Problem Solving interview questions – page 3

A tire manufacturer in Vietnam has been the only player in that market due to high tariffs on imports. They dominate the tire industry. As it stands, the tariff is 50% of the total cost to produce and ship a tire to Vietnam. Because of the forces of globalization and lower consumer prices, the Vietnamese government decided to lower the tariff by 5% a year for the next ten years. The company is very concerned about this change, as it will radically alter the landscape of the industry in Vietnam. They hire you to assess the situation and advise them on what steps to take.

A major auto service chain has enjoyed healthy returns on its 30-store operation for the past 10 years. However, management feels that the chain needs to expand, as the current geographical areas in which they are based have become saturated. For the past couple of years, they have aggressively pursued a growth strategy, opening an additional 15 stores. However, it seems that this approach has had negative returns. For the first time in over a decade, the chain's profits dropped into the negative zone. You were hired to figure out why.

A steel company in was experiencing large amounts of inventory and customers which complained about long wait times for orders. Company used to have a monopoly however deregulation had allowed for competition starting 10 years ago and the firm now had 40% market share. Firm had four plants, two made mostly flat steel products and two made pipe like steel products. For all plants half the products were specialized and half were standard. What should be done to solve the problems?

For a Fuel station convenience store, what is the optimal layout for where different types of goods are arranged within the store?

Soybeans are a commodity product. A soybean manufacturer, which processes soybeans for food and energy. 80% of production is for food, 20% is for energy. The soybeans are processes in North America, but majority of energy demand today is in Asia/Pacific. The CEO has hired you to understand what is the most efficient method of delivering the product to Asia. You need to decide whether to process all in North America and then ship to Asia/Pacific, or ship raw to Asia/Pacific and then process.

We are looking to acquire ABC company that offers a diversified product line of health & beauty products into several market segments. We would like to sell the acquisition in 2-3 years for a profit. The new management team put in place is unsure where to focus company's growth efforts and, therefore, which segments to target with new product launches. You are to provide your advice to help us decide to purchase this firm or not. Also to tell where to focus?

A company manufactures hair products. It's thinking about entering the sunscreen market. Is this a good idea?

A cable TV company from Canada, World View, had recently entered the US market in the northeast to expand its market share. World View saw this move as an opportunity to capture a large part of the US market (4MM consumers) in a market with very little competition. However, in the last couple of years, much to the surprise of management, World View has been unable to make a profit. You have been hired to figure out why and advise them on their next move?

Estimates number of news-stand in Italy?

What will you do when client is asking you to provide something which doesn't make any sense?

How many hair do I have in my head?

A corn feed company has eight manufacturing plans located in the Midwest. These plants services the entire U.S. Their plant in Ohio is in need of refurbishing. The company has four possible options: refurbish the existing plant, build a larger plant at the current location, build a similar size plant at a new location, and build a larger plant at a new location.

Your client, a U.S. firm, owns a meat packing plant in Spain. Over the last few periods profits have steadily declined, despite the fact that sales are growing. You have been hired to figure out why.

You client is a large real estate development company considering buying a piece of real estate. How do you analyze the investment?

Over the past few years, our client, a retail bank, has gone national from few branches in one state to 200 branches across country. Although some of the branches performing well, the company as a whole is losing lot of money specifically in four metro cities. How would you analyze this problem?

There are 10 black socks and 10 white socks in a drawer. Socks of the same color are identical but not allowed to look into the drawer while taking out socks?

A man works on the 10th floor and takes the elevator down to ground level at the end of the day. Yet every morning, he only takes the elevator to the 7th floor, even when in a hurry. But he goes all the way to the 10th floor when others are in the elevator with him or it is a rainy day. Why?