The Management Consulting

Association presents...
Intro to Case Interview
Frameworks

Today!! Tuesday
D301 from 12-1pm

The Management
Consulting Association

Intro to Case Interview

Frameworks

What Case Interviewers are looking

for

Analytical ability
Poise
Creativity
Communication skills
Logical thought process
Business acumen
NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING FOR A
SOLUTION

What are frameworks?

A structured approach to break down

a case problem
A way to think about the facets of a
business decision
A tool to develop case interview
proficiency

How to use frameworks?

During your early practice interviews, use

frameworks to develop the discipline for
structuring a interview answer
Later, depart from the frameworks (avoid
mentioning them) to develop a comfort
level with structuring a framework on the
fly
Bottom line: You need to practice to do
this right

How not to use frameworks?

Saying, Well, Ill use the Porters 5

forces to break this down...
Worrying about finding the right
framework for the case - in every case,
several would work fine
Becoming panicked if you cant
remember a framework - remember,
structure is the most important thing!

Structure Your Response - The golden

rule
Listen to question and ask any clarifying questions. Take
notes.
Tell interviewer the areas you plan to investigate in 2-3
sentences
Proceed down line of inquiry in first area you think shows the
most promise - First, I would like to get a better understand
of their customer base..
Proceed to next area if deterred in questioning and/or youve
exhausted a subject. Telegraph your moves - Next, I would
like to assess their competitive environment
Pull finding together at end of interview and state
recommendations (Initial findings suggest ; I recommend
we do the following.)

Pizarro Case Question Example

Question: How did the Spanish Conquistador Pizarro, with
only 180 men, manage to defeat the Incan Empire which
numbered in the thousands
Framework: Like business, success in a military campaign
is dependent on many factors including training, resources,
and leadership. I would want to explore the following..
Compare the Pizarros leadership with the of the Incan ruler
Analyze the training of Pizzaros forces
Determine if Pizarros forces had any technological advantage
over the Incas

Lets start with Leadership. Who was the Inca ruler and
how would you characterize his leadership...

Popular Frameworks
4 Ps of Marketing
Porters 5 Forces
Internal and External Factors
3 Cs - Company, Competition,
Customer
Revenues vs Costs

Revenues vs. Costs

Useful for determining why a company is losing
profitability

Revenues
have they changed, how?
Pricing pressure?, recession?, competition?

Costs
Fixed Costs - new investments, low capacity?
Variable Costs - raw materials costs (supplier
power), labor costs

4 Ps of Marketing
Useful for determining in company should enter a
new market or product category. Also, may help
identify cause of sales slowdown

Product
Price
Promotion
Placement

Porters 5 Forces
Useful for determining whether a company will be
competitive and profitable in the long run

Supplier Power
Buyer Power
Entry Barriers
Internal Rivalry
Substitutes

Internal Vs External
Useful for nearly all business problems

External Factors
Market - trends, segments, substitutes
Customers - demand, price sensitivity, loyalty
Competitors - how many, share, strengths

Internal Factors
Operations - how cost competitive and inefficient
Finance - are resources sufficient, profitability
Product - competitive advantage, differentiated

The 3 Cs
Useful for nearly all business problems

Company - marketing, operations,

strategy
Competition - industry structure
(Porters 5), competitor positioning
(low cost, high quality)
Customer - segments, size, growth,
price elasticity

Closing
Learn the frameworks so they
become second nature
Practice and more practice to
become comfortable with the facets
of a business problem
Develop capacity to structure
problem in an appropriate manner to
reach a solution