CASE IN POINT 咨询行业案例分析面试完全攻略

C a s e I n t e r v i e w I n P o i n t-通往咨询公司必经之路Case Interview In Point—通往咨询的必经之路前序咨询行业属于出租头脑的行业，咨询顾问赚钱的方式就是针对客户给定的问题，综合大量不相关的数据资料，去粗取精，去伪存真，构思解决方案，当着公司高层的面，提出既合情合理又富有创意的设想。

其实这也是为什么咨询公司特别重视进行案例分析面试的原因，他们想借此机会来判断candidate的逻辑思维能力和说服能力，basically, 案例面试无异于扮演咨询顾问角色的一次练习。

想必各位对于去年teclast的那篇《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》还意犹未尽，那么我希望我这篇文章能让各位再次加深对于咨询以及case interview的理解，并有所突破。

记得我是从大三下开始认识和熟悉管理咨询行业的（比起现在的大一大二学生真是惭愧了），当年读了《麦肯锡方法》、《麦肯锡意识》后，对于咨询工作产生了强烈的兴趣和向往。

作为一个非经管专业的学生，我知道要踏入这一行，需要比别人付出更多，经历了两年多的历练、磨练、锤炼，终于修成正果。

要想进咨询公司，就必须过案例面试这一关；要过案例面试这一关，就必须知道如何进行准备和如何表现自己，必须知道面试官希望在你身上看到哪些素质，你也需要知道有哪些类型的案例问题，然后还要知道有一些怎样的思维框架，也就是我们俗称的framework。

所以仅以此文和有志于往咨询业发展的兄弟姐妹分享我的个人经验（有一些经验我在去年5月爱因斯特组织的牛人经验介绍会上已经share过了），此文和《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》不同的是，此文还是主要focus在case interview上，全文纯属个人意见，不足或遗漏之处望补正。

第一部分. 认识咨询，认识自我第一部分我觉得还是老规矩，先谈谈Why consulting? Why hires you? 这两个问题。

咨询公司面试案例分析指南咨询面试系列a 集团标准化办公室：[VV986T-J682P28-JP266L8-68PNN]Firm: A.T. KearneyCase Number:Case setup (facts offered by interviewer):Your client is a manufacturer of bicyclesThey have been in business for 25 yearsThey manufacturer and sell three categories of bicycles:Racing bikes: High end, high performance bikes for sophisticated cyclists Mainstream bikes: Durable, but not overly complicated bikes for everyday ridersChildren’s bikes: Small er, simpler versions of their mainstream bikes for childrenProfits at your client have decreased over the past five yearsQuestion:What is driving the decline in overall profits?What recommendations might correct the situation?Suggested solutions:The first question is to determine what has caused overall profits to decrease. To accomplish this the candidate must first understand what has transpired in each of the three product categories over the past five years during which profitability has slipped. The following are questions and answers that would be provided in an interview scenario.What are the client’s margins for a bicycle in each of the threesegments?Racing: Cost = $600/unit, Profit=$300/unitMainstream: Cost = $250/unit, Profit = $75/unitChildren’s: Cost = $ 200/unit, Profit = $50/unitWhat has happened to the market size of each of the three segments over the past five years?Racing: Has remained constant at its present size of $300MMMainstream: Has increased at 2% growth rate per year to its present size of $1.0BChildren’s: Has increased at 3% growth rate per year to its present size of $400MMWhat has happened to our client’s market share in each of these segments?Racing: Market share has decreased from 60% to 30%Mainstream: Market share has increased from 0% to 5%Children’s: Market share has increased from 0% to 3%Who are the client’s major competitor’s in each market segment What has happened to their market share in each segment over the past five yearsRacing: There is one main competitor and a host of small firms. Your main competitor has increased market share from 30% to 50%Mainstream: There exist many, large competitors, none of which holds more than 10% of the marketChildren’s: As in the mainstream segment, there are m any competitors, none with more than 10% of the marketThe above information provides enough information to put together a picture of why profits have decreased over the past five years : Your client, with a commanding position in a flat market segment (ra cing), expanded into new segments (mainstream and children’s). As this occurred, market share decreased dramatically in the most lucrative segment (racing), creating an unfavorable mix.The extent to which profits have decreased can be deduced from some quick math : profits have slipped from $60MM five years ago (=60% x $300MM x 33% racing margin) to $44MM today ( = (30% x $300MM x 33% racing margin) + (5% x $1B x 23% mainstream margin) + (3% x $400MMx 20% children’s margin)).The dramatic decrease in market share in the racing segment is at this point still unexplained. Questions that would help formulate an explanation include:Have there been any major changes in product quality in your client’s racing product Or in its main competitor’s racing productNoHave there been any major price changes in your client’s racing product Or in its main competitor’s racing productNoHave there been any major changes in distribution outlets for your client’s racingproduct Or for its main competitor’s racing productYes. Previously your client and its main competitor in the racing segment soldexclusively through small, specialty dealers. This remains unchanged for the competition.Your client, however, began to sell its racing bikes through mass distributors anddiscount stores (the distribution outlets for mainstream and children’s bikes) as it entered the mainstream and children’s segment.How do the mass distributors and discount stores price the racing bikes relative to the specialty stores?Prices at these stores tend to be 15 to 20% less.What percent of your client’s racing sales occur in mass distributors and discountstores?Effectively none. This attempt to sell through these distributors has failedHow has the decision to sell through mass distribut or’s and discount stores affected the image of the client’s racing product?No studies have been done.How has the decision to sell through mass distributor’s and discount stores affected your client’s relationship with the specialty outlets?Again, no formal analysis has been performed.Although some analysis and/or survey should be performed to answer more conclusively thelast two questions, a possible story can be put together. There has been no appreciablechange in either quality or price (or any oth er tangible factor) of your client’s racing product relative to its competition. It is not the product that is the problem, but rather its image. As your client came out with lower end, mainstream and children’s products and began to push their racing segment through mass distributors and discount outlets, their reputation was compromised. Additionally, the presence of the racing products in the discount outlets has put your historic racing distributor (the specialty shops) in a precarious position. The specialty shops must now lower price to compete, thereby cutting their own profits. Instead, they are likely to push the competition’s product. Remember, your client has no direct salesforce at the retail outlets. The specialty shops essentially serve as your client’s sales force.The above analysis offers an explanation of what has affected the top side of the profitability problem. Still to be examined is the cost, or bottom side, of theprofitability issue. Questions to uncover cost issues would include:How does the client account for its costs?The client has a single manufacturing and assembly plant. They have separate lines in this facility to produce racing, mainstream and children’s products. They divide their costs into the following categories: labor, material and overhead. Overall costs have been increasing at a fairly hefty rate of 10% per year.What is the current breakdown of costs along these categories for each product segment?Racing: Labor = 30%, Material = 40%, Overhead = 30%Mainstream: Labor = 25%, Material = 40%, Overhead = 35%Children’s: Labor = 25%, Material = 40%, Overhead = 35%How has this mix of expenses changed over the past five years?In all segments, labor is an increasing percentage of the costs.Does the basic approach to manufacturing (i.e. the mix of labor and technology) reflect that of its competition?Your client tells you that there is a continuing movement to automate and utilizetechnology to improve efficiency throughout the industry, but it is his/her opinion that the ir approach, maintaining the “human touch”, is what differentiates them from the competition. (Unfortunately, he’s right!!)Is the workforce unionized?YesWhat is the average age of the workforce?52 and climbing. There is very little turnover in the workforce.What is the present throughput rating How has it changed over the past five yearsPresently the plant is producing at about 80% of capacity. This has been decreasing steadily over the last several years.What is the typical reason for equipment shutdown?Emergency repairDescribe the preventive maintenance program in effect at the client’s facility?Preventive maintenance is performed informally based on the knowledge of seniortechnicians.How often has equipment been replaced Is this consistent with the original equipment manufacturer’s recommendationsThe client feels that most OEM recommendations are very conservative. They have followeda philosophy of maximizing the life of their equipment and have generally doubled OEMrecommendations.The above information is sufficient to add some understanding to the cost side of the equation. Your client has an aging workforce and plant that is behind the times in terms of technology and innovation. This has contributed to excessive breakdowns, decreased throughput, increased labor rates (wages increase with seniority) and greater labor hours (overtime to fix broken machines).In proposing recommendations to improve the client’s situation, there is no single correct approach. There are a number of approaches that might be explored and recommended. The following are some possibilities:Abandon the mainstream and children’s segment to recover leadership in the racingsegmentIssues to consider in this approach:How much of the racing segment is “recoverable”What are the expected growth rates of each segment?How badly damaged is the relationship with the specialty outlets?Are there alternative outlets to the specialty shops such as internet sales?How will this move affect overall utilization of the operating facilities?Maintain the mainstream and children’s segment, but sell under a different nameIssues to consider in this approach:Is there demand among the mass and discount distributors for bicycles under their name?What additional advertising and promotions costs might be incurred?What are the expected growth rates of each segment?What is driving the buying habits of the mainstream and children’smarket?Reduce costs through automation and innovationIssues to be considered:What technological improvements are to be made?What are the required investmentsWhat are the expected returns on those investments?How will these investments affect throughput?To which lines are these investments appropriateAre the mainstream and children’s segments potentially “over-engineered”What impact will this have on the required workforce levels?If layoffs are required to achieve the benefits, what impact will this have on labor relations?Reduce costs through establishing a formal preventive maintenance programIssues to be considered:What organizational changes will be required?What analysis will be performed to determine the appropriate amount of PM?What training is required of the workforce?What technical or system changes are required?How will the unionized workforce respond?Key takeaways:This case can prove to be lengthy and very involved. It is not expected that a candidate would cover all of the above topics, but rather work through selected topics in a logical fashion. It is important that the candidate pursue a solution that considers both revenue and cost issues to impact profit. Additionally, a conadidate’s ability to work comfortably with the quantitative side of this case is important. The above recommendations for improving profitability are just a few among many. The candidate may come with their own ideas.。

Crac king the Case: A Consulting I n t e r v i e w P r i m e rPage 1 of 3[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.Remember your seventh-grade algebra teacher’s three favorite words光华人向上的精神"Show your work." At the time, it seemed silly: Why not just show the right answer Now that you’re older and wiser, however, you know that in many cases how you get to the right answer is more important than simply knowing the answer itself.The same goes for the case questions that consulting recruiters lob at you. Consulting is a demanding job with few "correct" answers; this method of interviewing gauges how well you manage the process of getting to an answer and how you perform under simulated client-engagement conditions.We talked to consultant-hunters at several firms to glean their advice on cracking the case interview. Here's what the recruiters revealed—and how you can best prepare.Why the Case Interview？Case interviews have long been used by recruiters to see a candidate'sthought processes in motion. Can you deconstruct and analyze complex, open-ended business problems Do you stay calm, or will you sweat bullets under pressure at a client siteAt the most basic level, a case interview is about asking the right questions, developing a logical way of working through the relevant issues, and arriving at a recommendation. Your structure may be a packaged framework or it may be various frameworks strung together; you may even choose not to use frameworks at all. What's important is that you demonstrate some defined structure.“Case studies are an imperfect science,” concedes Michael Gibney, project manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, “but are easily implementable in the 30 to 45 m inutes we have for each interview.” Since they measure your analytical skills, they're an improvement over simple "fit" or "resumé" interviews.In most case interviews, the recruiter gives you an example of a real-life client problem. Some typical categories include:•Company Strategy:“My client is thinking of making an acquisition, and …”•Brain Games:“How many tennis balls are in the United States”•Operations Improvement:“Why is my client’s factory running behind”•Market Size:“How big is the global air conditioner market” Although each requires a slightly different approach, all are meant mainly光华人向上的精神to evaluate the process you use, not the answer you come up with.Practice Makes PerfectYou absolutely, positively must prepare in advance for case interviews. “It becomes pretty clear pretty fast who has—and who has not—practiced,” says Gibney. “I know there is a basic sort of business acumen that may not be able to be practiced, but candidates must have an understandable approach to solving problems. That’s what our clients demand of us. If we can’t relate solutions to the client, it’s a problem.”Don’t assume that attending a case-oriented business school will give you an upper hand. John Flato, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s nation al director of university recruiting, says these candidates don’t seem to do any better or worse than candidates from non-case schools.Study different kinds of case questions. Just because your buddy interviewed before you and gave you a heads-up on the questionsdoesn’t mean you have a leg up. Recruiters have tons of case questions in their repertoire, and the chances of their using the same question multiple times on one campus visit are slim to none.Get a classmate or friend to role-play the interview with you, and use any resources (such as a casebook) that your school's consulting club provides. The more mock cases you sink your teeth into, the more likely you are to be relaxed and poised for the real thing. Sometimes you learn more by presenting a case question to someone than you do when solving the case yourself.Deliberately pick industries you're not familiar with so as to test your analytical skills, not memorized facts; for instance, if your pre-B-school experience is mostly in media and entertainment, ask your case buddy to ask you about steel production or medical device marketing. That said, do consider brushing up on the basics in several industries—for instance, know the product development cycle in pharmaceutical research, and understand current trends in technology. (For more information on various fields, check out our .) Although each case is different, with practice you will improve your analytical reasoning skills and solution method.Think Through the ProcessWhen it comes to strategy or product marketing questions, the interviewer will often give you only the bare bones of a case and will wait for you to request further details: How many competitors does the company have What are the major cost and revenue drivers Who are the major clients And don't forget to ask for the firm's mission—if you don't光华人向上的精神know what a company's goals are, you might come up with a valid—but misguided—solution. Use some basic frameworks to drive your questions—the four P's and the three C's, for instance.A sample question Gibney used recently involved a manufacturer/distributor/retailer of computer products. This client has traditionally gone directly to the consumer and has developed a solid brand image. The client now wants an assessment as to the issues relating to the core business, as well as the opportunities for the company to get into the services side, which it views as a high-margin/high-growth-rate business. The candidate now needs toprovide an approach or evaluative framework for analyzing each of the two different problems.As long as it's permitted, work your answers out on paper. Pencils and pens, plus a notebook or legal pad should be standard equipment in any interview. “It’s amazing how many people show up without a pen a nd paper,” marvels Kamenna Rindova, a senior associate at Mercer Management Consulting. Thinking through all the facts is a must, and you’re not going to do it all in your head.Page 2 of 3[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.光华人向上的精神May the Five Forces (Not) Be with You3 C's."Is That Your Final Answer"Don’t be afraid of pausing. T ake the time to draw up notes and sketch out the problem. Don’t blurt anything out unnecessarily to end a period of silence. You’re not on a game show; you’re interviewing to be a consultant, which is a business as much about thinking as it is about communicating. Above all, be calm.If you do respond to a question too quickly, before understanding all the facts, you may end up contradicting yourself halfway through your response—which could be disastrous. “In our environment and our industry,” says Sean Huurman, national recruiting director of KPMG Consulting, “we need to make sure we’re saying the right thing the first time.”After all the analysis, however, don't forget to come to some kind of conclusion as to what the company should do. Consider presenting a decision rule that the imaginary organization could use to figure out what the best option is—., if revenues outstrip costs, then do x.Follow the LeaderMany firms use a group exercise in their second or subsequent rounds to see how well you work with others. If you’re assigned a role other than team leader, don’t fret. It doesn’t matter what your role is in the exercise—just do it well. If you and the team members are told to settle between yourselves who gets to do what, don’t fight over who gets to make the presentation or lead the group. Likewise, don’t play the shrinking violet. Remember, the recruiter is watching.Whatever you do, show confidence, not arrogance. A display of ego before John Flato at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a certain red flag.光华人向上的精神光华人向上的精神“Obviously, those who go to business schools are bright and talented—they wouldn’t be there otherwise,” Flato remarks. “We hire bright and talented people, but only those who can work well with team members and not display arrogance.”Page 3 of 3[Web Exclusive] You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to ace the cases in a consulting-firm interview. In fact, a little preparation can make solving them seem, well, elementary.Ready for some company-specific advice Here's what five recruiters told us about interviewing at their firms.The Questions:Words of Wisdom:Coveney points out that she doesn’t have a preference regarding how a candidate initially reacts to the case interview question. “Some people take some time to formulate their thoughts, other people ask a few questions, and other people jump right in,” Coveney says. “Relax and take your time, focus on the specific issues of the case, remember there is no one right answer to the case, and don’t use to o many frameworks. Don’t throw in the kitchen sink, like Porter’s five forces, etc. Just be confident, and relax—it will really help with the interview.”Recruiter No. 2: Kamenna Rindova, senior associate, Mercer Management ConsultingThe Questions:MMC asks most candidates one-on-one questions and doesn’t often do group exercises. Reflecting the firm’s focus, most questions deal with strategy issues, with occasional market sizing questions thrown in. The purpose of the interview for MMC is to see the candidate's ability to structure and think through a problem as they would on the job.Words of Wisdom:Rindova says practice and familiarity with cases is essential, and stresses that an interview can go south if the candidate loses sight of the structure he or she is building. Lastly, beating a clear path to any response is more important than getting it right. “You can give (a recruiter) a wrong answer, but if you thought out loud through the process, you could still have a stellar interview,” Rindova concludes.Recruiter No. 3: Scott Berney, head of . recruiting operations, Monitor GroupThe Questions:Determining a person’s analytical skills, comfort with manipulating numbers, and ability to integrate different pieces of data is the purpose of the case interview for Monitor Group. For the first round of interviews, case questions are usually written and are two to three pages in length. In the final round, a group event is used.Words of Wisdom:Recruiter No. 4: Sean Huurman, national recruiting director, KPMG ConsultingThe Questions:“The case question helps get to a thinking process and various characteristics of a candidate you don’t necessarily get in an ordinaryinterview,” says Huurman. “When we use cases, we are really focusing on things that tie into the client.” The typical KPMG consultant hunter wants to know how a candidate can communicate with the team, their leadership, and the client.Huurman favors group interviews, and knows a lot of candidates can be prepped in advance, but he notes that there’s "no amount of coaching" that can prepare you for a group project.Words of Wisdom:“Too many people jump right into the case study and don’t put any thought into it,” says Huurman. “I want the interviewees to think things through.” KPMG recruiters are always told to let the candidate have some time to think through the case, but Huurman indicates that very few candidates take advantage of it.Huurman admits that few recruiters would ask interviewees what KPMG stands for (curious It's Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, and Goerdeler), but it’s important to do your homework on the firm’s services, strengths, and culture.Recruiter No. 5: Michael Gibney, project manager, PricewaterhouseCoopersThe Questions:Some of PwC’s competencies don’t require that a case question be asked, but it’s probably best to plan for one. Interviews are typically on e-on-one and are meant to test the business acumen of a candidate. Seeing candidates' insight into business problems and their approach to solving them (most questions are based on true-life client engagements) is the overall goal.Words of Wisdom:Gibney understands that many problems are too big to solve during the course of a half-hour interview, but wants to see a firm grasp of key issues. “The candidate must have an understanding of the overall situation and the overall problem, and then create an approach to solve it,” Gibney says. “For instance, if we’re talking about a client getting into the services business, I would expect to see some kind of framework around identifying what relevant services would be, and the different market and company factors involved. I want the candidate to relate directly what the core issues are.”Michael K. Norris is an expert in consulting and consultant recruitment光华人向上的精神issues. He can be reached at .。

(1) 什么是Case Interview?一般来说，Case Interview主要针对咨询公司面试而言。

也有一些公司如Dell二面会用一些小case来考察面试者的应变能力、考虑问题的全面性以及逻辑分析能力。

咨询公司的Case Interview可以分成两个部分，一开始先是Warm-up。

在这一部分，你可能需要自我介绍，然后大致回答一下面试官针对简历以及个人选择提出的一些问题。

接下来才是真正的Case Interview。

简而言之，Case Interview就是现场对一个商业问题进行分析的面试。

但是和大多数其他面试不同，这是一个互动的过程。

你的面试官会给你提出一个Business Issue，并且会让你给出分析和意见。

而你的任务是向面试官有逻辑的提出一些问题以使得你能够对这个Business Issue有更全面，更细致的了解，并且通过系统的分析最后给出建议。

一般而言，Case Interview是没有绝对正确的答案的。

面试官看重的不是答案，而是从面试过程当中你表现出来的分析能力和创造力。

对于大学毕业，没有工作经验的学生来说，大多数情况下Case不会很难，也不会需要你对那个行业有系统的了解。

Case Interview一般是一对一的，一轮会有两个Case Interview，由两个不同的面试官来负责，每个Interview持续45分钟，包括10-15分钟的warm-up以及一些Behavior questions，剩下的30分钟就是讨论Case。

10-15分钟的Warm-up一般用英文，Case可能是英文，也有可能是中文，不同的公司以及不同的面试官对语言是有不同的偏好的。

(2) 为什么使用Case Interview?由于咨询师在工作上的不少时间都是在和客户以及同事进行相互的沟通，同时咨询工作本身的特点要求咨询师必须具备一系列的特质才能够成功。

这些特质包括：在压力之下保持冷静，对问题能够很快的根据细节建立假设，并且运用很强的逻辑分析能力来解决问题等等。

咨询行业面试问题及答案解析一、引言在竞争激烈的咨询行业，面试是求职者获得理想岗位的关键一步。

为了帮助各位应聘者更好地准备面试，本文将针对咨询行业常见的面试问题进行解析，提供详细的答案分析和建议，以期帮助你在面试中脱颖而出。

二、自我介绍类问题1. 问题：请你简单介绍一下自己。

答案解析：在回答这个问题时，你需要明确自己的背景、教育经历和专业技能，并强调与咨询行业相关的经验和成就。

同时，你还可以提及自己的个性特点和解决问题的能力。

2. 问题：为什么你对咨询行业感兴趣？答案解析：这个问题旨在考察你对咨询行业的理解和动机。

你可以提及对解决问题、改善业务和管理等方面的兴趣，并强调自己热爱挑战和追求卓越的态度。

三、行业了解类问题1. 问题：你对我们公司的了解有多深？答案解析：在回答这个问题时，你需要通过对公司官网、行业报告和新闻等的调研，提出具体的公司信息，并结合自身的背景和兴趣，强调为什么你希望加入该公司。

2. 问题：你认为在咨询行业成功的关键是什么？答案解析：你可以从专业技能、团队合作、沟通能力和解决问题的能力等方面来回答这个问题。

重点强调主动学习和持续自我提升的态度，在面对挑战时保持冷静和灵活的思维。

四、案例分析类问题1. 问题：请描述一个你在过去解决的复杂问题，并阐述你的思维过程和解决方案。

答案解析：在回答这个问题时，你需要清晰地描述问题的背景、挑战和你所采取的解决方案。

可以结合STAR法则（Situation、Task、Action、Result）来突出问题的关键点和解决方案所带来的积极影响。

2. 问题：请分享一个与团队合作相关的成功经验。

答案解析：你可以选择一个项目或活动，具体描述你在团队中所承担的角色和贡献，强调你的领导能力、沟通能力和协调能力。

同时，也可以提及你通过与团队成员的积极互动和合作，获得了成功。

五、问题解决与沟通类问题1. 问题：在与客户沟通时，你遇到过怎样的困难，你是如何解决的？答案解析：你可以选择一个真实的案例，描述你在客户沟通中遇到的挑战，并强调你的积极沟通和问题解决能力。

The first four steps1. Summarize the Question2. Verify the Objectivesa) One objective is to raise profits. Are there any other objectives that I should know about?3. Asking clarifying questionsQuestions to ask to determine the case scenarioThe company Is it public or private? How big is it? Is it growing?The industry Where is the industry in its life cycle?Competition Internal: Who are the major players? What is our market share? External: substitutions, the economy, interest rates, unemployment rate, price-cutting by competitors, rising material costsThe product If it’s a new product, ask about both the advantages and the disadvantages. Is there a patent? Is it licensed?12 case scenariosStrategy scenarios1. Entering a new market2. Industry analysis3. Mergers and Acquisitions4. Developing a new product5. Pricing strategies6. Growth strategies7. Starting a new business8. Competitive responseOperations Scenarios9. Increasing sales10. Reducing costs11. Improving the bottom line12. Turnarounds4. Lay out your structure1. Summarize the Question2. Verify the Objectives, clarifyinga) Whyb) Objectivesc) Fit of overall strategy3. Lay out your structurea) State of current and future market●Size●Growth rate●Market life cycle: emerging/ mature/ decline●Customer segmentation●Role of technologyb) Market analysis●Major players, market share, strengths and weaknesses●Product differentiation●Price strategy●Available substitutions●Barriers to entry/ barriers to exit✓Capital requirements✓Access to distribution channels✓Proprietary technology✓Government policy/ regulations●Risks: market, regulation, technologyc) Entering●If yes, how?✓Start from scratch✓Acquisition cost benefit analysis of each✓Joint venture/strategic alliance●No1. Entering a New Market/ Market analysis●Major players, market share, strengths and weaknesses ●Product comparison✓Differentiation✓Price strategy✓Available substitutions●Barriers to entry/ barriers to exit2. Ok to enter? – Venture Capitalist point of view:•Management✓Evaluate the management team✓Their core competencies✓Experience working together✓Advisory board?•Market & Strategic Plans✓Barriers of entry✓Major players and market share✓Competitive response•Distribution Channels•Products✓Product and technology✓Competitive edge✓Weakness✓Technology proprietary•Customers✓Who✓How to reach them (internet?)✓How to retain them•Finance✓How is it funded?✓Best allocation of funds✓Can we support the debt?Developing a New ProductThe product●Special proprietary of the product●Financing?●Patented?●Substitutions?●Advantages and disadvantages●Place in product line●Cannibalizing existing products?●Replacing an existing product?Market strategy●Expanding customer base and increase sales?●Competitive response?●New market? Barriers to entry/exit●Major players and market shareCustomers●Who●How to reach●How to retainFinancing●Funding of project●Funds allocation●Interests rates and future economy influenceCompetitive ResponseCompetitive Analysis•Competitor’s new products•What’s changed?•Have they picked up market share?Response•Acquire the competitor•Merge with the competitor•Copy the competitor•Hire the competitor’s top managementIncrease our profile with a marketing and public campaignIndustry AnalysisCurrent market●Life cycle (emerging/ maturity/ decline)●Performance in the past 1, 2, 5, 10 years (growing or declining)●Company position within the market●Major players and market share●Industry changes (new players, technology, regulations)●Drivers (brand, size, technology)Suppliers●How many?●Product availability●What’s going on in their marketFuture●Are players entering or leaving the market?●Mergers and acquisitions●Barriers to entry and exitMergers and AcquisitionsObjectives, why buy?●Market access✓Boost brand✓Increase market share●Diversify holdings●Pre-empt competition●Taxes●Synergies✓Cost savings – reduction of fixed and variable costs✓Cultural integration✓Distribution channel expansionAcquisition costs●Fair price?●Can we afford it? How to pay for it?●Reintegration costs●What if the economy sours?Due diligence●What shape is the economy in?●How secure are markets and their customers?●Industry overall/technology risks●Competitive response●Legal issuesExit strategy●Hold for how long●Break it up and sell of its partsProduct Ananlysis●Special proprietary●Position in the industry life cycle●Market size●R&D costPricing strategies●Competitive analysis✓Competitors’ prices✓Competitors’ prices compared to ours✓Substitutions✓Consumer buying habits●Cost-based pricing✓Cost of goods sold – what does it cost to make?✓What’s our breakeven point?✓How much profit margin can we add?●Price-based costing✓What are customers willing to pay for the product?✓What's it worth to them compared to other things?✓Supply and demandGrowth StrategiesAnalyze the industry and price●Is the industry growing?●How are we growing relative to the industry●Are our prices in line with our competitors?●What have our competitors done in marketingand product development?●Which segments of our business have thehighest future potential?●Do we have funding to support higher growth?Growth Strategies●Increase distribution channels●Increase product line●Invest in Major marketing campaign ●Diversify products and services●Acquire competitorsMarket Analysis●Growth relative to market share●Changes in market share●Customer needs●Price in line with competitors?●Competitors move in marketing and product developmentWays to increase sales●Increase volume. (Get more buyers, increase distribution channels, intensify marketing.)●Increase amount of each sale. (Get each buyer to spend more)●Increase prices●Create seasonal balance.Reducing CostsBreakdown of costs●Internal costs✓Increased support systems✓Union wages (labor costs)✓Suppliers✓Materials✓Economies of scale (fixed and variable costs)●External costs✓Economy✓Interest rates✓Government regulations✓Transportation/ shipping strikesStep 2: If any cost seems out of line, investigate why.Step 3: Benchmark the competitors.Step 4: Determine whether there are any labor-saving technologies that would help reduce costs.Increasing Bottom Lines: ProfitsAnalyze the Revenues•What are the revenue streams?•What percentage of the total revenue does each stream represent?•Does anything seem unusual in the balance of percentages?•Have the percentages changed lately? If so, why?Examine Costs•ID major costs (variable and fixed costs)•Major shifts in costs? (e.g. labor or raw material costs)•Any out of line costs?•Benchmark costs against competitorsVolume•Expand into new areas•Increase sales force•Increase marketing•Reduce prices•Improve customer serviceTurnaroundsStrategy•Gather information✓Company✓Why is it failing? Products, management, economy?✓Industry✓Competitors facing the same problems?✓Do we have access to capital?✓Public or privately-held?•Review services, products, and finances•Secure sufficient financing•Review talent and temperament of all staff, get rid of the deadwood •Determine short-term and long term goals•Devise a business plan•Visit clients, suppliers, and distributors, and reassure them•Prioritize goals and get some small successes ASAP to build confidenceMichael Porter’s Five ForcesMcKinsey 7-S FrameworkVocabularyCustomer segmentationCustomer Segmentation is the subdivision of a market into discrete customer groups that share similar characteristics. Companies that identify underserved segments can then outperform the competition by developing uniquely appealing products and services. Customer Segmentation is most effective when a company tailors offerings to segments that are the most profitable and serves them with distinct competitive advantages. This prioritization can help companies develop marketing campaigns and pricing strategies to extract maximum value from both high- and low-profit customers. A company can use Customer Segmentation as the principal basis for allocating resources to product development, marketing, service and delivery programs.Customer Segmentation requires managers to:●Divide the market into meaningful and measurable segments according to customers' needs, their pastbehaviors or their demographic profiles●Determine the profit potential of each segment by analyzing the revenue and cost impacts of servingeach segment●Target segments according to their profit potential and the company's ability to serve them in aproprietary way●Invest resources to tailor product, service, marketing and distribution programs to match the needs ofeach target segment●Measure performance of each segment and adjust the segmentation approach over time as marketconditions change decision making throughout the organizationCompanies use Customer Segmentation to:●Prioritize new product development efforts●Develop customized marketing programs●Choose specific product features●Establish appropriate service options●Design an optimal distribution strategy●Determine appropriate product pricingIndustry lifecycleMarket entry barriersBarriers to entry into markets for firms include:•Advertising-Incumbent firms can seek to make it difficult for new competitors by spending heavily on advertising that new firms would find more difficult to afford. This is known as the market power theory of advertising.[5] Here, established firms' use of advertising creates a consumer perceived difference in its brand from other brands to a degree that consumers see its brand as a slightly different product.[5] Since the brand is seen as a slightly different product, products from existing or potential competitors cannot be perfectly substituted in place of the established firm's brand.[5] This makes it hard for new competitors to gain consumer acceptance.[5]•Capital - need the capital to start up such as equipment, building, and raw materials•Control of resources- If a single firm has control of a resource essential for a certain industry, then other firms are unable to compete in the industry.•Cost advantages independent of scale -Proprietary technology, know-how, favorable access to raw materials, favorable geographic locations, learning curve cost advantages.•Customer loyalty- Large incumbent firms may have existing customers loyal to established products. The presence of established strong brands within a market can be a barrier to entry in this case.•Distributor agreements - Exclusive agreements with key distributors or retailers can make it difficult for other manufacturers to enter the industry.•Economy of scale-The increase in efficiency of production as the number of goods being produced increases. Cost advantages can sometimes be quickly reversed by advances in technology. For example, the development of personal computers has allowed small companies to make use of database and communications technology which was once extremely expensive and only available to large corporations.•Government regulations - A rule of order having the force of law, prescribed by a superior or competent authority, relating to the actions of those under the authority's control. Requirements for licenses and permits may raise the investment needed to enter a market, creating an effective barrier to entry.•Inelastic demand- One strategy to penetrate a market is to sell at a lower price than the incumbents. This is ineffective with price-insensitive consumers.•Intellectual property- Potential entrant requires access to equally efficient production technology as the combatant monopolist in order to freely enter a market. Patents give a firm the legal right to stop other firms producing a product for a given period of time, and so restrict entry into a market. Patents are intended to encourage invention and technological progress by guaranteeing proceeds as an incentive.Similarly, trademarks and servicemarks may represent a kind of entry barrier for a particular product or service if the market is dominated by one or a few well-known names.•Investment- That is especially in industries with economies of scale and/or natural monopolies.•Network effect- When a good or service has a value that depends on the number of existing customers, then competing players may have difficulties in entering a market where an established company has already captured a significant user base.•Predatory pricing- The practice of a dominant firm selling at a loss to make competition more difficult for new firms that cannot suffer such losses, as a large dominant firm with large lines of credit or cash reserves can. It is illegal in most places; however, it is difficult to prove. See antitrust. In the context of international trade, such practices are often called dumping.•Restrictive practices, such as air transport agreements that make it difficult for new airlines to obtain landing slots at some airports.•Research and development-Some products, such as microprocessors, require a large upfront investment in technology which will deter potential entrants.•Supplier agreements - Exclusive agreements with key links in the supply chain can make it difficult for other manufacturers to enter an industry.•Sunk costs- Sunk costs cannot be recovered if a firm decides to leave a market. Sunk costs therefore increase the risk and deter entry.•Switching barriers- At times, it may be difficult or expensive for customers to switch providers•Tariffs- Taxes on imports prevent foreign firms from entering into domestic markets.•Vertical integration- A firm's coverage of more than one level of production, while pursuing practices which favor its own operations at each level, is often cited as an entry barrier as it requires competitors producing it at different steps to enter the market at once.Zoning-Government allows certain economic activity in specified land areas but excludes others, allowing monopoly over the land needed.Market exit barriersThe factors that may form a barrier to exit include:•High investment in non-transferable fixed assets. This is particularly common for manufacturing companies that invest heavily in capital equipment which is specific to one task.•High redundancy costs. If a company has a large number of employees, employees with high salaries, or contracts with employees which stipulate high redundancy payments, then the firm may face significant cost if it wishes to leave the market.•Other closure costs. Contract contingencies with suppliers or buyers and any penalty costs incurred from cutting short tenancy agreements.Potential upturn. Firms may be influenced by the potential of an upturn in their market that may reverse their current financial situation.●High barrier to entry and high exit barrier (for example, telecommunications, energy)●High barrier to entry and low exit barrier (for example, consulting, education)●Low barrier to entry and high exit barrier (for example, hotels, ironworks)●Low barrier to entry and low exit barrier (for example, retail, electronic commerce)●Markets with high entry barriers have few players and thus high profit margins.●Markets with low entry barriers have lots of players and thus low profit margins.●Markets with high exit barriers are unstable and not self-regulated, so the profit margins fluctuate verymuch over time.●Markets with a low exit barrier are stable and self-regulated, so the profit margins do not fluctuate muchover time.●The higher the barriers to entry and exit, the more prone a market tends to be a natural monopoly. Thereverse is also true. The lower the barriers, the more likely the market will become perfect competition.Cost-based pricingPrice-based costingEconomies of scale: In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to size, with cost per unit of output generally decreasing with increasing scale as fixed costs are spread out over more units of output. Often operational efficiency is also greater with increasing scale, leading to lower variable cost as well.。

一.Case Interview1．类型介绍(1) 什么是Case Interview?一般来说，Case Interview主要针对咨询公司面试而言。

也有一些公司如Dell二面会用一些小case来考察面试者的应变能力、考虑问题的全面性以及逻辑分析能力。

咨询公司的Case Interview可以分成两个部分，一开始先是Warm-up。

在这一部分，你可能需要自我介绍，然后大致回答一下面试官针对简历以及个人选择提出的一些问题。

接下来才是真正的Case Interview。

简而言之，Case Interview就是现场对一个商业问题进行分析的面试。

但是和大多数其他面试不同，这是一个互动的过程。

你的面试官会给你提出一个Business Issue，并且会让你给出分析和意见。

而你的任务是向面试官有逻辑的提出一些问题以使得你能够对这个Business Issue有更全面，更细致的了解，并且通过系统的分析最后给出建议。

一般而言，Case Interview是没有绝对正确的答案的。

面试官看重的不是答案，而是从面试过程当中你表现出来的分析能力和创造力。

对于大学毕业，没有工作经验的学生来说，大多数情况下Case不会很难，也不会需要你对那个行业有系统的了解。

Case Interview一般是一对一的，一轮会有两个Case Interview，由两个不同的面试官来负责，每个Interview持续45分钟，包括10-15分钟的warm-up以及一些Behavior questions，剩下的30分钟就是讨论Case。

10-15分钟的Warm-up一般用英文，Case可能是英文，也有可能是中文，不同的公司以及不同的面试官对语言是有不同的偏好的。

(2) 为什么使用Case Interview?由于咨询师在工作上的不少时间都是在和客户以及同事进行相互的沟通，同时咨询工作本身的特点要求咨询师必须具备一系列的特质才能够成功。

这些特质包括：在压力之下保持冷静，对问题能够很快的根据细节建立假设，并且运用很强的逻辑分析能力来解决问题等等。

C a s e I n t e r v i e w I n P o i n t-通往咨询公司必经之路Case Interview In Point—通往咨询的必经之路前序咨询行业属于出租头脑的行业，咨询顾问赚钱的方式就是针对客户给定的问题，综合大量不相关的数据资料，去粗取精，去伪存真，构思解决方案，当着公司高层的面，提出既合情合理又富有创意的设想。

其实这也是为什么咨询公司特别重视进行案例分析面试的原因，他们想借此机会来判断candidate的逻辑思维能力和说服能力，basically, 案例面试无异于扮演咨询顾问角色的一次练习。

想必各位对于去年teclast的那篇《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》还意犹未尽，那么我希望我这篇文章能让各位再次加深对于咨询以及case interview的理解，并有所突破。

记得我是从大三下开始认识和熟悉管理咨询行业的（比起现在的大一大二学生真是惭愧了），当年读了《麦肯锡方法》、《麦肯锡意识》后，对于咨询工作产生了强烈的兴趣和向往。

作为一个非经管专业的学生，我知道要踏入这一行，需要比别人付出更多，经历了两年多的历练、磨练、锤炼，终于修成正果。

要想进咨询公司，就必须过案例面试这一关；要过案例面试这一关，就必须知道如何进行准备和如何表现自己，必须知道面试官希望在你身上看到哪些素质，你也需要知道有哪些类型的案例问题，然后还要知道有一些怎样的思维框架，也就是我们俗称的framework。

所以仅以此文和有志于往咨询业发展的兄弟姐妹分享我的个人经验（有一些经验我在去年5月爱因斯特组织的牛人经验介绍会上已经share过了），此文和《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》不同的是，此文还是主要focus在case interview上，全文纯属个人意见，不足或遗漏之处望补正。

第一部分. 认识咨询，认识自我第一部分我觉得还是老规矩，先谈谈Why consulting? Why hires you? 这两个问题。

Case Interview In Point—通往咨询的必经之路(1) 前序咨询行业属于出租头脑的行业，咨询顾问赚钱的方式就是针对客户给定的问题，综合大量不相关的数据资料，去粗取精，去伪存真，构思解决方案，当着公司高层的面，提出既合情合理又富有创意的设想。

其实这也是为什么咨询公司特别重视进行案例分析面试的原因，他们想借此机会来判断candidate的逻辑思维能力和说服能力，basically, 案例面试无异于扮演咨询顾问角色的一次练习。

想必各位对于去年teclast的那篇《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》还意犹未尽，那么我希望我这篇文章能让各位再次加深对于咨询以及case interview的理解，并有所突破。

记得我是从大三下开始认识和熟悉管理咨询行业的（比起现在的大一大二学生真是惭愧了），当年读了《麦肯锡方法》、《麦肯锡意识》后，对于咨询工作产生了强烈的兴趣和向往。

作为一个非经管专业的学生，我知道要踏入这一行，需要比别人付出更多，经历了两年多的历练、磨练、锤炼，终于修成正果。

（要想进咨询公司，就必须过案例面试这一关；要过案例面试这一关，就必须知道如何进行准备和如何表现自己，必须知道面试官希望在你身上看到哪些素质，你也需要知道有哪些类型的案例问题，然后还要知道有一些怎样的思维框架，也就是我们俗称的framework。

）所以仅以此文和有志于往咨询业发展的兄弟姐妹分享我的个人经验（有一些经验我在去年5月爱因斯特组织的经验介绍会上已经share过了），此文和《Looking Beyond the Case Interview》不同的是，此文还是主要focus在case interview上，全文纯属个人意见，不足或遗漏之处望补正。

第一部分. 认识咨询，认识自我第一部分我觉得还是老规矩，先谈谈Why consulting? Why hires you? 这两个问题。

fb€AIDEA TOGAEAimEA殍跛/Z^IDEA/〃四工略a IDEA|L€Ayfefi^lDEA[AlWa)EAIDEA也noAmen Df A InMMfflL《Case in point》中文&c o nc e r n s=1.前言 (4)2.序言 (5)3.g (7)+介绍 (7)+关于“你”的问题 (7)+为什么选择咨询？ (9)+可能会问到的一些数学问题： (9)+案例问题 (9)+你的问题 (9)+最后的重中之重：我为什么要聘用你？ (10)4.案例问题 (11)+案例问题的考察目的 (11)+对案例问题要做的准备工作 (11)+案列准则： (12)+案例问题的类型 (13)+书面的案例问题和测试： (20)慎用术语和行话 (21)巧妙地问一些开放式的问题 (22)思路卡壳怎么办 (22)5.艾威案例系统 (22)最好的案例反思 (22)四个先行步骤 (23)十二个案例场景 (24)艾威案例系统一览 (32)6.WM工期结构框架 (35)5C和4P (35)5C (36)4P (36)波士顿矩阵 (36)+迈克尔.波特的五力分析模型/行业结构分析 (38)+价值链 (39)+7S架构 (39)+损益表 (39)+需要牢记的假设情景 (40)+商务案例建议 (41)+亚里士多德的框架蜘 (42)7.案例实践 (42)+生发良药 (42)+平价经纪商的竞争 (46)+世界航天公司 (48)+北美航空 (50)+红色火箭体育用品公司 (53)+牛仔兄弟的高品质冰激凌 (55)+击球员就位 (57)+日本电子产品制造商 (59)+东方培训网络公司 (61)+爆米花城市 (62)+钢铁侠 (64)+铲雪工作 (66)+牙买加电池企业 (67)+百威案例 (70)+百事公司 (72)+燃油效率 (73)+B ull M oose金融服务公司 (74)+纽约歌剧院 (76)+披萨屋 (78)+德克萨斯明星市场 (82)+巴西碳酸饮料生产商 (84)+了解尿布 (86)+萨凡纳•简的洗衣店 (87)+YELLOTSTUFF化学制品公司 (88)+WIVY调频电台 (89)+毁灭之路 (91)+高速铁路 (92)+酒水的螺旋盖 (93)+星巴克 (94)+天然气公司 (95)+公用电话 (96)+电子零售商 (97)+不附带答案的案例问题 (99)8.室友蹒导 (100)9.最后的分析 (101)10.专业术语 (101)1.前言时至今日.咨询圈中人团队再有一个月的时间就成立一年了.这快一年的时间里.C1A的小伙伴们一起为圈中人不计回报地付出着。