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Introduction to Sample Case Study
  • In this exercise, you will answer a series of questions as the case unfolds. We provide our recommended answers after each question, with which you can compare your own answers. We want to emphasize that most questions in a case study do not have a single right answer. In a live case interview, we are more interested in your explanation of how you arrived at your answer, not just the answer itself. An interviewer can always assess different but equally valid ways of approaching an issue, and then bring you back to the particular line of inquiry that he or she wants to pursue.
    You should also keep in mind that in a live case, there will be far more interaction with the interviewer than this exercise allows. For example, you will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions.
  • More case examples are available in mckinsey.com To step through this case example, we will give you some information, ask a question, and then, when you are ready, give you a sample answer. We hope that the exercise will give you a sense of the flow of a case interview. (Please note, you can stop this exercise and pick up where you left off later. Your cookies must be on to use this feature).
  • Finally, a live case interview would typically be completed in 30 - 45 minutes, depending on how the case evolves. In this on-line exercise, there is no time limit.
Case Question
  • Case situation:
    - You are working on a project to help a client determine whether or not they should invest in the development of the next generation laser disc technology to replace existing videotapes, and whether or not they should start a new company to market this new product in Korea. Currently, the client does not offer consumer products, but does have a long history in the computer business and markets a series of CD-ROM products.
  • Case question:
    - If you were part of this client service team, what would you want to know in order to help the client make their investment decisions?
Sample Answer
One possible answer is given below. However, keep in mind that there are rarely right or wrong answers to case discussions, since the objective of the case discussion is for us to get a sense for how you think. Your thinking process and the questions that you ask are more important than getting to a "correct answer." Since there are no "correct" answers, and there are many ways of discussing this case. Please do not consider the following example discussions to be the absolutely "correct" ones. We respect many other approaches as well.
  • Consumer needs:
    - How satisfied are consumers with existing videotape technology?
    - What are the "unmet needs" (e.g., random access to specific scenes, better sound, sharper picture quality, etc.)?
    - What "latent demand" exists for newer/better video technologies?
    - How willing are consumers to purchase a product that would replace their VCR?
  • Competitors:
    - Which companies are pursuing products that would compete with those that the clients are considering? - What technologies (e.g., DAT, DVD, etc.) are they pursuing and how do they compare with the clients' laser disc technology?
    - What are existing videotape companies doing to defend their products and/or migrate their consumers to next generation products?
    - From a timing standpoint, will competitors bring their products to the market before or after the clients?
    - How will the clients close any quality or technology gaps or maintain any competitive advantages?
  • The Market/Channels/Profitability:
    - How are consumer video products sold (e.g., through specialty stores, department stores, etc.)? - What is required to effectively distribute through these channels?
    - How do various players make money in this industry (e.g., manufacturing profits, design royalties, etc.)?
    - How intensively are various companies competing in this market?
    - What is the anticipated profitability of this new laser disc technology?
    - Is the overall industry profitable?, How are profits distributed among the various companies?
    - What are the current trends?
    - What are the key factors that distinguish successful companies from laggards in this industry?
  • Client company:
    - To what extent does the client have the attributes and capabilities required to succeed in this industry (e.g., technologies, consumer marketing, distribution, etc.)? - If the client does not have the capabilities today, is it possible to build them? What would it take to build them?
    - How do the potential financial returns from investing in this technology compare to the clients' minimum requirements for new investments?
Helpful Tips
  • What makes the case interview distinctive
    - It is not that the discussion covered all the points, or all of the specific details of the industry. In fact, this discussion, as outlined above, could still be considered excellent if it touched on only half of the points (remember, the goal of the interview is not to find a right or wrong answer, but to show how you would think through a problem).
    - Distinctiveness comes as follows:
    + Be structured around that which matters.
    + Since this is about a new consumer product, it's wise to think about what consumers want or need. Next, one should understand the competitors, the industry, and whether or not the client has what it takes to be successful.
    + Be in the form of questions that demonstrate the candidate's probing mind and ability to rapidly process information.
    + When one does not know something, the natural thing to do is to ask questions. The same applies in a case interview.
    + Your interviewer does not expect you to know the industry or the facts. If you ask the relevant questions, your interviewer will give you the facts.
    + Your interviewer is assessing both your comfort with asking probing questions, and the appropriateness of those questions to helping solve the problem at hand.
  • What makes the case interview average or below
    - Lacks structure
    + A candidate attempts to "force-fit" the discussion into a pre-conceived framework (e.g., discussing this case in terms of the "4P's" of marketing - product, pricing, promotion, placement).
    - Try too hard to impress the interviewer with the knowledge that they may have about the topic, while forgetting that a large part of what we do require us to learn from others.
    + A candidate draws too much on their own background to discuss the case (e.g., a former engineer who focuses too much on the technology, or a former marketer who spends all of the interview time on marketing issues).
    + A candidate may be absolutely correct about the facts, but without a 2-way interaction, no new information can be surfaced.
    - Make no attempt to synthesize the discussion
I guess McKinsey DNA of “Pursue for the root-cause” is so deeply rooted that challenging each other until we reach to the bottom of problems becomes our daily sports
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