所有咨询公司面试能用到的分析结构！所有咨询公司面试能用到的分析结构！所有咨询公司面试可能用到的分析结构 ZTAdvanced concepts & frameworksMBAs and other candidates with business backgrounds,take note - interviewers will expect you to have a moredetailed take on your case than an undergraduate would have.Here are some monly used case concepts.Net present valuePerhaps the most important type of decision panymanagers must make on a daily basis is whether to undertakea proposed investment. For example, should the pany buy acertain piece of equipment? Build a particular factory?Invest in a new project? These types of decisions arecalled capital budgeting decisions. The consultant makessuch decisions by calculating the present value of eachproposed investment and making only those investments thathave positive present values.Example: Hernandez is the CFO of Western ManufacturingCorp., an automobile manufacturer. The pany is consideringopening a new factory in Ohio that will require an initialinvestment of $1 million. The pany forecasts that thefactory will generate after-tax cash flows of $100,000 inYear 1, $200,000 in Year 2, $400,000 in Year 3, and$400,000 in Year 4. At the end of Year 4, the pany wouldthen sell the factory for $200,000. The pany uses adiscount rate of 12 percent. Hernandez must determinewhether the pany should go ahead and build the factory. Tomake this decision, Hernandez must calculate the presentvalue of the investment. The cash flows associated with thefactory are as follows:Hernandez then calculates the NPV of the factory asfollows:Since the factory has a negative present value,Hernandez correctly decides that the factory should not bebuilt.The present value ruleNote from the example above that once the consultanthas figured out the NPV of a proposed investment, she thendecides whether to undertake the investment by applying thepresent value rule:Make only those investments that have a positivepresent value.As long as the consultant follows this rule, she can beconfident that each investment is making a positivecontribution to the pany.The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)In the above example, we assumed a given discount rate.However, part of a consultants job is to determine anappropriate discount rate (r) to use when calculatingpresent values. The discount rate may vary depending on theinvestment.BetaThe first step in arriving at an appropriate discountrate for a given investment is determining the investmentsriskiness. The market risk of an investment is measured byits beta (?), which measures riskiness when pared to themarket as a whole. An investment with a beta of 1 has thesame riskiness as the market as a whole (so, for example,when the market moves down 10 percent, the value of theinvestment will on average fall 10 percent as well). Aninvestment with beta of 2 will be twice as risky as themarket (so when the market falls 10 percent, the value ofthe investment will on average fall 20 percent).CAPMOnce the consultant has determined the beta of aproposed investment, he can use the Capital Asset PricingModel (CAPM) to calculate the appropriate discount rate (r):The risk-free rate of return is the return the panycould receive by making a risk-free investment (for example,by investing in U.S. Treasury bills). The market rate ofreturn is the return the pany could receive by investing ina well-diversified portfolio of stocks (for example, S&P500).Example: Shen, Inc., a coal producer, is consideringinvesting in a new venture that would manufacture andmarket carbon filters. Shens chief financial officer,Apelbaum, wants to calculate the NPV of the proposedventure in order to determine whether the pany should makethe investment. After studying the riskiness of theproposed venture, Apelbaum determines that the beta of theinvestment is 1.5. A U.S. Treasury note of parable maturitycurrently yields 7 percent, while the return on the S&P 500stock index is 12 percent. Therefore, the discount rateApelbaum will use when calculating the NPV of theinvestment will be:Although this is an overly simplified discussion of howconsultants calculate discount rate to use in their cash-flow analysis, it does give you an overview of howconsultants incorporate the notion of an investments marketto select the appropriate discount rate.Porters Five ForcesDeveloped by Harvard Business School professor MichaelPorter in his book Competitive Strategy, the Porters FiveForces framework helps determine the attractiveness of anindustry. Before any pany expands into new markets, divestsproduct lines, acquires new businesses, or sells divisions,it should ask itself, Is the industry were entering orexiting attractive? By using Porters Five Forces, a panycan begin to develop a thoughtful answer. Consultantsfrequently utilize Porters Five Forces as a starting pointto help panies evaluate industry attractiveness.Take, for example, entry into the copy store market(like Kinkos). How attractive is the copy store market?Potential entrants: What is the threat of new entrantsinto the market? Copy stores are not very expensive to open- you can conceivably open a copy store with one copier andone employee. Therefore, barriers to entry are low, sotheres a high risk of potential new entrants.Buyer power: How much bargaining power do buyers have?Copy store customers are relatively price sensitive.Between the choice of a copy store that charges 5 cents acopy and a store that charges 6 cents a copy, buyers willusually head for the cheaper store. Because copy stores aremon, buyers have the leverage to bargain with copy storeowners on large print jobs, threatening to take theirbusiness elsewhere. The only mitigating factors arelocation and hours. On the other hand, price is not theonly factor. Copy stores that are willing to stay open 24hours may be able to charge a premium, and customers maysimply patronize the copy store closest to them if otherlocations are relatively inconvenient.Supplier power: How much bargaining power do suppliershave? While paper prices may be on the rise, copier pricescontinue to fall. The skill level employees need to operatea copy shop (for basic services, like copying, collating,etc.) are relatively low as well, meaning that employeeswill have little bargaining power. Suppliers in thissituation have low bargaining power.Threat of substitutes: What is the risk of substitution?For basic copying jobs, more people now possess colorprinters at home. Additionally, fax machines have thecapability to fulfill copy functions as well. Large panieswill normally have their own copying facilities. However,for large-scale projects, most individuals and employees atsmall panies will still use the services of a copy shop.The Inter is a potential threat to copy stores as well,because some documents that formerly would be distributedin hard copy will now be posted on the Web or sent throughe-mail. However, for the time being, there is stillrelatively strong demand for copy store services.Competition: Competition within the industry appears tobe intense. Stores often pete on price, and are willing tounderbid one another to win printing contracts. Storescontinue to add new features to pete as well, such asexpanding hours to 24-hour service and offering freedelivery.From this analysis, you can ascertain that copy storesare something of a modity market. Consumers are very price-sensitive, copy stores are inexpensive to set up, and themarket is relatively easily entered by petitors. Advancesin technology may reduce the size of the copy store market.Value-added services, such as late hours, convenientlocations, or additional services such as creatingcalendars or stickers, may help copy stores differentiatethemselves. But overall, the copy store industry does notappear to be an attractive one.As dot-s e under fire, one case question weve heardincreasingly is How would you create barriers to entry asan Inter Startup?Product life cycle curveIf youre considering a product case, figure out howmature your product or service isStrategy tool/framework chartHeres one way to think about the choice between beingthe lowest-cost provider or carving out a higher-end marketniche - what consultants call differentiation.The Four PsThis is a useful framework for evaluating marketingcases. It can be applied to both products and services. TheFour Ps consist of:PriceThe price a firm sets for its product/service can be astrategic advantage. For example, it can be predatory (setvery low to undercut the petition), or it can be setslightly above market average to convey a premium image.Consider how pricing is being used in the context of thecase presented to you.ProductThe product (or service) may provide strategicadvantage if it is the only product/service that satisfiesa particular intersection of customer needs. Or it maysimply be an extension of already existing products, andtherefore not much of a benefit. Try to tease out the valueof the product in the marketplace based on the case detailsyou have been given.Position/PlaceThe physical location of a product/service can providean advantage if it is superior to its petition, if it iseasier or more convenient for people to consume, or if itmakes the consumer more aware of the product/service overits petition. In the context of a business case, you maywant to determine the placement of the product or servicepared to its petition.PromotionWith so much noise in todays consumer (and business tobusiness) marketplace, it is difficult for any oneproduct/service to stand out in a category. Promotionalactivity (including advertising, discounting to consumersand suppliers, celebrity appearances, etc.) can be used tocreate or maintain consumer awareness, open new markets, ortarget a specific petitor. You may want to suggest apromotional strategy in the context of the case you arepresented relative to the promotional activity of otherpeting products/services.The Four CsThe Four Cs are especially useful for analyzing newproduct introductions and for industry analysis.CustomersHow is the market segmented?What are the purchase criteria that customers use?CompetitionWhat is the market share of the clients?What is its market position?What is its strategy?What is its cost position?Does he/she have any market advantages?CostWhat kind of economies of scale does the client have?What is the clients experience curve?Will increased production lower cost?CapabilitiesWhat resources can the client draw from?How is the client organized?What is the production system?The Five CsThis framework is mostly applied to financial cases andto panies (although it can be applied to individuals). Youmay employ it in other situations if you think it isappropriate.CharacterEvaluate the dedication, track record, and overallconsumer perception of the pany. Are there any legalactions pending against the pany? If so, for what reason?Is the pany progressive about its waste disposal, qualityof life for its employees, and charitable contributions?What sort of impact would this have on the case you areevaluating?CapacityIf you are dealing with a manufacturing entity, are itsfactories at, above, or below capacity, and for whatreasons? Are there plans to add new plants, improve thetechnology in existing plants, or close underperformingplants? What about production overseas?CapitalWhat is the panys cost of capital relative to itspetitors? How healthy are its cash flows, revenues, anddebt load relative to its petition?ConditionsWhat is the current business climate the pany (and itsindustry) faces? What is the short- and long-term growthpotential in the industry? How is the market characterized?Is it emerging or mature? These questions can assist you inevaluating the facts of the case against the environmentthat the pany/industry inhabits.Competitive AdvantageThis is the unique edge a pany possesses over itspetitors. It can be an unparalleled set of businessprocesses, the ability to produce a product/service at alower cost, charge a market premium, or any number of otherassets that create an advantage over other market players.Whatever the case, these advantages are usually defensibleand not easily copied.In evaluating business cases using the Five Csframework, you should look for those unique qualities thata pany possesses and identify any that meet the criteriamentioned above. You may suggest that the pany leverage itspetitive advantage more aggressively or remend alternativesif that pany has no discernible advantage.Value Chain AnalysisThis approach involves assessing a panys overallbusiness processes and identifying where that pany actuallyadds value to a product or service. The total margin ofprofit will be the value of the product or service tobuyers, less the cost of its production, as determined bythe value chain.In most cases, a petitive advantage is only temporaryfor many of todays products/services. Being first to market,having a unique formula or configuration, or havingexclusivity in a market were once long-term defensiblestrategies. But today, businesses are globally connected bylightning-fast munications and knowledge-sharing systemsand manufacturing technologies are getting better andfaster at reacting to and anticipating market conditions.Thus these advantages are only fleeting or may not exist atall.Value Chain Analysis attempts to identify a petitiveadvantage by deconstructing the various changes a panysbusiness processes perform on a set of raw materials orother inputs. Most can be easily copied by other petitors,but there is usually a unique subset that represents thevalue-added qualities only the pany under scrutinypossesses. This set is that panys petitive advantage, orvalue chain. Sometimes this set can be copied, but aunique set of circumstances may still allow the pany inquestion to perform them at a lower cost, charge a premiumin the market, or retain higher market share than itspetitors.In the context of a business case, you can use thisframework to identify a panys overall business processesset and then determine if one or more of the processes aredefensible petitive advantages.For example, a manufacturer of fruit juice might havethe following value chain elements:Research and development (Will mango really taste good withcloudberry juice?)Cost of goods sold (How much does it cost to manufacturethe fruit juice? Is there a frost in Florida that drives upthe costs of oranges? Is the currency crisis in Indonesiamaking papaya very cheap? Are per-volume purchases lowerthan, for example, those of Tropicana?)Packaging and shipping (How much does that new banana-shaped container cost? Are many bottles lost in transit?What are the fixed costs of shipping?)Manufacturing (How much do those juice pulpers cost? Howoften do factories need to be reengineered?)Labor (How many employees do we have? Where are theylocated? Are they unionized?)Distribution (Where are the distribution centers? Where arethe products distributed?)Advertising (Billboards, TV, magazines?)Margin (How profitable is the juice pany?)For more detailed information on this type of analysis,you may want to consider the authoritative text on petitivestrategy: Competitive Strategy: Techniques for AnalyzingIndustries and Competitors, by Michael E. Porter.Core petenciesCore petencies is the idea that each firm has alimited number of things it is very good at (that is, itscore petence or petencies).When restructuring or reengineering, one of thestarting points for a pany should be identifying its corepetencies. A firm should define its core petencies broadlyin order to be flexible enough to adapt to changes in themarketplace. (For instance, when Xerox defined itself as adocument pany, rather than a maker of copy machines, itwas able to take advantage of the more lucrative businessof document handling and outsourcing for major corporations,as well as of the market for fax machines, scanners, andother document-handling equipment.)Companies should seriously consider selling/spinningoff business units that are not part of their corebusiness. For instance, Pepsi recently spun off itsrestaurant operations after it concluded that its expertisewas in manufacturing and marketing beverages, not inmanaging restaurants.Benchmarking and best practicesA monly used concept in consulting (especially inoperations and implementation engagements) isbenchmarking. Benchmarking basically means researchingwhat other panies in the industry are doing (usually inorder to evaluate whether your client is operatingefficiently or to identify areas where the client can cutcosts). For example, if a mail-order pany wants to reduceits order-processing costs, it would want to pare its orderprocessing costs with those of other mail-order panies,breaking down its costs for each part of the process(including order-taking and shipping) and paring them withindustry averages. It can then pinpoint those areas whereits costs are higher than average for the industry.A related concept is best practices: once youvebenchmarked what other panies are doing, you want to focuson those panies that have particular low costs or whichotherwise operate particularly well. What are they doingright (i.e., what are their best practices)? And how canour client (in the case) emulate or copy what theyre doing?Remember to look outside your clients particular industry,if necessary, to find the best practices for a particularprocess or operation.The 2x2 matrixThe 2x2 matrix is a good framework to use any time youhave two factors that, when bined, yield different outes. Avery rudimentary example would be what happens when youturn on your bathroom faucets, as follows:A more business-appropriate example would involveacquiring a pany. Let?s say a pany is interested inunderstanding the difficulty of acquiring or building adistribution center and it is considering financing thisdecision with either stock or debt. The potential outesmight look like this:The BCG MatrixThe BCG Matrix, named after the Boston Consulting Group(BCG), is perhaps the most famous 2x2 matrix. The matrixmeasures a panys relative market share on the horizontalaxis and its growth rate on the vertical axis.M&A cases: Determining the value of an acquisitionCase interviews arent just for consultants. Mergers &acquisition cases are wildly popular at investment banks.Heres how to analyze a potential acquisition.Value Drivers (M&A) FrameworkIn order to understand value, we need to understand thethree primary value drivers:The value ponents can be further broken out intospecific value drivers:M&A Cases: Data Gathering and AnalysisMarket Analysis ToolsCompetitive position frameworkRelative value versus petitors to customer through supplychainProduct life cycleSupply and demand analysis- Industry capacity- Industry utilization- Demand drivers- RegressionsSegmentation analysisPorters Five ForcesExperience curvesTrends and outlookKey suess factorsTarget Analysis ToolsBusiness system - parison with petitorsMarket share (over time and by segment)Capacity (growth and utilization of)Customers key purchase criteria and relative performanceFinancial historySales and profitability by segmentCash flow analysisMargin and expense structureRelative cost positionCost benchmarkingYour data gathering strategy will vary depending onindustry:A framework cautionAll the frameworks detailed above are widely used, andmost U.S. business schools teach them as part of their corecurriculums. Your interviewers will instantly recognizewhen you are applying them, since they are already familiarwith the techniques. While this is OK, consider that youare trying to demonstrate your unique analytical anddeductive reasoning skills that set you apart from othercandidates. You must be creative and original in analyzingcase questions. Use these frameworks sparingly. (Anothernote: No interviewer will be impressed if you proudlyproclaim, Im going to apply Porters Five Forces now.Apply frameworks without identifying them.)