Fysikum Case Logic/Math Question

Question

In the following Fysikum case, I struggle to understand how to calculate the amount of members in the squash club. More precisely, I struggle why we multiply the # of members/ (week and court) by the # of courts without avoiding double counting of members. If for example a member uses one court for one hour that week, and then later that week he uses another court for one hour, he would get counted twice, wouldn't he? The only assumption given is: "court use = 1 hour per member per week" - does this mean that one member can use only one court once a week for max one hour and if yes, does this justify the above calculation?
Furthermore, is the implicit assumption here that only members can play a game and non-members (e.g. friends of members) can't get invited by members?

Hope to get help here.

Thank you

Answer 1

You're correct in stating that the assumption of "court use = 1 hour per member per week" means that each member can only use the court for one hour per week. This prevents double counting as each member can only use a court once per week.

In terms of the implicit assumption, in a case interview context, you would want to make that an explicit assumption. If you didn't do this, you may calculate the wrong number due to an incorrect assumption. For example, you could say "Can I assume that only members can use the courts, and they cannot invite friends?". The interviewer would then say yes or no which you would then incorporate into your analysis.