Frameworks - arguably the most integral part of any consulting case study interview, the term alone can make students sweat and companies cringe.
Understanding frameworks can seem hard and daunting to applicants - on the one hand they should be understood in order to dissect cases in well-structured ways. On the other hand, consulting firms always stress that pre-existing frameworks should never be reused during interviews.
So, this article will provide you with some explanations, guidelines, and tips on how to understand, and correctly use frameworks during interviews to analyse cases well, while still coming up with innovative solutions for them. Additionally, this article will provide you with an extensive list of all the “major” frameworks while adding an alternative structure to the mix as well.
As there are a lot of pre-existing frameworks out there already, it’s important to understand what they actually are- essentially, frameworks are structures used to analyse, dissect, explore and solve case studies. During an interview, interviewees utilise them to understand the different components of cases, i.e. business problems, and to work through them to generate a well organised solution.
Frameworks are commonly separated into “buckets” which, essentially, refers to the different categories they are split into. Further, all frameworks should follow the basic principle of being MECE- Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive. In essence, this means that they should cover everything relevant to solve the case, without the “buckets” and their components overlapping or repeating each other.
It is also important to understand that frameworks are only guidelines-they should never be blindly applied and reused. In fact, consulting firms often directly mention on careers pages that pre-existing frameworks should not be memorised and reapplied during interviews. (E.g. don’t’ start solving a case by saying “I will use Porter’s 5 Forces to work on this problem.”) Instead, they should always be adjusted and customised. While this might sound initially quite complex, a good way to go about this is to understand the different components of pre-existing frameworks and merge them together into new and unique solutions for each different case study, depending on which parts are applicable.
Understanding frameworks is important to solve cases as they were, after all, created to solve consulting problems. Hence, their different components describe market, industry, and company components and are helpful to get a general understanding of business problems. Just like the different parts of frameworks can be used as they are standard business terms, certain structures are basics, rather than frameworks. For example, profit accruing from revenues minus costs is less of a framework than a basic formula. However, even this very basic structure can (and should) be adjusted and customised- for example, candidates working on a profit case could also choose to look at the behaviour of markets, customers or the competition to get a better understanding of profitability trends and company standings.
It should also be noted that different firms have different approaches and mindsets when it comes to frameworks. For instance, McKinsey is known for being more open to reusing standardised frameworks, while BCG is very averse to this and strives to come up with unique structures and solutions instead.
So, having explained some basics and given some advice on frameworks, below are the best known and trusted ones.
1.) SWOT Analysis (commonly used to assess M&A, market entries and general business ventures):
· Strengths
· Weaknesses
· Opportunities
· Threats
2.) 4Ps (commonly used for positioning of new products and ventures, marketing strategies and evaluating existing offers or to optimise the impact with your target market):
· Product
· Price
· Promotion
· Place
3.) 4Cs (commonly used to get a better understanding of the client):
· Customer
· Competition
· Cost
· Capabilities
4.) Porter’s 5 Forces (commonly used for market entry analyses and strategies):
· Competitive rivalry
· Threat of new entrants
· Buyer power
· Threat of substitution
· Supplier power
5.) Product Life cycle (commonly used to determine a product’s character):
· Introduction
· Growth
· Maturity
· Decline
6.) 5 Cs (commonly used for analysing chances and risks of business ventures, such as M&As):
· Character
· Capacity
· Capital
· Condition
· Competitive Advantage
7.) BCG Matrix (commonly used for growth strategies and to review products):
8.) Profit framework by Victor Cheng (commonly used in profit case studies)
9.) Business Situation framework by Victor Cheng (can be used flexibly to assess business ventures):
· Customer
· Product
· Company
· Competition
10.) M&A Framework by Victor Cheng (used to assess M&As)
11.) Capacity Change Framework by Victor Cheng
Apart from these well-known frameworks, other structures can analyse cases in the following way:
Company:
Financials/General
- revenue/cost trends
- profit margin
- capabilities/expertise
Operations
- supply chain
- distribution channels
- sales force, labor
Product
- product mix, packaging
- differentiation vs. commodity
- substitutes/complements
- marketing, quality of product
Context:
Competition
- profitability trends
- market share
- strategies, responses, best practices
Industry
- trends, forecasts
- fragmentation vs. consolidation
- competitiveness
Customers
- brand loyalty
- price sensitivity
- segmentation
Risks/Obstacles:
- regulations, patents, other barriers to entry
- cultural clash, talent leaving
- cannibalisation, or other reduced sales
- competitive response
Extra: Strategic Value
- synergies
- potential overlaps, good and bad (in customers, distribution channels, products, etc.)
- brand reputation
- joint ownership and control
In case you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed by frameworks and look somewhat like this when approaching them-
Remember to study components, rather than standardised frameworks, to understand cases well without limiting your answers to pre-set, uncreative solutions. Also keep in mind that every case study should be treated as unique, so separate parts of different frameworks might have to be used (e.g. a case could be solved be creating a framework with components from the 4Cs, 4Ps and SWOT-Analysis).
And finally, the way to mastering frameworks is, you probably guessed it- practice case studies! While recruiters often also advise candidates not to “over-practice”, as this can lead to just remembering different variations of frameworks and automatically reusing them, getting some practice in is still crucial to nail your consulting interview. So, grab your friends and present them with an innovative framework that might help them open the coffee and pillow shop they never knew they wanted!
(Trust me, they will love you for it)
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