are the same used by top tier consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Booz, Monitor Group, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, E&Y, LEK, AT Kearney, Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, and others.
INCLUDED FRAMEWORKS & METHODOLOGIES:
1. ABC Analysis
2. Adoption Cycle
3. Ansoff Market Strategies
4. Balanced Scorecard
5. BCG Growth-Share Matrix
6. Benchmarking
7. Blue Ocean Strategy
8. Break-even Analysis
9. Business Unit Profitability
10. Economics of Scale
11. Environmental Analysis
12. Experience Curve
13. Cluster Analysis
14. Company & Competitor Analysis
15. Core Competence Analysis
16. Cost Structure Analysis
17. Customer Experience
18. Customer Satisfaction Analysis
19. Customer Value Proposition
20. Fiaccabrino Selection Process
21. Financial Ratios Analysis
22. Gap Analysis
23. Industry Attractiveness & Business Strength Assessment
24. Key Purchase Criteria
25. Key Success Factors (KSF)
26. Market Sizing & Share
27. McKinsey 7-S
28. Net Present Value
29. PEST Analysis
30. Porter Competition Strategies
31. Porter's Five Forces
32. Portfolio Strategies
33. Price Elasticity
34. Product Life Cycle
35. Product Substitution
36. Relative Cost Positioning
37. Rogers' Five Factors
38. Scenario Techniques
39. Scoring Models
40. Segment Attractiveness
41. Segmentation & Targeting
42. Six Thinking Hats
43. Stakeholder Analysis
44. Strengths & Weaknesses Analysis
45. Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP)
46. SWOT Analysis
47. SWOT Strategies
48. Treacy / Wiersema Market Positioning
49. Value Chain Analysis
50. Venkat Matrix
The level of detail varies by framework, depending on the nature of the management model. Examples, templates, and case studies are provided.
Building off the basics presented in VC 101, we will be using the components of a traditional VC investment memo as a vehicle to examine the aspects of an investment opportunity, and the associated analysis, that matter to VCs and why.
Redefining Corporate Innovation Performance Measurement
The core of the case study ‘Redefining Corporate Innovation Performance Measurement’ is a framework dedicated to the performance assessment of a multitude of innovation unit archetypes. A set of premises, which replenish the output evaluation method, precedes the framework. In the beginning, a categorization of different corporate innovation unit archetypes introduces the topic. In the end, an opinion on COVID-19’s impact on corporate innovation rounds the case study off.
Why everyone needs a business analyst on the IT project? Which responsibilities BA has? To make things clearer, we made this influential SlideShare for Business Analysts in IT.
IT organizations are faced with a rapidly evolving environment coupled with a
more headcount-constrained staff, where standardization on optimal systems
and procedures is a critical success factor.
Case Interviews, Killer Frameworks - Nevin Kamath and Ivy ExecIvy Exec
You can ace the case interviews at all levels if you are using the right framework. In this webinar, you will learn strategy frameworks that will help you succeed in your next case interview. Our presenter, Nevin Kamath, founder of The Case Coach, and a former consultant with McKinsey, helps elite professionals, MBAs, and PhDs prepare for case interviews.
Our presenter, Nevin Kamath, is a former Senior Associate with McKinsey & Company and an alumnus of Harvard Law School. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, teaching a course on career development and professional communication to undergraduate students. Through his executive coaching firm, The Case Coach, LLC, Nevin has partnered with numerous clients who have gained offers at top consulting firms including McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Deloitte, as well as boutique firms such as Partners in Performance.
How to use Business Model Canvas to design projectsJörgen Dahlberg
A project is a delivery format for change acceleration and gives people and organizations possibilities to focus on a specific result with a specific timeline and dedicated resources. The key to success as we believe is to actually use the same design pattern as we do when we design companies and organizations, namely the Business Model Canvas.
The term ‘Business Analyst‘is synonymous with a career in the IT industry. The most successful and valuable analysts are those who understand the “business” rather than those who understand “IT“.
Proposals That Persuade: Writing a Winning Business ProposalRasmussen College
To lead your organization through change, write a winning proposal. In this presentation you’ll learn the characteristics and components of writing a persuasive proposal. Allow your audience to discover the problem for which you have a solution and then reveal the costs and benefits to win ultimate approval. Our business subject matter expert, Soma Jurgensen, shows us how business proposals are the first step to bringing about measured change.
Watch the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oc24JQqRi3Y
Featured Speaker:
Soma Jurgensen
School of Business Program
Coordinator, Minnesota and North Dakota
Rasmussen College
Leading with Culture: Talent Acquisition at Netflix Teamable Software
Netflix made waves when it published its Culture Deck in 2009 and since then the company has grown into a market leader, redefining how content is created and consumed. Today, Netflix is simultaneously a leading Hollywood studio and a cutting edge tech company going up against the likes of Amazon in the streaming business.
Ask the executives what is behind their success and you’ll get a simple answer, a culture of freedom and responsibility. But, how does that culture translate into talent acquisition and recruiting?
Join Lynn Carter, Director of Talent Acquisition at Netflix as she discusses how recruiting at Netflix:
Leads with culture
Empowers recruiters and hiring managers to be partners
Drives innovation
- Why benchmark - and why can it be useful?
- What can we benchmark against, and who can help with the process?
- Benchmarking processes and techniques
- Pros and cons of different benchmarking options
- A suggested model for benchmarking the procurement function
- Developing improvement plans
Crafting A Business
PORTER’S
Industry Ana
Bargaining Power
Suppliers are POWER
− There is a credibl
suppliers.
− Suppliers are con
− There is a signifi
− The customers ar
What does the bargai
SmallBizU
Plan http://www.smallbizu.org
FIVE FORCES WORKSHEET
lysis Model
of Suppliers
FUL if…
e forward integration threat by
centrated.
cant cost to switch suppliers.
e powerful.
Suppliers are WEAK if…
− The product is standardized. There are many
competitive suppliers.
− They are supplying commodity products.
− There is a credible backward integration threat by
purchasers.
− There are concentrated purchasers.
− The customers are weak.
ning power of suppliers in your industry look like?
Online eLearning Classroom
Crafting A Business Plan
http://www.smallbizu.org
Threat of New Entrants
Threat of new entrants is LOW if…
− There is patented or proprietary know-how.
− There is difficulty in brand switching.
− There are restricted distribution channels.
− There is a high scale threshold.
Threat of new entrants is HIGH if…
− There is common technology.
− There is little brand franchise.
− Distribution channels are easily accessible.
− There is a low scale threshold.
What does the threat of new entrants within your industry look like?
Competitive Rivalry Within Industry
Competitive rivalry within an industry is LOW if…
− There are few players in the industry.
− Players have different strategies.
− Differentiation between competitors and their
products are high.
− There is little to no price competition
− There are high market growth rates.
− Barriers for exit are low.
Competitive rivalry within an industry is HIGH if…
− There are many players of about the same size.
− Players have similar strategies.
− There is not much differentiation between players
and their products.
− There is much price competition
− Low market growth rates (growth of a particular
company is possible only at the expense of a
competitor).
− Barriers for exit are high (e.g. expensive and
highly specialized equipment).
What does the bargaining power of customers in your industry look like?
Crafting A Business Plan
http://www.smallbizu.org
Threat of Substitutes
Threat of substitutes will be LOW if…
− There is strong brand loyalty.
− There are tight or strong customer relationships.
− Switching costs for customers are high.
− The relative price compard to performance of
substitutes is high.
Threat of substitutes will be HIGH if…
− There is little to no brand loyalty.
− There are loose customer relationships.
− Switching costs for customers are low.
− The relative price compard to performance of
substitutes is low.
What does the bargaining threat of substitutes within your industry look like?
Bargaining Power of Customers
Customers are POWERFUL if…
− The ...
A comprehensive guide to producing a research report in the finance and bankiing sectors. For a full course on the subject, go to Udemy and search for 'Writing an Equity Research Report'.
The Business Side by Richard Brooks.
This presentation is an insightful and honest look into the world of business management. I’ll cover the key concepts professional managers look at when running a language service company (or any other services business). My aim is to bridge the gap between language service companies and freelance translators by promoting a better understanding of ‘our side’, which helps everyone to create more value in the content supply chain and to extract more of that value.
What Is Prescriptive Analytics? Your 5-Minute OverviewShannon Kearns
This slide deck walks you through the basis of understanding prescriptive analytics. Understand the different kinds of prescriptive analytics, how it works, its value, where to find use cases and more!
- Sources of Spend Data
- Turning Data into Information
- Identifying Opportunities and Prioritization
- Spend Analysis and Managing Categories
- Identifying Actions
This presentation is on Environment Scanning In Strategic management
It includes -
Introduction
Need for Environment Scanning
Appraisal of external environment
Dynamics of internal environment
Porter’s Five forces model
BCG Matrix
Porter's Generic Strategies
Value Chain analysis
Types of Adaptive strategies
Personal Brand Statement:
As an Army veteran dedicated to lifelong learning, I bring a disciplined, strategic mindset to my pursuits. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to innovate and lead effectively. My journey is driven by a commitment to excellence, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
"𝑩𝑬𝑮𝑼𝑵 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝑻𝑱 𝑰𝑺 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑭 𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑬"
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 (𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬) is a professional event agency that includes experts in the event-organizing market in Vietnam, Korea, and ASEAN countries. We provide unlimited types of events from Music concerts, Fan meetings, and Culture festivals to Corporate events, Internal company events, Golf tournaments, MICE events, and Exhibitions.
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➢ 2024 BAEKHYUN [Lonsdaleite] IN HO CHI MINH
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"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬."
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
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price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
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This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
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2. AgendaAgendaAgendaAgenda
♦ What is a case interview?
♦ How should I manage a case interview?
♦ What are some frameworks that I can use in
a case interview?
♦ How should I determine what competitive
response is appropriate?
3. What is a Case Interview?What is a Case Interview?What is a Case Interview?What is a Case Interview?
♦ Case interviews are built around a “problem”
– The first task will be to find the problem
– The second task will be to develop a solution
♦ The format can be either a full or mini case
– Full cases last between 45 minutes to over an hour
– Mini-cases are typically less than 15 minutes
♦ The goals of the case and the depth of analysis
depend on the format
All case interviews are designed to test your ability
to solve problems in a structured fashion.
4. Why do Companies use Cases?Why do Companies use Cases?Why do Companies use Cases?Why do Companies use Cases?
♦ Case interviews provide a way to evaluate a
person’s reasoning skills in a time-effective manner
– The focus of a case interview is analysis under time
pressure – can you solve a problem “under the gun”
– A candidate can demonstrate an incredible depth of
knowledge in a very short time based upon his or her
analysis
♦ Cases provide an opportunity to give the candidate
the “elevator test”
♦ Case interviews give an indication to the
candidate’s ability to pass the DTW test
Case interviews are used mostly because
everybody else uses them!
5. Where do Cases Come From?Where do Cases Come From?Where do Cases Come From?Where do Cases Come From?
♦ Cases are typically problems the consultant has
worked on and/or finds interesting
– “You’ve just been called into the CEO’s office of a mid-
size manufacturer of steel pipe in Pittsburgh…”
– “Phil Condit calls you on the phone and would like your
opinion about a new plane Boeing is considering
building…”
♦ Cases may be “disguised” much like many
business school cases
♦ Cases can also be made-up, on the spot, off your
resume!!
Cases are not meant to test your knowledge of an
industry !
6. Manage the InterviewManage the InterviewManage the InterviewManage the Interview
♦ First and foremost, relax!!
– Case interviews test poise and composure as well as
“horsepower”
– Would you pass the senior executive test?
♦ Take notes!
– Keep track of where you are and where you are going
– Keep a record so that you have something with which to
practice
♦ Keep track of time!
– You have a limited timeframe and must use it to your
advantage
– Use dead time to your advantage – silence is not the
enemy
7. Manage the Interviewer
♦ Do not be afraid to ask questions
– The “set-up” will rarely give you enough information to
even begin to analyze the case
– Ask reasoned, structured questions that benefit your
analysis – do not ask for “basic” data
– Make your assumptions reasonable and explicit – tell your
interviewer what you are assuming, why you are
assuming it and ask if it is reasonable
♦ Use your notes interactively
– Interviewers judge what you write as well as what you say
– A diagram can save you a tremendous amount of time
The questions you ask are as important as the answers you
give – they are an insight into your analytical process
8. Frameworks Drive Analysis
♦ Frameworks provide a ready-made structure
– Knowing these frameworks thoroughly gives you a
baseline from where you can start any analysis
– Applying basic frameworks buys you time to sort your way
through a complex case
♦ Interviewers are already familiar with most
frameworks
– Most frameworks are well-known because they are useful
in “real life” – interviewers will use them on a daily basis
– Creating your own framework can be incredibly effective –
but only if the framework itself is incredibly effective
The surest way to get dinged during a case interview is to
shotgun your analysis
11. Economic Frameworks
♦ 80% of all consulting cases will deal with
basic economics in some fashion
– Supply & Demand
– Profitability
– Demand Elasticity
♦ Basic economic principles also underpin
many other frameworks
– Porter’s Five Forces looks a lot like the
parameters for a demand curve
– 3-Cs, 4-Ps, Value Chain, etc. are all based on
one or more economic relationships
12. Supply & Demand
♦ The market-clearing price and quantity is determined by the
intersection of demand curve and the supply curve
♦ Surpluses are determined by how much consumers and
producers would have paid/charged versus what the market
price
Supply
D
em
and
P
Q
Market-Clearing
Price
Market-Clearing
Quantity
Producer
Surplus
Consumer
Surplus
13. Profitability
♦ Profits are defined as total revenue minus total cost
♦ Changes in revenue are due to a change in
quantity, price or both
♦ Total cost is the sum of variable plus fixed costs
– Variable costs vary directly with quantity
– Fixed costs are set for a given period
ΠΠΠΠ = P⋅Q
Revenue
- [(VC⋅Q)+FC]
Costs
If a firm has become unprofitable, try to determine what has
happened to price, quantity and costs!
14. Cost Structure
♦ Fixed costs are costs that must be incurred
regardless of production level
– Lease payments
– Advertising
– Salaries (?)
♦ Variable costs vary directly with quantity sold
– Typically, variable costs are driven by direct labor and
direct materials costs
– Depreciation is not part of economic variable cost
♦ Marginal cost is the cost of producing one more
unit
– It is the derivative of the variable cost equation
– The supply curve is the aggregation of the marginal cost
curves of all market-participating firms
15. Operating Leverage
♦ Operating leverage is the ratio of fixed costs versus
variable costs
♦ Firms with high operating leverage tend to be in
industries that require massive economies of scale
– Operating leverage is a form of risk
– High operating leverage requires high volumes for profitability
Low
O
perating
Leverage
TC
Q
High Operating
Leverage
16. Elasticity
ηηηη =
dQ
dP
⋅⋅⋅⋅
P
Q
=
%∆Q
%∆P
♦ If elasticity is “less” than one, then demand
is inelastic
– Inelastic demand implies that total revenue will
increase with an increase in price
♦ If elasticity is “greater” than one, then
demand is elastic
– Elastic demand indicates that total revenue will
increase with a decrease in price
17. Elasticity (cont’d)
♦ Infinitely elastic demand means that no firm has pricing
power, i.e. it is a commodity product
♦ Infinitely inelastic demand means that the you are selling
something you ought not to be selling…
Inifinitely
Inelastic
P
Q
Infinitely
Elastic
18. Industry-Level Frameworks
♦ Industry-level frameworks are typically used
to get a view of the competitive landscape
♦ If the case is a profitability problem, this is
where you begin to search for why
something has happened
♦ Be very careful about spending too much
time on industry-level frameworks, they can
take a tremendous amount of time that you
will otherwise need “solving” the problem
19. Customers, Competitors & Company
♦ The 3-Cs will be intimately familiar to most
interviewers – you will not differentiate your
analysis by using it
♦ You may differentiate your analysis by not using it!
A 3-Cs analysis is quick and effective – it should be used first
when you need to examine an industry
CustomersCustomersCustomersCustomers – Who are the customers? What do they want?
CompetitorsCompetitorsCompetitorsCompetitors – Who is the competition? What have they done?
CompanyCompanyCompanyCompany – Has the company changed? What is its position?
20. Value Chain & Supply Chain
♦ Use a value chain or supply chain analysis when
examining an industry’s depth
♦ The emphasis of VC/SC analysis is the physical
flow of goods and money
♦ Alternate framework: inbound logistics, production
logistics & sales logistics
Inbound
Logistics
Service
Sales &
Marketing
Outbound
Logistics
Production
Logistics
Supporting Functions
Information Technology
Human Resources
Accounting
21. Porter’s Five Forces
A sixth force, complementary products, can be added to
better describe industry dynamics
Supplier
Power
Buyer Power
Threat of New
Entrants
Threat of
Substitutes
Industry
Rivalry
22. When to Use Which?
Porter’s Five Forces
3-Cs: Customers, Competitors, Company
ValueChain/
SupplyChain
A full Five Forces analysis is expansive, choose alternate
frameworks whenever possible!
23. Porter’s Generic Strategies
♦ Generic strategies are effective as “signposts” in a
full case, or as the entire analysis in a mini-case
♦ A firm’s generic strategy can shift over time
Mass market,
economies of
scale dominate
Constant cycle
of innovation
Regional player,
little market
power
Niche
technology
product
Broad Market Focused Market
Cost
Leadership
Feature
Leadership
24. Firm-Level Frameworks
♦ Firm-level frameworks are useful two-fold:
– To identify issues within a company
– To structure potential solutions to a firm’s
problems
♦ Firm-level frameworks:
– Growth-share matrix
– Marketing mix frameworks
– Core competencies
– SWOT
– Stakeholder analysis
26. Marketing Frameworks
♦ Marketing frameworks allow you to analyze
what is going on in the marketplace that
may be impacting a firm
– STP – find the right market segment
– 4-Ps – serve the market effectively
– 5-Ms – reach the target market and influence
them
♦ Marketing frameworks ask these questions:
– Has anything changed with the customers’
tastes?
– How do customers perceive the product?
– Are there new products that have entered the
marketplace?
27. STP: Finding the Correct Market
♦ STP rarely comes up in a consulting case
interview, but will come up during marketing case
interviews
♦ It is not necessary to go through STP to use the
core idea: is the product relevant to the
marketplace? Have consumers’ tastes changed?
SegmentingSegmentingSegmentingSegmenting – Identify distinctions between customers
TargetingTargetingTargetingTargeting – Identify the target group or groups
PositioningPositioningPositioningPositioning – Alter the product to appeal to the target market
28. 4-Ps: Marketing a Product
♦ A 4-P analysis will be required in both consulting
cases and marketing cases very frequently!
♦ The only long-run sustainable advantage in
marketing is to have a superior product
♦ New products typically have a trial “boost” to sales
before the product settles in to its long-run market
share
ProductProductProductProduct – What are the relevant product attributes?
PricePricePricePrice – What is the product’s absolute & relative price?
PlacePlacePlacePlace – What are the product’s distribution channels?
PromotionPromotionPromotionPromotion – How is the product being sold/marketed?
29. 5-Ms: Marketing Campaigns
♦ A consulting case will almost never get to this level
of detail for a “marketing-type” case – marketing
interviews might
♦ Measurement is the easiest to forget and the most
critical – you must measure success somehow!
MissionMissionMissionMission – What is the goal of the marketing campaign?
MessageMessageMessageMessage – What is being said about the product?
MediaMediaMediaMedia – Where is the message being communicated?
MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney – How much is being spent?
MeasurementMeasurementMeasurementMeasurement – How do you measure success vs. the goals?
30. Core Competencies
♦ A firm’s core competencies are the
functions at which a company excels
♦ A firm’s competitive advantage should arise
out of its core competencies, but the two
are not synonymous!
– Think of a competitive advantage as answering
the question “what provides the firm’s major
sustaining force in the market?”
– Core competencies answer the question, “How
is competitive advantage maintained?”
♦ Core competencies can be thought of as a
firm’s knowledge capital – what is the sum
of what the firm knows that is valuable
31. Core Competencies (cont’d)
♦ Firms must constantly re-evaluate whether their
core competencies remain relevant in the market
♦ For firms to grow, they must expand their
knowledge into new markets and new skills
How can the firm
improve its position
in the marketplace?
What must the firm
do to acquire new
competencies?
How can the firm re-
deploy its
competencies?
What new skills are
required for the
markets of the
future?
Existing Market New Market
Existing
Competency
New
Competency
32. SWOT is NOT Strategy
♦ SWOT is a presentation framework – it is not an
analytical framework
♦ SWOT is best used as a short-cut framework to
illustrate obvious issues in a mini-case
♦ SWOT is generally a waste of time in a full case
StrengthsStrengthsStrengthsStrengths – What are the firm’s strengths?
WeaknessesWeaknessesWeaknessesWeaknesses – What are the firm’s weaknesses?
OpportunitiesOpportunitiesOpportunitiesOpportunities – What opportunities are present in the market?
ThreatsThreatsThreatsThreats – What might threaten the firm’s position in the market?
34. Other Frameworks
♦ First-year MBAs will typically not get case
interviews that deal with these subjects, but they
are fair game for second-year MBAs
♦ Organization frameworks identify the steps
necessary to implement changes in an
organization
♦ Political frameworks are used to develop strategies
for dealing with organizations that are not profit
motivated
♦ Macroeconomic frameworks are useful if you must
work through a tough global case
“The Government of Costa Rica wants you to define &
implement an industrial policy for them…”
35. McKinsey’s 7-S Model
StrategyStrategyStrategyStrategy – What is the firm trying to accomplish?
StructureStructureStructureStructure – What organization form best suits the firm’s goals?
StaffingStaffingStaffingStaffing – What type of staff does the firm require?
StyleStyleStyleStyle – What management style does the firm utilize?
SkillsSkillsSkillsSkills – Does the firm’s employees have the skills required?
SystemsSystemsSystemsSystems – What measurement systems must be put in place?
Shared ValuesShared ValuesShared ValuesShared Values – What is the firm’s culture like?
This is an extremely important framework, but will almost
never show-up in a case interview
36. Kotter’s Change Management Model
VisionVisionVisionVision – Create a compelling vision of the future
UrgencyUrgencyUrgencyUrgency – Create a sense that action must occur soon
LeadershipLeadershipLeadershipLeadership – Ensure that there is clear leadership for change
CoalitionCoalitionCoalitionCoalition – Create a coalition to spread change throughout the firm
EmpowermentEmpowermentEmpowermentEmpowerment – Empower others to facilitate change
CommunicateCommunicateCommunicateCommunicate – Communicate the needs & actions for change
SuccessSuccessSuccessSuccess – Create short-term successes to sustain momentum
ConsolidateConsolidateConsolidateConsolidate – Consolidate improvements & identify future changes
37. Political Strategy
Identify Participant Stakes & CapabilitiesIdentify Participant Stakes & CapabilitiesIdentify Participant Stakes & CapabilitiesIdentify Participant Stakes & Capabilities
Reframe the IssueReframe the IssueReframe the IssueReframe the Issue
Develop a CoalitionDevelop a CoalitionDevelop a CoalitionDevelop a Coalition
Adjust Issue VisibilityAdjust Issue VisibilityAdjust Issue VisibilityAdjust Issue Visibility
Develop Grassroots SupportDevelop Grassroots SupportDevelop Grassroots SupportDevelop Grassroots Support
Stakeholder analysis is key – you must identify where each
participant falls on the issue and what they can bring to bear
38. Macroeconomics
♦ GDP is the aggregate of:
– Consumer spending
– Business investment
– Government spending (not transfer payments)
– Net exports
♦ Net exports is the most volatile component of
national income and is the easiest one for most
governments to target for manipulation
– Cases with international components typically include
foreign exchange (FX) issues – watch out for them!
GDP = C + I + G + X
39. Competitive Responses
♦ Analyze a company’s options based upon the
threat level and possible resources brought to bear
– Ad hoc matrices work well for this
– Be careful about making assumptions early – if you
assume a threat level early, this will be where it comes
back to haunt you
♦ Many business decisions do not have good
outcomes, only less bad ones
– Look for responses that have natural stopping points
– Marketing can be used to send competitors signals
– Use the Prisoner’s Dilemma as a starting point for
understanding your possibilities
40. Matrices
♦ We have already demonstrated three key
matrices:
– Porter’s Generic Strategies
– BCG Growth-Share Matrix
– Hamel/Prahalad Core Competency Matrix
♦ Matrices are an excellent way to illustrate a
small number of potential scenarios or
concepts
– High impact vs. low impact
– High market share vs. low market share
– Broad market reach vs. limited market reach
41. Sample Matrices
“You are the head of R&D for a large pharma
company, and a new process has been created as a
result of the work done to sequence the human
genome…”
Crash program to
incorporate new
technology into
existing processes
Look for possible
disposition or
outsourcing
opportunities
Evaluate relevance
and switching costs
Watch to see if the
technology becomes
relevant
High Impact Low Impact
Core
Business
Non-Core
Business
42. Sample Matrices (cont’d)
“You are a brand manager for P&G in the Health &
Beauty Aids category, and a competitor just
introduced a new toothpaste that is gaining market
share…”
Identify if share loss
is due to trials or
switching; re-do
marketing mix
Re-examine market
segmentation &
potentially introduce
competing product
Examine product’s
benefits; identify
potential line
extension?
Ignore it?
High Market Share Low Market Share
SameTarget
Market
Different
TargetMarket
43. Prisoner’s Dilemma
♦ Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game theory concept that tells a
tremendous story: why do sub-optimal outcomes occur?
♦ In a single-period model, the prisoners always defect
Prisoner 1: 3
Prisoner 2: 3
Prisoner 1: -5
Prisoner 2: 4
Prisoner 1: 4
Prisoner 2: -5
Player 1: -3
Player 2: -3
Don’t Confess Confess
Don’t
ConfessConfess Prisoner 1
Prisoner2
All business problems are multi-period games – you should
always look for a sustainable answer, not the neutron bomb!
44. How to Choose the Right Framework
♦ Choosing the right framework is mostly a
matter of practice
– Know the core frameworks cold
– Practice mixing and matching frameworks with
different types of cases
♦ Pay attention to the problem description
– Pick through the noise to find the critical issues
– Do not get lost in the details – all cases are
essentially generic
– Once the critical issue is identified, the proper
framework will generally select itself
45. Where to Find Additional Help
♦ Consulting club member (talk to Dymph!)
♦ Work with each other!
♦ Wetfeet’s Guide to Case Interviewing
♦ Company web sites
♦ Your professors
46. Suggested Reading List
♦ Michael Porter – On Competition
♦ C. K. Prahalad & Gary Hamel – Competing
for the Future
♦ Hammer & Champy – Reengineering the
Corporation
♦ O’Shea & Madigan – Dangerous Company
♦ Mickelthwait & Wooldridge – The Witch
Doctors
47. ReReReRe----CapCapCapCap
You should now know:
♦ What a case interview is and is not
♦ How to manage a case interview
♦ What some of the major frameworks are for
“solving” a case
♦ How to look for appropriate competitive
responses
♦ Where to go to look to find additional help
with case interviewing