The Dark Side of the iPad and iPhone?
Here is a story that will really get students thinking about the products they buy and use…
read more...»Container shipping: the greatest business innovation of the 20th Century?
I was totally caught up in BBC4’s The Box That Changed Britain - an absolute must for business and economics students. This fantastic programme covered business costs, logistics, retail, business location, productive efficiency, human resource management, trade and globalisation. Nearly everyone is busy at the moment with revision, but if you want a pause for thought (or a resource for debate after the exams) this is it.
And I’m hard pressed to think of any other innovation that has had such a significant impact on business in the last 50 years. Ideas anyone?
More volcanic impacts as airspace re-opens
A third - and probably not the last - blog on the impact of the Icelandic volcano on business activity. It will be several weeks, or even months, before the full impact of the eruption can be judged. In the meantime, more BBC links and clips to shed light on current issues from the last couple of days.
read more...»Contingencies - more on the effect of the volcano
For those pupils and teachers who have been able to return to school for the start of term, there are plenty of examples of the business effects of the volcanic ash cloud over Europe to study. This BBC summary looks at the impact on airlines, other transport providers, the tourism industry and imports and exports in general.
Could businesses have foreseen the problem and included it in their contingency planning? It is unprecedented - and surely was not anticipated in the consumer protection law within the EU which insists that air passengers stranded in Europe must be provided by the airline with three meals a day and overnight accomodation. But as there continues to be no end in sight, and with renewed reports of more ash being emitted it should not be surprising that there is a new report this morning that BA are approaching the European Union about compensation, and that Michael O’Leary of Ryanair is condemning the payments to passengers as unfair on the airlines.
Consider these reports: ‘Volcano’s ash causes sporting chaos’ - what about all those small businesses around sports stadiums who make their money from providing services for match days, if international matches this week are played to half emply venues? What about ‘Outrage over flight price issue’ - what are the ethics of pricing for those who are desperate to travel, and find them selves paying huge amounts in order to complete their journeys?
Could schools have anticipated the impact of additional payments for cover teachers, because they are missing up to a quarter of their staff who cannot get back for the start of term? It is a major impact on their budgets, at a time that the threat of cuts in spending is already a worry for them. To what extent can the use of email and virtual learning environments help pupils who cannot return to school to prepare for GCSE, AS and A level exams, or will exam boards need to consider giving special consideration to those whose preparation for exams is disrupted - ‘Exam change for stranded pupils’ implies that they will not, but surely this depends on how long the disruption lasts?
Corus chief calls for more government funds for the economy
Any students who are investigating Corus as part of their preparation for the AQA BUSS4 paper in June should read this interview with Kirby Adams, the Managing Director and CEO of Corus in Europe.
There is analysis of the mothballing of the Corus plant in Teesside, the state of demand for steel in Europe as manufactuing closes down in this part of the globe, and the lack of investment in infrastructure in the UK.
For example, Adams is an American who says ‘I’ve lived in London for a year, and I travel around, and the one thing that strikes me is the aweinspiring investment in infrastructure that the Victorians made — isn’t it time for renewal?’
The article is from the Sunday Times - which is still free for download now, but won’t be later this year - and should be seen as a key addition to the resources about Corus suggested by Jim in his blog last month.
Sustainable sourcing - Unilever and the Palm Oil Problem
Doing some research for the AQA GCSE case study on Unilever, I came across this great example of how external stakeholders can influence and ultimately change the actions of a global business.
read more...»Global technology giants are hoarding their cash
I came across a fascinating graphic which illustrates just how strong the cash flows are of the world’s leading technology businesses like Apple, Google, Cisco and Microsoft…
read more...»Global branding in emerging markets - Ikea tolerates window shoppers
A big hat tip to Steve Storey for spotting this fantastic video from the FT on the Ikea store in Beijing. For those who you with an FT.com subscription which gets you past the paywall, this is one to show the students!
read more...»Strategic Planning and the World Economy – two great (free) data sources from The Economist
The thought provoking Economist World in 2010 magazine that you will have seen on the newsstands has two sections I always take a close interest in. They are world in figures: industries and world in figures: countries.
Very helpful if you’re looking into the strategic fortunes of a particular industry, or researching global markets in both the rich world and emerging economies.
Will outsourcing slow as the pound falls in value?
A good BBC video clip here, which poses an interesting question – how should firms respond to the falling value of sterling? One firm, Clippasafe in Nottingham, has reacted by shifting some of its production back to the UK from China.
read more...»Teaching strategy - Starbucks revisited
A great interview with the CEO of Starbucks in the Guardian this week highlights how useful Starbucks is for colleagues looking for relevant lesson-based case studies in business strategy.
read more...»Google in China: Business ethics, business sense or both?
A fascinating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issue for the internet titan Google, whose business mission statement is stated simply as ‘Don’t Be Evil’. China offers enormous potential as a profitable marketplace, and its poor human rights record shows some sign of gradual improvement as the country engages with the outside world. But the Chinese government has reminded all companies that they must abide strictly by state controls of the country’s cyberspace. Recent events have lead Google to say ‘no’, and they are threatening to pull out. Why?
read more...»McDonalds Tells Iceland - Burger Off
Are the forces of globalisation in retreat? Consumers in Iceland are about to join those in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina - they will no longer be able to buy a Big Mac.
read more...»Q&A - Does globalisation benefit UK businesses and the UK economy?
There is an argument about whether the seemingly unstoppable process of globalisation provides an overall benefit to the UK.
read more...»Q&A - What are the main factors driving globalisation?
Whilst there are many factors that have contributed to globalisation, it is the actions of businesses that have done most to accelerate the process in recent years.
read more...»Q&A - What is globalisation?
Globalisation is a process where an increased proportion of economic, social and cultural activity is carried out across national borders. The process of globalisation has significant economic, business and social implications.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Globalisation & Business
This streamed revision presentation examines some of the key issues of globalisation in the context of business studies
Video report - pound hit by falling inflation
I am borrowing this idea from Amy Chapman on the GCSE Economics blog - it is a really useful and simple video of Stephanie Flanders’ report on the BBC news yesterday about the effect that falling inflation is having on exchange rates, and how that impacts on exporters as well as on those needing to buy other currencies which would make a great lesson starter or discussion piece on the risks of overseas marketing.
Luxury brands invest in India despite the global slowdown
Luxury brands are continuing to invest in expanding their sales in India despite the short-term economic downturn in a key emerging market…
read more...»Emerging Markets still have much to do to become good places to “do business”
The World Bank’s excellent Doing Business research programme has highlighted continued improvements in the environment for doing business around the world. However, many of the economies designated as emerging markets still seem to have a long way to catch up on the developed economies…
read more...»Tesco in Korea - a classic case study in international expansion
A great article in The Sunday Times today examines the strategy behind the success of Tesco’s expansion in South Korea…
read more...»Hedging the Fuel Price
Hedging is a way of reducing uncertainty over the future path of volatile inputs such as the cost of fuel. One the most important decisions that an airline can take is the extent to which it uses hedging to lock in the price of a barrel of kerosene for a period of six or twelve months.
Ryanair provides a good example of how this can have a decisive effect on profitability. Late in 2008 Ryanair was hedged into paying the equivalent of $125 a barrel for kerosene just as the world price price of oil was collapsing to below $40 a barrel - the result was higher operating costs and a Euro 150 million hit on profits. For 2009 around four-fifths of Ryanair’s fuel requirements are locked in at $62 a barrel which with oil prices nudging up towards $70 a barrel will give the airline much needed breathing space as the recession affects demand for seats and forces many airlines to cut prices still further to maintain a profitable level of load-factor (the percentage of seats on each flight that are filled).
*Ryanair is now Europe’s largest airline having overtaken Lufthansa and British Airways
*In the last twelve months nearly 60 million passengers have flown with the airline
*With a market capitalisation of £4.6 billion, Ryanair is larger than the German flag carrier and easily more than twice the size of BA.
*Ryanair has a 28% stake in rival Irish airline Aer Lingus and has tried several times to take it over - so far without success!
Financial Fools, Climate Camp and Criticising Capitalism - Pressures for Peaceful Protest
Most businesses are horribly aware of the dangers of the economic external influences that they face at present – but in case they missed the point, pressure group action will make the point loud and clear to them next week. Pressure groups are promising action in the City of London to coincide with the G20 summit next week. Protest expert Professor George McKay, of the University of Salford says that we are at a pivotal point which “will add to a new level of angry energy.” The ‘G20 Meltdown’ group insist that they are peaceful protesters, but Commander Bob Broadhurst, in charge of policing the G20, has said a £7.2m police operation is being launched to deal with the level of threat which is said to be at the “severe end of severe”. Following the damage to the home of Sir Fred Goodwin (former RBS Chairman) in Edinburgh the threats have to be taken seriously.
Ripple effects of a brutal outlook for the car industry
The global lack of demand for new cars was brought home to my Business Studies pupils last week when we heard that our annual visit to the Jaguar car factory in the Midlands had to be cancelled due to an unscheduled plant shutdown for the second half of January.
read more...»Golfonomics - the economic phenomenon of golf
As the Ryder Cup 2008 is played out in Kentucky this weekend, I was drawn to an article that explains the phenomenal growth and value of the global sport of golf…
read more...»Australian expansion proves a move too far for Starbucks
Starbucks is a great example to use with students when it comes to illustrating the growth strategies of multinationals. However, Starbucks has just announced that it is closing the majority of its stores in Australia…
read more...»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.
