Nasty Consultant: The Game

Nasty Consultant: The Game

As Consulting prep is reaching its peak and we are all solving case after case to prepare for the January interviews. You are probably tired of scratching your head on tire manufacturers and paper distributors. To distract you and tease your brain I came up with a series of “special” cases that will hopefully entertain you.

On a more serious note, these cases show how bad business practices and unethical behaviour can lead to very serious consequences. Don’t be the Nasty Consultant!

*****SCROLL DOWN FOR SOLUTIONS

Let me know if you like them, I’ll make more!

• Oxy Pharma

  Throughout the 1910s-1920s, the U.S. placed restrictions on opioids and narcotics, requiring that formal prescriptions be written as well as outlawing heroin. Since the 1970s the US placed restriction against Narcotics and grouping the drugs based on likelihood for abuse and imposes regulations depending on the class, making very difficult for Pharmaceutical companies to sell opioid derivatives even on prescription.
  In 1995, Oxy Pharma introduced OxyCantine, a version of oxycodone, which was introduced as a gentler and less-addictive opioid pill. You are contracted by Oxy Pharma to come up with a strategy to increase the demand for opioid pills in American households.

• XXX Ladies & Gentlemen XXX

  It is 2002, the Internet has finally become a commodity. You are a producer of Adult entertainment videos. You profited a lot during the internet early years. As your content was “niche” and you had a loyal customer base. But as the internet grew, it changed the industry. The cost of hosting, speed and simplicity decreased and that multiplied your competition.  Your competitors are giving away more and more “teasers” for free and you are seeing your revenues collapse. You need a strategy to differentiate from your competitors and make you stand out from the multitude of available options.

• Cartel de Guadalajara

  You are a ruthless Mexican druglord. You are ruling a large part of the country and smuggling your products through the border of the United States and Canada. Unfortunately for you, the opioids epidemic has taken a toll on your revenues. Your second in command was recently arrested for tax evasion. Your situation is quite dangerous as other organisations are ready to take over your business. The most difficult part of your business though is to recruit trusted employees. In the past, you had to show power and older generations reacted positively to your hard “touch”. The job market is now full of Millenials that don’t want to get tattooed and are scared of getting hurt or to go to jail. The backbone of a performing criminal organisation is its members and code of conduct. How will you ensure that your leadership softens enough to appeal to younger gang members without compromising your power?

• Leute Motoren

  You are contracted by a German Automotive manufacturer to help them figure out how to compete with Asian cars flooding the market. Recently the environmental rules imposed by the US and European governments have put a stretch on what products you can actually deliver without either decreasing your margins significantly or allowing your prices to skyrocket. There is almost a cult around your brand and your clients are very faithful. How can you solve Leute Motoren competition and regulation problem?

• Presidential Elections

  You are contracted by the US president’s office to ensure the reelection. The current president has won a lot of votes by rallying a lot of white male blue-collar workers and promising tariffs and protectionism measures, often blaming immigrants for the United States current situation. His following is still pretty strong although, he is involved in current scandals, involving collusion with Russian Government, Treason, Numerous sex scandals and racists comments. Which stand should the president take to make sure he raises enough capital to go through the campaign?

• Peach, Inc.

  You are an electronics manufacturer mainly relying on smartphone sales and distribution. Your brand is so iconic that people actually queue for days to get the latest model you design every year. You have been the market leader for years now. Unfortunately, the guru/CEO of the company recently passed away. He was the real genius behind the company and now it seems to lose that edge you used to have when the first models were released. Other manufacturers are getting more and more market share and your prices increase of an insane amount every year because you need to innovate. Your client base is starting to question the direction your company is taking, even though they love your brand. How can you make sure you continue to please the shareholders by increasing your sales every year while customers are still happy with the current version of your products?

• Mineral hope, Inc

  You are recruited by a multi-level marketing company to increase their revenues. As a multi-level marketing company, Mineral Hope cannot use traditional retail networks to sell their products, they only allow products to be distributed through members.
  Mineral Hope has been recently struggling with lawsuits accusing it of running a “pyramid scheme”. They also have been accused to neglect their members and class actions lawsuits have challenged their “marketing practices”. Their traditional channels of recruiting members are struggling, as their public image is suffering. Mineral Hope wants to target the low income and low educated Hispanic communities in the U.S. They need to revitalize their distribution channels and that is why they hired you.

Conclusion

Future Management Consultants  I hope you enjoyed and solved the nasty cases! Let me know if you want to mock one of those. Enjoy the rest of your consulting preparation! Good luck!

SOLUTIONS:

Oxypharma: http://www.georgetownbehavioral.com/node/2013
Cartel: https://www.amazon.com/Narconomics-How-Run-Drug-Cartel/dp/1610397703
XXX: https://theweek.com/articles/648472/economics-porn
Leuten:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal#Underlying_U.S._and_EU_emission_standards
Peach: https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/30/16951328/apple-iphone-battery-slow-down-software-update-department-of-justice-sec-investigation-probe
Mineral Hope: https://www.mlmnewsreport.com/new-smoothie-shop-herbalife-nutrition-club/

Waïna Landauro

Waïna Landauro is an 2020 IESE MBA. Author of iesemba.com and creator of the business videogame The nasty consultant. Founder of Interview practice platform Mockmate.com. He’s currently supporting startups at Google Cloud. Talk to digital waina