Marketing Objectives in Action
A great article on Sainsbury’s strategy to accelerate its growth plans. I used this article as an example of what Internal and External constraints their can be on a businesses Marketing Objectives, but it could also be used for the impact on Operations, HR or Finance.
read more...»East Coast Rail Line is Nationalised
The government is taking the East Coast rail line that runs from London to Edinburgh and which has been operated by National Express into public ownership. National Express has struggled with falling revenues and higher costs that have contributed to rising losses on the line. In a press release, National Express said that higher hedged fuel costs added £11 million of cost in the first half of 2009, while increased pension costs cost the business a further £3 million.
read more...»Nationalisation Again - National Express Taken into Public Ownership
First it was the banks. Now it is strategic transport businesses. The government has this morning nationalised the East Coast raiway line, previously operated by National Express.
read more...»Milk co-operative turns sour
A rare example of a form of business organisation that used to feature regularly in business textbooks has entered insolvency…
read more...»Starter activity - A piece of cake (limited companies)
Here is a great activity to use when teaching Ltd’s.
Before the students enter the room, I put a £1 monopoly note on each students desk. This immediately makes them curious about what is to follow. I then introduce the basic concept of limited companies and I relate limited companies to a cake, that can be cut up into ‘slices’ or shares. I then bring out a cake and cut it up into a number of different ‘shares’. I keep 3 back for myself and I then invite the students to come up and ‘buy’ a share of my cake or ‘company’ for £1. I then start quizzing them as to who owns the cake, why I kept back 3 slices etc.
I then ask the students, ‘why would I want to sell you a piece of my company’ whilst holding all the £1 notes in the air.
Need I say more.
We then eat the cake…and remember…you have 3 slices!
Enjoy (the cake)
Q&A - What is a sole trader?
Most businesses in the UK are small businesses, owned and operated by one person. In most cases, these businesses operate as a “sole trader”.
read more...»Video case study - Cash Crisis for Hospices
The media scrum around the dying Jade Goody has turned attention towards the wonderful work of the hospice movement.
read more...»Beat the Teacher - Legal Structures for Business
Sole traders, partnerships and Ltd companies feature in this Beat the Teacher activity on legal structures:
Download Beat the Teacher - Legal Structures (Worksheet)
Download Beat the Teacher - Legal Structures (Answers)
Social enterprise in the spotlight
This resource looks like it will develop into an excellent support for colleagues covering rhe rapid growth of social enterprise. Some excellent articles already, including on which examines how a social enterprise can access sources of finance when one the traditional returns to an investor (profit) is less relevant.
Sunday Times - Special Section on Social Enterprise
Revision Quiz - Organisational Structures
This ten-question revision quiz focuses on organisational structure. The questions look at topics such as organisational hierarchy, spans of control, delegation etc.
Click here to launch interactive quiz on organisation structures
Insights into the private affairs of Britain’s largest retailers
A great new series in the Telegraph profiles Britain’s largest private companies. The series starts with lots if useful information on the ten largest retailers still in private ownership (i.e. shares not available for sale on the Stock Exchange)...
read more...»Private limited companies in the spotlight
The largest businesses are plc’s. Right? Wrong…
read more...»When the partnership structure doesnt work well for a start-up
A great case study in the Telegraph recently would be a useful support resource for explaining how chosing a partnership structure for a start-up often isn’t the best option…
read more...»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.
read more...»Jaguar: Globalisation and the car industry
Indian company Tata, which is India’s biggest vehicle maker, accounts for more than half of the sub-continent’s truck market and has about 20% of India’s car market. It famously launched its new budget Nano car recently, which has been designed to reach India’s growing new middle class.
The firm is likely to pay about £1bn in the deal, although analysts will be keen to see the exact price and terms. The lengthy sale process started last June when Ford announced its intention to sell the companies as a package.
The BBC provide some helpful background at Tata, a growing global giant
read more...»Grand Theft Auto Takeover
According to the BBC, Grand Theft Auto bid goes hostile, the chief executive of EA said the offer was NOT hostile. “This is an incredibly friendly proposition: we’re offering a premium of over 60% of what [the share price] was trading at before our offer. I think we’re the best possible home for their creative organisations; frankly, we’re big fans.”
read more...»Team spirit, innovation and business success
People are naturally cooperative and humans have a phenomenal capacity to work collaboratively in teams according to Lynda Gratton, Professor of management practise, London Business School, one of the contributors of Peter Day’s latest In Business programme. He visits the preparations of the Cambridge University boat race team to discover some of the factors that influence team-building and its significance in helping businesses to innovate, raise productivity, succeed in markets and drive shareholder value. Increasingly modern business organisations are looking for team-players, we hear that Goldman Sachs may put people through up to sixty interviews before taking them on! The programme interviews the author Mark de Rond, Reader in strategy & organisation, Judge Business School, Cambridge who has written a book about his experiences with the Cambridge boat race crew entitled “The Last Amateurs”.
