咨询公司的case interview题库

第1篇一、背景介绍近年来，随着我国经济的快速发展，城市化进程不断加快，城市人口规模不断扩大，汽车保有量也逐年增加。

某城市作为我国重要的经济中心，交通拥堵问题日益严重，严重影响了市民的出行效率和城市的整体形象。

为了解决这一问题，某市政府决定开展一项交通拥堵治理方案，现面向社会各界征集优秀方案。

二、案例描述1. 某城市概况某城市位于我国东部沿海地区，总面积为X平方公里，常住人口为Y万人。

近年来，随着经济的快速发展，城市人口逐年增加，汽车保有量也呈现出快速增长的趋势。

目前，某城市道路总里程为Z公里，其中快速路里程为A公里，主干道里程为B公里，次干道里程为C公里。

2. 交通拥堵现状（1）高峰时段交通拥堵严重。

在工作日早高峰和晚高峰时段，市区主要道路交通拥堵现象尤为明显，车辆行驶速度缓慢，严重影响了市民的出行效率。

（2）交通秩序混乱。

部分路段存在车辆乱停乱放、行人随意穿行等现象，导致交通拥堵加剧。

（3）公共交通发展滞后。

公共交通设施不完善，市民出行主要依赖私家车，加剧了交通拥堵。

三、问题分析1. 原因分析（1）道路资源不足。

某城市道路资源有限，难以满足日益增长的交通需求。

（2）交通规划不合理。

部分路段道路规划不合理，导致交通流量分布不均。

（3）交通管理不到位。

交通信号灯设置不合理，交通秩序混乱。

（4）公共交通发展滞后。

公共交通设施不完善，市民出行主要依赖私家车。

2. 影响分析（1）影响市民出行效率。

交通拥堵导致市民出行时间增加，影响工作和生活。

（2）影响城市形象。

交通拥堵严重，城市形象受损。

（3）影响经济发展。

交通拥堵阻碍了城市经济发展，降低了企业运营效率。

四、解决方案1. 优化道路资源（1）增加道路里程。

在现有道路资源的基础上，合理规划新建道路，缓解交通压力。

（2）拓宽现有道路。

对部分拥堵严重的路段进行拓宽改造，提高道路通行能力。

2. 合理规划交通（1）优化道路规划。

根据交通流量分布，合理规划道路建设，确保交通流量均衡。

【留学生找工作】咨询面试官示范caseinterview完美答案，还是自古套路得人心啊“在美国，每个人在工作岗位上就像是一个零件一样，每天很多时候都是在做重复的工作，而Consulting的不同之处就在于每天都在做不同的事情，因为每一个公司有自己不同的问题，即使是相同行业的公司做的东西也不一致，这也是咨询行业吸引人的地方。

”除了行业光环之外，过去一年，许多顶尖咨询公司的收入平均增长了7-13%！！！想分分钟进Consulting拿高薪，做高管，当都市丽人，你必须要闯过的就是CaseInterview这一关。

但还是有无数向往咨询公司的小伙伴前赴后继地“牺牲”在CaseInterview的战场上。

“我已经花一个周末整整四十八小时的时间修改我的简历了！为什么还不够好？”“我已经花一个月的时间每天申请实习了，为什么一点成效都没有？”“我已经在接到面试通知时立马开始准备，练习了一个礼拜，为什么还不够？”三个字：练少了！为什么同样的学校背景，别人能拿到更好的Offer？因为他们准备求职的时间不是几天、几个礼拜、而是“几年”。

一般拿到ConsultingOffer的人至少练了50个case。

甚至有70个的，有上百个的。

杀猪杀屁股，各有各的杀法。

但大量的练习绝对是必不可少的。

做前两个case的时候会紧张，后来就慢慢好了，做了大约30个，解决case找到答案已经不是问题。

三大经典Case思路解析CaseInterview怎样练习？各个Case案例有什么特点和思路？MarketSizingGuesstimates，这种问题也常被称作MarketSizing，即需要在没有什么细节提供给你的情况下估计一个市场的大小，你不需要得出一个正确答案，这里主要考察你如何把一个大问题分解成小问题来回答。

在这种问题中你需要有一些常识（比如纽约人口840.6万等）。

典型问题∙五年后加拿大无人机的市场有多大？∙纽约地铁一天的客运量？∙波士顿有多少棵树？∙美国每年消耗多少只啤酒瓶？...这些都是典型的关于MarketSizing的问题解题思路1.从供给角度还是需求角度切入市场由供给端与需求端构成，所以一般MarketSizing问题从这两端分析都有相应的思路，但是有些市场的供求明显不平衡，某一方会受到限制，比如问一个机场一天高峰时期客流量有多少，这个问题从供给端来思考就会更加合理2.从目标问题开始，将其分解成组成部分咨询很核心的一个思维就是把一个大问题breakdown成很多小问题，从而发现问题，各个击破。

MBB Cass Interview高频考题一、常考的五大类Market Sizing 市场规模估算Market Entry 市场准入研究Profitability 盈利能力分析Merger & Acquisition 兼并与收购问题Pricing & Valuation 定价与估值问题二、高频考题1. Market Sizing 市场规模估算n How many cups of coffee will the Starbucks downstairs sell each day? n How many smoke detectors are there in Chicago?n How many gas stations are there in New York?n Estimate the number of planes flying over the UK at a given time？ n How many ATMs are there in the country?n What is the market size of online courses in the U.S. today?2. Market Entry 市场准入研究n How would you assess whether or not international expansion of XX company is a good idea?n If so, which country or countries offer the greatest three-yearrevenue opportunity?n Whether or not they should enter U.S. market?n What key challenges they might face upon entry?n What approach would you recommend to your client regarding entering the U.S- market?n If XXX, should they proceed or pass?3. Profitability 盈利能力分析n How would you approach figuring out the bottom line of increasing one passenger per aircraft in XX airlines1 domestic flights?n What corrective actions can be taken to improve XX' s profitability? n Recently, XX Club' s profits in the U.S. are going down. What is going on?n What can they do to restore profitability?n Determine if your client should buy those new products, if so, how many should he buy?4. Merger & Acquisition 兼并与收购问题n Should A acquire or merge with B?n Why do they want to acquire this company?n What type of acquirer you are dealing with? What are they looking for?n What factors should they consider?n Is the work culture and values of target companies compatible with theirs?n Is the new acquisition in line with their growth strategy?5. Pricing & Valuation 定价与估值问题n How much would you pay for a 10-Minute NYC-London trip?n Advise your client XXX on how much should they bid on the contract. n What should your client take into account when bidding?n What are the alternatives or substitute products?n Are the supply and demand foreseeable?。

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。

第1篇一、背景随着互联网、大数据、人工智能等新技术的快速发展，企业数字化转型已成为必然趋势。

某大型企业为了提高市场竞争力，降低成本，提升效率，决定启动数字化转型项目。

项目涉及企业内部业务流程、组织架构、信息技术等多个方面，旨在实现业务流程的优化、组织架构的调整以及信息技术的升级。

二、面试题目1. 针对该企业的数字化转型项目，请从以下四个方面进行分析：（1）业务流程：分析现有业务流程中存在的问题，提出优化方案。

（2）组织架构：分析现有组织架构的不足，提出调整建议。

（3）信息技术：分析现有信息技术的局限性，提出升级方案。

（4）风险管理：分析数字化转型过程中可能面临的风险，提出应对措施。

2. 针对上述分析，请提出以下问题的解决方案：（1）如何确保数字化转型项目顺利实施？（2）如何评估数字化转型项目的成效？（3）如何确保项目团队的高效协作？（4）如何降低数字化转型项目的成本？3. 请根据以下情景，设计一套针对该企业的数字化转型培训计划：情景：企业内部员工对数字化转型缺乏认识，对新技术应用存在抵触情绪。

培训计划应包括以下内容：（1）培训目标：使员工了解数字化转型的重要性，掌握新技术应用的基本技能。

（2）培训对象：企业全体员工，特别是业务流程、组织架构、信息技术等方面的相关人员。

（3）培训内容：数字化转型背景、重要性、实施策略、新技术应用、案例分析等。

（4）培训方式：线上线下相结合，包括讲座、研讨会、实操演练等。

（5）培训时间：分阶段进行，确保员工有足够的时间学习和实践。

4. 针对该企业的数字化转型项目，请从以下角度提出创新性建议：（1）业务模式创新：结合新技术，探索新的业务模式。

（2）管理创新：优化管理模式，提高管理效率。

（3）组织创新：调整组织架构，提升组织灵活性。

（4）技术创新：引进新技术，提升企业核心竞争力。

三、面试要求1. 分析问题：要求考生具备敏锐的洞察力，能够从多个角度分析问题，找出问题的本质。

国际知名咨询公司招聘面试案例分析样题和答案英文TPMK standardization office【 TPMK5AB- TPMK08- TPMK2C- TPMK18】McKiney On line case studyTo step through this case example, we will give you some information,ask a question, and then, when you are ready, give you a sample answer. We hope that the exercise will give you a sense of the flow of a case interview. (Please note, you can stop this exercise and pick up where you left off later. Your cookies must be on to use this feature).In this exercise, you will answer a series of questions as the case unfolds. We provide our recommended answers after each question, with which you can compare your own answers. We want to emphasize that most questions in a case study do not have a single right answer. In a live case interview, we are more interested in your explanation of how you arrived at your answer, not just the answer itself. An interviewer can always assess different but equally valid ways of approaching an issue, and then bring you back to the particular line of inquirythat he or she wants to pursue.You should also keep in mind that in a live case, there will be far more interaction with the interviewer than this exercise allows. For example, you will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.Finally, a live case interview would typically be completed in 30 - 45 minutes, depending on how the case evolves. In this on-line exercise, there is no time limit.There are eight questions in this on-line case study. This case study is designedto roughly simulate one during your interview, so you will not be able to skip ahead to the next question until you have answered the one you are on. You can refresh your memory of previous answers by clicking the highlighted Q&A links to the left. To print the answer, click on the print icon that appears in the TOP RIGHT corner. At the end, you can print the entire on-line case study at once.The caseQuestion 1Client Goal: Double the number of recruits while maintaining their quality with minimal increase in resources expendedOur client recruits graduating college seniors for entry-level positions in locations around the world. It currently hires and places 500 graduates per year but would like to triple in size over the next ten years while maintaining quality. Assumethat the increase must all come from hiring graduating seniors. (In an actual case, you may not be given this and other assumptions unless you ask.)The client's current recruiting budget is $2 million annually, and while it is in a strong financial position, it would like to spend as few additional resources as possible on recruiting. McKinsey is advising the client on what steps it will need to take in order to meet its growth targets, while staying within its budget constraints.Q1: What levers does the organization have at its disposal to achieve its growth goal?A: Some possible levers are given below. It's terrific if you identified several of these and perhaps some others.•Attract more applicants at the same cost•Review the list of campuses targeted (e.g., optimize resourceallocation across schools). The review may result in adding certainhigher potential campuses and eliminating other ones that appearto have more limited potential.•Review recruiting approach at each campus (e.g., optimize cost-effectiveness of messages and approaches at each school).Extend offers to a higher percentage of applicants while maintaining quality (e.g., reduce the number of people who are turned down who would have performed equally well in the job)Improve acceptance rates among offerees (e.g., better communicate the benefits of the job relative to alternatives or improve the attractiveness of the job relative to alternatives)Question 2For the remainder of the discussion we'd like to focus on the two specific levers involving attracting more applicants at the same cost.•Review the list of campuses targeted (e.g., optimize resource allocation across schools). The review may result in adding certain higher potentialcampuses and eliminating other ones that appear to have more limitedpotential.•Review recruiting approach at each campus (e.g., optimize cost-effectiveness of messages and approaches at each school).Please note that if you identified different but equally valid levers, the interviewer would be able to assess them. But for the purpose of this case study, we are going to focus on these two levers.Q2: How would you initially approach determining whether the client can increase hiring by adjusting the list of campuses targeted What sort of analysis would you want to conduct and whyA: You might take the following approach, where we've outlined two avenues of analysis:•Estimate the hiring potential across schools•Analyze the number of hires by school over the last several years•Develop a comprehensive list of schools that meet ourrequirements and a minimum set of standards for recruits•Survey seniors at these schools to determine interest in an entry-level position with the client•Consider the size of the graduating class at each school, determine how that class might be segmented (e.g., each class could besegmented by discipline or segmented based on career interests inresponse to the survey), then calculate the size of each segment •Estimate the optimal cost-per-hire across schools•Compare the current cost-per hire across schools•Identify opportunities to decrease the cost-per-hire at each school Helpful TipYou may have a slightly different list. Whatever your approach, we love to see candidates come at a problem in more than one way, but still address the issue as directly and practically as possible. In giving the answer, it's useful if you are clear about how the results of the analysis would help to answer the original question posed.Question 3Twenty-five percent of the annual recruiting budget is spent on candidates (i.e., attracting, assessing, and getting them to accept). Twenty percent of hires are categorized as "most expensive" and have an average cost-per-hire of $2,000.Q3: What is the average cost-per-hire of all other candidates Remember that the client hires 500 students per year and its annual recruiting budget is $2 million (information that we hope you noted earlier).A: The answer is $750 per hire (or less than half the cost-per-hire of the "most expensive" candidates).Amount spent on the less expensive candidates:25% of $2 million budget = $500,000 spent on candidates20% of 500 student = 100 students categorized as "most expensive"100 x $2,000 cost-per-hire = $200,000 spent on "most expensive" hires$500,000 recruiting budget - $200,000 = $300,000 remaining for all other hires The number of less expensive candidates:500 hires - 100 = 400 "other hires"Cost-per-hire of the less expensive candidates:$300,000/400 =$750 per hireHelpful TipWhile you may find that doing a straightforward math problem in the context of an interview is a bit tougher, you can see that it is just a matter of breaking the problem down. We are looking for both your ability to set the analysis up properly and then to do the math in real time.Question4Q: In order to decide whether to reduce costs at the least efficient schools (i.e., those with an average cost per hire of $2,000), what else would you want to know?A: Some of the possible answers are given below.Basic questions:•What are the components of costs at these schools (why is it so expensive to recruit there)•What opportunities exist to reduce costs•How much cost savings would result from implementing each of the opportunities•What consequences would implementing each of these opportunities have on recruiting at the least efficient schoolsQuestions demonstrating further insight:•Why is the cost lower at more efficient schools, and are there best practices in resource management that can be applied to the least efficient schools•If we reduce costs at the least efficient schools, what will we do with the cost savings (i.e., what would be the benefit of spending the moneyelsewhere vs. where it is currently being spent)Helpful TipWe would not expect anyone to come up with all of these answers, but we hope some of your answers head in the same direction as ours. Yours may bring some additional insights. In either case, be sure that you can clearly explain how your question will bring you closer to the right decision.Question 5The McKinsey team conducts some analysis that indicates that increasing spending on blanket advertising (e.g., advertisements/flyers on campus) does not yield any significant increase in hires.Q5: Given that increased blanket advertising spending seems to be relatively ineffective, and the client doesn't want to increase overall costs, what might be some other ideas for increasing the candidate pool on a specific campus?A: We are looking for at least a couple of answers like the ones given below:•Improve/enhance recruiting messages (e.g., understand target candidate group, refocus message on this group, understand competitive dynamic on campus)•Utilize referrals (e.g., faculty, alumni)•Come up with creative ways to target specific departments/clubs of the school•Rethink advertising spending - while increasing blanket ad spending doesn't seem to work, advertising might still be the most efficient andeffective way to increase the number of candidates if it is deployed in amore systematic, targeted wayHelpful TipThis question is a good one for demonstrating creativity because there's a long list of possible ideas. Additional insights into how a given idea would be approached and how much it would cost are helpful.Question 6For simplicity's sake, let's say we've conducted market research and found that there are two types of people on each campus, A and B. Historically, our client has also used two types of recruiting messages in its advertising. The first, called "See the World," gets one percent of type A students to apply, but three percent of type B students. The second, called "Pathway to Leadership," gets five percent of Type A students to apply, but only two percent of type B students.The chart below lists the breakdown of types A and B students at some of our major campuses, and the message our client is using on campus.Q6: Assuming there's no difference between the costs of each message, what can you tell me from this information?A: According to these numbers, the client should use the "Pathway to Leadership" message across all four universities. The "See the World" message is preferable only if more than 80% of the students at a given university are of type B.Helpful TipAn even more insightful response would mention that the ultimate answer depends on the cost of each message, whether the cost increases depending on the number of students at the campus, and how interested we are in students ofType A vs. Type B (e.g., will one type be more likely than the other to get an offer and to be successful on the job). One could imagine using both messages on some campuses if the additional cost were justified by the resulting increase in hires.Question7University 4 graduates 1,000 seniors each year.Q7: How many new candidates might be generated by changing the recruiting message at University 4 to Pathway to Leadership?A: The answer is 20 candidates (i.e., an increase of over 100%).Number of each type of student at University 4:1,000 seniors x 60% = 600 Type A students1,000 seniors x 40% = 400 Type B studentsCandidates attracted be See the World message:(1% x 600) + (3% x 400) = 18 candidatesCandidates attracted by Pathway to Leadership message:(5% x 600) + (2% x 400) = 38 candidatesIncrease in candidates resulting from change in message:38 - 18 = 20 more candidates (an increase of over 100%)Question8Q8: What sort of next steps should we tell our client we'd like to take based on what we have discussed today?A: The ability to come to a logical, defensible synthesis based on the information available at any point in an engagement is critical to the work we do. Even though we'd consider ourselves to be very early in the overall project at this point in the case, we do want to be able to share our current perspective. The ideal answer would include the following points:FINDINGS•There appears to be an opportunity to significantly increase total applicants of the same quality that we are getting today at the same orreduced cost:•Increasing blanket advertising is ineffective and costly, butchanging the advertising message on some campuses couldincrease applicants significantly without increasing costs. At one ofthe campuses we've looked at, University 4, the number ofapplicants would go up more than 100 percent•The cost-per-hire varies dramatically from school to school. This suggests that there may be opportunities to reduce costs in certainplaces or reallocate resources more efficientlyNEXT STEPSWe plan to explore further ideas for increasing quality applications by changing the mix of schools, beginning with a more detailed review of the opportunities to reduce costs at certain schoolsAfter looking at levers to increase total applicants, we will be analyzing opportunities to improve the offer rate (i.e., ensure we're not turning down quality applicants) and to increase the acceptance rateWe will examine additional methods for attracting more applications from our current campuses (e.g., referrals, clubs) in addition to assessing the impact of improved messaging on campus。

(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。

McKiney On line case studyTo step through this case example, we will give you some information, ask a question, and then, when you are ready, give you a sample answer. We hope that the exercise will give you a sense of the flow of a case interview. (Please note, you can stop this exercise and pick up where you left off later. Your cookies must be on to use this feature).In this exercise, you will answer a series of questions as the case unfolds. We provide our recommended answers after each question, with which you can compare your own answers. We want to emphasize that most questions in a case study do not have a single right answer. In a live case interview, we are more interested in your explanation of how you arrived at your answer, not just the answer itself. An interviewer can always assess different but equally valid ways of approaching an issue, and then bring you back to the particular line of inquiry that he or she wants to pursue.You should also keep in mind that in a live case, there will be far more interaction with the interviewer than this exercise allows. For example, you will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.Finally, a live case interview would typically be completed in 30 - 45 minutes, depending on how the case evolves. In this on-line exercise, there is no time limit.There are eight questions in this on-line case study. This case study is designed to roughly simulate one during your interview, so you will not be able to skip ahead to the next question until you have answered the one you are on. You can refresh your memory of previous answers by clicking the highlighted Q&A links to the left. To print the answer, click on the print icon that appears in the TOP RIGHT corner. At the end, you can print the entire on-line case study at once.The caseQuestion 1Client Goal: Double the number of recruits while maintaining their quality with minimal increase in resources expendedOur client recruits graduating college seniors for entry-level positions in locations around the world. It currently hires and places 500 graduates per year but would like to triple in size over the next ten years while maintaining quality. Assume that the increase must all come from hiring graduating seniors. (In an actual case, you may not be given this and other assumptions unless you ask.)The client's current recruiting budget is $2 million annually, and while it is in a strong financial position, it would like to spend as few additional resources as possible on recruiting. McKinsey is advising the client on what steps it will need to take in order to meet its growth targets, while staying within its budget constraints.Q1: What levers does the organization have at its disposal to achieve its growth goal?A: Some possible levers are given below. It's terrific if you identified several of these and perhaps some others.•Attract more applicants at the same cost•Review the list of campuses targeted ., optimize resource allocation across schools). The review may result in adding certain higher potential campusesand eliminating other ones that appear to have more limited potential.•Review recruiting approach at each campus ., optimize cost-effectiveness of messages and approaches at each school).Extend offers to a higher percentage of applicants while maintaining quality ., reduce the number of people who are turned down who would have performed equally well in the job)Improve acceptance rates among offerees ., better communicate the benefits of the job relative to alternatives or improve the attractiveness of the job relative to alternatives)Question 2For the remainder of the discussion we'd like to focus on the two specific levers involving attracting more applicants at the same cost.•Review the list of campuses targeted ., optimize resource allocation across schools).The review may result in adding certain higher potential campuses and eliminating other ones that appear to have more limited potential.•Review recruiting approach at each campus ., optimize cost-effectiveness of messages and approaches at each school).Please note that if you identified different but equally valid levers, the interviewer would be able to assess them. But for the purpose of this case study, we are going to focus on these two levers.Q2: How would you initially approach determining whether the client can increase hiring by adjusting the list of campuses targeted? What sort of analysis would you want to conduct and why?A: You might take the following approach, where we've outlined two avenues of analysis:•Estimate the hiring potential across schools•Analyze the number of hires by school over the last several years•Develop a comprehensive list of schools that meet our requirements and a minimum set of standards for recruits•Survey seniors at these schools to determine interest in an entry-level position with the client•Consider the size of the graduating class at each school, determine how that class might be segmented ., each class could be segmented by discipline orsegmented based on career interests in response to the survey), thencalculate the size of each segment•Estimate the optimal cost-per-hire across schools•Compare the current cost-per hire across schools•Identify opportunities to decrease the cost-per-hire at each schoolHelpful TipYou may have a slightly different list. Whatever your approach, we love to see candidates come at a problem in more than one way, but still address the issue as directly and practically as possible. In giving the answer, it's useful if you are clear about how the results of the analysis would help to answer the original question posed.Question 3Twenty-five percent of the annual recruiting budget is spent on candidates ., attracting, assessing, and getting them to accept). Twenty percent of hires are categorized as "most expensive" and have an average cost-per-hire of $2,000.Q3: What is the average cost-per-hire of all other candidates? Remember that the client hires 500 students per year and its annual recruiting budget is $2 million (information that we hope you noted earlier).A: The answer is $750 per hire (or less than half the cost-per-hire of the "most expensive" candidates).Amount spent on the less expensive candidates:25% of $2 million budget = $500,000 spent on candidates20% of 500 student = 100 students categorized as "most expensive"100 x $2,000 cost-per-hire = $200,000 spent on "most expensive" hires$500,000 recruiting budget - $200,000 = $300,000 remaining for all other hiresThe number of less expensive candidates:500 hires - 100 = 400 "other hires"Cost-per-hire of the less expensive candidates:$300,000/400 =$750 per hireHelpful TipWhile you may find that doing a straightforward math problem in the context of an interview is a bit tougher, you can see that it is just a matter of breaking the problem down. We are looking for both your ability to set the analysis up properly and then to do the math in real time.Question4Q: In order to decide whether to reduce costs at the least efficient schools ., those with an average cost per hire of $2,000), what else would you want to know?A: Some of the possible answers are given below.Basic questions:•What are the components of costs at these schools (why is it so expensive to recruit there)?•What opportunities exist to reduce costs?•How much cost savings would result from implementing each of the opportunities?•What consequences would implementing each of these opportunities have on recruiting at the least efficient schools?Questions demonstrating further insight:•Why is the cost lower at more efficient schools, and are there best practices in resource management that can be applied to the least efficient schools?•If we reduce costs at the least efficient schools, what will we do with the cost savings ., what would be the benefit of spending the money elsewhere vs. where it is currently being spent)?Helpful TipWe would not expect anyone to come up with all of these answers, but we hope some of your answers head in the same direction as ours. Yours may bring some additional insights. In either case, be sure that you can clearly explain how your question will bring you closer to the right decision.Question 5The McKinsey team conducts some analysis that indicates that increasing spending on blanket advertising ., advertisements/flyers on campus) does not yield any significant increase in hires.Q5: Given that increased blanket advertising spending seems to be relatively ineffective, and the client doesn't want to increase overall costs, what might be some other ideas for increasing the candidate pool on a specific campus?A: We are looking for at least a couple of answers like the ones given below:•Improve/enhance recruiting messages ., understand target candidate group, refocus message on this group, understand competitive dynamic on campus)•Utilize referrals ., faculty, alumni)•Come up with creative ways to target specific departments/clubs of the school•Rethink advertising spending - while increasing blanket ad spending doesn't seem to work, advertising might still be the most efficient and effective way to increase the number of candidates if it is deployed in a more systematic, targeted wayHelpful TipThis question is a good one for demonstrating creativity because there's a long list of possible ideas. Additional insights into how a given idea would be approached and how much it would cost are helpful.Question 6For simplicity's sake, let's say we've conducted market research and found that there are two types of people on each campus, A and B. Historically, our client has also used two types of recruiting messages in its advertising. The first, called "See the World," gets one percent of type A students to apply, but three percent of type B students. The second, called "Pathway to Leadership," gets five percent of Type A students to apply, but only two percent of type B students.The chart below lists the breakdown of types A and B students at some of our major campuses, and the message our client is using on campus.Q6: Assuming there's no difference between the costs of each message, what can you tell me from this information?A: According to these numbers, the client should use the "Pathway to Leadership" message across all four universities. The "See the World" message is preferable only if more than 80% of the students at a given university are of type B.Helpful TipAn even more insightful response would mention that the ultimate answer depends on the cost of each message, whether the cost increases depending on the number of students at the campus, and how interested we are in students of Type A vs. Type B ., will one type be more likely than the other to get an offer and to be successful on the job). One could imagine using both messages on some campuses if the additional cost were justified by the resulting increase in hires.Question7University 4 graduates 1,000 seniors each year.Q7: How many new candidates might be generated by changing the recruiting message at University 4 to Pathway to Leadership?A: The answer is 20 candidates ., an increase of over 100%).Number of each type of student at University 4:1,000 seniors x 60% = 600 Type A students1,000 seniors x 40% = 400 Type B studentsCandidates attracted be See the World message:(1% x 600) + (3% x 400) = 18 candidatesCandidates attracted by Pathway to Leadership message:(5% x 600) + (2% x 400) = 38 candidatesIncrease in candidates resulting from change in message:38 - 18 = 20 more candidates (an increase of over 100%)Question8Q8: What sort of next steps should we tell our client we'd like to take based on what we have discussed today?A: The ability to come to a logical, defensible synthesis based on the information available at any point in an engagement is critical to the work we do. Even though we'd considerourselves to be very early in the overall project at this point in the case, we do want to be able to share our current perspective. The ideal answer would include the following points:FINDINGS•There appears to be an opportunity to significantly increase total applicants of the same quality that we are getting today at the same or reduced cost:•Increasing blanket advertising is ineffective and costly, but changing the advertising message on some campuses could increase applicantssignificantly without increasing costs. At one of the campuses we've lookedat, University 4, the number of applicants would go up more than 100percent•The cost-per-hire varies dramatically from school to school. This suggests that there may be opportunities to reduce costs in certain places orreallocate resources more efficientlyNEXT STEPSWe plan to explore further ideas for increasing quality applications by changing the mix of schools, beginning with a more detailed review of the opportunities to reduce costs at certain schoolsAfter looking at levers to increase total applicants, we will be analyzing opportunities to improve the offer rate ., ensure we're not turning down quality applicants) and to increase the acceptance rateWe will examine additional methods for attracting more applications from our current campuses ., referrals, clubs) in addition to assessing the impact of improved messaging on campus。

第1篇一、案例分析题题目1：某知名电商企业近年来销售额持续增长，但客户满意度有所下降。

请结合以下信息，分析问题并提出解决方案。

背景信息：1. 企业近年来加大了市场投入，广告宣传力度加大。

2. 企业产品线丰富，涵盖服装、家居、食品等多个领域。

3. 企业在物流配送、售后服务等方面表现良好。

4. 客户满意度调查结果显示，客户对产品价格、品质、售后服务等方面满意度较高，但对购物体验、页面设计等方面满意度较低。

问题：1. 分析客户满意度下降的原因。

2. 针对问题，提出提升客户满意度的解决方案。

解析：1. 客户满意度下降的原因可能包括：a. 购物体验不佳，页面设计不够人性化，导致用户操作不便。

b. 市场竞争激烈，同类产品众多，用户选择余地较大。

c. 广告宣传过于集中，可能导致用户产生审美疲劳。

2. 提升客户满意度的解决方案：a. 优化页面设计，提高用户体验，如简化操作流程、优化产品展示等。

b. 加强与用户的互动，关注用户需求，提供个性化推荐。

c. 持续优化产品，提高产品质量，满足用户需求。

d. 调整广告宣传策略，避免过度宣传，注重品牌形象塑造。

题目2：某企业计划推出一款新产品，但市场调研结果显示，消费者对该产品的认知度较低。

请结合以下信息，分析问题并提出解决方案。

背景信息：1. 新产品属于高端市场，目标消费群体为年轻一代。

2. 企业在同类产品市场占有率较高，品牌知名度较高。

3. 新产品具有独特的设计和功能，但消费者对其认知度较低。

问题：1. 分析新产品认知度低的原因。

2. 针对问题，提出提升新产品认知度的解决方案。

解析：1. 新产品认知度低的原因可能包括：a. 产品宣传力度不足，未能有效触达目标消费群体。

b. 新产品与现有产品差异不大，未能引起消费者关注。

c. 消费者对新产品功能了解不足，难以产生购买欲望。

2. 提升新产品认知度的解决方案：a. 加强产品宣传，利用线上线下渠道，提高产品曝光度。

b. 突出产品特色，与现有产品形成差异化，吸引消费者关注。

F i r m:.K e a r n e y Case Number:Case setup facts offered by interviewer:Your client is a . based manufacturer of branded cookies cookies that carry the name of the manufacturerRecently private label cookies those carrying the name of the retailer have emerged and threatened branded cookiesPrivate label cookies emerged five years agoTwo and one-half years ago they made up 10% of the overall cookie market brand being the other 90%Today they make up approximately 20% of the overall cookie market ., there has been a steady, linear increase of private label portion of the overall cookie market during the past five yearsThe overall cookie market has been relatively flat over the past five yearsPrivate label cookies are made by the same manufacturers who make branded cookies, they are just sold under the name of the retailer There are essentially three major competitors to consider:Your client, who makes only branded cookiesA second major player, that makes both branded cookies andsupplies cookies for private labelersA collection of small outfits, that make both branded cookies andsupply private labelersDistribution occurs primarily through one of two types of outlets:Grocery outlets: all grocers sell branded cookies, most also carry their own private label cookies. This represents approximately 90% of total cookie salesMass merchandisers ex. Walmart, Sam’s, etc.: sell only branded cookiesQuestion:How large would you estimate the overall . cookie market to be in terms of $How large of a threat do you believe the trend in private label cookie sales to be to your clientBased on your assessment, what is an appropriate strategy for your client to followSuggested solutions:The first question, estimating the size of the . cookie market, has no right or wrong answer. It is a test of a candidate’s ability to make reasonable assumptions and work quickly with numbers on an “order of magnitude” level. One acceptable response would be to estimate the number of . households, estimate household consumptionover some period of time, estimate the average cost of a bag of cookies, and project out for one year. In this case, after an estimate has been made, the candidate would be told to assume the market size is $1Billion to simplify any future calculations. As stated in the upfront information, the market is assumed to have been flat for the past five years.The second question is more involved. It involves determining to what extent your client is threatened by the increasing percent of the overall cookie market represented by private label sales. To better answer this question information should be gathered pertaining to what is driving the demand for private label cookies, to what extent this has already affected your client’s sales, and what the likelihood is for the trend to continue. The following are questions and answers that would be provided in an interview scenario.What are the sales trends for the client over the past five years Your client’s sales have been flat at $600M for the time frame of five to two and one-half years ago. Over the past two and one-half years, sales have decreased steadily down to a present level of $560MM.How has market share of the private label segment been split over the past five years between your client’s main competitor andthe other smaller playersThe smaller players combined had 100% of the private label subsegment five years ago. Two and one-half years ago your client’s main competitor began su pplying private labelers.Today, this main competitor owns 40% of the private label subsegment, the smaller players own the remaining 60%How has market share of the branded segment been split over the past five yearsYour client held 60% of this segment five years ago, 67% two and one-half years ago and 70% today. Its main competitor held 30% five years ago, 25% two and one-half years ago and 23% today. The combined smaller players owned 10% five years ago, 8% two and one-half years ago and 7% today.Analsis of the above information tells a very important story. The private label segment was launched five years ago by the smaller players. As private label first cut into the branded segment, it came at the expense of your client’s main competitor and the sma ller players, not your client. In response to this, your client’s main competitor entered into the private label segment two and one-half years ago. This further hurt their own sales and those of the smaller players, but also began to hurt your client’s sa les. Additional information is required to understand what is driving the demandfor private label cookiesHow does the quality of a private label cookie compare to that of a branded cookieConsumer studies have shown that there is a noticeable difference in taste, texture and quality in favor of the branded cookies At the manufacturing level, what is the difference in cost of production and price between branded and private label products It costs approximately $ to manufacture a bag of private label cookies which will sell for $ to retailers. It costsapproximately $ to manufacture a bag of branded cookies which will sell for $.How do the same numbers translate at the retail levelA retailer, paying $ for private label cookies can sell thatproduct for $. The $ bag of branded cookies can be sold for $. The key finding is that from a cost-price-margin perspective it is advantageous for both the manufacturers and the retailers, with all else equal, to sell a bag of branded cookies. Other factors must be contributing to the demand for private label cookies. Think about the incentives at each level in the chain manufacturer, retailer, consumer. The following questions can help fill in detailsHave any of the manufacturers been able to gain additional shelf space for branded products by supplying grocers with private label productsNoHas their been excess capacity at your client, its main competitor or the smaller competitors that has been used up through the manufacturing of private label productsThere was some excess capacity at the smaller competitors and your client’s main competitor your client is unsure as to how much.. There is little excess capacity anywhere in the industry today. .Has your client’s relationship with its retailers suffered as a result of it not supplying private label productsNot noticeablyAre grocery stores using private labels in other food categories Yes, there has been a major push by grocery stores to populate shelves with private labelsIs competition increasing or decreasing among grocers Generally increasing. Grocer chains are expanding and the number of grocers to be found serving a given area has generally increased over the past five yearsWhat general macroeconomic trends have occurred over the past five yearsThe economy has been slowing over the past five years. There is concern about recessionThe above information begins to expose a clearer story. A number of factors have contributed to the emergence of the private label segment: manufacturer’s interest in utilizing excess capacity, grocer’s desire to sell products with their name on it they may believe this creates return customers in an increasing competitive environment, consumers concerns about a troubled economy price vs. quality tradeoffs.At this point the candidate would be encouraged to state what they believe the magniturde of the private label threat to be to the client. There is no right answer. One can argue either way.If the threat is seen as high, the likely recommendation is for your client to begin supplying private label products. The candidate should recognize that in competing in the private label segment, the basis of competition is primarily cost. At the same time, the client’s branded product sh ould be protected. The following tactics might prove appropriate:Seek to wring costs out of all phases of the operationUtilize all existing excess capacityGain maximum product knowledge as quickly as possibleUnderstand low cost positions on product ingredients and mix Review process improvement/ manufacturing efficiency opportunitiesUndertake overhead reduction effortsAny of these points could be discussed in great detailEnsure there is no customer confusion between private label offering and branded productSeek partnering agreements with retailersJoint advertising and promotionsExplore deals with mass merchandisers to enter private labels remember, mass merchandisers presently sell no private labelIf the threat is seen as low, the likely recommendation is for your client to stay with branded cookies only. The candidate should recognize that in competing in the branded segment the basis of competition is one of differentiation. Additionally, your client should do all it can to halt or reverse the momentum of the private label segment. The following tactics might prove useful: Pursue a maximum differentiation strategyInvest in brand image to support premium priceMake it difficult to copy product: innovate wisely through product advances, smart product line extensions, frequentchanges to the productManage price gap: explore price increases where appropriate Again, any of these points could be discussed in great detail Explore exclusive partnering with mass merchandisersConsider alternative distribution channelsSeek partnering agreements with grocers regarding brandedproductsEducate grocers as availableCustomers who buy private labels are the most price sensitive.They also tend to be the least loyal customers and spend less per store visit.Grocers financial stake in private label products extends beyond the product margins. There is lost profit from branded products that could occupy the same shelf space, advertising costs of the private label products, etc.Key takeaways:This case has no right or wrong answer. It forces the candidate to take a stand in a “grey” situation and defend it. It also provides a large amount of data upfront which the candidate must quickly sort through and determine what is important and what is not. The key is to understand the story behind the data. How did the private labelsegment emerge What is driving it How has it affected manufacturers, retailers and consumers。

把手教你做Case Interview（一）：Market Sizing 案例详解2015-06-16etesian Etesian亦莘Etesian亦莘etesian对咨询行业外部科普，为咨询新人解惑，与咨询顾问探讨与交流。

想象一下，你走进某高大上咨询公司面试室。

刚坐下，面试官就拿起手边的星巴克咖啡，问：“请你告诉我，楼下的Starbucks一天要卖掉多少杯咖啡？”——这就是最典型的market sizing问题。

从Pretalk到par面，Market Sizing 经常出现于各大咨询公司的各轮面试中。

简单来说，Market Sizing需要面试人估算某个领域的总数，可能是中国加油站的总数，可能是上海一共有多少台iphone，也可能是北京地铁一天要消耗掉多少张地铁票。

接下来，我会配合一个实例，一步一步呈现如何解决market sizing问题。

问题：中国一年会卖掉多少烟雾报警器？（请先思考一分钟）好，一分钟时间到，是不是什么都没想出来？没关系，第一次遇到过这类问题的同学觉得慌乱是正常的。

烟雾报警器在生活中也不常见，还涉及到专业领域的知识。

那么，应该如何思考呢？烟雾报警器的销量等价于购买量，换句话说，如果能够知道一年烟雾报警器的需求量，就可以知道销量。

哪些场景情况下会安装报警器呢？无疑就是房屋装修。

那么，说起房屋装修，首先进入你脑海的词有哪些？住宅，商业地产，毛坯，翻修……整理下思路，可以概括为以下两类：1.新房装修（分住宅和商用）2.老房翻修（分住宅和商用）不过等等，是不是还少什么东西？报警器的销量只会覆盖这些新安装的吗？旧报警器报废换新是不是没考虑？所以，正确的逻辑架构应该是这样的：到这里，基本架构清晰了，我们需要做的就是逐层分解，直到最细，就可以算出我们要的数字了。

从“新房新装需求量”开始分解，该如何下手呢？这里就需要大胆的假设了：烟雾报警器的安装一定会符合某项标准，并且很有可能是按照房屋面积进行安装。

案例面试真题2: Interview Tips with Consulting Firms zz fudan~bluedance @ 2005-09-18 22:172004年的求职历程终告段落也拿到了自己满意的offer所以很有冲动写一写我的一些经验和体会和大家分享想给明年想进咨询行业工作的本科生学弟学妹或者研究生GGJJ们留下一点可供参考的面经Part A: General Qualifications for Pre-Talk我认为可以拿到顶尖咨询公司pretalk机会的分两类人第一类是传统牛人高GPA+经管专业/工科背景+一流的英语听说能力+相关咨询行业实习经历+外溢的自信气质，海外交流背景会是一个加分点第二类是很特别的非牛人（只要适合咨询行业）GPA3.3以上+更宽泛的专业（今年有个pp的交大学医的mm去了贝恩）+一流的英语听说能力+相关咨询业实习经验（最好能掌握data collecting skills, cold call skills）+ 很好的分析能力+让人信赖的个性气质我属于第二类人作为经院一个默默无闻的本本GPA 3.35上下在强手如林的经院只能排在30%-40%左右没有EXCHANGE的机会没有考过T 更没有考过G 就连高口口试都屡考不过不过我自信英文口语还是很好的在一些层次很高的商务场合和会议论坛上作过陪同翻译这次找工作，我几大咨询都投了McK和BCG没有理我(我想可能是我的绩点问题)但其他的都给了我Pretalk由此可见Monitor, Bain, Booz Allen, A.T.Kearney和Roland Berger都不会绝对死抠绩点其实这些公司选人的标准都差不多第一次Pre-Talk是Monitor, 我被砍了，但以后我的Pre-Talk都过了第一次Case Interview是Bain, 我被砍了，但之后所有的case我都分析的很好第一次Final Inverview是罗兰贝格，尽管我认为自己表现很不错，还是被一个女Princi pal砍了, 原因是我是本本，资历浅；而且不够Aggressive之后的Final都拿到Offer了，不过只剩下两个了：Booz Allen和A.T.Kearney从每次被砍中，我都会总结一点东西出来，感觉自己每次面试都在进步我写这些，希望可以鼓励到那些非传统意义上的牛人但想进咨询的同学Part B: Pre-Talk Tips其实很讲运气和chemistry的往往你进门后开口说5句话后面试官心里已经想好了要不要你我想这个环节最重要的是考察你的英文和举止光英文好不一定能过但英文不好基本没戏举止方面怎么说。

第1篇一、个人背景与职业规划1. 请简要介绍您的个人背景，包括教育背景、实习经历、项目经历等。

2. 您为什么选择咨询行业？在咨询行业，您最感兴趣的方向是什么？3. 您认为自己在哪些方面具备优势，可以胜任咨询工作？4. 您在职业规划方面有哪些目标？如何实现这些目标？二、案例分析1. 案例背景：某知名快消品公司近期销售额下滑，市场份额下降，请您分析原因并提出解决方案。

- 分析：市场环境、竞争对手、产品策略、渠道策略、营销策略等方面。

- 解决方案：针对问题提出具体措施，如产品创新、渠道拓展、营销活动等。

2. 案例背景：某互联网公司希望通过并购拓展业务，请您分析以下目标公司的优劣势，并给出并购建议。

- 分析：目标公司的业务模式、盈利能力、团队实力、技术优势、市场前景等。

- 建议：并购方案、整合策略、风险控制等。

3. 案例背景：某传统制造企业希望进行数字化转型，请您分析企业面临的挑战，并提出转型策略。

- 分析：企业现状、行业趋势、竞争对手、技术瓶颈、人才储备等。

- 策略：数字化转型路径、关键项目、实施步骤、风险控制等。

三、商业案例1. 案例背景：某电商平台希望通过增加用户粘性，提高用户活跃度，请您提出解决方案。

- 分析：用户需求、竞争对手、平台特点、运营策略等。

- 解决方案：产品创新、运营活动、营销策略等。

2. 案例背景：某房地产企业面临销售困境，请您分析原因并提出解决方案。

- 分析：市场环境、产品定位、销售策略、客户需求等。

- 解决方案：产品调整、价格策略、营销活动、渠道拓展等。

四、逻辑思维与解决问题1. 请用三个步骤解决以下问题：如何提高公司内部沟通效率？2. 请用三个步骤解决以下问题：如何提高员工满意度？3. 请用三个步骤解决以下问题：如何降低企业运营成本？五、团队协作与沟通1. 请描述一次您在团队项目中遇到的冲突，以及您是如何解决这个冲突的。

2. 请描述一次您在团队项目中遇到的困难，以及您是如何克服这个困难的。

咨询公司案例面试题及应对1.战略规划：假设你是一家咖啡公司的CEO，公司正面临着市场份额下降和竞争对手增加的挑战。

你该如何制定新的战略来改善公司的业绩？2.市场进入：一家国际快餐品牌想进入一个新的国家市场，你该如何评估市场的潜力和风险？3.产品定价：你是一家汽车制造商的产品经理，公司计划推出一款新的电动车。

你该如何确定产品的定价策略，以便在市场上获得竞争力？4.运营优化：你是一家医院的副院长，医院的手术室效率低下，导致患者等待时间过长。

你该如何优化手术室的运营管理？5.组织变革：你是一家大型企业的组织发展经理，公司正面临着组织结构臃肿、流程繁琐的挑战。

你该如何设计和实施组织变革计划？6.数字营销：你是一家服装品牌的数字营销经理，公司计划推出一系列新的产品线。

你该如何制定数字营销策略来吸引和留住消费者？7.风险管理：你是一家银行的风险管理总监，银行正面临着日益增长的市场风险和信用风险。

你该如何制定有效的风险管理策略？8.供应链管理：你是一家快时尚品牌的供应链经理，公司计划扩大产品线并增加新的供应商。

你该如何优化供应链管理以提高效率和降低成本？9.组织文化：你是一家科技公司的组织文化经理，公司正面临着员工流失率和士气低落的挑战。

你该如何设计和实施组织文化变革计划？10.定制化服务：你是一家旅游公司的定制化服务部门经理，公司正面临着客户满意度低和定制化服务需求增加的挑战。

你该如何优化定制化服务流程以提高客户满意度？以上是咨询公司案例面试中可能出现的题目，它们考察的是候选人的分析能力、商业洞察力和解决问题的能力。

在回答这些问题时，建议按照以下步骤进行：1.确定问题的核心和目标。

2.分析问题并找出关键因素。

3.提供可行的解决方案和建议。

4.阐述你的思考过程和依据。

5.强调你的分析和解决问题的能力。

6.同时，也要注意在回答问题时要表现出自信、有条理、有逻辑性和沟通能力的一面。

【最新资料,Word版，可自由编辑！】案例面世真题1:Help! Our Profit Margins are Shrinking!You are the consultant to a company that produces large household appliances. Over the past three years, profit margins have fallen 20 percent and market share has tumbled to 15 percent of the market from 25 percent. What is the source of the company's problems?This is an example of the type of question an undergraduate student (or an MBA student in an early interview round) might receive. The interviewer has done you the favor of defining the problem - your client is in something of a slump! This dialogue illustrates how you, the perspicacious candidate, might drill down into the core of the woes besetting the firm.You: How would you characterize the current marketplace for these products? Emerging? Mature?Interviewer: The product line is considered mature.You: How would you characterize your manufacturing process relative to your competition? (You're looking to see if the company has a strategic advantage.)Interviewer: Can you be more specific?You: Do you benefit from an advantage in technology, economies of scale, exchange rates, or other manufacturing element over your competition?Interviewer: We have not updated our manufacturing process since 1988. We manufacture our products exclusively in the United States. As one of the oldest manufacturers of these products, we have a reliable customerbase and a good reputation. As for price, we are one of the lower-priced in the market, though not the lowest.You: Do any of your competitors manufacture overseas?Interviewer: Our number one competitor produces all of its appliances in Indonesia. (Here's your clue - manufacturing outside the country significantly lowers costs.)You: It probably suffices to say that some of your decline in profit can be attributed to the increased costs you are facing relative to older manufacturing techniques and higher costs associated with manufacturing domestically. This is especially toxic in a mature market where consumers are mostly aware of the product category and the product may be considered a commodity. (A commodity marketplace is one in which customers make their purchasing decisions largely on price. For example, toilet paper is largely a commodity market, where consumers buy whatever's on sale.)案例面世真题2:Cost-savings analysis for food services companyCost-savings analysis for food services companyIn this case, we will provide you with information regarding a client situation and ask you questions regarding the case issues. After you submit your answer, we'll provide a detailed Bain answer that you can compare with your ideas.Remember, in case interviews there is no "right answer": interviewers look for problem-solving skills, creativity and common sense. You will not be able to skip questions in this online case, so take your time and have fun!Question 1The client situation:A large fast food chain has hired Bain to improve the company’s profitability. You’re about to have an initial brainstorming session with your team around your clien t’s options, and you want to collect your thoughts first.How would you begin to tackle your client’s profitability problem?Your answer:Bain recommended answer:Your interviewer wants to know that you have a structure in mind. An appropriate structure for this case would be the profit equation. Be sure to state that to your interviewer.For example:"Profit is: total revenue – total cost.Where Revenue = Price * Quantity and Costs = Fixed Costs + Quantity * (Variable Costs).In order for the company to improve its profitability, management needs to increase revenues and/or decrease costs.So to begin tackling my client’s profit problem I am going to look at these two sides of the equation:* Could the client increase prices? How would customers react?* Could the client sell more meals, either at existing branches or through opening new ones?* Are there other creative ways to grow revenue (enter into large-scale catering contracts, for example)?* Could the client decrease our fixed costs by selling some of our branches or real estate?* Could the client reduce the quantity of products they buy, such as ingredients for their meals?* How else could they reduce their costs?"Question 2At your case team meeting, your manager informs the team the customer is price sensitive, the market is fairly saturated, and that the fixed costs are pretty stable. Thus Bain and the client agree that the team should focus on lowering variable costs. Specifically the client wants to reduce their spending on purchased items (items the client buys from others and then uses or offers to their customers, like the meat in the hamburgers or the ketchup packets).Without knowing much more about the situation, what would you suggest are some ways to do so? Which ideas seem the most attractive and why?Your answer:analyse the supplier of purchased items to see if there exist the space to reduce the purchaseing cost. Then contacting several similar suppliers, and get the reasonable price of raw materialsBain recommended answer:Purchased goods in this business fall primarily into 2 categories: food and packaging. Variable costs are a function of: price and volume. Therefore, the client needs to reduce volumes purchased or negotiate lower prices.Food:* We could negotiate lower food prices with our suppliers (consolidate our purchasing, etc.).* We could look for cheaper ingredients. This sounds risky because it could lower the quality of the food that we sell.* We could reduce the volume used. For the same reason, this sounds risky because it would change our recipes, one of our competitive advantages in producing winning recipes.Packaging:* We could negotiate lower prices with our suppliers or look for cheaper alternatives.* We could reduce the volume used.Recommendation:* Most attractive ideas are: negotiating lower food prices or packaging prices, looking for cheaper packaging materials, or reducing the volume used.Question 3At this point in the brainstorming session, the VP adds that two years ago, the company launched a program to centralize purchasing and successfully negotiated much lower prices. Therefore, it is critical to determine if you could reduce the volume of goods that the client purchases. How could you reduce the volume of purchased goods?Your answer:11Bain recommended answer:Some good creative answers here include (but are in no way limited to):* Can the client change the shape or size of food containers?* Can the client packaging for families be consolidated?* Can the client reduce the weight of the packaging while still protecting the food?* Can the client reduce other qualities of the packaging including degree of color or logo prevalence without sacrificing their brand?* Can the client lock bathrooms so that non-customers do not waste toilet paper and towels?* Can the client charge for extra condiments?* Can the client reduce the size or number of napkins they purchase? Question 4Bain focus es on components that make up large portions of a company’s costs: reductions in these areas will have the largest impact on a client’soverall costs. Bain’s philosophy is to always focus on where the value is. At first glance, napkins would not appear to fall within this category because they are so low cost. But there is a new napkin dispensing technology on the market that you have heard about and think could save the client some money. You decide to investigate.One way to reduce volume is to reduce how many napkins a customer takes. Customers in fast food chains often take many more napkins than are needed for the meal, or actively hoard them to take home. One action some chains have taken to combat this is to switch their napkin dispensers from small metal dispensers (from which you pull napkins out in bunches) to larger plastic dispensers (from which you pull napkins one at a time, like a reverse Kleenex box). These dispensers are produced by major paper manufacturers.Let’s assume your chain came to you with the following question:* How much money could we save per year in the US from using the new type of napkin dispenser in all restaurants?What information would you like to know from the company? (Do not take into account the cost of the dispensers for now.)Your answer:number of customers per day, the average paper usage per mealBain recommended answer:Key information that would be necessary includes:* Number of restaurants* Number of customer visits per store per year* Number of napkins used per customer now* Number of napkins used per customer after the switch* Price per napkinQuestion 5As you talk through the data points that you would need to gather with your colleagues, you learn from a fellow AC who worked for a local restaurant that a case of 6000 napkins cost his client $28. Thus, a reasonable price per napkin is about $0.005.Conduct your estimates as if your client is similar to McDonald's in terms of the number of outlets.Your manager calls you for a quick estimation of the market size before getting the actual data from your client. Use creative approaches to hypothesize values for each of the above pieces of information and then calculate the estimated savings.Your answer:10000*365*100*(3-1)*0.005=3650000Bain recommended answer:The interviewer is not looking for you to know the values of each of these buckets, however it is important for you to make reasonable estimates and be able to defend your answer. Were your estimates near these, or did you at least take similar approaches?Number of restaurantsActual answer: ~12,000 McDonald's in the US.One estimation approach:Think of your hometown: How many McDonald's are there for the number of people? Assume there is a McDonald's for every 20-25,000 Americans, with a population of ~275 million people in the US, that would be11-13,750 McDonald's.Other approaches:* Estimate the entire fast food market and then estimate McDonald's share* Estimate the area covered per McDonald's across the United States.Note: With this approach, be careful to account for population differences between 10 square miles of NYC and 10 square miles of Utah.Number of customers per restaurant per dayActual answer: Fast food restaurants expect around 1,500 customers a day.One estimation approach:Assume the 20,000 people per McDonald's visit an average of twice a month, that's 24 times a year per customer or 480,000 visits / 365 days = 1,315 customers per day.Other approaches:* One might take this a step further during a case interview and attempt to segment these customers. For example, one might assume 50% of the restaurants customers are drive-through and 25% of the remaining take their food "to go." Drive-through customers do not take, but aregiven napkins. "To go" customers may be more likely to "hoard napkins" as they can not go back to the counter for more.Note: This would influence potential answers to the next question - but for now, assume you did not take this step and all customers are the same.Number of napkins used per customer per visitActual answer: Five napkins with old dispensers and two napkins with prohibitive dispensers for a savings of three napkins per customer.One estimation approach:During a case interview you would most likely just use personal experience here - how many napkins do you take or see others take when you're at a fast food restaurant?Other approaches:* Bain would send people to the chain to watch napkin taking behavior or call fast food restaurants with both kinds of dispensers to find out how many napkins they go through a day.Calculations$0.005 per napkin * 3 napkins * 1500 customers * 365 days per year * 12,000 restaurants = $98.6M dollars saved in napkin purchases.Question 6Does this estimate sound reasonable?* How would you go about feeling comfortable with this figure and pressure checking your assumptions?* What would you want to flag for your manager as factors that might significantly alter the answer?Your answer:11Bain recommended answer:To check the magnitude of the overall number some options include:* Looking at a comparable company’s operating income to see what percentage of the expense napkins account for.* Find out what your client currently spends per restaurant per year on napkins.Keep in mind that with a company of this size any small changes in assumptions will significantly alter your answer. Some things to flag for your manager:* The chain you work for probably gets a significantly better deal on napkin pricing due to the magnitude of their orders (in contrast to the single-location restaurant napkin price estimate you received) * Up to 50% of customers are drive-through and their napkin behavior should not change. This would reduce the savings by up to 50% * The three napkin reduction estimate needs refining. Perhaps a pilot program would need to be done to see if the dispensers really have the desired effectQuestion 7Assume you would need 10 dispensers per store for a total of 120,000 dispensers. Also note that napkins in these dispensers cost more at a price of $.01 per napkin (remember it is the paper companies that make the new dispensers).At what price per dispenser would the investment not be worth doing?Your answer:11Bain recommended answer:120,000 * cost of dispenser + 2 napkins * .$01 per napkin * 1,500 customers * 365 days * 12,000 stores = 5 napkins * .005 per napkin * 1,500 customers * 365 days * 12,000 stores120,000 * cost of dispenser = $32.85MThe most you would be willing to pay per dispenser would be $273.Note: In an actual case interview you can use round number estimates so that mental math is easier.Question 8The actual cost of these dispensers is around $50.* Can you see any other factors your client should consider before making a decision?* What other advantages and disadvantages might there be to this switch? (Impact on costs and customers.)* How might you evaluate the impact of the extraneous factors?Your answer:11Bain recommended answer:Some potential ideas include:Advantages:* Fewer napkins used per day leads to less restocking which may mean better customer service or lower labor cost.* Better relationship with paper manufacturer (potential for better pricing).Disadvantages:* With the new dispenser locking you into a paper provider you may lose buyer power. There is the potential for additional napkin price increases in the future.* Customer reaction: Will a customer find this to be poor service? What if he or she needs to grab a handful of napkins after a spill?Implementation:* Management will need to negotiate a contract that includes limits on future pricing.* Bain will need to do customer research and pilot programs to evaluate customer reaction.And many, many more! As you can see, the keys to a good case interview are logical assumptions, creative thinking, and basic quantitative ability. Take time to think through problems and share your thought process with your interviewer and you will do great.案例面世真题3:Market SizingDuring your case interview, you may be asked to make estimates or solve a problem. You'll find two examples below that will help you think through the process of arriving at reasonable estimates. The third question is a brainteaser — a reminder to think creatively when tackling any case interview problem.Q: How many pay phones are there on the island of Manhattan?A: A logical place to begin your analysis might be to ballpark the number of pay phones on Manhattan street corners. If you think of New York City as a grid of streets, you might guess it is about 300 streets long (north to south) by ten streets wide (east to west), so it has approximately 3,000 intersections. You might then assume there is one pay phone for every two intersections, for a total of about 1,500 pay phones.If you’re feeling really creative, you might subtract the number of intersections that are “invalidated” because they fall in the area of Central Park. Say Central Park is ten blocks long by two blocks wide, or 20 intersections. Using your one-pay-phone-for-every-two-intersections assumption, you would want to subtract ten pay phones from the original 1,500.You might then add to the 1,490 the number of pay phones that might be found in restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and office-building lobbies.Q: How many hotel-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner are produced each year around the world?A: You might begin by assuming that hotel-sized bottles are produced for two purposes only:1. To supply hotels and upscale motels2. To provide samples for gift packs, salons, and so onYou would then want to start by estimating the number of hotels and motels around the world that offer the products to their guests. One way of estimating the number of hotels is to assume that hotels are found predominantly in major cities and resorts. Figure that there are 2,000 major cities and resorts around the world, an average of ten for each of the wor ld’s approximately 200 countries. Assume that each city averages 20 hotels that offer bottled hair products to their guests. Multiplying 20 by 2,000 gives you 40,000 hotels around the world that require shampoo and/or conditioner for their guests.To understand how many bottles of shampoo and conditioner the 40,000 hotels require, you now need to estimate the total number of uses each hotel on average represents. You can arrive at that number through the following calculation: assume that there are 100 rooms in each hotel, and that those rooms are occupied 50 percent of the time. Multiplying 40,000 by 100 by 0.5 by 365 (don’t forget the number of days in the year!) gives you approximately 750 million.However, it is probably reasonable to assume that a guest staying for longer than a day will not use a whole shampoo bottle every day. If you assume that an average of one shampoo bottle is used for every two occupied days in a given room, you can now divide your 750 million estimate in half to 375 million. To get to the number of bottles of conditioner, estimate a ratio between the use of shampoo and the use of conditioner. Since many of us do not condition every time we shampoo, you might assume that the ratio is 2:1. Dividing 375 million in half gives you approximately 190 million. Your conclusion would then be that 375 million bottles of shampoo and 190 million bottles of conditioner are required for hotel use every year.To estimate the total market size, you can probably make things easy on yourself by assuming that the number produced for sample purposes is a small percentage of the total, say ten percent. Combining your two markets would give you approximately 400 million bottles of shampoo and 210 million bottles of conditioner.Finally, you might want to “reality check” your total figure. Assuming 610 million bottles are produced and sold each year at an average price of 25 cents each, the worldwide market for miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner is about $150 million. Does that sound reasonable?Q: You are in a room with three light switches, each of which controls one of three light bulbs in the next room. Your task is to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are off. Your constraints are: you may flick only two switches and you may enter the room with the light bulbs only once. How would you set about determining which switch controls which bulb?A: To solve this riddle you must do some out-of-the-box thinking. The best way to determine which light bulb is which is to flick one switch on, wait for five minutes and flick it off. Then flick one of the remaining two switches on and leave the other off. When you enter the room with the bulbs, you can determine which switch controls which of the two lights that are off by feeling to see which of the bulbs is hot (from having burned for five minutes).Other creative solutions involve pushing the constraints of the game. You might ask if the room you’re in has a phone, so you could call somebody to help you. You might ask if the rooms have a connecting window. You might assume you can leave the first room a number of times, and therefore go out, buy a drill, and bore a hole through the wall so you can see which light bulb is connected to which switch. Or, you might buy a mirror and place it strategically outside the door to guide you.Remember, you are limited only by your imagination.案例面世真题4: Famous Skin Care Whitening Products in ChinaCase Background: You are the product manager at famous skin care's whitening division and you are asked to whether to launch the product in ChinaKey questions:1) What's the size of the skin care market in China? And growth rate?2) What's the size of the whitening produce in china's market? And growth rate?3) What are the consumer behavior patterns?4) Who are the competitors and how has market share changed?5) Can famous skin care operate profitably? Make local vs. import?Options and Hypothesis:1) Consumer goods demand pattern(correlates well with income)- see how well this can be used to project future demands2) 4P of marketing in analyzing competitors - and see what they have done3) Profitability model to see the economics impact of the different options Data Requirement1) Total size of skin care market and growth rates2) Total size of whitening products and growth rates3) Market share by competitor and historical market share4) Consumer behavior surveys/studies5) Regulations on foreign company investment in China6) Profitability model for make local vs. importData Collection and Analysis:After you collect the data, then you can look at how your questions are answered:1) China's skin care market is worth over $10 Billion, with whitening product accouting for 40% of it. There are currently6 major competitors- with only one clear market leader. Consumers are extremely receptive to new skin products and customer loyalty can be established when the products really delivered the results. Even at a high premium, customers are willing to pay for it2) Based on profitablity model - the import model is more feasible during the first 5 years - then when demand really picks up, the make-local model would be more profitable案例面世真题5: Famous shoe maker's decition to change supplierCase Background:You are the purchasing manager at famous shoe maker and u've learned reports of unfair wage rates at one of your key supplier. You need to decide whether you should discontinue your relationship with this supplier.Key questions:1) What is the labor rates that are currently paid to the employees?(VC. the market rates vs. int'l standards)2) What are the reasons for discrepancies (i.e. are employees compensated in othe ways?)3) How much does fanous shoe buy from this supplier and what would be the impact of switching to another supplier?4) What is famous shoe maker's internal policies regarding labor conditions of suppliers? How will this action impact different stakeholders? Options and Hypothesis:1) Economics argument - lowest cost wins2) Universality - if you were placed in the different stakeholder's shoe, would you make the same decision and feel fair?Data Requirement1) Labor wage rates for your supplier, its competitor, local market rates, int'k rates2) Company policies regarding supplier labor policies3) Cost analysis of switching suppliersData Collection and Analysis:After you collect the data, then you can look at how your questions are answered:1) Labor rates appears to be much lower than int'l standards. But it's comparable to local wage rates, the working condition is also not comparable to int'l standard again, similar to local working conditions 2) Famous shoe maker;s company states that each supplier must fairly compensate its workers and it doesn't work with suppliers that have abusive labor pratices. Supplier does seem to operate below int'l standard3) Economics argument says there is nothing wrong there - supplier legally operates and has the lowest cost - hence, no need to switch4) Universality- feels fair because the supplier provides livelihood to local community, famous shoe maker enjoys a good margin and the workers get a fair wage in their local community5) cost of switching supplier implies severe disruption to supply chain6) Action item: Continue communication with supplier to make ensure no labor standards are violated案例面世真题6: Martket Entry reportcase background:I: 德国某制镍nickle集团,在中国设立了一个代表处,有一个首席代表和三个员工主要负责中国区的业务,业务量不大,每年300万左右的规模,但是可以赚的远远不止这些.因为这个首席代表是德国人,他觉得中国的空气环境不好,所以一直没把家人接过来,经常往返于中国和德国,以至于没有更好的开展中国业务.现在德国总部决定任命你做首席代表,然后要求你写一份报告你打算在中国怎么做.A: 那你能简单介绍一下镍这个产品嘛?I: 中国是一个缺镍的国家,市场需求量比较大. 镍是一种金属,用途比较广,可以用于手机,眼镜框,开关,灯泡丝等等. 我可以告诉你的是, 在中国对于镍肯定是有很大的需求.现在总部需要你写一份报告,你应该写点什么?A: 首先我会对中国市场进行调查,获得信息并作一定的分析,然后结合公司自身的情况,提出我的建议.I: 那就从市场调查开始把,你会做些什么?A: 恩, 你刚才告诉我中国对于镍的需求很大而且很有潜力, 那到底有大多有潜力,这是我从市场调查需要得到的.所以我会去获知market size, market growth, 以及我们公司在市场中的market share, 以及宏观环境的情况, 比如政策限制阿.然后我会去了解一些行业内的现有的Player,他们各自的竞争地位和market share, 看一下有没有也有一些foerign player like us,他们做的怎样接着我会去了解一些customer的情况,看看我们的客户对于产品的需求以及购买因素获得了这些信息后,我会结合我们自身的capabilities, 来提出我的建议.I: 对阿,你获得了这些信息后, 不能只在report里面只写这些, 要给出你的建议, 那你的建议是什么呢? 业务模式是什么呢?A: 可能出于试水的考虑, 我会提出先不在中国生产产品, 而是直接在中国销售德国的成品. 出于对中国市场不是十分熟悉, 我会考虑通过代理商帮我们sell我们的产品. 当然同时我们需要培养自己的销售队伍.I: 那你怎么来搞好在中国的销售呢?A: 首先我会改变中国的组织架构, 因为原先只是一个representative的office, 现在我打算改成以地域来分的组织架构来组织销售队伍. 比如华东区,华南区, 华北区等等.I : 还有没有别的方式来组织销售?A: 还可以按照客户来分把, 比如眼镜客户销售, 手机客户销售, 灯泡客户销售等等. 或者按照产品来分.I: 那你为什么会首先想到地域来分?A: (笑), 其实我也想到了按照其他方式来分,只不过首先说了按照地域来分, 呵呵.I: 那然后那,你的报告就完了么?A: 还没有, 因为现在只是在中国销售在德国制造的成品, 这样成本肯定会高, 所以以后我会打算在中国制造产品后销售.I: 那你觉得在德国制造和在中国制造的成本差异主要在哪里?A: 我觉得可能是原材料吧, 以及运输成本, 而在本地制造的话这些成本肯定会降低.I: 你说对了一半, 其实最显而易见的成本差异就在于人力成本, 中国的人力成本明显低于德国的人力成本,当然还可能会牵涉到关税, 所以成本差异主要可能就在运输, 人力, 关税等等. 好! 那你如果打算在中国制造的话, 你会考虑些什么?A: 首先考虑选址吧, 然后可能会考虑生产线的问题I: 再往前一点呢?A: 采购, 原材料供应吧I: (笑)看来你很喜欢原材料阿, 再想想看A: 哦, 那就是我前面提到的到底是自己造厂,还是和local player合资.I: 如果是合资的话,你需要考虑些什么呢?A: 我会列一张potential的JV Partner的list, 因为有一些国企公司非常愿意和国外的很强的制造商合作, 来获取国外先进的技术以及管理经验.然后我会考虑partner的market position, company financial performace (revenue, volume, debt, AR), 接着我可能会考虑有没有合资上的政策限制, 然后再看一下我的partner的产品线是不是符合我的产品, 再接着我会去看一下partner的销售,营销网络以及服务能力.我还会考虑股权的结构, 比如我们占多少Equity share, 以及看一下partner的管理层是否能够很好的接受西方的领先技术和管理经验(management fit), 因为有的国企管理层是40几岁的中青年,他们非常愿意接受西方先进的理念,这样也便于以后更好的沟通.I: 非常好, 那我们的讨论就到这吧, 谢谢案例面世真题7: ATK Case 1Case 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 cyclistsMainstream bikes: Durable, but not overly complicated bikes for everyday ridersChildren’s bikes: Smaller, 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 three segments?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 $300MM Mainstream: Has increased at 2% growth rate per year to its present size of $1.0BChildren’s: Has increa sed at 3% growth rate per year to its present size of $400MM。

波士顿2022 咨询面试题第1题：Case: We have a client who operates a national distribution network and produces different types of products for the home-home building, home improvements, etc. This client is trying to decide if it should go into doors, specifically wooden doors for homes. Tell us what you think the market size for wooden doors would be. Is it big enough to be attractive? Let’s talk through the logic of how you would evaluate whether or not our client should enter this market. Take your time before answering. According to one BCG interviewer, this is how the company prefers to start the firstround interviews. Begin this question by doing a 10-to 15-minute “estimation exercise,” which consists of questions such as:–How many doors are there in the United States?–What’s the market for wood doors in the United States?After asking questions like these, you should be able to come up with a number-say, 500 million doors. You should even have a notepad and pen on you so that you can jot down ideas and keep track of your thoughts. For the next 20 to 25 minutes, you should talk about the issues that the company might be thinking about before entering the market, by asking questions such as:–What is the competition like in the market?–How will the manufacture of wooden doors affect the company’s labor costs?Interviewees should always remember that “there are several ways of approaching the problem, and during the interview what the interviewers are most interested in is your logic flow, the types of questions you ask, and how you structure the questions. Asking questions that are wrong is tantamount to not asking them at all.” One recent interviewee notes, “BCG is looking for people who will think carefully before answering; this is very important in the case interview. Don’t say the first thing that comes to your mind, even if you’re certain about it. If you’re trying to choose between appearing to be slow and appearing to be a cocky idiot, choose the former.”第2题：Case: Your client is the largest discount retailer in Canada, with 500 stores spread throughout the country. Let’s call it “CanadaCo.” For several years running, CanadaCo has surpassed the second largest Canadian retailer (300 stores) in both relative market share and profitability. The largest discount retailer in the United States, “USCo,” however, has just bought out CanadaCo’s competition and is planning toconvert all 300 stores into USCo stores. The CEO of CanadaCo is quite perturbed by this turn of events, and asks you the following questions: “Should I be worried? How should I react?” How would you advise the CEO?This case interview is from BCG’s web site. Essentially, BCG is looking for you to ask many good questions of the interviewer: What is a discount retailer? Is the Canadian market comparable to the US market? Are USCo’s strengths transferable to Canada? What geographic markets do anadaCo’s competitor stores serve? Do the stores sell the same products? What is each company’s cost structure? And so forth, in a give and take with the interviewer. “They key is not getting the ‘right’ answer, but showing you can think in a structured fashion,” says an insider.第3题：General: Walk me through the operations of a typical Starbucks. How might they increase their profitability?An entire campus of applicants once received this question, insiders tell us.第4题：Guesstimate: How many pay phones are there in Manhattan?This guesstimate can be calculated in numerous ways, including estimating the number of Manhattan street corners and assuming one telephone per one or two intersections. Another method would be to estimate the number of blocks in Manhattan and assume one telephone per block. Don’t forget pay phones inside buildings! (You’d probably receive this question in conjunction with a case on, say, a new phone company that was thinking of entering the pay phone market.)第5题：General: Do you think BCG should get out of Asia?By confidently answering “yes” to this seeming piece of small talk, you’ll have just contradicted an important piece of BCG’s 21st century strategy. If you answer this way, better be able to back it up!第6题：General: What have you found your most challenging class in school? Remember: stress your leadership skills, analytical skills, and quantitative skills. This is your chance to prove you have them. Give an example of something you did well in a quantitative class.第7题：General: I see you’ve been to law school. So what makes you want to consider a consulting career at BCG?Not a trick question! Your interviewer probably has plenty of colleagues who are lawyers – they just want you to make a case for switching to consulting, and BCG in particular.。