Mr Dell comes back to Dell.  What’s different this time?

Three years after stepping down as the boss of Dell, Michael Dell is now firmly back in charge.  The young entrepreneur has made a fortune from the company he founded in his dormitory at the University of Texas at the age of 19.  Now aged 43, he has spent a year back in charge, steering the company down a new path.  A recent Economist article spent some time looking at what’s new at Dell.

Dell used to be the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, but had lost its crown to Hewlett-Packard.  Now it is beginning to regain market share. In the first quarter of 2008 it made 15.7% of PCs sold globally, compared with 14.8% a year ago, according to IDC, a market research firm. 

Renault-Nissan join the race to produce a $2500 car

Five years ago it might have seemed crazy.  Electric cars? Low emission ‘hybrid’ engines?  Mass production of $2500 cars?  You must be joking!  The automotive giants seemed set on producing bigger and sexier sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and battling it out in the congested car markets of the US, Japan and Europe.

How times change.  After five years of high oil prices, new eco fashions and the continuing explosive growth of the economies of the developing world, the strategic direction of the volume car manufacturers has shifted radically.  It doesn’t come as a surprise to hear that Renault-Nissan has announced a joint venture with Indian firm Bajaj to produce a $2,500 car.

Business studies revision workshops hit the mark

We’ve just completed an exhausting but enjoyable tour of our AQA Business Studies revision workshops. Some fantastic feedback on these events leads us straight into planning the programme for 2008/09.

Travel companies face the perfect storm

A combination of a the credit crunch and a weak pound against the euro is leading many in the travel industry to predict a summer of business collapses amongst tour operators.

Mobeen - evaluating the Eurozone Economic forecasts

Evaluation of economic data forecasts for AQA ‘Mobeen’ case study

Over the last five years or so that I have been teaching Business and Economics, data for key economic performance indicators have been rather dull. Inflation, unemployment and interest rates have each been low and steady, and we have seen little of the ‘boom and bust’ cycle that appears in all the textbooks. It has been difficult to see any realistic economic forecasts actually making that much difference to businesses’ plans.

And so it is with the predictions for Eurozone (you did notice that they are for the Eurozone, didn’t you?) in the AQA Unit 2/3 case study on ‘Mobeen’ for Summer 2008. If these forecasts came to pass, none of them would have that great an influence on the plans for Mobeen.

However - there are a couple of evaluative points that spring to mind. If you actually look at what is going on currently with the UK Pound/Euro exchange rate and with inflation in the costs of meat and wheat, you will see that in reality, Mobeen could be facing some more challenging issues. Of course, the case study will have been written some months back, but you will do yourself no harm if you have a handle on what is really happening.

Playstation 3 and the Product Life Cycle

Marketing students will be familiar with the concept of a ‘product life cycle’; the idea that successful products move through a finite life span of introduction and growth, followed by maturity and decline.

One of the clearest pieces of evidence for this comes in fast moving technological markets, like the one for video consoles.  You will appreciate that the Sony Playstation 3 follows on the heels of Playstation 2 and the original Playstation.  The same is true of their Microsoft and Nintendo rivals.

Watch the BBC article and video link with the head of Sony’s console division.

The Biz Quiz - 5 May 2008

The latest edition of the Biz Quiz is now available.  We took a break whilst the entire tutor2u team was on the road at our Economics & Business revision workshops!

The Most Controversial Ads of 2007

A BBC web article has written up a helpful summary of the 14,080 complaints made last year to the Advertising Standards Authority.  Sex and violence predictably dominated viewers concerns.  ‘Greenwash’ is also an increasing irritation to the public.

Part of the skill of advertising is to catch the attention of the public by using striking images, poses and ideas.  But how far can this go?  How far should it go?  The law stipulates in some cases (for instance, an advert for alcoholic drinks cannot go so far as to say that it will make you more attractive to the opposite sex).  In other cases, the boundary of what is tasteful is, well, a matter of taste.  I’m pretty hard to offend - I don’t think any of the controversial adverts this year are too bad – but personally, I find that the FCUK slogan makes me cringe.  See what you think:

10 Most Controversial Ads - BBC

Whoops!  Free Tibet flags: Made in China

Optimists take note: China may face a host of human rights problems, but its society and economy are far more open than in the recent past.  With so many textile products coming from China, it should hardly be a surprise to see Free Tibet flags being made there too.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning, but then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to one Hong Kong newspaper. 

Can Tiffinbites curries take on McDonalds?

You’re probably familiar with the franchise concept:  the UK high street is crowded with Costas, Prets and McDonalds – outlets often owned by individuals who pay to operate under a recognised trade name.  But there’s a spicy new kid on the block in the form of upstart Tiffinbites.  Can they find success as a national chain selling curry based dishes?

Tiffinbites hopes to create 50 potential franchises throughout Britain by the end of 2009. For a fee of £150,000 plus a share of profits, franchisees get prepared food from a central kitchen which they reheat in store.  As with most franchises, they also get full marketing and training support as part of the package. One of the Tiffinbites directors, Arjun Varma, is quoted by the BBC:  “We are aiming for the young entrepreneurs who want to get into the Indian food industry.  Rather than taking on a family-run scenario, they can have a professionally-backed franchise, which they would then build into two or three restaurants depending on their appetite”.

Nokia holds on to top spot as the demand for mobiles grows

Despite a cooling global economy, the demand for mobile phones seems undiminished.  A recent report by consultancy firm Strategy Analytics says 282 million handsets were shipped worldwide in the first three months of 2008, up 14% from a year ago. The growth was driven by rising demand in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia.

Although Nokia maintained its dominant position with a 40.9% market share, it lost some share as shipments of LG and Samsung phones grew faster than Nokia’s sales.  Meanwhile, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Apple lost market share.  Motorola has been losing ground for some time.  LG has made the most progress recently.

FT Global Brands Survey

The Financial Times has recently published its annual global brands survey - the results are available here and can be downloaded as an excel spreadsheet.

Spot the Ball - and win a free network licence for The Hot Seat

Here’s a new competition for teachers only!  Can you spot the ball in the action photo from the Theatre of Dreams?  There are two free network licences for The Hot Seat to be given away in this Latte Magazine competition for teachers.

The Biz Quiz - 20 April 2008

Another busy week of business news is reflected in the latest edition of The Biz Quiz.

Will the Co-op buy Somerfield?

The Co-op, the UK’s fifth largest supermarket chain has said it is in talks about buying rival Somerfield.  The Co-op is a fascinating business (see more at the Co-op website) and is thought to have up to £1.5bn to pay for a major investment in its smaller rival. 

The Co-op had a pretty dreadful 2007, with profits halving to around £200m.  The business is run on behalf of its 2.5 million members – customers who banked £45m in cash dividends last year.