Bring a watch, graphing paper, and a calculator

Questions to be Ready for:

● Why are you interested in __(company name)__?
● What experience are you most proud of?
● What experience do you wish you could do over and how would you do
it differently?
● What is a difficult decision you’ve made in the last year?
● What is an example of when you showed initiative and leadership?
● What aspects of your internship did you especially enjoy?
● What aspects of your internship did you like less?
● What do you most like to do in your free time?
● What attributes would you bring to a case team?
● Describe a role where you changed the direction of a team. How did you
do it?

Math Practice Sites:

● http://www.cubiksonline.com/cubiks/practicetests/numerical.htm

Basics

Pg 23 Base Questions
● 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

Pg 25 So if you’re not feeling confident thinking aloud, try practicing by yourself. Start with
something simple like explaining aloud to yourself how to change a tire or how you brush
your teeth.

Approx 350 mil Americans

Pg 29 Bring the following items with you: a pen, a watch, a pencil, a pad of paper, some
graph paper and a calculator. You may not be allowed to use the calculator, but if you are,
you’ll be glad you brought one.

Pg 29 Repeat the case back.

Pg 29 When asking for help: say “I would interpret these numbers as stating that the
cost of our production of widgets is rising rapidly. Am I on the right track?”

The Eight Types of Cases

A. Failing Profits
a. Need to Mention: understanding of financial instruments, communication,
industry knowledge
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, BCG matrix, product mix
assessment
B. New Product Introduction
a. Need to Mention: brand management, supply chain, communication, industry
knowledge
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Four Ps, market analysis, competitor analysis,
product portfolio assessment
C. Entering a new market
a. Need to Mention: market dynamics, supply chain dynamics, communication,
industry knowledge
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, product portfolio analysis
D. Where to locate a new facility (“site selection case”)
a. Need to Mention: understanding of global market dynamics, regulatory
environment, import/export environment, supply chain dynamics, communication,
industry knowledge
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, supply chain analysis,
competitor analysis
E. Mergers & acquisitions
a. Need to Mention: regulatory environment, supply chain dynamics
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, supply chain analysis,
competitor analysis, structural analysis
F. Competitive response
a. Need to Mention: supply chain dynamics, communication, industry knowledge,
market dynamics
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, supply chain analysis,
competitor analysis, structural analysis
 G. Changes in government/regulatory environment
a. Need to Mention: supply chain dynamics, communication, industry knowledge,
market dynamics, regulatory environment
b. Useful concepts/frameworks: Market assessment, supply chain analysis,
competitor analysis, structural analysis, regulatory analysis

Basic Frameworks pg 39 start favorites in pink

I. Cost-benefit analysis (go or no decision)
A. Cost
1. physical costs, reputation and brand
B. Benefit
1. efficiency, revenues, strengthening of brand, building relationships
II. Internal vs. external market factors
A. Internal- culture of organization, core competencies, products
B. External- barriers to entry, capacity of industry, competition
III. Fixed vs. variable costs
IV. Opportunity cost
V. SWOT Analysis
A. Strengths, Opportunities- analyze capabilities and capacities
B. Weaknesses, Threats- analyze inefficiencies
VI. STP- finding the correct market for a product or service
A. Segmenting- identifying the distinctions between customers
B. Targeting- identifying the target group
C. Positioning- strategy of appealing to this target group
VII. Supply vs. Demand- to forecast price of product (based on intersection of supply and demand
curves)
A. Supply analysis- look at production to see quantity available for the market
B. Demand analysis- look at consumers’ desire for product and amount willing to
pay

Basic look at Fin Statements

I. The Balance Sheet
II. The Income Statement
III. The Statements of Retained Earnings
IV. The Statements of Cash Flows

Advanced Frameworks pg 47
I. Net present value
 A. NPV = cash flow/ discount rate
1. Cash Flow = Net Income – Capital Expenditures + Depreciation +/-
Changes in Working Capital)
a) NI = Sales/Revenues – Costs
II. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
A. CAPM = Rf - B*(Rm - Rf)
1. Rf = Risk-free rate
2. B = Beta of the security
3. Rm = Expected market return
4. B*(Rm - Rf) = Risk premium
III. Porter’s Five Forces
A. Power of Suppliers
B. Power of Buyers
C. Substitutes
D. Rivalry (among firms)
E. Barriers to Entry
IV. PIE – The next generation of Porter’s Five Forces
V. The Seven S Framework
A. Strategy (firm’s goals)
B. Structure (organizational form that best suits firm’s goals)
C. Staffing (what type of staff does firm require)
D. Style (management style)
E. Skills (what skills do employees need)
F. Systems (what measurement systems are needed)
G. Shared Valued (firms’ culture)
VI. Product life cycle curve
VII. Strategy tool/framework chart
A. Industry assessment
B. Key members, market potential/forecast, volatility
C. Tools to use (Porter’s Five Forces, BCG Matrix, etc.)
D. Company’s potential for a role in this industry
E. Risk assessment
VIII. The Four Ps
A. Product- characteristics of the item being sold
B. Price- amount it is sold for
C. Promotion- the strategy of how it is sold (PR, Marketing, etc.)
D. Place- distribution channels through which it is sold and how it is positioned
IX. The Three Cs
A. Company- internal operations and strategy
B. Customer- demand for the product
 C. Competition- existing and new markets
X. The Four Cs
XI. The Five Cs (acquisition decision) pg 107
A. Character-
1. Owner of the business?
2. Ethics- legal, compliance
3. Culture (e.g. initiatives, office aura, etc. )
B. Capacity-
1. Meeting current demand?
2. Strained assets (equipment in disrepair)
C. Capital-
1. Debt ratio?
2. Recent cash flow?
3. New account history? (more new customers or repeat?)
D. Collateral-
1. Impaired assets? (obsolete equipment?)
E. Conditions-
1. Leader in market space? (compare to competition)
2. Main metrics for success in this market?
a) Cost?
b) Economies of scale?
c) Speed to market?
d) Relationships with customers?
3. Market saturation
a) Are there untapped (potential) customers?
4. Promotion
a) Advertising in place?
b) % of Sales spent on marketing?
XII. Value chain analysis
A. Assessment of the value the company brings to this industry
XIII. Tactical strategy
A. Identify short list of primary targets
B. Assess readiness of key players (management team, legal, financial, etc.)
C. Evaluate potential outcomes and validate against strategy
D. Construction of work plan with milestones/deadlines and go/no decision
points
XIV. Core competencies
XV. Benchmarking and “best practices”
XVI. The 2x2 matrix
XVII. The BCG matrix
M&A Cases pg 66

A. Drivers
B. Target and Market Assessment
C. Data

Stuff

NTK pg 74
A. Ppl repping the firm at career fairs and events MAY BY MY INTERVIEWER

Notes
A. Watch the date- if before 90’s, imagine no internet solutions available
B. Ask for hints if necessary, better than wasting time
C. Draw graphs of my ideas, info given

Case Formats pg 89-123

Purchase or Nah pg 89
● Ex: Buying Planes, how affect bus perf?
○ Conditions-
■ S-T, L-T analysis;
■ Me = Sr. Consultant, Interviewer = COO;
■ Being Asked- What do I need to know
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Product- Delivery cycle: staggered, serial, or all at once?
■ Company- Current #? Plans to sell?
■ Cost- Current avg cost per flight-hour of fleet?
■ Capacity- Is it possible to accommodate the new planes in the current
production and distribution facilities?
■ Framing- Have any frameworks in mind?
● If no, I say
○ Comparison cost of capital
○ Industry-specific metrics
○ Depreciation method choice
 ○ Product efficiency analysis (e.g. cost savings, increased
productivity, etc.)
○ Info Needed (final answer)
■ Appropriate Contact Ppl for
● Purchasing, Finance, and Accounting (for quant facts)
■ Timing
● From 2 hours to half-day interviews with them
■ Finale
● Need to circle back to validate info after 1st draft

Shrinking Profits 90
● Ex: Household appliances- decrease in profit margin and market share
○ Conditions
■ Historical Analysis
■ Me = Consultant
■ Being Asked- Why profit drop 20%, market share drop 10%
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Profit! Product-
● What’s the marketplace outlook for the product?
○ Emerging? Mature?
● Manufacturing process?
○ Strategic advantage?
■ Tech
■ Economy of scale
■ Exchange Rate
○ No
■ Market Share! Research-
● Market research on
○ brand loyalty?
○ Product pricing?
○ Products’ position?
○ Promotions?

○ Source of Problem
■ Costs
● HIGH COST- Mnfg not updated since 1988
● HIGH COST- Only in US
○ Cmptrs- mnfg outside US (Indonesia)
● Pricing- low but not lowest
■ Market Share
 ● Customers don’t know difference between us and comp
● Promo-
○ Big- 2x per yr
○ Small- Quarterly
○ Type- price discount
○ Insights
■ If market is mature (toilet paper > VR), and consumers are well aware
of the product, and the product is a commodity (purchasing decision
based on price)
■ If you’re undifferentiated (similar product, price, promo as comp),
“aggressive brand differentiation program” can help

Operating Efficiency 92
● Ex: Bank- decrease costs (FVP- full value procurement). RATIONALIZATION
○ Conditions
■ ME = Consultant; Them = Client
■ Being asked:
● What suggested cost cuts?
● Size of opportunity?
● What issues might come?
■ Can’t:
● Non-interest, non-personnel cuts
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Begin
● Annual Revenue?
● Common needs?
○ Items/ services
■ Office Suppliers
■ Housekeeping
● How many vendors provide similar products/services
■ In it
● Impending merger/acquisition (those drive up costs)?
● Able to outsource?
○ Info systems
○ Call centers
○ Customer service
○ Conference planning
○ Bill collection
○ Document handling
○ Source of Problem
 ■ Not willing to consolidate branch offices or reduce ATM counts
■ Too Many Vendors
● “Reduce to use economies of scale for cost savings”
■ Too many in-house functions
● Outsourcing would help
○ Insights
■ Go for the basic answer first (Issue: Bank cut costs -> Solution:
reduce # of ATMs, outsource non-critical tasks)
■ Don’t be afraid to press if my suggestion is good, but they say no
(there not always reasonable) (ask them to “explain their objections”)
● Have good base-emotion reason
○ Ex: Everyone else is doing it

Supply Procurement 95
● Ex: Restaurant- which hand-drying mechanism
○ Conditions
■ Being asked
● What to consider when choosing between
○ Paper towels
○ Roller towels
○ Hot air dryers
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Luxurious, budget, middle-market restaurant?
■ How many customers?
■ Open all day? (hours of operation)
■ Any research on customer preference?
■ Economics of dif options?
○ Source of Problem
■ Economics
● Dryers- over four years, cost = $10,600
○ $1k initial cost
○ $9,600 monthly costs
● Paper towels- $2.50 per night
○ 50 customers * 5 cents each
● Toweling Rolls- Between $150 - $300 per month
○ $10 for two rolls * 30 changes per month
○ $10 for two rolls * 15 changes per month
○ Next Steps (for break-even analysis)
■ True Cost of Each option
● Dryers-
 ○ Initial Cost Depreciation: $1k/ (4 years * 12 months) =
$21 per month
○ Maintenance service charge: $100
○ Total Monthly: $21+$100 = $121 (fixed, not variable)
● Paper Towels-
○ Per Unit: 5 cent
○ For break-even: $121 per month/ 5 cent = 2,400
customers
● Toweling Rolls-
○ At 2k customers or Less: $10 a day * 15 days = $150 per
month
■ Which is greater than paper towels and dryers
■ Summary
● At less than 2,400 customers per month (80 per night), towels
are cheaper
● Greater than 2,400, go with dryers
■ Additional considerations
● Extra staff costs to clean up paper towel waste?
● How many suppliers for each?
○ Could a single supplier have capacity to raise prices in
the future (Porter’s 5 Forces)
● Draw a graph- (# of customers on x-axis, cost of drying
option on y-axis)
○ Insights
■ If your choice depends on the # of customers, do a ‘break-even’
calculation to see where you would be indifferent
■ Number of Occurrences/Frequency greatly affects purchasing
decision

Supply Chain Efficiency 95

● Ex: Lemonade Stand- best plan of action for staarting it
○ Conditions
■ Me= Auntie management consultant; Them = Niece
■ Raising $ for mom’s birthday present
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Product
● Type of Present wanted?
● Price of present?
■ Timeline
 ● When’s mom’s birthday?
● How much time available to complete the goal?
○ Considerations (make sure to summarize at this junction)
■ Expenses
● Fixed
○ Pitcher ($2 each)
○ Cups (100 for $1)
● Variable
○ Size of cups
■ 8 oz = 8 cups per pitcher (if 64 oz pitcher)
■ 16 oz = 4 cups per pitcher (if 64 oz pitcher)
○ Type of lemonade
■ Powdered = $1 per gallon
■ Fresh = $0.25 per lemon (8 needed for a gallon =
$2 per gallon)
■ Pre-packaged = $1.50 per gallon
○ Next Steps
■ Cost Analysis
● $10 sunk costs
○ $2 = 2 pitchers
○ $8 = 800 cups
■ Price
● 50 cents per cup
■ Cheapest Option
● $
○ Input: $1 per gallon
○ Output: 8 cups per gallon @ 50 cents = $4 per pitcher
○ Net: $3 profit per pitcher
● Time
○ 3 months = 12 weekends
○ Per weekend:
■ $10 sunk
■ Total Need Earn: $110 = sunk costs + present
money
■ So, $110 needed/ $3 profit per pitcher = 37
pitchers need to be sold
■ 37 pitchers = 296 total cups
● 296 cups total = 25 cups sold per
weekend
○ Further Business Factors
 ■ CCC
● Customers
○ Demand
■ Summertime or nah?
● Is lemonade appropriate for the weather
■ Foot traffic?
● Near sporting event, supermarket, etc.
○ Promotion/Ads
■ Parental word-of-mouth?
● Competitors
○ Other kids in the locale?
○ Stand location- near restaurants, vendors?
○ Public perception of product- other kids messing up the
image?
● Conditions
○ Subsidies in place?
■ Parents pay for fixed costs? -> increased quality
with savings
○ Complementary goods
■ Cookies, brownies
○ Other jobs/ “revenue generating activities”
■ Paper route, babysit
○ Other product
■ Cheaper, or on sale earrings?
● Would “lower income requirements”
○ Insights
■ I think they went in wrong order
● They decided # of cups before saying price per cup
● Chose arbitrary # for easy calculations without stating
assumption or reasoning
● Also, if the math works in real life, niece only needed 300 cups,
so her fixed costs could have been reduced to $5, so she would
only need to sell 23 per weekend

New Product 95 Redo

● Ex: Credit Card Company- good idea to market phone card to customers
○ Conditions
■ Company
● Role-co-marketed, no telecom functions
○ Q’s to Ask
 ■ What is our part in this partnership?
■ What expenses?
● Product
● Marketing
○ Cost and response rate
■ Expected Revenue?
■ Current market rate
○ Considerations (make sure to summarize at this junction)
■ Costs
● 15 cents per minute sold, $1for startup cost and card systems
■ Expected Revenue
● 50 cents per minute
○ Next Steps
■
○ Insights
■ Ask obvious questions, like “what expenses are connected”. Don’t
waste time talking around the problem

Expected Industry Impact 102

● Ex: Star Trek Transporter- effects on transportation industry
○ Q’s to Ask
■ Product
● Use
○ What is it
■ Near-instantaneous teleportation device
○ How it works?
○ Max quantity transported
○ What can be transported
○ Geographical, time limitations?
○ Supplementary goods necessary? (ex: receiver
transport)
● Market
○ How common a product (emerging market? Potential to
be commodity)?
○ Availability/Price?
● Purchasing Considerations
○ Cost to use?
○ Safety?
○ Thoughts
 ■ Private/Commuter Transit
● No replace cars- too expensive
● Office use- need chief transporter
● 10 - 20%
■ Public/Plane
● No full replacement planes- too weight intensive
● Competitor to airlines
● Drawback- separated from luggage
■ Cargo/ plane, ship, train
● No replacement
■ Biggest Impact
● Express shipping- new premium service
○ Potentially 2x, 3x overnight pricing
○ Insights
■ If they give non-exact answer, give estimate, ask them to confirm. If
still difficult, proceed on

Expected Industry Impact 105

● Ex: Star Trek Transporter- effects on transportation industry
○ Q’s to Ask

More Questions
Sample Traditional Questions
Tell me about yourself?
What are your short- and long-range goals?
Why do you want this job?
What is your favorite course? Why?
What are 2-3 of your greatest accomplishments?
Why should I hire you?
What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?
Describe your ideal job.
What do you expect to be earning?
What did you choose this job? career?
What frustrates you the most?
What do you know about this company? Industry?
Are your grades representative of your ability?
Describe yourself.
How did you choose your major?
How would others describe you?
How has college prepared you for a career?
In what kinds of environments are you most comfortable?
What motivates you to put out the greatest effort?
What has been your greatest disappointment?
How do you determine/evaluate success?
What are the most important rewards you expect in life?
****What do you think it takes to succeed in this job?
How can you make a contribution to this organization?
Describe your ideal supervisor?
What was your most rewarding college experience?
How did you choose Dartmouth College?
What are 2-3 things that are important to you in a job?
What changes would you make in Dartmouth?
Describe how you work under pressure?
What past jobs have you enjoyed most?
How do you keep up with current events in this profession?
What type of work do you not like to do?
How did you decide to apply to us?
What do you know about this organization?
What have you learned from your participation in campus activities?
How have you shown initiative in the past?
What criteria do you use to evaluate an organization?