Hi, can anyone pls share public sector style cases that you might have come across in your interviews with MBB/ S&?
Just ideas on what types are asked and expectations would be great. Thanks a lot!
Hi, can anyone pls share public sector style cases that you might have come across in your interviews with MBB/ S&?
Just ideas on what types are asked and expectations would be great. Thanks a lot!
Hi,
These types of cases are actually pretty traditional, especially for McKinsey. The reason why people think that they are rare is that the casebooks (that are in general not a good source of cases) do not have enough of them.
To provide a bit of structure, there are several types of non-profit cases:
Feel free to reach out if you need help with them. I usually give a homework of 10 cases and we discuss your solutions.
Best!
My approach
Public sector cases are tricky because they feasibly be any case type (Product Launch - new service for citizens; M&A - merging two departments; even Profitability - cost cutting mandate). For any public sector case, I recommend:
Considerations/Constraints
Regards #2, you know that public perception is particularly important to consider in any public sector move. Additionally, you can count on bureacracy/slowness in implementation. You should identify the goal/mission of the organisation as well and keep this top of mind (if it loses money, but achieves it's goal of helping the poor, no problem). Howvever, just because the government sector doesn't have profit as a target, doesn't mean you should ignore the profit tree altogether - governments are still obliged to take into costs (and sometimes revneues) in decisions (example: setting up a public transport initiative). Don't get tricked into thinking you can't consider the economics of the case!
Other items to consider include, but are not limited to:
Framework Resource
In terms of resources, the UPenn Wharton 2011 casebook has a framework for public sector. It's split into:
Practice Cases
If you want some practice cases:
Hope this helps, and please don't hesitate to ask any follow-up/clarifying questions!
McKinsey's online website (https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing) has 2 practice cases that are great. One is around education and the other around financial services for the poor.