MBA英文案例.doc

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1、Vault Reports Strategies for Answering Business Case QuestionsThe consulting interview season is upon us, and many of you will soon be facing consulting case interview (a business question presented to you for your detailed analysis). While its useful to know about advancedframeworks like Porters Fi

2、ve Forces and the population of the United States offhand (its 270, 952,899 as of November 4, 1998, according to the Census Bureau), its just as important to have a few basic tips down pat.1. Take notesAs your interviewer presents your case, be sure to take careful notes on the numbers or other fact

3、s given. (Always bring a notepad and a pen to a consulting interview.) You dont want to ask your interviewer to later repeat information that has already been given.2. Ask questionsYour interviewer expects you to ask questions as many intelligent questions as you need to obtain an accurate picture o

4、f the relevant facts in the case. Many inexperienced case interviewees make the error of not asking their interviewer any questions, perhaps afraid that they will look ignorant, or not wishing to “bother” the interviewer. On the contrary not asking questions is a fatal error in a case interview.If y

5、ou dont know the first thing about the helicopter market, ask how much it costs to manufacture a rotor. If you need to estimate the demand for a beef-flavored potato snack in Wichita, Kansas, then feel free to ask the population of Wichita and environs.3. Be prepared to take charge. You will often f

6、ind that your interviewer will direct your line of questioning to a specific area, but you must always be ready to control the conversation in case the interviewer does not direct your reasoning. If you are unsure, simply ask the interviewer. For instance, if you find the interviewer offering little

7、 direction as you move through your initial scoping questions, you may wish to ask, “I find the lack of a risk assessment to be a potential showstopper. Might I ask some detailed questions about this?” Or you might say, “Given what you have told me about the situation, I would like to drill down for

8、 further clarity regarding the clients current relationship with its distribution partner. Would that be OK?” In this way, you take charge of the line of questioning without stepping on the interviewers role4. Make no assumptions! As a case interviewee, you should never make any assumptions. You sho

9、uld assume the persona of an actual consultant trying to learn about an assignment. It might seem obvious that there is no preexisting workplan (because if there was, why would this be a case interview?) but you should ask. You should also ask if the company has encountered a similar problem, or wha

10、t other companies in the field have done when faced by similar problems. Your interviewer may not release that information but will be impressed that you asked these sensible questions. Some good basic “professional” questions to ask, which apply to most cases:* Who hired us?* How long will this eng

11、agement last?* Is there a workplan?* Has the company faced this problem (or opportunity) before?* If so, how did it react?* What was the outcome?* What have other companies facing this situation done?* Has the firm already done any research into the issue?* If so, what were its findings?5. Maintain

12、eye contact Always maintain direct eye contact during the case interview. Eye contact is critical when answering case questions it demonstrates confidence and authority. Remember that in consulting you may find yourself in front of twenty executives at a major corporation presenting a strategy you w

13、ere briefed on only a half hour ago. And then you have to answer questions! So you can see why business case interviewing is so important to consulting it is a direct parallel to the environment consultants must face every day. 6. Think out loud In order to successfully navigate case interviews, you

14、 will need to act quickly and confidently. The business case is an opportunity to show the interviewer how you think. Your interviewer wants to know that you can reason in a rapid and logical fashion. As you assess, compile, and analyze the elements presented to you, be sure that you speak aloud and

15、 explain your reasoning. This is the only way the interviewer can assess your performance. Now, you may not be entirely comfortable thinking out loud. So ifyoure not feeling confident thinking aloud, try practicing by yourself. Start with something simple like explaining aloud to yourself how to cha

16、nge a tire or how you brush your teeth. Minimize “ums” and other fillers, so that what you say is concise, direct, and clear. Next try practicing on friends or family. Have them ask questions where you must assess a situation, like, “Im not sure at which bank I should open a checking account. What a

17、re the trade-offs between Bank X and Bank Y?”, or “Ive got $50 to spend on groceries, so what should I buy?” Even speaking to yourself in front of the mirror will build your confidence thinking “on the fly” while simultaneously speaking.7. Present your thinking in a clear, logical manner. Where usef

18、ul, use frameworks and business concepts to organize your answer. You should develop a framework for assessing case interview questions which can be applied to different situations. In general, in any situation you will want to: 1. Understand the scope of the engagement 2. Pinpoint the objectives, a

19、nd 3. Identify the key stakeholders Beyond this, you may choose any line of questioning or structure that you feel comfortable with. As you practice, you will find yourself developing this framework unconsciously as you attempt to gain clarity over a situation. Capture and package this framework, an

20、d have it available by memory (or on paper if you wish) for use at any time.8. Quickly summarize your conclusions: You have limited time in your case interview to make your point. If you are uncomfortable with quickly summarizing your conclusions, think about being faced with this classic extreme:“A

21、 consultant working for a multinational oil and gas company inadvertently bumped into the CEO of the corporation while waiting for the elevator. As they got on the elevator, the CEO announced that he was on his way to a Board of Directors meeting on the 34th floor. He then instructed the consultant

22、to brief him completely on the major findings of the project in the time it took the elevator to go from the 1st floor to the 34th floor.”While this is somewhat of an urban legend, it is extremely likely that you will encounter time-pressured situations many times in your professional career, especi

23、ally in consulting, where time is a precious commodity.Good luck, and crack those consulting interviews! For sample frameworks, case questions, guesstimates and brainteasers, check out the Vault Reports Guide to Case Interviews at *CASE EXAMPLE*Super-Regional Bank Commercial Case StudyConfidentialSi

24、tuation: Super regional bank holding company in the southeast with corporate/commercial operations in eight franchise states Separate charter in each state Grown through multiple acquisitions Customers of all sizes No focus on commercial bank Good credit quality but inconsistent credit underwriting

25、skills Commercial bank is not providing a high quality of service to customers- turnaround time- approval by committee- errors Account officers not actively calling on prospects Not attracting and retaining the best account officers Friction is growing between the account officers, product units, an

26、d credit administration Rapid growth and lack of business focus and segmentation in commercial banking have contributed to commercial banking problems Cost and credit controls have tightened while the bank has actively acquired new banks thereby complicating the commercial banking process Unable to

27、determine profitability-especially important to SBLObjective: To make the corporate bank sought by customers, feared by competitors and a source of pride for employeesQuestion:If you were the engagement manager on this job, what would be your approach and potential solution?Firm: A.T. KearneyCase Nu

28、mber:Case setup (facts offered by interviewer):q Your client is a manufacturer of bicyclesq They have been in business for 25 yearsq They manufacturer and sell three categories of bicycles: Racing bikes: High end, high performance bikes for sophisticated cyclists Mainstream bikes: Durable, but not o

29、verly complicated bikes for everyday riders Childrens bikes: Smaller, simpler versions of their mainstream bikes for childrenq Profits at your client have decreased over the past five yearsQuestion:q What is driving the decline in overall profits?q What recommendations might correct the situation?Su

30、ggested 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 ques

31、tions and answers that would be provided in an interview scenario.q What are the clients margins for a bicycle in each of the three segments?Racing: Cost = $600/unit, Profit=$300/unitMainstream: Cost = $250/unit, Profit = $75/unitChildrens: Cost = $ 200/unit, Profit = $50/unitq What has happened to

32、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 $1.0BChildrens: Has increased at 3% growth rate per year to its present size of $400MMq What h

33、as happened to our clients 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%Childrens: Market share has increased from 0% to 3% q Who are the clients major competitors in each market segment? What has happene

34、d to their market share in each segment over the past five years?Racing: 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 marketChildrens: A

35、s in the mainstream segment, there are many 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 (racing)

36、, expanded into new segments (mainstream and childrens). 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 ye

37、ars 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 $400MM x 20% childrens margin).The dramatic decrease in market share in the racing segment is at this point still unexplained. Questions that would help form

38、ulate an explanation include:q Have there been any major changes in product quality in your clients racing product? Or in its main competitors racing product?Noq Have there been any major price changes in your clients racing product? Or in its main competitors racing product?Noq Have there been any

39、major changes in distribution outlets for your clients racing product? Or for its main competitors racing product?Yes. Previously your client and its main competitor in the racing segment sold exclusively through small, specialty dealers. This remains unchanged for the competition. Your client, howe

40、ver, began to sell its racing bikes through mass distributors and discount stores (the distribution outlets for mainstream and childrens bikes) as it entered the mainstream and childrens segment.q How do the mass distributors and discount stores price the racing bikes relative to the specialty store

41、s?Prices at these stores tend to be 15 to 20% less.q What percent of your clients racing sales occur in mass distributors and discount stores?Effectively none. This attempt to sell through these distributors has failedq How has the decision to sell through mass distributors and discount stores affec

42、ted the image of the clients racing product?No studies have been done. q How has the decision to sell through mass distributors and discount stores affected your clients relationship with the specialty outlets?Again, no formal analysis has been performed.Although some analysis and/or survey should b

43、e performed to answer more conclusively the last two questions, a possible story can be put together. There has been no appreciable change in either quality or price (or any other tangible factor) of your clients racing product relative to its competition. It is not the product that is the problem,

44、but rather its image. As your client came out with lower end, mainstream and childrens 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 y

45、our 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 competitions product. Remember, your client has no direct salesforce at the retail outlets. The

46、 specialty shops essentially serve as your clients 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 the profitability issue. Questions to uncover cost issues would include:q How d

47、oes 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 childrens products. They divide their costs into the following categories: labor, material and overhead. Overall costs have been

48、increasing at a fairly hefty rate of 10% per year.q 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%Childrens: Labor = 25%, Material = 40%, Overhead = 35%q How has this mix of expenses changed over the past five years?In all segments