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McKinsey Insights app for Android is now available at Google Play. Released last month, the app provides the latest perspectives from McKinsey, the McKinsey Global Institute, and McKinsey Quarterly accessible on smartphone and tablet devices. Are you using Android? You can install the app from the Google Play store. Click here to view the article

Hi all, A recent article in Business News Daily indicates that: This quote raises at least two questions, firstly, what does the article mean by "email marketing"? Secondly, why does email do better than Facebook and Twitter? On the first question, the article talks about "email campaigns" and so seems to be talking about email sales, rather than email marketing. I.e. wanting recipients of the emails to buy products or take some other action, rather than just have an increased awareness of the business. So to the second question, why is selling by email so much more effective than selling by Facebook or Twitter? My initial thoughts are that email is a much more personal medium. For example, if you are invited to an event by email, you would probably be much more likely to attend than if you received a Facebook invitation. A personalised email which addresses you by name will make you feel included. However, being invited to the event on Facebook along with 100 other people will make you feel like an after thought. What do people think about this?

McKinsey, arguably the world's most prestigious management consulting firm, has managed to produce a long list of Fortune 500 CEOs. According to USA Today, more than 70 Fortune 500 CEOs are McKinsey alums. McKinsey's famous "up or out" policy results in a constant stream of departures, which means the firm loses talented consultants every year. They also face stiff competition from other top consulting firms and high paid jobs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. With constant talent outflows and strong competition, how does McKinsey stay on top? The answer appears to be twofold. Firstly, McKinsey places strong importance on talent development. They promote their consultants quickly or help them obtain favourable positions elsewhere. Duff McDonald shares this view in his recent book The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business. In addition to talent development, McKinsey also seems to view its former employees differently when compared with other firms. Instead of seeing former employees as traitors or turn coats, they view them as valued alumni and life long members of the McKinsey family. The best way to achieve success is to emulate it, and other firms would do well to understand how McKinsey operates and apply these lessons to their own organisations. Click here to view the article

According to a report by Glassdoor, the highest paying companies in America include management consulting firms and tech companies. The following firms were among the highest paying: McKinsey BCG Juniper Networks LinkedIn Yahoo! Google Twitter Apple

A recent Business Insider article reports that firms like McKinsey and Bain are asking college graduates for their SAT scores in job applications. And, regardless of your age and experience level, you may need to be be prepared to share your SAT scores the next time you apply for a job. Why do employers care about a standardised test taken in high school? Well, according to Jonathan Wai, researcher in Duke University's Talent Identification Program, SATs are a measure of general intelligence, and research has shown that general ability predicts success across a range of occupations. For more details, read the full article.

India's government claims that the number of people living below the poverty line has fallen by more than half since the mid-1990s. The Indian government sets its official poverty line at around 40 cents a day in rural areas and 50 cents a day in cities. The McKinsey Global Institute argues that instead of using the "poverty line" as a gauge of extreme poverty, India should focus on what it would take to satisfy a person’s basic needs. McKinsey calls its new measure an “empowerment line”, the level where McKinsey argues India’s citizens will have the resources to get out of poverty. Tellingly, McKinsey set its empowerment line roughly 50% above the government poverty line. The report is a wake up call for India's government since it places more than half of India's citizens below the empowerment line. For more details, read the full article.

Duff McDonald has produced a history of McKinsey called The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business. One of McDonald's central questions is "how do these guys keep getting away with it?" McKinsey's has been involved in a large number of corporate failures over the decades. Enron was the creation of Jeff Skilling, a former McKinsey consultant. Enron, which ultimately went bankrupt in 2001, paid McKinsey $10m a year for advice, and McKinsey fully endorsed the accounting methods that caused the company to implode. Financial Crisis - McKinsey also advised most Wall Street banks during the credit boom of 1990s, and supported the securitisation of mortgage assets, a practice that destabilised the global financial system. Corruption - Rajat Gupta, former MD of McKinsey, was convicted for insider trading in 2012 for passing confidential information to billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnama. Yet McKinsey somehow keeps bouncing back. Understanding Mckinsey's history is quite enlightening, and disturbing. For example, McDonald chronicles the work of Arch Patton, a McKinsey consultant during the 1950s, who promoted higher pay for America's corporate bosses. At one stage Mr Patton accounted for a tenth of the firm's billings. For more details, read the reviews on Amazon.

The Guadian reported yesterday that McKinsey has advised an overhaul of the NHS system in the UK, noting "They ... suggest scrapping the tradition of a free health service and introducing £20 a week "hotel" charges for hospital stays, a £5 bill for every visit to a hospital casualty department and a £2 fee for every visit to a GP. " To read the full article: visit the website. Good business for McKinsey, but the irony in McKinsey's advice appears to be that McKinsey were the consultants who helped to design the structure of the NHS in 1974. It is fair to say that McKinsey advising that the structure they previously recommended is broken is not necessarily the same thing as saying that McKinsey provided bad advice in the past. What do you think about this matter?

View File McKinsey Problem Solving Test A copy of McKinsey's practice problem solving tests and coaching guide. McKinsey uses the Problem Solving Test as part of its selection process. Submitter Tom Spencer Submitted 01/10/2014 Category Case Interview Prep