Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

Incorrect use of decimal point/thousand separator in answer

Music Streaming - Market Sizing
New answer on Jan 04, 2022
3 Answers
1.1 k Views
Jes asked on Jan 01, 2022

In the answer to this case for total hours of listening per year it says “33bn * 52 = 1.716 bn”.

In the rest of the case “.” is used as decimal point whereas the answer here is 1716 billion = 1.716 trillion.

Correct answers would be:

----  1716 bn

----  1.716 tn/trillion

---- 1,716 bn ("," being most common thousands separator when “.” is used as decimal point).

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jan 02, 2022
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi Jes,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

  • First of all, good spotting! Unfortunately, too many case studies (even on PrepLounge) contain minor errors like this one.
  • If you look up the author, he seems to be of Dutch origin yet has lived in other countries and regions. He must have simply forgotten about what character to use as thousands separator.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on the matter, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Was this answer helpful?
Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jan 02, 2022
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi Jes,

Most cases have small errors like this. If it's obviously an error, just acknowledge that and understand what was intended.

As I'm sure you know, some countries use “,” as a unit separator whereas others use “.”. The author clearly is just international (like most of us) and forgot to be consistent :)

Was this answer helpful?
Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jan 04, 2022
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Indeed it seems like a typo. The coach is in PrepL, why don´t you check with him? I am sure he´d be grateful. 

 

Cheers, 

Clara

Was this answer helpful?
Hagen gave the best answer

Hagen

CoachingPlus Expert
Premium + Coaching Expert
Content Creator
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years
488
Meetings
15,677
Q&A Upvotes
88
Awards
5.0
414 Reviews