Round 5 · Final Interview
Case Interview – Booth MCG Frameworks 2024-25
Profitability, Market Entry, M&A, Pricing — from the Booth MCG Casebook 2024–25. Structure for each case type and best practices.
5 Case Types & Frameworks
Profitability
Profits declining, costs increasing, margins eroding
Framework
Profit = Revenue – Cost → Revenue = Price × Volume; Cost = Fixed + Variable
Step-by-step
- 1Clarify: Is it profit declining or never profitable? Absolute or relative?
- 2Segment: Revenue side (Price dropped? Volume dropped? Mix shift?) or Cost side (COGS? OPEX? One-time?)
- 3Diagnose: Internal vs External driver (competition, economy, internal ops)
- 4Recommend: Quick wins + structural fix + monitoring KPIs
Watch Out
Common traps: forgetting to ask if cost is fixed vs variable; not segmenting revenue by product/geography/customer
Market Entry
Should company enter a new market / country / segment?
Framework
4 questions: Is the market attractive? Can we win? How to enter? What's the financial case?
Step-by-step
- 1Market: Size, growth, profitability, competitive intensity (Porter's 5 forces)
- 2Capabilities: Do we have product-market fit? Operational capability? Brand?
- 3Entry mode: Build (organic), Buy (M&A), Partner (JV, franchise)
- 4Financial: Payback period, NPV, break-even timeline, risk scenarios
Watch Out
Don't recommend "enter" without checking capabilities + exit risks. Always ask about regulatory environment.
M&A / Acquisition
Should company acquire / merge? Is the deal worth it?
Framework
Strategic fit + Financial fit + Integration feasibility
Step-by-step
- 1Strategic rationale: Why buy vs build? Synergy hypothesis (revenue + cost)?
- 2Target attractiveness: Market position, financials, culture, people
- 3Valuation: Standalone value + synergy value vs. price paid
- 4Integration: Complexity, timeline, risks (key talent retention, culture clash)
Watch Out
Synergies are often overestimated; integration costs underestimated. Flag this proactively.
Pricing Strategy
Optimize pricing, new product launch price, competitive response
Framework
3 lenses: Cost-based, Value-based, Competition-based
Step-by-step
- 1Cost floor: What's break-even price? What's target margin?
- 2Value ceiling: What's max WTP of customer? (Conjoint analysis, benchmarks)
- 3Competitive context: Price vs substitutes? Price sensitivity? Elasticity?
- 4Segment: Should pricing vary by customer segment / channel / volume tier?
Watch Out
Always recommend value-based pricing as starting point; use cost as floor. Ask about price elasticity before recommending.
Operations / Supply Chain
Efficiency improvement, capacity planning, process optimization
Framework
Input → Process → Output; bottleneck identification; Lean principles
Step-by-step
- 1Map current process: steps, time, cost, failure points
- 2Identify bottlenecks: Where does capacity constrain throughput?
- 3Root cause: Machine? People? Process? Supplier?
- 4Solutions: Automate, outsource, redesign flow, reduce waste (TIMWOOD)
Watch Out
TIMWOOD waste types: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects
Case Interview Best Practices
- Always clarify the objective before diving in
- Ask about timeline, geography, and how success is defined
- "Before I dive in, let me make sure I understand the objective correctly..."
- Announce your framework: "I'd like to approach this by looking at..."
- Give interviewers a roadmap before going deep
- MECE: Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive
- State hypothesis early: "My initial hypothesis is..."
- Let data confirm/reject – don't cling to hypothesis
- Keep re-hypothesizing as you gather data
- Think aloud – interviewers want to see your reasoning
- If stuck: "Let me take 30 seconds to structure my thoughts"
- Bottom-line-up-front: Recommendation → Rationale → Evidence
Practice with a real expert
1-1 Mock Case Interview Coaching
45–60 minute mock case session with a former McKinsey, BCG, or Deloitte consultant — detailed feedback on structure, communication, and hypothesis formation.