Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group
Type
Private
Industry
Management consulting
Founded
1963
Key people
Revenue
Employees
Website
bcg.com
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm with 81 offices in
45 countries. It is one of the Big Threemanagement consulting firms. The firm advises clients in
the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors around the world, including more than two-thirds of
the Fortune 500.[2] Considered one of the most prestigious management consulting firms,[3] BCG
was ranked third in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2014.[4]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Clients
3 Awards and Recognitions
4 Recruitment
5 Developed Concepts
o 5.1 "Growth-share matrix"
o 5.2 Experience curve
o 5.3 Advantage matrix
6 Publications
o 6.1 Books
o 6.2 Perspectives
Advanced Degree Candidates/Consultants). BCG also makes large efforts to hire advanced nonbusiness degree holders. Graduates holding J.D.s, M.D.s and Ph.D.s in disciplines like
engineering, science, and liberal arts receive training in business fundamentals and then typically
join the firm as Consultants although this varies between different geographies. There is also an
opportunity to join as a Summer Associate or Summer Consultant (internship) position for 10
weeks, which for many interns will result in an offer of a full-time position.
BCG's recruiting process is notoriously demanding, typically taking candidates through
computer-based problem solving tests followed by multiple rounds of case- and experiencebased interviews. In 2013, career review site Glassdoor ranked BCG as the 3rd most difficult
company to interview with.[24]
Like most consulting firms[citation needed], BCG uses a modified version of the Cravath System, also
known as "up or out".[citation needed]
Developed Concepts[edit]
"Growth-share matrix"[edit]
The experience curve illustrates that the more often a task is performed the lower will be the cost
of doing it. The task can be the production of any good or service. Each time cumulative volume
doubles, value-added costs (including administration, marketing, distribution, and
manufacturing) fall by a constant and predictable percentage.
BCG founder, Bruce Henderson, expounded the implications of the experience curve for
strategy.[27] BCG research concluded that because relatively low cost of operations is a very
powerful strategic advantage, firms should capitalize on these learning and experience effects.[28]
Advantage matrix[edit]
For more details on this topic, see Boston Consulting Group's Advantage Matrix.
In this matrix, the two axes are economies of scale and differentiation. The four quadrants
formed are called "Volume", "Stalemated", "Specialized", and "Fragmented".