IIML Consult Casebook 2011

IIM Lucknow i n any form or by any means electronic, Page 1 No part of this casebook may be reproduced, or transmitted mechanical, photocopying or otherwise otherwise without prior consent consent from

, IIM Lucknow.

Foreword As companies worldwide get more and more concerned in hiring the right talent in their key position, candidate evaluation during interviews has become more and more sophisticated. The case interview is unique to present with a problem to be solved in the context of realworld business situations and seeking solution that tests both logical reasoning and creativity. It allows the interviewer to evaluate candidate‟s skill in deconstructing a problem and communicating thought process, their ability to think on their feet, how they handle ambiguity and assess their comfort with numbers. Although traditionally used by consulting firms in their recruiting processes, the case method is now increasingly used for jobs across functions whether general management or investment banking. The casebook by The Consulting & Strategy Club of IIM Lucknow documents candidate experiences in interviews by different firms that have been hiring from IIM Lucknow campus over the years. The ideal way to use this book would be for the candidate to first arrive at a case solution employing his own approaches and then enhance their learning through comparison with the approach documented in the casebook. A diligent study of the popular case solving techniques along with practice with this casebook will enable readers to develop a proficiency in arriving at well-structured case solutions and face interviews much more confidently.

Arant | Goutam | Pradyut | Rahul | Rohit | Srivalson Animesh | Anuj | Mahesh | Nikita | Vinita

, IIM Lucknow

Page 2

Contents Foreword............................................ .................................................................. ............................................ ............................................ ............................................. ....................... 2 About Case Interviews Interviews .......................................... ................................................................ ............................................ ............................................. ........................... .... 4 Skills Tested.............................................................. .................................................................................... ............................................ ............................................. ....................... 4 Types of Cases Encountered .................................................... ........................................................................... .............................................. .............................. ....... 4 Do List for a Case Interview .............................................. .................................................................... ............................................ ...................................... ................ 5 Frameworks Frameworks ........................................... ................................................................. ............................................ ............................................. .......................................... ................... 5 Some Important Frameworks Frameworks ............................................................. .................................................................................... .......................................... ................... 5 Accenture Business Consulting ........................................................... .................................................................................. ........................................ ................. 10 Interview Experience 1 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 10 10 Interview Experience 2 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 12 12 Interview Experience 3 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 17 17

Boston Consulting Group................................... Group......................................................... ............................................. .............................................. ............................ ..... 20 Interview Experience 4 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 20 20 Interview Experience 5 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 27 27 Interview Experience 6 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 30 30 Interview Experience 7 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 32 32 Interview Experience 8 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 34 34

KPMG ............................................ ................................................................... ............................................. ............................................ ............................................. ......................... .. 38 Interview Experience 9 ...................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................... 39 39 Interview Experience 10 .................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... 40 40

Mckinsey & Co. ............................................................ ................................................................................... ............................................. ....................................... ................. 45 Interview Experience 11 .................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... 45 45 Interview Experience 12 .................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... 46 46 Interview Experience 13 .................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... 47 47 Interview Experience 14 .................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... 50 50

, IIM Lucknow

Page 3

About Case Interviews Interviews Case interviews are usually based on real problems which interviewers themselves have encountered in the course of their client engagements. They usually last for about 20 minutes and seek to test the candidate‟s problem solving skills. In a typical case interview, the interviewer states a problem and the interviewee goes about tackling the problem by asking a series of questions. The interviewer answers these questions based on how he wishes to direct the interview. The candidate must put forth a logical framework for solving the problem after having understood the key issues and must ideally make some recommendations/conclusions towards the end of a case.

Skills Tested  Problem solving skills  Quantitative skills  Communication skills  Poise and professionalism  Firm fit

Types of Cases Encountered  Estimation

     

cases – Determine Determine something by making reasonable assumptions about critical variables. For example: How many golf balls fit into a 747, or how many pens are sold every month on the IIM Lucknow campus? Market Sizing & Entry/Expansion Profit/Losses – Profit/Losses – Analyze Analyze changes in profitability, revenues and costs Industry Analysis Product Launch – Launch – Help Help a client gauge if and how to launch a product Mergers & Acquisitions Competition Handling , IIM Lucknow

Page 4

Do List for a Case Interview  Take notes  Do not make any assumptions  Ask questions  Take your time before responding  Lay out a structure for the interviewer  Summarize at regular intervals

Frameworks  Knowledge of basic types of frameworks is helpful in case interviews  Helps in structuring the case analysis especially complex cases  Attention should be paid to minute details of the case  Identify the most critical issue and try to find solution for it

well-known and just using them won‟t help  All the frameworks are very well-known you in cracking the interview  Don‟t fit a framework forcefully. Use it as a checklist to be exhaustive in case you are stuck  Try mixing and matching frameworks with different types of cases  Try to form your own effective framework

Some Important Frameworks SUPPLY AND DEMAND:

The market-clearing price and quantity is determined by the intersection of demand curve and the supply curve.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 5

PROFITABILITY:

Try to find out the reason for change in profitability. Profit = P * Q - ( (VC * Q) + FC) Profits are defined as total revenue minus total cost. Changes in revenue are due to a change in quantity, price or both. Total cost is the sum of variable plus fixed costs. Variable costs vary directly with quantity while fixed costs are set for a given period. 3Cs:

It is one of the most widely used frameworks and one can differentiate their analysis by not using it. Still, a quick and effective framework for industry analysis!

, IIM Lucknow

Page 6

PORTER’S 5

FORCES MODEL:

It is usually the first step in industry analysis and should be followed by further analysis. This makes it very time consuming in nature. Analysts use it for qualitative evaluation of a firm‟s strategic position.

VALUE AND SUPPLY CHAIN :

It can be used to examine an industry‟s depth.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 7

PORTER’S GENERIC STRATEGIES:

It is a very effective tool in analysis of the cases.

SWOT:

In a full case analysis, this framework leads to time wastage and should be avoided. It can be used as a presentation framework.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 8

MARKETING FRAMEWORKS :

These frameworks are very helpful in analysing marketing cases in consulting interviews. STP:

Segmentation: 

Consider variables for segmenting markets



Analyse the profile of emerging segments



Validate emerging segments

Targeting: 

Formulate a targeting strategy



Decision on which segments should be targeted

Positioning: 

Understand the perception of the customers



Position products in the minds of the consumers

4Ps: 

Product – Functionality, brand, packaging and services



Price- Absolute and relative price



Place- Channel, inventory, logistics and distribution



Promotion- advertising, publicity, sales force, sales promotion

, IIM Lucknow

Page 9

INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES Summer Internship 2011 Accenture Business Consulting Interview Experience 1

Company Name: Round Brief Profile :

Personal interview questions

Accenture Business Consulting Shalabh Malhotra 2 Rounds IIT Guwahati, Mechanical Engg., 10 months in NTPC Ltd. 1st Round 1. Tell me about yourself. Examples from life to justify for whatever points you had mentioned.

2. Guesstimation Case 3. Do you like travelling? Which all places have you been to? (A consulting job requires a lot of travelling. Make sure you justify that you love travelling) 4. What do you know about Accenture and ABC? Which vertical in ABC interests you the most? 2nd Round

This round is based on your work-ex. Know your company well and have a good hold on your sector. 1. Tell me about your experience in NTPC Ltd. 2. Why NTPC Ltd. after engineering and why MBA now? 3. Present Power Scenario in India. Difficulties faced by thermal power plants at present. 4. Future of Nuclear Power Plants. Pros and Cons. 5. Hydro-electric plants and their pros and cons.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 10

Narration of the case interview

Problem statement:

You are a private company who has got the contract to install street lights in Lucknow. Guesstimate the number of street lights that will be required and the expected profit you think you can earn. Structure:

1. I assumed Lucknow‟s area to be 20km by 20km. 2. I, then, divided the city into a matrix assuming it to be criss-crossed by #60 20 km roads running horizontally and vertically each. 3. Then estimated an approximate of 30% area to be under forest cover. 4. Divided the roads in the remaining 70% area into roads present in residential and non-residential (commercial + highways) areas. Took an estimate on number of street lights present per km in both these areas. 5. Finally came to a number on the number of street lights taking into account that some places will have 2 lamps on a single post while others will have just 1. 6. After that estimated the product + set-up cost for each street light. 7. Estimated the running charges (maintenance and electricity). Electricity charges would depend on the number of operation hours and watt-rating of the lamp. Maintenance charges and profit margin was estimated. 8. In the end a total estimate of profits was calculated. What do you think went wrong in this interview?

Though I was called for the 2nd interview, I think I didn‟t do well in the Guesstimation case (1st round) itself. The 2nd interview was good but I guess they were calling people for the 3rd interview based on both the interviews combined. Prepare for cases and Guesstimation well.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 11

Interview Experience 2

Company

Accenture Business Consulting

Name:

Binay Jaiswal

Name of interviewer and designation

4 rounds were held. I don‟t remember the specific names of all the people. The first round was taken by Gautam and third round was taken by one of the alum.

Round (First/Second/third)

1st and 2nd round were case interviews. Third was a work experience specific interview and last was the HR round.

Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc.)

B.Tech in IT from NIT Durgapur

Personal interview questions (With indicative answers if you choose to share them)

Round 1:

45 months of work experience: 37 months in IBM and 8 months in TCS as SAP ABAP Technical Consultant.

The first questioned asked was the number of shortlist on day 0 and the interviewer jumped straight into a slide in his laptop. Basically the slide had plenty of line diagrams. I had no clue what it was about. As we started interacting, I figured out the line diagrams showed number of units sold in a span of 8-9 months. I was asked to analyse the line diagrams. On further interaction and based on my answers, I came to know the diagrams had the data about the number of units sold by various companies and total number of units sold in each month. The figures didn‟t show any consistent pattern and I was asked to figure out why was it so. Basically only thing I could figure out was the sales showed cyclical nature and the number showed a positive trend just before Oct-Nov and a dropping trend in Jan-Mar. There was a clear market leader but the sales were decreasing in latest months while there was a fierce competition for the second and the third slot. A detailed discussion took place about who can take the second , IIM Lucknow

Page 12

place and why. Then he asked some FRA question related to the graphs. The discussion boiled down to FIFO/LIFO method and he gave some data for a particular company and I was asked to show the impact of LIFO or FIFO on Profit, COGS, Taxes, and retained earnings. After that he asked a short case on airline industry and it didn‟t revolved around rising oil prices (Aberration of current Market condition). According to the case, one courier company increased the freight charges though there was a decrease in oil prices. My answers revolved around higher interest rates and depreciation which decreased the operating profit of the courier company. But he was looking for something else and the case was supposed to be analysed from demand-supply side (Microeconomics!!!!). With his input we concluded that the business model of freight industry was changing. Companies who used to transport by rail/road now started using Air Freight which increased the demand suddenly and hence the price. Further because of capacity constraint, the Air Freight company bought few new aircrafts and hence wanted to break even early to make the most of current market. Note: The interview went Ok types. Interviewer expectation was much more and I think I could not handle the Airline case upto his expectation. He wished me good luck for the next round. Round 2:

I came to know that they have scheduled my first round again as they were expecting more. The interview started with “How did the first round went”? I said “It was decent but I should have done better”. He asked “would have or should have”? I said “Should have”. “What went wrong” was his instant question. I gave my analysis and he looked satisfied by my analysis (He displayed like that ). I was told that this round will have 2 parts: (i) Case (discussed below) and (ii) some general questions

, IIM Lucknow

Page 13

As he was very satisfied with the case analysis, the second part of interview was not much of pain. It was more of a general discussion. As I had work ex in IT industry, I was asked how will I handle management consulting as it‟s very different from IT consulting and required very competent skills. I was also asked about the highest level of client interaction and how I managed them. He specifically asked for one of the CV point which was about interacting with the program director of the US based client and how I managed to convinced him to increase the scope of the development, issues faced and what it took to convince him to approve the increase in man hours effort from 400 to 950. Few questions about my strengths and how I will handle the clients specifically when I am interacting with CXO level people followed. I was also asked why consulting and whether I would be comfortable travelling after marriage. Overall I had a very good interview.

Round 3

This round was taken by one of our alums. I was asked if I am nervous or excited. I said both and was asked to explain why so. (Good Ice Breaking 5 minutes). I was again asked the number of process I am running for (Other Shortlists!!!). A casual discussion followed like it must be tough running for different process in different parts of the campus. He was constantly picking up points from my CV and it was more or less work experience related interview. Questions like my greatest failure in life so far and my learning from it, why Accenture business consulting, strengths of Accenture etc. I was asked to compare between Accenture and (i) IBM (ii) Deloitte (iii) McKinsey and few other consulting companies. Why consulting figured again and my fit as a consultant was asked. I was also asked about my CGPA and relative position amongst PGP1 students. Questions like do you face , IIM Lucknow

Page 14

difficulty studying after 45 months of work ex and how I adjusted, how I manage pressure here etc. followed. I asked three questions to him and a detailed discussion took place. Round 4

It was HR round which lasted for around 10 minutes. Questions like Why ABC, Consulting, my strengths, best and worst feedback received in my previous work ex were asked. I was asked about my expectation from ABC. Brief discussion about my POR and CGPA followed. Narration of the case interview (Please be as descriptive as possible)

Problem statement: The case was about decreasing sales of Nano in Kolkata and adjoining areas. Case analysis: Initially we discussed if it was a normal trend in other parts of India or not. If there was any price increased by Nano or any changes with the design which might not have gone well with the consumers. We also spoke about impact of negative publicity like engine failure and instances of fire breaking out in Nano. Marketing strategies of handling negative publicity was also discussed.

But the maximum discussion happened around 2 points: 1) As Nano was mainly for people with 2 wheelers, I wanted to understand where the real issue was. Whether consumers are moving to 2.5-3 lakhs priced car like Alto and Zen (few others also) or people with 2 wheelers were not able to buy Nano. I asked about any trend whether any data regarding people willingness to buy Nano (Through Test Drives taken, visits to showrooms etc.) but not actually buying was there or not. After few minute of discussion, I was told that the main issue was people with 2 wheelers are not buying Nano. So the main issue was affordability. I recommended zero % interest rate for EMI for first 2 years of purchase and very minimal ROI , IIM Lucknow

Page 15

after that. We also discussed about the bank Nano should partner with and then he filtered the question to 1 bank only. I opted for SBI as it has branches in adjoining remote areas of Kolkata and people there have higher trust in Govt. banks. 2) We also spoke about the Demand-Supply constraint. If there was any channel conflict. Brief interaction revealed that Nano had only 7 distributors in that part of region and this was a major problem and it should increase by 3-4. What do you think went right in this interview?

My case performance in the second round went pretty well. The interviewer complimented me about the analysis (though it may not look that impressive above). The structure and thorough conversation helped me sail through and I was told that I kept the interviewer interested and hooked throughout the case solving phase. After my third round I was also appreciated about my prior work experience and I was told “You had a quality work experience and I appreciate your practical approach of business understanding”.

What do you think went wrong in this interview?

Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

My first round didn‟t go that well particularly the Airline question. I should have interacted more to understand various perspectives rather than being biased with current market situation (Like higher oil price and interest rates which was not applicable here) 1) Stay Cool because it will help you to interact freely and focus on various perspectives which is very important in the case 2) Display a lot of enthusiasm and don‟t shy away from talking. Remember Consultant need to do a lot of talking. Just ensure you talk sense on that day. 3) Practice some cases before interviews. 4) Never think that you are out of race. Don‟t judge yourself in the interview. Interviewer might give you chance to bounce back. 5) Higher Work Ex people particularly IT , IIM Lucknow

Page 16

background can‟ t get day zero shortlist is a myth Interview Experience 3

Company

Accenture Business Consulting

Name:

Mahesh

Name of interviewer and designation Round (First/Second/third) Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc. ) Personal interview questions (With indicative answers if you choose to share them)

NA First (of 3 rounds)

Bpharm Work experience of 2 years 1. Tell me something about yourself? 2. Asked me about my role at previous workplace? 3. Why consulting? 4. How did you know Accenture? HR related questions were asked in the subsequent rounds

Narration of the case interview (Please be as descriptive as possible)

Problem statement: A multination firm in oil and gas segment is looking at setting up a green field plant by collaborating with ONGC India. You being one of the directors chosen to work for this partnership what are the most important factors you would look at? Case analysis: I divided the decisions into HR, operations, finance and marketing related decisions. Since the venture was a new one I focused on the organizational chart development and the role of director in selecting the right people for higher and middle management roles. I also talked about getting policies with regard to skill set of workers, policy on unions being in place. Talked about setting up a township and hiring a contractor for it as the location is likely to be in a remote area. Also , IIM Lucknow

Page 17

focused on retaining and hiring of talent. Marketing function decisions included pricing of product (based on cost estimates of sales force) and sales force for carrying out B2B activities. Discussion on operations was the most important one in this case. I talked about the role of director in hiring a contractor and overlooking the subcontractors used. I also talked about the timelines of the project and suggested a milestone based approach with penalties to ensure that the work gets done. In addition to contract related equipment i focused on the equipment specification to match to the capacity expectations. Aggregate planning with scaling up was also suggested to make the factory operational and to sort out initial issues. I focused on the supply chain related issues to transport the end product to customers.(Suggested pipeline) Talked about the role of cost accountant in determining the price of the end product and also focussed on selecting an external auditor to oversee the accounting standards. Structure: Divided the case as per verticals in an organization

A guestimate on the number of streetlights in Lucknow was asked (He asked me to be very short in description and wanted me to use numbers at every step) I approached this by assuming Lucknow to be close to a rectangle in shape the dimensions being 20 x 15 Km. Then i assumed the main streets to be passing though lines joining the mid points. I assumed that these roads to be two lane and had the highest density of lights. The next part was about the streets branching out of these streets and i assumed lower density of lights here. Thus i got a series and added them up to get the number of lights.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 18

Other questions Guesstimate the number of travellers to Antarctica Guesstimate the number of cab drivers in Delhi

What do you think went right in this interview?

Got the structure. I was able to use the ques. from the interviewer and could this helped in approaching the case better. After the discussion gave 3 points on which a director needs to focus

What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

Should have organized the points in each vertical in order of their importance. Ask for clarifications to the interview if needed. Practice a lot of cases with your peers. Be clear about „Why ABC‟?

, IIM Lucknow

Page 19

Boston Consulting Group Interview Experience 4

Company

The Boston Consulting Group

Name:

Abhir Bhomavat

Name of interviewer Principal and designation Round

First

Brief Profile :

BITS-Pilani Goa Campus (8.73 – Electronics and Instrumentation, Fresher with an internship at J.P. Morgan Investment Banking) Was a convener on the council during my under graduation. Institute rank 2nd at IIM-L in the first term with a GPA of 9.4



1. Are you clear about your decision between IB and Consulting? 2. Why consulting 3. Why BCG? I had a well prepared answer for all these questions Problem statement: The client is a company that manufactures an interactive educational tool. It is basically something as big as a blackboard fitted in the classroom and has touch screen interactivity. What do you think is the scope of this product and what are the other things that the company can do in the field of education to increase its revenues (to 1000 Cr)? Case analysis:

, IIM Lucknow

Page 20

I first tried to understand the product properly. Q. Does the company make any other products? Ans: No Q. What is this particular product used for majorly? To teach what? Ans: English language I was trying to build a structure at this point when he interrupted me by asking me if I had understood the question. I felt he was trying to put a bit of stress. He then asked me to explore what all are the options that an educational tech company in India could explore. Q. Are we looking at only classroom services or online as well? Ans: Upto you what you want to look at I built a structure which split into Classroom learning and online learning. Then further split classroom learning into providing education material and products (like the one the client makes). In online I split it into videos and material. He was happy with this basic structure. He then asked me that the client was focusing on language needs of people. So he asked me to estimate the demand of the English language learners. He then asked me to estimate how many such are those who already have a source to learn and how many are wanting to but do not have a source and what should I target? I started with the metro population in India. Roughly 14mX4 = 56m. Then divided it by the age group. I dint plug in any figures. I just made the initial tree. I told him that I would plug in the figures later. Age group of 16 and less who are going to schools. He then asked me why I have not considered adults who want to learn English.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 21

Then I considered that as well. He then asked me why I have not taken into consideration those who do not know that they want to learn English. I didn‟t understand what he meant, so I asked him to explain. He told me that a domestic maid is latent demand because she doesn‟t know that she want to learn English (got kind of philosophical at this point) So he asked me to factor that in as well. He asked me how we can make them use an online medium when they do not have basic education in the first place. Summary:

He helped me a lot with the case. Infact he gave me the 2 most important points of adult demand and latent demand. Overall I found the case to be very tough and ambiguous. He kept on asking me if I understood the question which made me lose confidence many times. What do you think went right in this interview?

I was passionate about the education industry like I had mentioned. I also was not put down by his comments of “have you understood my question”. He didn‟t give me much time to think, but I still managed to build a structure with all the ambiguity in the problem. I feel he was judging the different ways in which I could think since it was a pretty open ended and highly unstructured case to start with.


At first I didn‟t understand why he was focusing on the demand of English language. I should have taken into consideration of adults as well. I was looking at only school children. I was very nervous since it was my first interview of the day and was also the very first for BCG in the morning. The interview was shorter than I anticipated.


Please make sure of what you say in the initial HR questions. I had mentioned that I liked teaching. That was the reason why picked out this case for me. So please make sure you can show the passion for a particular interest that you have mentioned. Be calm during the case. He will help you out for sure. , IIM Lucknow

Page 22

It is important to be persistent and keep going at the problem. Round



Second

1. Are you convinced about consulting vs. IB? 2. Why do you want to do consulting and not IB? 3. Tell me something different/interesting about yourself. 4. Have you worked on live projects? If so tell me one in which you used a completely different approach. Ans: I spoke about a project that I had done during an intern at a CSIR lab after my 2 nd year of engg. It was highly technical and involved FEM in the field of Biophysics. He asked me what I did differently. I explained it to him in layman terms. He was very impressed with my answer. Problem statement: A financial services company (NBFC) that has entered India few years ago wants to know whether it should continue in India or not? Case analysis:

Q. I asked him the relative position of the business viza-viz its peers. th

Ans: It is not very high. Somewhere around 6 . Q. What are the different businesses? Ans: Mutual funds – debt and equity, Asset management, etc. Equity fund is not performing as well as its competitors. Debt is on par Q. What is its target market? Ans: HNIs with income of INR 5Cr + I had made a brief structure earlier in which I had said , IIM Lucknow

Page 23

that I would like to explore 3 things. The historical performance of the fund, Its competition, and the third thing was future growth in India. He gave me some details on the historic performance and all. He also told me about the competition. I was then asked to make a decision of whether to continue in India. I told him based on the future growth story they should remain in India. He wanted me to ask the growth rate of HNIs in India. He then gave me those figures. Q: He then asked me what all problems they could face. Ans: Very volatile equity markets, major source of HNI money is black so we can‟t capture the entire growth in HNI. Competition could outdo us. If interest rates fall, investors would want to invest abroad. I gave a few more options that I can‟t recall right now. Summary:

The case was very straight forward. Basic questions needed to be asked. I had expressed an interest in finance so I was given this case. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience Round

He was very impressed with my HR questions. That gave me major confidence. The case was simple and need a proper structure initially which I provided. He was impressed with the option generation as well. I forgot to ask him the growth rate of our target market (HNIs). Prepare HR answers really well. My case was something which anybody would have cracked but the differentiating part was the HR answers. Third


1. Tell me about yourself 2. Why does consulting excite you? Was well prepared for these.

Narration of the case

I had 2 cases in this interview. , IIM Lucknow

Page 24

interview st

1 case: Problem Statement:

A taxi driver (black and yellow taxi) asked me if he should move to a radio cab in Delhi. Analysis:

I was a simple case of cost-benefit. Split into revenues and cost. Cost split into fixed (maintenance and insurance) and variable (fuel) I asked him the km each car run in a day, the mileage, the cost per liter of diesel. Charge/km. Made the comparison and gave him the answer. He asked me what else I should consider. I told him that the taxi driver had more freedom owning his own cab. But in the radio cab he won‟t have to worry about depreciation of the vehicle. I also told him that owning his taxi may be a matter of prestige for the driver. nd

2 Case:

Should a PE fund buyout Infosys? Case analysis:

Q. I asked him what the private equity fund was looking at: Stake purchase or complete buyout. Ans. Complete buyout He asked me how a PE can gain out of buying Infosys. I told him that the PE would have board members and would provide guidance and expertise along with the funding support. Q. How long is the PE looking to invest in Infy? Ans. 5 years Q. what is rate of return that infy will give in 5 years , IIM Lucknow

Page 25

Ans: 20% At this point he asked me will the PE be able to increase the profits of infy? I told him that we could better management and expertise from the PE end. He said that the PE would not be able to manage Infosys better that what it already was. Q. Will the PE be able to bring in new outside business? Ans: no Q. Will the PE be able to generate more than the expected 20% revenue for Infy? Ans. No At this point he told me think of it from an IB perspective. He told me that if infy can be bought for say Rs 100 and would be worth Rs 120 after 5 years, it‟s not a big deal. The PE would not be interested in something like this. So why would a PE look to invest? I luckily had some prior knowledge of Infy (0 debt on its balance sheet and a hell lot of cash) So I told him that the entire source of funds was only equity. So the PE could buy the equity and then pay off dividends to it (since INFY was cash rich) or else raise debt for leverage. Q. Will the growth remain 20% even if I raise debt? Ans: yes So I told him that if INFY raises debt of Rs 100, Firm value would be roughly Rs 200 and growth would be 20% -> Rs 240. Therefore the PE would make 40 on its initial Rs 100 -> 40%. He was looking for a solution like: Buy it for Rs 100. Replace Rs 50 of equity by raising debt. And then sell it for Rs120 5 years later. So effective gain would be Rs 20 on Rs 50 which is still 40% Q. What is this mechanism called? Ans. Leveraging , IIM Lucknow

Page 26

He spoke a bit about LBOs then. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

The extra information I had on Infosys was something he was very impressed with. He liked the fact that I was persistent in the PE case. I was thinking of different options. He led me to a solution. I didn‟t get the hint of him leading me to an LBO based solution even though I knew what an LBO was. Be confident and be persistent. Keep on going at the case even if you are stuck


Company Name: Name of interviewer and designation Round Brief Profile :



The Boston Consulting Group Arjun Bhaduri Arvind Pandey, Partner and Director First B.Sc (Economics Honors) from St. Xavier‟s College No work experience 1. Why should BCG select you? This was a pressure question because everything I said seemed to displease him. I just tried to match my personality with BCG and that seemed to work for me. Problem statement:

A cement manufacturer based out of East India has been seeing his prices in east India dip heavily in the past few months. Despite being the market leader, he seems to be unable to arrest the fall in prices. The aim as a consultant lies to raise the prices by 10% and find a strategy to make sure the prices do not fall so easily again. Case analysis:

This was a very complex case with multiple problems and solutions with each having a different set of pros , IIM Lucknow

Page 27

and cons. He wanted me to see the case from a simple demand and supply point of view. Structure:

The supply was overshooting demand in the market as a result of the actions of competitors. So the issue was also to do with the distributors in the middle and how brand consciousness would come into the scene. The structure could be simplified to a 2*2 matrix with price elasticity of demand and brand consciousness on the axes. The issue could be then simplified on the basis of the quadrant in focus. Summary:

Overall, the issue was embedded in being able to use game theory with the distributor and play prices up and down at regular intervals. Another strategy was to enter into forward contracts. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Round Personal interview questions Narration of the case interview

Calmness and common sense was the key.

Was a little nervous at the beginning of the interviewing as a result of the complexity of the case. Second

1. General conversation for about 5 minutes? The interviewer was very calm and reassuring and that helped me build the conversation. Problem statement:

A local taxi driver in Delhi wants to explore the possibility of signing a contract with a radio taxi service. Help him with his dilemma Case analysis:

This was a case that really tested your ability to think far , IIM Lucknow

Page 28

and wide because the math was simple but the underlying logic could have been missed very easily Structure:

Used a simple revenue-cost structure for the pre and post radio taxi phase. Then tried to see if any of the key variables could be modified to come up with a different result. Summary:

The case had two parts- one was the initial decision and the decision after changing a key variable. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Round Personal interview questions


Thought simple and picked up the cues very well.

Failed to see the obvious solution the first time and needed a little pushing in the right direction. Third

1. Asked my questions about my tastes in food? 2. General discussion on football and tennis and we spoke about our favorite stars from each of them. More than anything else, this was an amazing conversation where I could speak without any fears and inhibitions.

Problem statement:

A life insurance company in Sri Lanka is losing out on market share. Where does the problem lie? Case analysis: The case was a test of structure to see if you could create one with all the levers enlisted. Structure:

The market share could be seen as a function of number , IIM Lucknow

Page 29

of policies sold and the revenue per policy. The discussion would then carry on the aspect of number of policies. The number of policies itself would be a function of a number of factors, out of which one of them was creating an issue. Summary:

The toxic area was something to do with the insurance policy salesman and the entire structure had to be panned out so as to get to that What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

Was highly energetic and logical in my approach.

I rushed through the case in parts.

Be calm, logical and energetic. That is all you need to impress the interviewer.


Company Name: Name of interviewer and designation Round Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc. ) Personal interview questions (With indicative answers if you choose to share them)


The Boston Consulting Group Aman Bhatnagar Pranay Mehrotra, Partner & Director First IIT Delhi Electrical Engineering (B. Tech) Entrepreneur, 17 months

1. Started with discussion about Tintin, Herge, literary quizzing, went on to about yourself, gave his introduction and a chocolate, clarified on why it took so long to get to see me 2. Interested with Manchester United, talked about playing vs. watching football vs. gaming for a bit Problem statement: Client is a life insurance agency in Sri Lanka facing declining market share , IIM Lucknow

Page 30

Case analysis:

Market leader, no.2 and no. 3 growing in dominance, Market growing, they didn‟t release a particular policy, don‟t give enough incentives to their agents which other firms are capitalizing on, Structure:

Broke it down into their business structure, understood how they operate, tried to find loopholes in each step Summary:

What do you think went right in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience Round Name of interviewer and designation Personal interview questions Narration of the case interview

Was asked to stop after explaining the approach and asking two or three questions, BCG vs McKinsey took over, spirited discussion regarding pros, cons and discussion I had with Gautam Kumra at McK, after debates and stressing the people point, we called it a day. Confidence, at ease, conversational tone and mode Relating with the interviewer, leading the interview Take hints, explain approach.

Second Arvind Pandey, Partner

Talked about himself, food, asked about experience till now, outlined that we‟ll start with a case and then move on to any doubts I have about BCG Problem statement: Leading cement manufacturer is facing declining profits; prices have halved in the last few months and facing decreasing prices further as well. Suggest emergency measures for next few weeks. Case analysis:

Spoke about the business, market, the competition and , IIM Lucknow

Page 31

how everyone else was coping. Talked about how the business worked; distribution and sales network, retailers and incentives and breakup in terms of branded, unbranded cement. Twist in the case, BCG says increase prices; profits fall by 12% more and take a hit. Now what? Structure:

Value chain + market scenario, focused on issues like rising costs, raw material sourcing, manufacturing difficulties, expansion possibilities but were discounted. Went on to retailers and distribution and his eyes lit up, literally. Focused on region wise distribution, why there were discrepancies in individual dealers selling different quantities given same consumption patterns, focused on price prediction patterns and inventory holding practices by different retailers. Summary:

Was stopped after this, talked about BCG, consulting as a career and how the partner found his calling, how BCG contributes in making real change in the world What do you think went right in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

Confidence, at ease, conversational tone and mode Relating with the interviewer, leading the interview I was informed later it was a stress interview. Since I got offers from both firms, seems best to be clear, calm and logical on the day and not let anything bog you down, least of all, the pressure and reputation.


Company Name: Name of interviewer and designation Round

The Boston Consulting Group Mustafa Rangwala All interviewers were with partners First , IIM Lucknow

Page 32

Brief Profile : Personal interview questions


Did B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from VJTI. Worked in JP Morgan for 21 months Asked me why I wanted to join Consulting and not stay in finance as my CV was fin-oriented. Also asked I whether I would join McKinsey or BCG (Be ready with the answer to the last question as it is going to be asked). Problem statement:

The client is a financial services company. It has started a wealth management business five years earlier. The business is not performing nicely. Should the company keep on making on investments in this or exit. Structure:

First asked about the industry. The industry was growing but the company was losing share. This meant that the problem was with the company. Structured to find about the revenue and cost structures of the industry and the firm in particular. Tried to gather as much background information on this as possible. Talked about training the employees, any new adverse regulations, competitor offerings, etc. In short covered a lot of different angles. Finally he asked me to give 10 recommendations to solve the problem. This was difficult as we had barely discussed the case for 10 minutes. Took 5 minutes to write down my suggestions. Structured my answer in three areas: Customers, employees and business improvement. Gave 3-4 suggestions in each bucket. What do you think went right in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

I was able to give 10 recommendations which required a lot of idea generation Idea generation requires a lot of practice. Make sure you do abstract cases which involve idea generation. Also have questions for the interviewer ready for at least 3 rounds of the process.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 33


Company

The Boston Consulting Group

Name:

Vinay Doshi

Round

First

Brief Profile :

UG : Shri Ram College Of Commerce (2011) Stream: Economics Work-ex: 0 months


Just a little chat about where you‟re from, what you like doing and stuff. Of course, it began with the quintessential -“Why don't you tell me something about ourself?” Well, the simple approach I took to answering this question each time was to link the major points on my cv and answer “Why you for BCG?” I do not think speaking about only one particular instance or event is a very good idea, unless of course, the interviewer himself/herself probes the area Problem statement: About a potato chip manufacturing company

arration of the case interview What do you think went right in this interview?

Well I didn‟t really end up “cracking the case” as well i could have. That was really a big negative I thought. But i hindsight, the fact that i got an offer only affirm that there is no such thing as “cracking the case” - they only judge your approach to problem solving, and as ou very well know there is no one correct solution


I really made a connect with the interviewer I felt. Let him do more of the talking bit as i sat listening. It really helps, because in the end, the interviewer will inevitably end up dropping those crucial hints that shall help you reach a conclusion.

Any tips for future You really need to be calm and only then will the batches on the basis of analytical skills and creativity really show. But do not worry - the interviewer shall go out of his/her way to , IIM Lucknow

Page 34

our experience

make you feel so. Just be you and try to establish connecting with the interviewer. A smiling face comes in handy too. Also, there is a lot of buildup on campus to the start of day zero- just remain calm during that time. It‟s easy to feel over pressurized, especially with all the short-lists coming in, but just relax. It‟s going to be fine.

Round

Second


Although the partner did not ask me any questions specifically, I started talking to him about his day, job and used this as an opportunity to highlight the points in my work experience which I wanted to share (remember they will not always ask you everything and do ensure that you connect it wherever possible)

arration of the case interview

Problem statement:

The client is a large cement company with the highest market share. The second close player is cutting prices. To match the prices the client has also reduced its prices and is facing declining profits. The client has given us 3 weeks to solve the problem. Structure:

I asked him about the dynamics of the industry. He explained that there is not much difference between the products as well as the cost structures of the company. This meant that even the competitor is losing money by the price war. I suggested 2 alternatives to solve this: first involved analysing the cost structure and trying to reduce costs. But the interviewer told me that the client has used all the cost efficiencies possible (this indicates that the interviewer does not want me to go deeper). , IIM Lucknow

Page 35

Second option that I suggested involved was the Game Theory approach. This involves indicating to the competitor that we will not reduce our prices even if he does so. This I suggested could be done by issuing some way of communication to the competitor. But he said that the competitor is not willing to talk. I could not think of what could be done so he suggested that the client should increase the prices. This will show to the competitor that the client is serious. Then the interviewer said that after one week, the sales of the client had declined drastically and the competitor had not reduced its prices. This created a problem of inventory. To solve this data was collected geographically and analyzed. It was found that some dealers had reduced the stocks of the clients cement. The clients did this as they expected the price increase to be temporary and thus wanted to postpone the purchase. I suggested increasing the prices again. This will signal to the dealers that the price increase is not temporary. Finally he asked me to give some suggestions about the same. I suggested that the dealers should be given discounts based on the average volumes they generate every week and month. This will help in inventory planning. Secondly whenever the price is increased they should be increased all at once and any decrease should be spread over a larger period. This will not allow competitors and dealers to pre-empt the client. What do you think went right in this interview?

I was able to get the fact that the problem related to Game Theory.

What do you think went wrong in this

The case had only one solution but I could not exactly pinpoint that

, IIM Lucknow

Page 36

interview? Any tips for future Even though the ideas might sound outlandish, get them batches on the basis of across, they will give you the benefit of thinking out of our experience the box. Try to involve the interviewer in the case as much as possible, if he is interested he will point you out more and more in the right direction. Round

Third


Started directly with the case. At the end of the case asked me about LBO (Leveraged buyout) and asked me to give an example in the Indian markets

arration of the case interview

Problem statement:

I was travelling in a taxi when the driver asked me about switching his car and joining the radio cab service such as Meru. What is your advice? Structure:

I said that we will compare the profits of the two methods and make our decisions based on that. I asked about the revenue and costs of the two and calculated the profit. I proved that joining the radio cab was better. But the interviewer told me that was the wrong answer. He asked me to go back. I took the current taxi and approached the different line items one by one. I suggested that if the driver installed an AC he will be able to charge more. But the interviewer asked me to suggest something else. If the engine of the cab (which was currently diesel) could be replaced by CNG (the radio cab used CNG) the fuel cost reduced drastically making the current cab , IIM Lucknow

Page 37

more profitable. I showed him the calculations. What do you think went right in this interview?

I was able to get to the required answer.


He expected me to get to the answer much quicker.

Any tips for future Try to be receptive to the hints given by the interviewer batches on the basis of in the process. They are extremely important to get to our experience the solution quickly.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 38

KPMG Interview Experience 9

Company Name: Round Brief Profile :

KPMG Abhishek Mani Tripathi 3 rounds of case interviews NIT Trichy, ECE, 2years Analog Devices

Personal interview 1. Why Consulting? questions 2. Why KPMG? What are your expectations from the internship programme? 3. What would you do for conflict resolution 4. Questions for the interviewer Narration of the case interview

Problem statement: Round 1:

A company which has a market share of 60% saw reduction in its revenue for last 3 years due to intense price competition. Competitors are reducing prices and the company is not able to compete since cost of production is higher than prices quoted by competitors. Machinery employed for production is old and labor costs have been rising over years. Customers have been very loyal to the product. Round 2:

A multinational insurance company wants to enter into Indian market. They offer life insurance, general insurance and fire and damage insurance. Company has been offering insurance in its parent country through online mode. Round 3:

A company wants to set up an automobile manufacturing unit in India. Do a cost-benefit analysis for the company. I was not allowed to ask questions in this round. I tried to analyse this case taking into account factors like location, government regulations, market size, availability , IIM Lucknow

Page 39

of labour, transportation etc. ( Time limit : 3 minutes ) Case analysis: First case :

I proposed that since machinery has not been replaced since years, quality of products has degraded. Secondly, competitors have reduced their prices by outsourcing it to countries like China. Second case :

Analyse it by separating life insurance, general insurance and fire and damage insurance. Give inputs on mode of delivery (online mode is not very feasible in Indian scenario). Also, take into account role of brokers and agents in case of fire and damage insurance. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

I was able to provide solutions to first 2 cases and the interviewers looked satisfied but couldn‟t do well in third case Was not able to provide a good solution to third case

First of all read complete case carefully. Ask questions and try to get as much information as possible. Communicate your answers to interviewers and keep them involved.


Company Name: Round

Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc. ) Personal interview

KPMG Rashik Gupta There were 4 rounds and each round followed a similar pattern – HR questions followed by a case BITS-Pilani, Chemical Engineering, 8 months at ZS Associates

1. Tell me about yourself , IIM Lucknow

Page 40

questions


2. Do you know about the work that KPMG does 3. Experience at IIM Lucknow 4. Describe the project that you did at ZS Associates – This question was followed by many questions about my project 5. Short-term and long-term goals 6. Personal goals in life The only thing they were looking was how you structure your analysis and your line of thinking. They were not looking for any detailed analysis and in all the cases I was stopped after I had discussed my overall approach. Case 1: Problem statement: Samsung has come up to you with a business proposition i.e. they want to start an insurance company for electronic goods. How will you help them? Case Analysis:

The only thing they were looking was how you structure your analysis and your line of thinking. I started with asking questions about the new business model to extract some information like target customers,, how is the value proposition different from a warranty, how much can Samsung expect to charge its customers for insurance. My first step was to analyze the business model and establish the financial feasibility. This was followed by target customers – who are the target customers and are they sufficient to justify investment and why will they be interested in our product. Third step was to deal with operational issues of providing this product. Case 2: Problem statement:

A foreign bank wants to open its branch in India. They have hired you as a consultant. How will you approach this?

, IIM Lucknow

Page 41

Case Analysis:

My first step was to inquire about the bank. So I asked them about their current scale of operations, countries where they are operating, their market share and reputation among clients. I then explored what are the different areas of banking where the bank can start its operations and based on the answers to above questions, narrowed down on 1 area. Next step was to deal with operational issues, how they will start operations. I focused on 2 questions in this: 1. Who will be the customers immediately after starting? 2. How will be getting those customers and build trustworthy relationship with them? After an approach was finalized to start operations, I also briefly discussed how they will proceed in short term to expand their business in India. Case 3: Problem statement: You want to open a petrol pump. Proceed. Case Analysis:

In this case, my questions were not answered and I was told that it is your business, make necessary assumptions. So I took up 3-4 options like highways, a busy market in a city and similar other options. Then I followed a guesstimate approach for calculating the demand in these locations. Comparison of demand or revenues with investment gave me the best possible option for the petrol pump. Case 4:

Here they followed a slightly different approach. Before the case, I was told that no questions will be allowed. I have to make necessary assumptions by myself and I have 5 minutes to present my ideas and they won‟t allow me to complete if I am not done in 5 minutes.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 42

Problem statement:

A US car manufacturer wants to setup a plant in India. You are hired as a consultant. Help them. Case Analysis:

I started with stating my assumptions to make sure that all of us are working in the same framework. My assumptions were: 1. They already export their cars to India: This helped me to simplify my case as now I am aware of my target customers and what is my position in the market. Also I know how my product is viewed in Indian market. 2. It is amongst the biggest car manufacturers of US: This simplified the problem of establishing trust among customers as the company was a big brand name and enjoyed a good position in the market. So I started with the reasons of investing in India. Possible reason can be increase in demand and lost sales because imports are not able to meet demand or increase in competition and therefore for reducing costs, I have to operate in India rather than import my cars. I stated all the possible reasons and assumed one reason to be the valid one for further analysis. Let‟s say the reason is increase in competition. So we have decided that the motive of investing in India is to reduce costs. Now next step was to decide on a location that will help me in this regard. So I looked at 2 possibilities for this. 1. My customers are uniformly spread throughout India. In this case, my only concern about the location will be investment costs i.e. cost of land, cost of setting up a plant etc. and the tax rebate that I will get from state government. 2. I have most of my customers located in a particular area. In this case, I must strike a balance between above mentioned investment costs and my logistics costs i.e. plant must be located close to my biggest market. Since the reason for investing in India is increased , IIM Lucknow

Page 43

competition, my last step was to analyze how I will use my cost savings to deal with competition. I analyzed pros and cons of different options mentioned below: 1. Increase my marketing budget to attract customers 2. Decrease prices by passing on the savings in manufacturing to customers 3. A mix of both the strategies Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

Case analysis is very important. Make sure that you prepare a structure and show them the structure of analysis before starting.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 44

Mckinsey & Co. Interview Experience 11

Company Name: Name of interviewer and designation Round Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc.) Personal interview questions

McKinsey & Co. Aman Bhatnagar Rajat Dhawan, Partner

Narration of the case interview What do you think went right in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience Round Name of interviewer and designation Personal interview questions

Problem statement: NA – No case

First IIT Delhi Electrical Engineering (B. Tech) Entrepreneur, 17 months

1. About yourself – one of my interests is TED talks, talked about the model of TED, how it works, qualities I talked about resonated with consulting, led the interview from there on, asked about mood on campus, preferred recruiter, dream jobs 2. Consulting fits, where do you see yourself in McKinsey, your career goals, 10-15 years down the line? 3. Talking about the AIR 147 in IIT-JEE, coaching institutes, and then questions to him

Confidence, at ease, conversational tone and mode Relating with the interviewer, leading the interview Relax. Be yourself. Talk like you would to a senior colleague at a swanky restaurant when it‟s his treat. Second Gautam Kumra, Senior Partner

1. About yourself – about TED talks, structure of TED, about my venture, how it started up, how it evolved, current state, future plans 2. Told him about a question Rajat asked, discussed about that for a bit, and then he asked about other offers, shortlists, interest in finance etc. , IIM Lucknow

Page 45

3. Questions about BCG vs McKinsey, detailed discussion on Collaborative team spirit, Evaluation patterns, presence in almost all sectors where other firms are next to absent e.g. Healthcare, Impact in terms of setting up organizations like the ISB, PHFI, dealing in a scale which others could never hope to achieve, always being the innovators, the trailblazers as well as facts about compensation. Narration of the case interview What do you think went right in this interview?

Problem statement: NA – No case Confidence, at ease, conversational tone and mode Relating with the interviewer, leading the interview


Company Name: Name of interviewer and designation Round Brief Profile :



Mckinsey & Co Tejas Choudhari Mr. Sikka, Associate Partner 1st Round BTech(IT) from VJTI, Mumbai Fresher 1. Tell me about yourself. I had practiced this answer many times so was able to say it fluently and perfectly 2. Asked questions about my entrepreneurial venture and what was my role in it. Current situation of the venture and future prospects. General questions, nothing specific 3. Some questions on my cricket career during school and college Problem statement:

As he was talking to me about cricket, he started talking about how we could estimate cricket ball sales in the country for one year. Basically, I was given a guesstimate first up.

, IIM Lucknow

Page 46

Case analysis:

First, I confirmed whether he was talking about leather cricket ball. Thereafter, I started talking about where a cricket ball will be used and who will buy a cricket ball. At each juncture, I kept on checking with Mr. Sikka so as I‟m not deviating from the solution. Then I told him that I would estimate sales of cricket balls for Mumbai and then extrapolate it to the whole country. I calculated number of matches played in one day by estimating number of grounds in Mumbai (having played on most of the grounds, it was easy for me). Then I separated one day matches and 20-20 matches as one day match requires 2 balls and 20-20 requires 4 balls(As two 20-20 matches are possible on a single pitch in one day). Also, considering that each ground hosts practice session 2 times a day and this will also contribute towards the sales. Then he stopped me and said fine. He did not go into depth of the guesstimate as it could have got complicated with other parts of the country to be considered for contribution towards the sales of cricket balls. What do you think went right in this interview?

I was able to connect with the interviewer. I asked him questions on which we spoke for 15 minutes and he seemed interested.


No idea as such. I guess he needed something more from the guesstimate. More number crunching could have helped.


Please practice your cases as well as guesstimates. Also, know your CV in and out. Always connect with the interviewer.


Company Name:

McKinsey & Co. Amit Deshpande , IIM Lucknow

Page 47

Name of interviewer Rajat Bhargava and designation Round First


We started the interview by talking about the video conferencing facilities in IIM L, since there was a VC setup in the interview room. We talked about it for a while and then we started the interview. He asked the most standard question: tell me something about yourself. I gave him a long and descriptive answer since he wasn‟t engaging me much. We ended up talking about badminton since both of us were badminton players.


Since I am passionate about badminton, he asked me to estimate the no. of badminton courts in India. I started off by dividing India into rural and urban areas, and confirmed with him that I can ignore the rural areas for this guesstimation. I divided the urban areas further into tier 1 and tier 2 cities, and started with Mumbai as an average for tier 1 cities. The rest of the case was pretty straightforward, since I took an average number of people per badminton court and multiplied it by the population. I took a percentage of the number in case of tier 2 cities to arrive at the total number.

What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience Round

Structure was good. I clarified key assumptions with the interviewer before proceeding.

Name of interviewer and designation Personal interview questions

I overestimated the total number the first time, but corrected the number after a reality check. Draw out an MECE structure before starting analysis of the case. Reality checks are essential. Second

Amit Kheda The interviewer was extremely informal. He was talking how weird the interview process is these days, as compared to the process in his days. We talked about how big the interview room was and how difficult it is , IIM Lucknow

Page 48

to focus while sitting in a comfy couch! He didn‟t ask me any personal questions since he said he had already been through my CV a million times. Narration of the case The case was about a fertilizer manufacturing company interview based out of the US which was receiving complaints regarding its poor customer service. I started by asking details about the company, its operations, its customers, the competitors and the market in general (barriers, trends etc.). After the initial questions, I realized that the problem was in the supply of fertilizers to the customers (which were 5 major distributors across the US). So, I broke down the case into the supply value chain, i.e., raw materials (procurement and transportation), manufacturing process and inventory handling. This led me to the problem which was their inventory handling methods. Specifically, the demand estimation was way off; they estimated demand on an annual basis and it was a wordof-mouth contract with the customers. Besides, despite geographical variations within the US, the demand was estimated by one sales team centrally. This was the key issue and I got to it pretty quickly. The pace of the interview was very fast and the interviewer did not let me talk for long periods of time; basically he was testing me on my speed of option generation. I thought I did pretty well and suggested seasonal demand estimation based on geography and that the contracts with customers should be on paper. What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview?

Good case overall. I got the structure right which helped me arrive at the solution fast. Nothing really. However, I really had to think on my toes because the interviewer was constantly interrupting me and trying to disturb my thought process.

Round

Third

Name of interviewer and designation Personal interview questions

Gautam Kumra Very serious interview. He was completely straightfaced right from the word goes. Immediately asked me , IIM Lucknow

Page 49

to tell him something about myself. After hearing me out, he asked me to tell him something about my work experience at the Bain Capability Centre. This part went pretty well. Narration of the case interview

He didn‟t really give me a case. He asked me which sector I followed in India, to which I replied the retail sector. We then entered into a discussion into the retail sector in India. I had very little sector knowledge and retail was my best bet. SO after giving him some facts that I had read, he asked me what a retail company think should about while entering the Indian market, i.e., the key success factors. I told him that we should consider the target customer segment, the product offerings, the retail format and the locations. The interview was pretty OK till this point. However, then he started getting into details. He asked me what a company should do to compete with the huge unorganized sector, and wasn‟t convinced with my answer. I knew that I‟d blown it. Finally he ended the case and asked me if I had any other shortlists before I left.

What do you think went right in this interview? What do you think went wrong in this interview? Any tips for future batches on the basis of your experience

HR answers.

Everything else. Sector knowledge let me down.

Please prepare one sector thoroughly, not just facts, but to have a business opinion about it.


Company

McKinsey & Co

Name:

Srinath Nagarajan

Name of interviewer Gautam Kumra, Partner and designation , IIM Lucknow

Page 50

Round (First/Second/third) Brief Profile : (Graduation College, stream, Work ex details, etc. )


First

Chartered Accountant, BCom(Hons) from SRCC, Delhi University. Prior work ex as a Tax Consultant with Ernst & Young, a Visiting Faculty at St Josephs Colleger, Bangalore and then as a Ratings Analyst with CRISIL Ratings 1. Tell me about yourself – Had a 1 minute intro prepared highlighting specific aspects about myself that I wanted to bring to his notice 2. Tell me what you did in CRISIL – I explained that I was engaged in assigning Credit Ratings to Corporates under Basel II Regulations 3. How would you go about Rating a Company, lets say Bharti Airtel Because it was Bharti Airtel I had to give an answer tailored to what the approach would be for a Telecom company would be. While answering I was conscious of 2 things – One, that I have a clear structure to my answers and Two, tried to keep it as simple and jargon free as possible. 3.1(An Offshoot from something I had mentioned in the earlier answer) What are the ratios that you would look at? Here I mentioned the financial ratios that I would look at stating specifically why I would look at each ratio. He probed me on a few ratios here and there. The intention appeared to be more to check my articulation of a financial concept. Eg: What is a Current Ratio? I explained the formula. However I did not stop there. I went on to explain that it was used to assess the liquidity position of the company. Then I went on to explain to the logic behind the usage of the ratio – Simply put, it tells us if there is likely to be sufficient inflows of funds over the next one year to meet the maturing payment obligations. So a current ratio of less than one means the company has more to pay than what is coming in, a liquidity problem , IIM Lucknow

Page 51

(Based on the approving nods that I was getting, I felt he liked those portions of my answer where I endeavored to de-jargonize or simplify complex concepts) 4. So Tell me, how would you increase the revenues of Bharti Airtel That was my case, it had begun. However, at that point I thought it was just an extension of my previous discussion and I started rambling. One sentence in, I realized that this was my case to solve and I wasn‟t doing any of the things had rehearsed - probing questions/ 2 minute time out etc. In fact I did not even pick up the pen and the paper. I will discuss the case in the next session, but what I learnt is that the case can come at you un announced just be alert enough to grab it and not ramble on


Problem statement: How do you increase the revenues of Bharti Airtel Case analysis: Preliminary questions - W e all know Bharti Airtel and the services it offered quite well – So there was no need to ask preliminary questions. Also, since I wasn‟t aware that I was doing a case I did not have the opportunity to ask preliminary questions. Structure: The Structure that I used was fairly simple – Increase in Revenues can in Existing markets or through expansion in new markets.

I explored the existing markets first. Here increase in revenues could occur through increased market penetration, increased usage of basic services among current users or increased usage of Value added services among existing customers. He asked me a couple of questions on how these things can be done and I gave him some off the cuff answers. , IIM Lucknow

Page 52

For the New markets, I suggested that the company could look at inorganic expansion through acquisitions or through establishment of Greenfield operations in new markets with high market potential. The entire case was more like an informal chat. There were a few follow up questions on some of the options I had generated. The case did not last very long – about 10 minutes at the max.

What do you think went right in this interview?

I thought the pre-case portion of my interview went of really well. I was on top of all the points I had mentioned in the CV, so any discussion on my past experiences especially work ex went well. The thing I felt worked for me the most was my ability to describe the entire rating process without using complex financial jargons and my ability to explain things from a layman‟s perspective


I did not do the case analysis particularly well. I did not use the pen and paper. This meant that I was generating options thinking on my feet rather than providing carefully considered alternatives. This to a very large extent inhibited my creativity and did not give me enough opportunity to demonstrate my structuring skills.


Know your Resume well. At no point in the interview should you ramble on. All answers must be natural (ie, must not appear rehearsed), brief, structured and to the point. Retaining composure through the interview is critical. Mistakes may happen during the interview, but it is important to pick you up and keep at it. People rarely have perfect interviews where everything has gone right and interviewers don‟t expect it either.

Round (First/Second/third) Brief Profile : (Graduation College,

Second

Chartered Accountant, BCom(Hons) from SRCC, Delhi University. Prior work ex as a Tax Consultant with , IIM Lucknow

Page 53

stream, Work ex details, etc.) Personal interview questions


Ernst & Young, a Visiting Faculty at St Josephs Colleger, Bangalore and then as a Ratings Analyst with CRISIL Ratings 1. Tell me about yourself – Had a 1 minute intro prepared highlighting specific aspects about myself that I wanted to bring to his notice 2. You have mentioned that you sing on a Band in Bangalore, what do you do here exactly? – I explained the kind of music that we played and where we performed. I also explained the future plans that we have. I think he liked the fact that it was not something of the past and that I had a vision for the band in future also 3. How do you manage singing on the band, now that you are in IIM Lucknow I mentioned how we exchange tracks over the internet and how we perform and do studio recordings when I visit during the breaks 4. All right Srinath, let‟s start with a case shall we? I nodded and we moved on to the case Problem statement: I am the manufacturer of Tata Nano. While setting up the plant I expected to have sales of around 5 lac Nanos per annum, but now the number is way below that. Can you help me find out why Case analysis: Preliminary questions – Since it was Tata Nano, lot of the background questions were not required. I clarified whether the problem was a lack of bookings that they received. He agreed. Structure: The Structure that I used was not the best but it did get me to the problem. I started off by saying the lack of bookings could be on account of 3 reasons – One, a lack of awareness of the product among the target customers (Marketing problem), Two, Being aware of the product but not being able to place a booking (Distribution problem) or a Three, being aware of the product yet not interested in the product (I called , IIM Lucknow

Page 54

this the product problem). He asked me to ignore the first 2 (he did not seem highly impressed) and explore rd the 3 the product problem. Here I again broke it up in to 2 further branches – Problems that the Car has by itself (Internal factors) and problems in the external environment mainly competition, etc. I deep delved in to the Internal factors. Of the internal problems I mentioned, he agreed that the negative publicity from the steering wheel catching fire was an issue and comfort factor was another issue. As and when he acknowledged a problem, I made a separate note of it. Eventually when he asked me to explore the external factors, I used these points to do a quick summary of the key takeaways up to that point In the external problem, I divided it into competition from other cars and two wheelers. I asked a few questions here trying to pick up a clue or 2 of how to proceed from there but he just refused to shell out any information. At this point he also took out his Blackberry and acted uncooperative. I went on to analyze for myself that given that the price of the next cheapest car was over a lakh higher than this car the issue lay more with the 2 wheelers. I went on to list factors why people would prefer 2 wheelers to a Tata Nano. Of the factors I listed, he acknowledged that the high running costs and availability of easy financing options seemed like the distinguishing factors. He said I seemed to have arrived at the problem, He now asked me to tell me how he could provide financing options for the Nano. This I felt was like a guess estimate problem. I said I would work backward to solve the problem. This is how I solved it – I said the average Nano target customer would earn Rs 10000 per month (he had given me that number in an earlier discussion, he liked the fact that I had noted it down and was using it again) I said, given the average savings rate of the country is at 35%-40% (this is from the RBI website I think). That meant a saving of about Rs 4,000 per month. No one would be comfortable giving up their , IIM Lucknow

Page 55

IIML Consult Casebook 2011

Recommend Documents