TUCK CONSULTING CLUB CASE

BOOK

2006-2007 Edition
1900
Disclaimer: This case book is a collection of contributions made by student members and friends of the
Tuck Consulting Club. It does not represent the views or opinions of the Tuck Consulting Club or the
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Tuck Consulting Club, 2006
NOT FOR SALE NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

TUCK CONSULTING CLUB CASEBOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 3 II.
RECRUITING INTELLIGENCE .................................................................................. 4 Interview
process timeline .............................................................................................. 4 What are the firms
looking for?...................................................................................... 5 Structure of a case interview
(example).......................................................................... 7 How to give a case
interview.......................................................................................... 7 III. STRATEGIC TOOLS
AND FRAMEWORKS............................................................ 9 General Tools for Case Interviews
............................................................................. 9 General
Strategy............................................................................................................ 10 Star
Model................................................................................................................. 10 SWOT Analysis
........................................................................................................ 10 BCG Matrix
.............................................................................................................. 11 Porters Five Forces
.................................................................................................. 12 Core Competency
Analysis....................................................................................... 12 GE / McKinsey
Matrix.............................................................................................. 13 Decision Trees
.......................................................................................................... 13 Marketing /
Positioning................................................................................................. 15 The Three Cs (Or Is It
7?)......................................................................................... 15 The 4
Ps..................................................................................................................... 15
Segmentation............................................................................................................. 16 Operations /
Productivity .............................................................................................. 17 Framework for
Operations Strategy.......................................................................... 17 Value Chain Analysis
............................................................................................... 17 Vertical Integration
................................................................................................... 18
Synergies................................................................................................................... 18
Product/Technology Life Cycle................................................................................ 18 Just-in-Time
Production............................................................................................ 19 Total Quality Management
(TQM)........................................................................... 19 Financial Analysis / Profitability
.................................................................................. 20 Profit Tree
................................................................................................................. 20 Cost Driver
Analysis................................................................................................. 20 Market
Sizing............................................................................................................ 21 Breakeven Point
........................................................................................................ 21 Additional Resources
................................................................................................ 22 IV. PRACTICE
CASES.................................................................................................... 23 Chateau
......................................................................................................................... 23 Bun on the Run
............................................................................................................. 28 Switching Costs

............................................................................................................ 31 Chicken Pox

.................................................................................................................. 34 Credit Card
Collections................................................................................................. 40 The End of the Road
..................................................................................................... 43 Everlasting Light
Bulb.................................................................................................. 46
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Fine

China.....................................................................................................................

50

Got

Gas?........................................................................................................................ 55 Whats a bar

worth? ...................................................................................................... 58 Only you can prevent
accidents!...................................................................................
61
Kicks
.............................................................................................................................
66
Rafting........................................................................................................................... 75 Snap,
Crackle,
Pop........................................................................................................
79
Splat!
............................................................................................................................. 83 Go to China
................................................................................................................... 88 Home Security
Systems The Right Move?................................................................ 92 Magazine Market
......................................................................................................... 96 New York Taxi Driver
................................................................................................. 99
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I. INTRODUCTION
This book provides a brief overview of the case interview process, a few tools to keep in mind when
preparing for interviews and a collection of practice cases. We hope it is helpful in your preparations.
Thank you to all our contributors:
Ted Callahan T07 Pete Czerepak T04 Mark Daoust T07 Bill Dering T05 Benjamin Farmer T07
Elizabeth Gaydos T07 Michael Guido T07 Mark Hanrahan T07 Shawn Kelly T07 Ben King T07
Matt Kummell T06 Rob Langrick T06 Mike Lawlor T06 Michael Lewis T06 Alejandro Lizcano
T07 David Malek T07 Shikun Pan T07 Tony Portera T07 Ravi Raj I. Prabakaran T07 Becky Rice
Daniel Rinehart T06 Michael Sinclair T07 Mike Song T06 Whitney Stull T07 Greg Wilson T06
Karl Zimmermann T07
GOOD LUCK
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II. RECRUITING INTELLIGENCE

Interview process timeline
Over the summer
o Prepare your resume: Think of succinct ways to describe your main
achievements. Try to show the skills consultants are looking for (leadership, teamwork, academic
excellence, analytical skills, problem solving, personal achievement and personal impact). o Read the
newspaper: Use current events to practice breaking down business problems and thinking about how to
structure a solution.
First few weeks at school
o Participate in resume review: Leverage CDO student fellows, second
years and study group members to refine and revise your existing resume. o Attend Sector Smarts:
Attend panels of recent Tuck alumni who share their specific industry experiences (panels range from
consulting to banking, to non-profit to general management). Ask questions and decide what is
important to you in your choice of career. Decide whether consulting meets your objectives.
September
o Attend company briefings: Attend as many briefings as you can in your
area of interest. Many of the firms that recruit at Tuck will come to Hanover to make formal
presentations. These presentations are often followed by an informal Q&A period which gives you the
chance to meet some of the firms employees. (Note - many of those presenting will be Tuck alumni and
may well be involved with interviewing later in the process first impressions matter). Try to learn about
the culture of each firm and the values it holds.. Do your best to understand how the firms differ. o Talk
to second years: The recruiting period can be bewildering, so talk to
those that have been through it already. This is the best place to ask questions that you might be
embarrassed to ask elsewhere. Remember that most second years will not be around after
Thanksgiving.
October
o Attend Crack the Case workshops: These workshops are hosted by second years with prior or
internship experience with management consulting firms. These four in depth workshops, each building
on the previous, are designed to help you perform your best in the case interviews used by many firms.
o Partake in Boston/New York visit: This three-day trip over the October
break provides a comparative look at all the major firms. We visit each
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firm at their home office another opportunity to find the firms with the best fit for you. o Establish links

with Tuck Alumni: Building relationships at your firms

of choice will express your interest and help develop you understanding of firms, particularly if you have
a strong location preference o Practice case interviews: Work with your peers (both friends and other
you are not close with) and work by yourself (you dont need an interviewer to practice structuring a
problem or performing public math)
November/December
o Apply to firms: Deadlines and methods vary for each firm. If in doubt,
then ask. You should also have a back up plan in case you are unsuccessful with your first choice
career. Tucks policy is that 50% of interview slots are closed list positions. A closed list position
means you were selected by the firm for an interview. If you are not closed listed you can still bid for
an interview slot. o Practice case interviews: Continue to work with your peers and work by
yourself. Some firms may visit campus and run sessions to help you prepare for the interviews
January
o Refine technique: Formal second year practice coaching session will be
organized with second years (and in some visiting firms) This period is very busy and involves a lot of
balancing of school work and interview preparation. Prioritize your practice.
February
o Formal on campus interviews. First round interviews are typicall held on
campus. Firms interview practices are similar but key differences do exist. Second round interviews will
usually be at the firms office. Again, the exact process varies from firm to firm. Speak with the CDO
if you have any questions.
The entire process is well tried and tested. You will get a lot of help but it also requires a
concerted effort on your part to be successful. Dont underestimate the importance of practicing
cases.

What are the firms looking for?

Key success factors associated with each firm will vary, however there are a number common points to
remember when compiling your resume, submitting applications, and interviewing. These key success
factors are divided into two key areas: 1) case-based skills and 2) Experienced based characteristics:
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Case Based Skills

 Problem solving skills (dealing with ambiguity): These themes may seem obvious when considering the
case interview but are mentioned here for two reasons. First, does your resume show a history of
success in this area? Secondly, dont let yourself get flustered by interviews that dont follow the typical
path. Stick to a logical approach even in less structured interviews.
Analytical Skills: Your analytical skills are often tested through your ability to structure a problem and
its various components. This skill can be learned through practice and refined through additional
practice. It is important to have structure in your problem solving as you will need to effectively
communicate your plan of action to tackle the problem. A well designed structure makes this
communication easy and will help you effectively solve the problem. Do not confuse structure with
frameworks (the frameworks provided in this book will help you think about an appropriate structure)
but they are seldom used in isolation as a structure to solve the problem.
Quantitative skills: Most cases will involve a quantitative component. These math problems typically
involve high school level math. To complicate the experience, you are often not given all required
information required to solve the problem. Your setup is equally or more important to your ability to use
solve basic math. Also remember to walk your interviewer through your calculations and approach as
you complete the problem vs. being a silent calculator.
Syntheses skills: Your ability to weave insights together throughout the case and to develop a coherent
synthesis (not a summary or travel log) is important in any case interview.
Experience based characteristics
Personal Achievement: You will be up against a competitive group of applicants that all have similarly
impressive lists of academic and professional achievements. Distinguish yourself by showing that you are
equally successful in your personal life by using examples from outside work/school whenever possible.
This will add a breadth and interest to your candidacy.
Leadership: Discussion of leadership is a common activity at Tuck but it can be hard to quantify. Some
people will have obvious leadership experience but for others, you will need to make sure that
leadership elements in past experiences stand out. Practice describing these events in a succinct and
understandable way.
Teamwork: Some would call this the airport test. Are you someone that the interviewer wants to
work with on a difficult and time consuming case or be stuck in an airport with? The interview is your
chance to show that you fit with the culture of your chosen firm/s. This is a two way process: do they
like you and do you like them? The best advice here is to try to relax and be yourself.
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There are many other areas that could be mentioned. Some firms will rate some higher than others. Try

to build a picture of this as you listen to firm presentations, talk to employees and scour the respective
firm websites.

Structure of a case interview (example)

Order Section Duration Skills Objective
1 Meet & greet 1-5 min Inter-personal Utilize information from
the interviewer bio to make a connection
Relate to the interviewer with similar experiences (from Tuck, if possible) 2 Receive the
question
1-2 min Listening Take notes
Pick up as much data as possible 3 Clarify the
question
2-3 min Finding data Rephrase the question
Dig a little deeper with follow-up questions with general strategy frameworks (e.g., 4 Ps/3 Cs) 4
Develop a
framework to solve
10-15 min Analytics,
problem solving, and public math
Frame problem
Make hypotheses
Walk the interviewer through the solution 5 State the
conclusion
1-2 min Big picture
thinking; synthesis
Synthesize findings
State larger considerations of the solution (overall impact)

How to give a case interview

Your role as a case interviewer is to present a problem and act as guide for the interviewee. The
interviewee does most of the work and the best interviewer will stay mostly passive with limited
directive probing throughout the process. Here are some interviewer best practices:
Prepare: Make sure you have read the case before the practice session. You should understand the

most important facts before you sit down with your partner.
o All to frequently an interviewee is shortchanged by an interviewer who is
not able to adequately facilitate
Role Play / Facilitate: Act as a consultant for interviewees desired firm
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o Set the scene with small talk o Control the time of the interview through the questions you pose, shoot

for
about 25 minutes in length o Selectively challenge the interviewees hypotheses when appropriate to
probe deeper and better analysis. o Be tough, but give subtle clues when at an impasse
Be complete: Make this a real interview experience
o Make the interviewee synthesize the key points o Ask resume or personal background questions o
Allow the interviewee to practice their questions to the interviewer
Respond: Take notes and give feedback at the end, so that the interviewee can learn from the process.
This feedback should: o Clarify what went well and not so well o Present elements of the case that were
missed o Direct the interviewee toward areas for improvement o Be comprehensive as you address the
interviewees presences and poise in
addition to the technical skills they present
Note to all interviewers: Always give critical and constructive feedback. Be as honest and
forthcoming as will be meaningful to your interviewee. Mutual improvement is your goal and
may require uncomfortable conversations.
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III. STRATEGIC TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS

General Tools for Case Interviews
When preparing for case interviews, you will hear repeatedly, Learn the frameworks, and develop
the analytical tools." The problem for most people is that nobody ever explains exactly what
frameworks and tools they are talking about. The list presented in the following sections, though not
exhaustive, covers many of the standard tools you will rely on when performing case interviews. Use
these tools to think about the key issues and to lead you from the facts to a conclusion.
As you become more familiar with these frameworks and tools, you will develop a higher level of
comfort in developing your own frameworks (or structures) to tackle a problems. Early on in your
practice you will find that you may be reliant on the frameworks to the point where they become your
structure. More advanced interviewees can rely on the framework foundations to develop their own
structure to solve the problem.
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