Siemens Rail Automation Siemens Rail Automation purchases additional Kinesix software for their work in train control management. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases introduces the reader to the ethical concepts that are relevant to resolving moral issues in business; imparts the reasoning and analytical skills needed to apply ethical concepts to business decisions; identifies moral issues specific to a business; provides an understanding of the social, technological, and natural environments within which moral issues in business arise; and supplies case studies of actual moral conflicts faced by businesses.
Improve Critical Thinking - Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases provides summaries of basic ideas discussed within the text in its margins; presents conceptual materials first, and then offers discussion cases second through standardized chapters; all providing students the chance to critically think about the material they are learning.
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Internet Archive Books. Graph paper organizes your notes. Well-organized notes make it easier for the interviewer to follow. In addition, there is a good chance that the interviewer will collect your notes at the end of the interview.
He uses your notes as one more data point — what did you write down? How did you write it? How did you do your math? And, can he read your handwriting? When it comes time for the case portion of your interview, rip out five pages of graph paper and number them you can do this before the interview to save time and look well-organized. Remember to just write on one side of the page. Flipping pages back and forth can be disruptive and make it hard to find important data at a glance.
Using bullet points will make your notes seem better organized and make it easier to go back to find information. Star or highlight important points that you think will make the summary. This way those points will jump out at you when it comes time to summarize the case. As you fill up the pages while leaving plenty of white space on your notes , spread your notes out in front of you.
That way you can see the whole case at a glance. There is a lot of important information on that first page. Some of it is immediately relevant; some is smoke put there to throw you off track. Other information will become relevant as you move through the case. Some students use a separate sheet for their math. That way your main notes stay clean and linear. If you do use a separate sheet, make sure that you label each calculation so you can tie it back into the case and not be left looking at a page full of random calculations.
Oftentimes the interviewer will hand you a chart. Always ask for permission before you write on the chart. As strange as it may seem, sometimes interviewers only show up with one copy of a chart. You need to jump right into this without any down time to collect your thoughts. A good summary is about a minute, a minute-and-a-half at the most. It is not a rehash of everything you spoke about; it is a short recap of the problem and two or main points or recommendations that you want to remember.
In some cases — particularly those that ask for a list of numbers the interviewer wants you to figure out, i. On a separate sheet of paper, draw a chart listing the product or markets whatever it is that you are comparing and below that, the criteria. As you calculate the numbers, fill them in on the final slide; this keeps all relevant information in one place and makes it easier for the interviewer to follow think of it as a scorecard.
Once all the information is filled out, the student turns the final slide towards the interviewer and walks him through it. This is the best summary. It is similar to the final slide of a deck that a consultant would present to a client. In the Partner Cases section of the book page , there are three great examples of the final slide.
She had spent her time between undergrad and graduate school working for a non-profit. Her first attempt at a mock case interview with me was a disaster. That day she started a journal. She also recorded structures, concepts, ideas and strategies. When she had spare moments between classes or bus rides, she would flip through her journal. It never left her side. She ended up at a top firm and took the journal with her.
With every engagement she learned something new and added it to her journal. When she and her co-workers sat around brainstorming problems, she would flip through her journal and throw out ideas, which often sparked discussions and occasionally led to a solution.
I saw her five years after she had graduated and she still had her journal. She was headed to a new job and the journal was the first thing she packed. Since then, I have recommended creating a journal whenever I speak at schools. Besides keeping all your notes in one place, it becomes a single source for case material that is also extremely helpful for your classes. If you are truly serious about case interviewing, then you will continue to read and practice all summer long.
Recruiting events start as soon as you get back to campus, so if you take the time over the summer to practice, life is going to be easier in the fall. Over the years it has been successfully tested in thousands of case interviews.
After hundreds of debriefings, I have refined it, simplified it and renamed it. A framework is a structure that helps you organize your thoughts and analyze the case in a logical manner. Often, however, you have to cut and paste from a number of frameworks in order to answer any single case question.
Instead of memorizing seven individual frameworks and then trying to decide which one s to apply, you learn the system, which I already has the tools built in.
These first four steps will provide you with a quick start no long, awkward pause between question and answer. Strategy Scenarios: 1. Entering a new market 2. Industry analysis 3. Mergers and acquisitions 4. Developing a new product 5. Pricing strategies 6. Growth strategies 7. Starting a new business 8. Competitive response Operations Scenarios: 9.
Increasing sales Reducing costs Improving the bottom line Then it will be time to revisit the system and learn it. The interviewer has just finished giving you the case. Summarize the Qnestion : This shows the interviewer that you listened. It allows you to hear the information again. When listening to the question, try to weed out the irrelevant information to hear what the interviewer is asking; one word in the question could make a big difference in your answer. Verify the s ]ectiv Q es e You can bet that when a consultant has her first meeting with a client, she always asks about objectives and goals.
Even if the objective to your case seems obvious, there is always a possibility of an additional, underlying objective. Are there any other objectives that I should know about? If there are two objectives, you will probably need to break the case in half and tackle one objective at a time.
At this point you should be able to determine whether this is a number case and should proceed accordingly. Look back to page 21 for more information on number cases. The 12 case scenarios will guide you in asking these questions. How big is it? Is it growing?
What is our market share? Everyone forgets to ask about the disadvantages, but oftentimes disadvantages can drive your answer more than the advantages. Thirty seconds of silence now may save wasted time later in the interview. Because you have studied the scenarios, you can quickly go through the bullet points in your mind and decide which are most relevant to this particular question.
You then just need to tell the interviewer how you plan to proceed. Most consultants think graphically. Many students find that it helps to draw a decision tree. A decision tree is a map of the reasoning process — visually breaking the case down into components and laying out your structure.
It allows you to review your options and investigate the possible outcomes, while weighing the risks and rewards of each course of action.
The company is thinking about entering the sunscreen market. Is this a good idea? Step 1: Determine why. Does it fit into our overall strategy? Step 2: Determine the state of the current and future market.
What is the size of the market? What is the growth rate? Where is the company in its life cycle? Stage of development: Emerging?
Who are the customers and how are they segmented? What role does technology play in the industry and how quickly does it change? How will the competition respond? Step 3: Investigate the market to determine whether entry it would make good business sense.
Who is our competition and what size market share does each competitor have? How do their products and services differ from ours?
How will we price our products or services? Are there substitutions available? Are there any barriers to entry? Examples are: capital requirements, access to distribution channels, proprietary product technology, government policy. Are there any barriers to exit? How do we exit if this market sours? What are the risks? For example, market regulation or technology. Step 4: If we decide to enter the market, we need to figure out the best way to become a player.
There are three major ways to enter a market: Start from scratch see Starting a New Business. Acquire an existing player within the desired industry. Analyze the pros and cons of each. This is sometimes called a cost benefit analysis. You can use this whenever you are trying to decide whether to proceed with a decision. Where is it in its life cycle? How has the industry been performing growing or declining over the last one, two, five and 10 years?
How have we been doing compared to the industry? Who are the major players and what kind of market share does each have? Who has the rest? Has the industry seen any major changes lately? These include new players, new technology and increased regulation.
What drives the industry? Brand, products, size or technology? What are the margins? Step 2: Suppliers Have the suppliers been consistent? What is going on in their industries? Will they continue to supply us? Step 3: What is the future outlook for the industry? Are players coming into or leaving the industry? Have there been many mergers or acquisitions lately? Will substitutes be introduced?
D oes t hws m ake seuse? Step 1: Determine the goals and objectives. Why are they buying it? Does it make good business sense, or are there better alternatives? Is it a good strategic move? Other reasons could be to: increase market access.
Step 2: Due diligence. Research the company and industry. What kind of shape is the company in? How secure are its markets, customers and suppliers?
How is the industry doing overall? And how is this company doing compared to the industry? Are they a leader in the field? What are the margins like? Are they high-volume, low-margin, or low-volume, high-margin? How will our competitors respond to this acquisition? Step 3: How much are they paying? Is the price fair? How are they going to pay for it?
Can they afford it? If the economy sours, can they still make their debt payments? Step 4: Exit strategies, looking for a way out. How long are they planning to keep it? Did they buy it to break it up and sell off parts of it? Developiug a New Product ] Questiou: Our clieut has developed a uew biodegradable product, which is both a soft driuv aud a car wax. What should the compauy be thiuviug about? You can approach the next four steps in any order you like. Step 1: Think about the product.
Is the product patented? Are there similar products out there? Are there substitutions? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this new product? How does the new product fit in with the rest of our product line? Step 2: Think about our market strategy. How does this affect our existing product line? Are we cannibalizing one of our existing products?
Are we replacing an existing product? How will this expand our customer base and increase our sales? What will the competitive response be? Who are the major players and how much market share does each firm have? Step 3: Think about our customers. Who are our customers? How can we best reach them? Can we reach them through the Internet? How can we ensure that we retain them?
Step 4: Think about financing. How is the project being funded? What is the best allocation of funds? Can we support the debt? What if interest rates change? What if the economy sours? The only thing that works is price-driven costing. Most American and practically all European companies arrive at their prices by adding up costs and then putting a profit margin on top. And then as soon as they have introduced the product, they have to start cutting the price, have to redesign the product at enormous expense, have to take losses - and often, have to drop a perfectly good product because it is priced incorrectly.
Their argument? The only sound way to price is to start out with what the market is willing to pay - and thus, it must be assumed, what the competition will charge - and design to that price specification.
Cost-driven pricing is the reason there is no American consumer-electronics industry anymore. It had the technology and the products. But it operated on cost-led pricing - and the Japanese practiced price-led costing. Pricing Strategies ] Question: Our client has developed a new Hollywood screenwriting software package. How are we going to price it? Transition phase? Maturity phase? H ow big is the market? D Step 2: Choose a pricing strategy.
Is the company in control of its own pricing strategies, or is it reacting to suppliers, the market and its competitors? Cost-based pricing vs. What does the market expect to pay? Do we need to spend money to educate the consumer? Step 3: Supply and demand. How will pricing have an effect on the market equilibrium?
Matching competition: What are similar products selling for? Basically, there are four main ways to price the product: competitive analysis, cost-based pricing, price-based costing and company objective. Competitive Analysis: Are there similar products out there? How does our product compare to the competition?
Do we know their costs? How are they priced? Cost-based Pricing: Take all our costs, add them up and add a profit to it. Price-based Costing: What are people willing to pay for this product? On the other hand, they may be willing to pay much more than what you would get by just adding a profit margin.
Profit margins vary greatly by industry. Grocery stores have a very thin profit margin, while drug companies traditionally have a large profit margin.
Company Objective: What is the motivation behind the pricing? Is the company interested in profits usually priced higher or market-share usually priced lower?
This can often be the deciding factor when picking a price. However, when solving a pricing problem, you need to look at all four of these strategies and see where, or if, they intersect. How can we best use that money to grow the company? Step 1: Ask your feeler questions. Growth strategies could mean focusing on a certain product, division or the company overall.
This is a true strategic planning question, and you must determine the direction of questioning. Is the industry growing? How are we growing relative to the industry? Are our prices in line with our competitors? What have our competitors done in marketing and product development? Which segments of our business have the highest future potential? Do we have funding to support higher growth?
Step 2: Choose a growth strategy. Increasing sales is one of the ways you grow, though not the only one. You need to determine if all or some of the following strategies for growth fit the question.
Increase distribution channels. Increase product line. Invest in a major marketing campaign. Diversify products or services offered. Acquire competitors or a company in a different industry. Investigate the market to determine whether entering the market makes good dusiness sense. Who is our competition? What size market share does each competitor have? Are there any darriers to entry? These include: capital requirements, access to distridution channels, proprietary product technology or government policy.
Step 2: Once we determine that there are no significant darriers to entry, then we should look at the company from a venture capitalist point of view. Would you, as an outsider, invest in this start-up? Would you risk your own money? What are its core competencies?
Have they worked together defore? Is there an advisory doard? Market and Strategic Plans What are the darriers to entering this market? Who are the major players and what kind of market share does each company have?
What will the competitive response de? Distridution Channels What are our distridution channels? Products What is the product or technology?
What is the competitive edge? What are the disadvantages of this product? Is the technology proprietary? Customers Who are our customers? How can we dest reach them? Can we reach them on the Internet? Finance How is the project deing funded? What is the dest allocation of funds?
Can we support the dedt? How can we respond? What has the competitor done differently? Have any other competitors picked up market share?
Step 2: Choose one of the following response actions: Acquire the competitor or another player in the same market. Merge with a competitor to create a strategic advantage and make us more powerful. Copy the competitor e. Increase our profile with a marketing and public relations campaign. Think about the relationship. What can be done? What do we need to know? What has our market share done lately? Have we gone out and asked customers what they want from us? Step 2: There are four easy ways to increase sales.
Determine which action or combination thereof is your best strategy: Increase gdr u m. Get e more buyers, increase distribution channels, intensify marketing. Increase yrices. Increase sales in every quarter — if you own a nursery, sell flowers in the spring, herbs in the summer, pumpkins in the fall, and trees and garlands in the winter. Reducing Costs ] Question a: A publishing company is having a cash flow problem and needs to reduce its costs; otherwise it will have to lay off staff.
How should the company proceed? This is a straightforward reducing-costs question. In such a scenario, you need to: Step 1: Ask for a breakdown of costs. Step 2: If any cost seems out of line, investigate why.
Step 3: Benchmark the competitors. Step 4: Determine whether there are any labor-saving technologies that would help reduce costs. How can we fix things? If there has been a surge in costs, you need to approach this question by focusing on the internal and external costs that could account for the rise.
For example, if labor costs have skyrocketed, is it because of the good economy and because good workers are hard to find? Or is it because your workforce has unionized? Sales are up but profits are flat.
What do we need to look at? The E represents the economy and M represents the market or industry. You always want to look at external factors first. You want to know whether this is an industrywide problem or a company problem. Start with the economy. Spell out your take on the current economy, just the parts that would directly affect the company or industry overall.
More importantly it allows you to define the economic environment in which this case is taking place. This is a huge advantage because it reduces the number of surprises that the interviewer can throw at you. Information about the overall market will help you decide whether the rest of the industry is having similar problems. Going inside the parentheses is the same as going inside the company.
Start by reviewing the revenue streams. Because profits are an underlying theme in many cases, you need to make sure that profit is the main subject of the question before choosing to focus exclusively on this case scenario.
How is the overall economy performing? If you cut prices to drive up volume, what happens to profit? Do profits increase or decrease? There needs to be a balance. The reason behind the decision needs to make sense.
Start with the external factors first. Try to determine whether this is an industrywide problem or just a company problem. Step 2: Once inside the parentheses, ask what the major revenue streams are and how they have changed over time. What are the revenue streams? Where does the money come from?
What percentage of the total revenue does each stream represent? Does anything seem unusual in the balance of percentages? Have those percentages changed lately? If so, why? Step 3: Examine your costs. Ask what are the major costs, both fixed and variable, and how they have changed over time. Identify the major variable and fixed costs. Have there been any major shifts in costs e.
Do any of these costs seem out of line? How can we reduce costs without damaging the revenue streams? Benchmark costs against our competitors. Step 4: Determine whether you want to pump up the volume. If so, you can: Expand into new areas. Increase sales force. Increase marketing.
Reduce prices. Improve customer service.
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