I am the business manager of the Performance Chemicals division ($500million) of a Speciality Chemicals Company ($14billion). Our CEO wants us to become the fastest growing (moving from 4-5% growth to 10-15% growth) speciality chemicals company and has therefore asked all the divisions to present growth strategies to him. I would like you to advice us as we do not believe that there is significant untapped potential in the markets served by our division.
The case is designed to be presented to the candidate by an interviewer, who plays the role of the business manager of the Performance Chemicals division of a Speciality Chemicals Company.
Key question: What kind of growth strategies could help the division grow at a faster rate?
Answer: The company should look at strategies such as:
The interviewee should perform a back-of-envelope analysis which answers the key question - 'Whether or not the Performance Chemicals division can grow at a 10%+ per annum rate'; and recommend potential growth strategies for the business unit.
It is clear that the company has to look beyond traditional product strategy to generate the demanded growth.
The company should look at
Alternatively, the following strategies could also be considered:
The company should look at strategies such as product enhancements or product-service bundling, outsourcing non-core activities and new markets for the existing technological capabilities.
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Growth questions are among the most common questions in consulting case interviews: gather the necessary Information about volume and price to find the best growth lever
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3 Comment(s)A two-by-two matrix is a simple but effective method of presenting information. It is very popular within consulting as it provides the big picture of a certain option space.
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5 Comment(s)No case exhibits yet
