OVERVIEW

What is the VHBC ROUND 1 TEST?

The VHBC round 1 test is a very crucial part of the VHBC High School
Business Case Competition. It is the first step to make a preliminary
assessment of the contestants' professional abilities to identify the best
candidates for the next important stages of the competition.

What does the test look like?

This problem solving test consists of business scenarios and case
studies that require candidates to analyze information, identify key
insights, and formulate logical and structured recommendations. The
scenarios are often inspired by real-world business challenges, and
candidates are expected to demonstrate their analytical skills,
quantitative reasoning, and ability to think critically under time
constraints.

The test has 20 multiple-choice questions that are divided into 4

parts. A candidate has exactly 20 minutes to answer as many
questions as possible. No personal assistants allowed. It's just you
and the test!

How to prepare for the VHBC ROUND 1 TEST?

Step 1: Determine your target of the test
Step 2: Get familiar with official sample tests
Step 3: Learn the logic of each question type, common mistakes, and
how to answer correctly
Step 4: Practice mental math to improve calculation speed and
accuracy
Step 5: Practice speed reading and data selection
Step 6: Practice answering individual question type under time pressure
Step 7: Do one mock test with simulated test conditions
Step 8: Review the test and your performance
Step 9: Return to step 3, 4, 5, 6 to for further practice on weakness
Step 10: Do a mock test again, repeat until you can confidently hit 90%
or more.

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
1. READING FACTS QUESTION:
This question tests your ability to understand facts and data. There will
be no logic or hypothesizing needed. Instead, proficiency in chart
reading and calculations will be handy here.
The following are a few examples of typical question formats:
- Which of the following statements is valid based on the data?
- Which of the following can be concluded from the chart?
- Which of the following can be concluded from Exhibit…?
Sample question:

Revenue this year Average Annual Growth Over Last 2 years

Liverpool $324K 4.5%

Manchester
$63.2K 3.3%
United

Arsenal $55.6K 1.2%

Juventus $13.9K -9.0%

Which of the following statements is valid based on the data in

Table 1?
(A) Liverpool revenue was more than $325 thousand five years ago
(B) Arsenal revenue grew by no less than 1.2% in each of the last five
years
(C) The total revenue of UEFA Champion League did not grow at all in
the last five years
(D) If the growth rate in the last 5 years is maintained, Liverpool revenue
will be more than $420K 5 years from now.
You will see that no tricky logical reasoning is needed here. All you need
in order to answer these questions is the ability to read the table and
perform calculations correctly.

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
COMMON MISTAKES
A good way to determine the correct option is to investigate if the other
three are wrong. Now there are two ways you can be wrong in this type
of VHBC question: (1) Incorrect calculation and (2) Misread the facts/
data
Type #2 is harder to understand, so I will dive deeper into that here.
Let’s look at the sample question above. Hope you got D, the correct
choice.
Example 1: How you can misread the data – Why A is wrong
If you overlook the phrase “Average annual” in column 3′s title, then
Liverpool revenue 5 years ago would be: $342.8 k / (100% + 4.5%) = $328
k, which is more than $325 thousand. Revenue grew at an average rate
of 4.5% in EACH of the last 5 years. It is NOT 4.5% over the whole period
of 5 years.
Example 2: How you can misread the data – Why B is wrong
If you overlook the phrase “Average” in column 3′s title, then it seems
like the growth rate for each of the last 5 years is exactly 1.2%, no more,
no less. B, therefore, seems correct. However, as indicated in the table,
1.2% is just an average figure, which means there are years with a lower
or higher growth rate.
Example 3: How you can misread the data – Why C is wrong
If you overlook the second column of the table (Revenue this year
column), then it seems like the average overall growth rate for UEFA
Champion League is 0% (4.5% + 3.3% + 1.2% – 9% = 0%), which makes C
correct. However, different lines have different sizes. Even though
Juventus had negative growth of 9%, it is a relatively small line so its
impact on the overall rate is small as well.

Hope that you will not make this mistake in your real test. Again, VHBC
ROUND 1 TEST is a simple test… when you have enough time!

3
 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
2. FACTS-BASED CONCLUSION QUESTION
Fact-based conclusion is such a fundamental aspect of consulting that
it weighs heavily on the VHBC ROUND 1 TEST. These questions test your
ability to draw and recognize logical conclusions based on the set of
facts provided.
The following are a few examples of typical question formats:
- Which of the following statements can be concluded from …?
- Which statements are FALSE based on?
SAMPLE QUESTION
The VHBC team has an interview with the Army Chief Operating Officer
of NewYork. During the interview, the following facts have been
gathered:

The factory must have at least one safety inspector 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, in accordance with Federal and State labor
regulations.
To maximize operational efficiency, there must be exactly 12 line
workers operating the mine.
The mine operates from 8 am until 5:30 pm, Monday to Sunday.
The mine employs 5 safety inspectors and 20 line workers to make 25
workers in total.
The total weekly labor cost for the Bingham Mine is $16,000.
Which of the following statements is a valid conclusion?
(A) One-fifth of the total labor cost for the mine is for safety inspectors.
(B) At least one safety inspector must work more than 40 hours per
week.
(C) Line workers do not work more than 40 hours per week.
(D) The majority of the mine’s labor cost is for line workers.
ANSWER KEY

A – Fit-well but not fact-based

There are 5 inspectors out of 25 employees so it seems like the cost of
the inspectors can very well be 1/5 of total labor cost. But a missing
piece of data to conclude that is: does each person get a similar total
income?

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
C – Fit well but not fact-based
The mine opens for 9.5 hours per day, 7 days per week, and there must
be 12 line workers at a time, so it is 798 man-hours per week at the line
positions. There are 16 line workers, so on average each of them only
needs to work 39.9 hours per week. This seems to fit very well with the
proposed conclusion: line workers do not work more than 40 hours per
week. However, a missing piece of data to conclude is: does every line
worker work the same amount of time (if not, there can be some who
work over 40 hours while others work less)?

D – Fit well but not fact-based

Similar to A, there are more line workers, so it seems like the total cost
for line workers is more than the total cost for safety inspectors. But a
missing piece of data needed to conclude is: does each worker get paid
the same amount?
=> Only B is proven true by the provided facts
There are 24 * 7 = 168 inspector hours needed in a week, equaling 42
hours per week per inspector. So there must be one who works more
than 40 hours.

3. ROOT-CAUSE REASON QUESTION

This question gives you a particular set of facts/data and asks you to
identify what could be the cause for them. When doing a real
consulting project, we consultants have to find out the root-cause
reason. There may be various reasons that can cause the current
situation, but the root-cause reason will help us tackle and solve it more
efficiently.
The following are a few examples of typical question formats:
- Which of the following reasons, if TRUE, will help explain the
Facts?
- Which of the following does NOT explain the Facts?
- Which of the following points is NOT a valid reason for the Facts …?

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
SAMPLE QUESTION
Facts provided: Visits to the website TTC were relatively low last
month.
Root-cause Reason Question: What reasons, if TRUE, would help
explain the low traffic to TTC last month?
The correct answers can be any of the following:
1. The quality of contents has been bad
2. Because of technical issues, some visitors could not access the
website
3. Last month was December when the overall demand for job prep
materials is lowest in the year
4. Other new consulting prep blogs opened recently
Fact-based Conclusion Question: What can be concluded from the
data provided?
All of the statements above can be the reason for the stated fact, but
NONE of them can be concluded from it.
An example of a statement that can be concluded: Because the
conversion rate stayed constant over the years, revenue last month was
relatively low.

4. WORD PROBLEMS QUESTION - MATH/QUANTITATIVE QUESTION

Word Problem is a quantitative question where the answer cannot be
calculated directly from the data provided. Usually, we have to set up
one or more equations in order to solve this kind of question. Word
Problem questions are just the word problems we usually see in
schools, GMAT… but put into business contexts. The method to solve
them, therefore, is the same. The answer can’t be calculated directly
from the data provided, so you have to set up 1+ equations to solve the
questions

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
SAMPLE QUESTION

Table 1. Summary Data Collected on NGI’s Services in Three Cities

Milwaukee San Diego Orlando

Average trash collection fee

$420 $370 $400
percustomer per month (t)

Number of trash
10,000 13,000 11,500
collectioncustomers (n)

Landfill fee to non-NGI trucks

$25 $30 $22
perton of waste (l)

Total waste processed at

5,000 tons 4,200 tons 6,800 tons
landfillsite per week (w)

Net profit margin (trash

6% 9% 2%
collection)

Net profit margin (landfill

15% 18% 12%
mgmt)

The team proceeds to analyse the average profitability of a garbage

truck. They
gather the following information regarding a typical garbage truck in
Orlando:
- The average weekly fee per customer is $100
- Customers get two pickups per week, each weighing 0.1 tons per
customer on
average
- Truck, fuel, and crews cost $2,000 per day and operate five days per
week
- The cost to NGI trucks of disposing at NGI’s landfill site is $15 per ton

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 VHBC QUESTION TYPES
1. Assuming no costs other than those mentioned above, which of
the following
quantities represent the SMALLEST number of customers required
for an
Orlando garbage truck to make a profit on its weekly run?
(A) 96
(B) 100
(C) 104
(D) 108
Answer key:
Step 1: Let y be the number of customers.
Step 2: The equation to solve with the information given is 100y > 2 x 0.1
x 15 x y + 10,000 -> 97y > 10,000
Step 3: Solve the inequalities: 97y >10,000 -> y = 103.09. So the smallest
of the listed values which satisfies this is 104.
C is the best answer

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 TIPS TO CRACK “PROBLEM
SOLVING PART” (From MCK)
Learn certain business terms, such as Revenues, Costs, Fixed &
Variable Costs, Profits, etc.
Practice using a timer set to 30 minutes to help further simulate the
actual test. Try spending no more than 2 minutes per question to
ensure that you finish in time.
Practice and improve on your math skills, speed, and accuracy.
Cross out any answer choices that you rule out. Any answers that are
not proven by the data provided can be immediately eliminated.
Answers will often be far enough apart for you to make estimates for
the possible answer – use this to your advantage.
Plan the calculations that you are going to make beforehand by
reading the questions, then solve.
Read the questions you will be answering first, then speed read and
understand the graphs and text to quickly move onto solving.

9
Glossary of Business Terms
Breakeven point (BEP): Breakeven point is the level of sale at which
cost and profit are equal, thereis no profit no loss.

Break-even: The amount of sales a business needs to make to cover all

its costs

Capital cost: one-off substantial purchase of physical items such as

plant, equipment, building or land.

Capital: Wealth in the form of money or property owned by a business.

Cost of goods sold (CGOS): Cost of Goods Sold (CGS) is the cost of
items purchased for resale. Itincludes manufacturing costs and the
staff costs of the production department before generaloverheads are
calculated
Gross Profit Margin = (Revenue – COGS) / Revenue

Interest rate - a percentage used to calculate the cost of borrowing

money or the amount you will earn. Rates vary from product to
product and generally the higher the risk of the loan, the higher the
interest rate. Rates may be fixed or variable.

Margins: Ratios (denominator = revenue) that help to evaluate a

company relative to its peers

Market share: Total sales of an organisation divided by the sales of the

market they serve

Net cash flow: This is the projected change in cash position, an

increase or decrease in cash balance

Net Income Margin = Net Income / Revenue

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Glossary of Business Terms
Net profit: A business’s total income minus its total costs.

Operating Income Margin = (Revenue – COGS – Operating Expenses) /

Revenue

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Helps measure the performance of a paid

marketing campaign

Return on investment (ROI): Net profits divided by net worth or total

equity; yet another measure of profitability. Also called ROI.

Revenues (or Sales): The positive inflow of money generated by sales

of the company’s product or service

ROAS = (Gross Revenue) / (Total Costs)

ROI = (Investment Gains - Investment Cost) / (Investment Cost)

Sales ‐‐ amounts received or due for goods or services sold to

customers. Gross sales are total sales before any returns or
adjustments. Net sales are after accounting for returns and
adjustments.

VAT: Value added tax is a tax paid on most goods and services in the
UK. VAT is normally included in the price of the goods or services sold,
not all goods attract VAT. Some goods are zero-rated, food, books,
newspapers, children’s clothes and equipment for disabled people.

11
 Mock test
Below is the mock test for your best practice, enjoy!

PART 1: Innovation Capital Initiatives

Link
The Group of Eight or G8 is a group comprised of political representatives
of eight of the world's largest eleven economies: Bright Land, Sunrise
Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Russia. The G8 meet
periodically to discuss issues of importance to member states and agree
upon measures to address these issues.

The countries that comprise the G8 have been experiencing slow

economic growth in recent years, and this is an important topic to be
discussed at the next meeting of G8 Finance Ministers. In preparation for
this meeting, a consulting team, working together with a group of
external thought leaders and academics, are preparing a report on the
importance of Innovation as a contributor to economic growth. The team
intends to introduce a concept to the G8 representatives known as
'Innovation Capital Initiatives, which is the value of all innovation-related
assets which contribute to growth in productivity in the economy.
The team further defines three types of Innovation Capital Initiatives:
• Physical Capital: Investments in information and communication
equipment
• Knowledge Capital: Investments that build the intellectual property and
brand value of a company or organization
• Human Capital: Investments that build individual or group abilities and
skills within companies or organizations

Exhibit 1 (on the next page) shows the main components of Innovation
Capital Initiatives and their total value across 16 countries that the team
has been studying, including the members of the G8.

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 Mock test

1. Which of the following MOST accurately describes the reason for

the team's work in preparing for the G8 meeting?
A. The team has discovered a new economic measure known as
Innovation Capital Initiatives and wants to introduce it
B. The team wants to explain how Innovation can drive economic
growth
C. The team wants to explain how Innovation can represent a large
proportion of an economy's size
D. The team wants to convince the group to invest more in Innovation
Capital Initiatives in the future

Explanation: B – The introductory paragraphs state that the team is

preparing a report on the
importance of innovation as a contributor to economic growth. Option B
is the only statement that mentions the connection between innovation
and economic growth.
2. Which of the following analyses would be LEAST appropriate in
better understanding the size of investments in Innovation Capital
Initiatives in the countries the team has been studying?
A. Analysis of expenditure by organizations on training programs for
their employees
B. Analysis of expenditure by organizations on activities which build
awareness of their aims and purpose

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 Mock test
C. Analysis of expenditure by organizations on networking and
socialization meetings and events
D. Analysis of expenditure by organizations on the management of their
databases and information systems

Explanation: C – Referring to the three types of Innovation Capital

defined in the introductory paragraphs, Option C is the only option that
does not fit into any of the three types. Option A is an educational
activity which fits into Human Capital, Option B relates to building an
organization’s brand, which fits into Knowledge Capital. Option D is
related to building the intellectual property of an organization, which
also fits into Knowledge Capital.

3. Which of the following can be concluded based on the

information provided in Exhibit 1 regarding the countries being
studied?
A. 45% of all Human Capital is invested in Organizational
Development
B. 51% of all Innovation Capital Initiatives is Knowledge Capital
C. More than 10% of Innovation Capital Initiatives is invested in
Computerized Information
D. More than a quarter of Innovation Capital Initiatives is Scientific
Research & Development

Explanation: A – Observing Exhibit 1 and relating the categories to the

three types of Innovation Capital, it can be seen that the final three
categories represent Human Capital, which totals $3.3 trillion. Of this,
Organizational Development represents $1.5 trillion, which is 45% of $3.3
trillion. The 2nd thru 5th categories represent Knowledge Capital, which
can be calculated as 60% of the total, rendering Option B incorrect.
Option C is incorrect as Computerized Information represents 8.7% of
the total. Option D is incorrect as Scientific Research and Development
represents 23.2% of the total.

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 Mock test

4. If total Innovation Capital Initiatives in Exhibit 1 were to grow by

5% per year in the future, which of the following would be the
MINIMUM required annual growth in Human Capital that would see
it represent more than half of total Innovation Capital Initiatives in
10 years?
A. 10%
В. 15%
C. 20%
D. 25%

Explanation: B – At 5% per year growth over 10 years, total Innovation

Capital would grow to $22.5 trillion. At 10% per year growth, Human
Capital would only grow to $8.6 trillion. However, at 15% per year
growth, Human Capital would grow to $13.4 trillion, which would be
more than half of total Innovation Capital.

15
 Mock test
Escapia
Link
Escapia is an online store which offers a wide range of goods to
customers via mail order. Escapia has been in existence for five years
and has seen rapid growth in sales during this period, as more and
more new customers signed up.
However, recently Escapia's customer numbers have plateaued and
this has resulted in slower sales and profit growth.
The Managing Director of Escapia has engaged a consulting team to
help her better understand the purchasing behavior of her customers.
She believes that a better understanding of customer purchasing can
lead to more targeted and successful marketing. She tells the team:
'I'm sure that our most valuable customers have certain purchasing
behaviors that we can identify. If we can encourage more of our
customers to adopt those behaviors, we can make them more valuable
to us and this can inject a new source of growth into our business.'
Exhibit 3 shows some data which the team has collected regarding a
sample of 500,000 Escapia customers who signed up in the last
calendar year.
The customers are split into quintiles according to their one year
customer value, from lowest to highest. 'One year customer value' is
defined as the profit made by Escapia on purchases made by a
customer in their first year since signing up. Also presented is data on
purchasing by customers in each quintile in their first 90 days since
signing up, namely the average number of purchase transactions and
the total revenue received by Escapia from those transactions.

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 Mock test
5. Which of the following statements BEST describes why the
Managing Director of Escapia has engaged consulting team?
A. She believes that Escapia can become better at identifying
customers who stop making purchases
B. She believes that Escapia can become better at identifying ways
to encourage customers to spend more
C. She believes that, by focusing on the customers of greatest value,
Escapia can drive renewed growth in their business
D. She believes that Escapia can predict the purchasing behavior of its
customers better

Explanation: B – From the introductory paragraphs, the Managing

Director is looking to find ways to encourage customers to adopt
purchasing behaviors that more valuable customers are known to have.
Given that a customer needs to make more purchases to become more
valuable to Marcadia, this could be rephrased as ‘encouraging
customers to spend more’. Option A refers to customers who stop
purchasing, who are not mentioned by the Managing Director. Option C
refers to driving growth purely through focusing on customers of
greatest value, which is also not a true reflection of the Managing
Director’s opinion. Option D refers to ‘predicting’ purchasing behavior,
which is not mentioned by the Managing Director.

6. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the

information presented in Exhibit 3 regarding the sample of
customers analyzed?
A. Purchasing by customers in their first 90 days is an indicator of their
value to Escapia in their first year
B. Quintile 1 are the customers with the lowest profit margin for
Escapia
C. The average customer makes between 2 and 3 transactions in the
first 90 days since signing up
D. The average one year customer value is $7.90

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 Mock test
Explanation: B – Profit margin cannot be calculated from the data in
Exhibit 3 as revenue data is only presented for the first 90 days. Option
A is a reasonable conclusion based on the relationship between revenue
in the first 90 days and one year value. Option C can be concluded by
calculating the average of the ‘Number of Transactions’ column, which
equals 2.44. Option D can be concluded by calculating the average of
the ‘Average One Year Value’ column.

7. What is the correct ranking of the five quintiles in Exhibit 3

according to the average transaction revenue, from lowest to
highest?
А. 1,2, 4,3, 5
В. 1,2, 3,4,5
C. 1, 3, 2, 4,5
D. 1, 3, 2,5,4

Explanation: D – Average transaction revenue can be calculated by

dividing total revenue by number of transactions. The ranking, from
lowest to highest. is 1 ($71.82), 3 ($80), 2 ($85.38), 5 ($85.96), 4 ($97.31).

8. If Escapia had driven higher purchasing from the new customers

in Exhibit 3 so that the one year value of customers in Quintiles 1
thru 4 were each to increase to the next highest quintile, how much
greater would Escapia's total one year customer value have been?
A. $250,000
B. $650,000
C. $2.5 million
D. $6.5 million

Explanation: C – There are 100,000 customers in each quintile. For each

of the first four quintiles, calculating the difference in one year value
versus the next highest quintile gives $0.50, $1.50, $5.00 and $18.00
respectively. Multiplying each by 100,000 and summing gives $50,000 +
$150,000 + $500,000 + $1,800,000 = $2,500,000.

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 Mock test
The team designs an email marketing pilot for 100,000 new customers
who have made at least one purchase since joining. In this pilot, these
new customers are split into two equal groups: a 'pilot' group and a
'control' group.
The pilot group receives a specially designed email to encourage
further purchasing, while the control group does not receive the email.
All emails are sent to the pilot group at the same time, and the emails
are designed differently according to the demographics of the
customer and his or her prior purchasing behavior.
Following the pilot, the team constructs Exhibit 4. This shows the 'lift' in
the purchasing behavior of the pilot group compared to the control
group after the emails were sent to the pilot group. Horizontally, the
information is divided according to how long ago the customer made
their first Escapia transaction, measured from the time the emails were
sent to the pilot group. Vertically, the information is divided according
to what kind of product was purchased in the customer's first Escapia
transaction. Within each box, the upper left portion shows the lift in the
number of transactions, while the lower right portion shows the lift in
the number of customers who made transactions. All data in Exhibit 4 is
in percentage points.

19
 Mock test
9. When comparing the pilot group to the control group, which of
the following CAN be determined from the information provided in
Exhibit 4 for customers who purchased Electronics in their first
transaction?
A. Percentage difference in average number of transactions per
customer
B. Difference in number of customers making transactions
C. Two week time segment which had the greatest difference in
number of transactions
D. Percentage of total lift in number of transactions represented by
each two week time segment

Explanation: A – For customers purchasing Electronics, there was a 3.8%

lift in transactions, and a 5% lift in number of customers making
transactions. Therefore the number of transactions per customer
compared to the control group was 103.8%/105% = 98.9%, ie a ‘lift’ of
-1.1%. Option B is not possible to determine as there is no data on the
number of customers in each product segment. Similarly, Option C is
not possible to determine as there is no data on the number of
transactions in each time segment. Finally, Option D cannot be
determined for the same reasons as Option C.

10. If 10% of customers in the control group made transactions

during the pilot, how many of the customers in the pilot group made
transactions during the pilot?
A. 5,085
B. 5,850
C. 10,170
D. 11,700

Explanation: A – There are 100,000 customers in total in the pilot, and

the control and pilot groups are split equally, so 50,000 in each. If 10% of
the control group made transactions, this equals 5,000 customers. From
the bottom right hand corner of Exhibit 3, we can determine that the
number for the pilot group was 1.7% higher, which equals 5,000 x 101.7%
= 5,085.

20
 Mock test
11. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the
information presented in Exhibit 4?
A. The pilot had no overall impact on the likelihood of making further
transactions among customers whose first purchase was in Clothing/
Apparel
B. The pilot had a positive impact on the number of transactions per
customer for customers who made their first transaction 4-6 weeks
before emails were sent
C. The pilot had greatest impact among customers whose first
transaction was in Electronics
D. Among customers whose first transaction was in 'Other', the pilot
had greatest impact among those whose first transaction was more
recent

Explanation: B – From the total of the 4-6 week column the number of
transactions was negatively impacted to a greater extent than the
number of customers making transactions. This implies that the
number of transactions per customer must also have been negatively
impacted, which contradicts the statement in Option B. Option A can
be concluded, as there was a 0.0% lift in the number of customers
making transactions in the total for the Clothing/Apparel row. Option C
can be concluded because the figures in the total column for
Electronics are higher than for all other totals. Option D can be
concluded because the figures in the first two columns of the row
‘Other’ are on average higher than those in the 3rd and 4th columns.

21
 Mock test
Way Forward Blakey Area (GBB)
Link
Go Beyond (GB) is a non-profit organization that consists of more than
50 local offices in the Sunrise Kingdom. Go Beyond Blakey (GBB) is one
of these local offices based in the Blakey Area, a metropolitan area
surrounding the city of Sunrise. Typically the local offices work together
with private and social sector organizations to pool efforts in
fundraising campaigns. These campaigns typically address pressing
community issues, usually around education, income or health. GB first
seeks to educate the population about these campaigns, then solicits
donations.

Currently, there is an economic downturn in the Sunrise Kingdom. This

presents a challenge for GBB, because donations are decreasing when
community need is at its highest. The President of GBB has reached out
to consulting team to ask for support. He tells the team: "I need your
help on improving our campaign effectiveness, which we define as the
number of pounds donated per pound spent on the campaign. We
really need to focus on increasing donations in these times!"

A campaign is usually organized by a group of people called a

"campaign cabinet". This group includes GBB staff, as well as volunteers
from the general public; the actual campaign work is conducted by
volunteers.

12. Given the aims of the President of GBB, which would be the
LEAST relevant question for the team to answer?
A) How can GBB get better at targeting people who are likely to
donate?
B) How can GBB engage with people in ways that are more likely to
result in donations?
C) How can GBB contact and communicate with their donors in a
lower cost way?
D) How can GBB improve the execution of campaigns by the campaign
cabinet?

22
 Mock test
Explanation: C – The President’s aim is to increase donations. Answer
choices A, B and D would help to increase donations. Option C is about
targeting donors in a lower cost way, which is not the stated aim of the
President, and hence would be the least relevant question for the team
to answer.

13. Which of the following pieces of information would be LEAST

helpful in better understanding the current GBB situation?
A) Total amount of donations, in British pounds, collected by other
GB offices across the U.K.
B) Comparison of donations made to GBB by one-time donors versus
regular donors over the past 5 years
C) Market research on the public awareness generated by GBB
campaigns over the past 5 years
D) Comparison of campaign effectiveness with other local GB offices

Explanation: A – The total amount of donations collected by other WF

offices would be least helpful in and of itself, as different offices will
target different population sizes and demographics and direct
comparisons would be meaningless. B would help determine which
types of donors to focus on. C and D would help determine the
effectiveness of current campaigns.

23
 Mock test
For A Better World
Link
For A Better World (FABW) is a company that runs garbage disposal
services in all major cities across the Bright Land. FABW provides two
types of garbage disposal services:
• Trash collection: FABW runs a fleet of trucks that collects garbage
from businesses along various routes in a city and transports it to a
landfill site that is either owned and operated by FABW or another
operator. FABW runs this service in every major Bright Land.
• Landfill management: FABW owns landfill sites in some of the cities
where it operates trash collection services. These sites receive the
garbage from both FABW garbage trucks and those of other operators.
The waste is then processed and disposed of at these sites (mainly by
burying it).
FABWs operation in each city is managed as its own company, and
provides reports to the FABW head office in Boston. FABW's trash
collection service is paid for by their customers (various sized
businesses) on a monthly basis. The monthly fee depends on the
volume of trash to be handled and ensures two collections per week
from the customers' premises. It also covers the cost of handling the
waste on the landfill site where it is deposited.
On landfill sites that it owns and operates, FABW makes additional
revenue through charging non-FABW garbage trucks a fee per ton of
waste handled. Fees for both trash collection and landfill management
services can differ by city due to the varying intensity of local
competition.

FABW has found that there is considerable variation in the performance

of its companies in the various cities. Table 1 shows some important
data for three cities where FABW runs both trash collection and landfill
management operations:

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Table 1: Summary Data Collected on NGI's Services in Three Cities

Milwaukee San Diego Orlando

Average trash collection fee per

$420 $370 $400
customer per month (t)

Number of trash collection

10,000 13,000 11,500
customers (n)

Landfill feeto non-NGI trucks per

$25 $30 $22
ton of waste (I)

Total waste processed at landfill

5,000 tons 4,200 tons 6,800 tons
site per week (w)

Net profit margin (trash collection) 6% 9% 2%

Net profit margin (landfill mgmt) 15% 18% 12%

A new CEO has recently been appointed at FABW. He has asked

consulting to perform a review of the business to determine the key
causes of the variability in performance across the cities. He would also
like the team to investigate the best performing cities in order to build
recommendations on how to improve profitability in the
underperforming cities.

14. Which of the following equations best approximates FABW's

weekly revenue,r, in a city?
A) r<txn+Ixw
B) r=txn+Ixw
C) r<(txn)/4 +1xw
D) r= (txn)/4 +1xw

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Explanation: C - From Table 1, the trash collection revenue per month is
tx n. As an average month contains at least 4 weeks, we can conclude
that trash collection revenue per week is at most (tx n)/4. For landfill
fees, we know that not all processed waste generates revenue - only the
waste that is processed from non-NGI trucks. Therefore total revenue
from landfill management is less than 1 x w.
Therefore we can conclude that total revenue, I < (txn)/4+1xw

15 Based on the data presented in Table 1, which of the following

statements is a valid conclusion?
A) Trash collection contributes approximately 25% less towards overall
profit than landfill management in these three cities
B) San Diego has the lowest revenue from trash collection operations of
the three cities
C) Orlando has the highest revenue from landfill management
operations of the three cities
D) In these three cities, landfill management brings in two to six
times more profit per customer dollar spent than trash collection
Table 1?

Explanation: D - Profit per customer dollar spent is the same as profit

margin. Table 1 shows that, in these three cities, landfill management
has at least twice the profit margin of trash collection (San Diego) and at
most six times (Orlando).
Response A is incorrect as trash collection generates vastly greater
revenues than landfill management and so generates greater profit in all
three cities.
Response B is incorrect as San Diego has the highest revenue from trash
collection. Response C cannot be concluded as we cannot calculate
landfill revenue precisely because we do not know how much waste was
processed from non-NGI trucks.

We hope you get a good score in the first test!

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