Logical mistake in the case?

Roland Berger case: Light on!
New answer on Jul 15, 2021
1 Answer
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Anonymous A asked on Jul 14, 2021

Hi guys,

just a quick question - I am confused with numbers treatment in the case, since the case is stating following at various places:

"The company currently employs 150 employees at its European production facility"

then 

"It should be shared, that one proxy, assuming that the workforce should not increase, could be to take the current revenue split by regions and apply them to the number of workers currently employed"

Revenue split is taken described as follows:

"Revenues were split: Europe (65%), North America (15%), Asia (20%)"

And then there is calculation like this:

"150 employees * 0,20 = 30 employees in Asia
150 employees * 0,15 = 23 (rounded) employees in North America
150 employees – 30 – 23 = 97 employees in Europe"

The 150 is taken like total number, which does not make sense to me. I would calculate it rather like 150 = 65%, so (150/0,65)*0,2 for Asia and (150/0,65)*0,15 for NA. 

Am I wrong or the case is flawed?

Thank you!

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Best answer
Ian
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replied on Jul 15, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

From my understanding you are right here! Your approach does seem to make more sense.

This happens - about one in every 2 or 3 cases I see has a mistake. If you're confident in your math and can have a 2nd person confirm, then don't let the case detract you!

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Ian

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