Mazda make light of formal tie up with Fiat
In the 1980s and 1990s, Ford embarked on a series of takeovers Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover, all of which were sold off to meet the firm’s liabilities. It also had built up a substantial stake in the Japanese Mazda company, holding almost 1/3 of the share capital, making a successful bid by rival multinational car makers less likely.
Today’s business news included an announcement that Mazda was forming an alliance with Alfa Romeo develop a new two-seater rear-wheel-drive sports car.
read more...»Rising to the top of the milk
Two cooperative firms Milk Link (Moo milk, Gervik, Caradog cheese) and Arla Foods (brands include Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor) are to merge.
read more...»A neat interactive tool for students to analyse the smartphone market
This is a great classroom resource - Our Mobile Planet. It provide students with an interactive chart generator where they can select data sets and undertake analysis of the demand for, and use of, smartphones in various national markets. Great for illustrating market share and for providing students with some raw chart data they can interpret. Have fun…!
6 Essential M&A Cases: Tata Group buys Jaguar Land Rover
The Tata acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover is a superb example to include in research notes on takeovers and mergers. At the time (early 2008), Tata’s investment in JLR seemed to be poorly timed and there were many critics who questioned the strategic logic of the move as well as its timing. Shortly after the takeover, demand in the global market for luxury cars collapsed as a result of the financial crisis and Tata was forced to refinance to support its investment.
Several years later, however, the takeover appears to be a compelling example of a successful acquisition which is generating substantial shareholder value for Tata as well as continued support from JLR’s many stakeholder groups in the UK.
read more...»Measuring the competitiveness of a business
We’ve seen that competitiveness is about advantages that enable a business to outperform its competitors. But, can competitiveness be measured and, if so, how?
read more...»What do we mean by “competitiveness”?
Some questions for you…
• Why are Apple and Samsung performing so much better in the market place for smartphones and tablet computers than Nokia and Sony?
• Why do retailers like John Lewis Partnership and Dominos UK continue to grow and prosper when other retailers like Comet, Game Group and Clinton Cards struggle to survive?
• Why are so many people now buying from online brands such as Amazon rather than shopping on their local high streets?
• Thinking about the restaurants, cafes and other eateries near you, why so some seem to thrive whereas others are always empty and often close down?
The answer lies in the concept of competitiveness. So what does this term mean?
read more...»Should you buy Facebook shares?
Most of you will be familiar with the crucial concept of appraising business investments. This means taking a cold, hard look at a business proposal (in this case buying Facebook shares) and seeing what kind of return you are likely to get on that investment.
With Facebook shares only days away from public sale, analysts are busy trying to piece together the information that’s necessary to advise people one way or another. This seems like a great opportunity to get you thinking. What do you need to know before deciding whether to invest? Here are a few links to get you started…
Revision Presentation - Improving Cash Flow
What are the causes of cash flow problems and how can a business manage its cash flow more effectively? This updated revision presentation looks at those questions, covering topics such as the basics of working capital management, bank finance, factoring, sale and leaseback and sale of assets.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Place
The basics of distribution (place) in the marketing mix are covered in this revision presentation.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Operations and Technology
This brief revision presentation introduces the role of technology in operations. It looks at some of the main established types of technology and how technology supports the effective management of operations. It also examines the link between the use of technology and productivity and quality.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Pricing
Setting the optimal price is one of the hardest parts of marketing - and the only element of the marketing mix which directly affects revenues. This revision presentation examines the main methods, tactics and strategies of pricing + introduces the important topic of price elasticity of demand.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Products & Brands
This revision presentation provides a brief introduction to what is a product and a brand.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing & the Product Life Cycle
The product life cycle is a popular topic in most business and marketing courses. This revision presentation introduces the concept of the product life cycle and considers some of the issues raised for marketers and businesses:
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Promotion
The basics of promotion as part of the marketing mix are outlined in this revision presentation. It considers what is meant by promotion and outlines the alternative methods of promotion for different types of products and businesses. It also looks at the factors to consider when choosing what goes into the promotional mix.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Measuring and Increasing Profit
This revision presentation provides an introduction to the measurement and interpretation of profit, focusing on the net profit margin and return on capital. It also looks at the crucial difference between profit and cash flow.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Improving Organisational Structures
This revision presentation builds on our earlier introduction to organisational structures. It considers the alternative approaches to organisational structure and looks in more details at core topics such as hierarchies, spans of control, workloads, job allocations and delegation. It also looks at how changes to organisational structure might lead to improved competitiveness and business performance.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Recruitment & Selection
The basics of the recruitment and selection process for a business are covered in this revision presentation. We look at the recruitment process; the methods of internal & external recruitment; the role of job and person specifications and descriptions; the role of outside agencies in recruitment.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Training
In this revision presentation we look at the business advantages and drawbacks of training, and the various kinds of training including on-the-job, off-the-job and induction training.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Measuring Workforce Effectiveness
There are veraious ways in which firms can measure the effectiveness of their workforce. This revision presentation introduces three key metrics - staff turnover; labour productivity and absenteeism.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Using Budgets
This updated revision presentation looks at the essentials of using budgets. It considers the role played by budgeting and explains the nature and use of variance analysis…
read more...»Revision Presentation - Marketing and Competitiveness
In this revision presentation we look at the key topic of competitiveness, in the specific context of marketing and market structure. We consider what is meant by the concept of “competitiveness” and what determines whether a business has a competitive advantage over others in the market or industry. The nature of competition in a market is also covered, including the key models of competition such as Porter’s Five Forces.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Working with Suppliers
This revision presentation looks at the role of suppliers in business. It considers what is meant by a supplier and the factors that a firm considers when choosing a supplier. It also looks at how a firm can work effectively with its suppliers in order to improve business performance.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Making Operational Decisions
This revision presentation will be useful for students who need an introduction to the core concepts of capacity management, capacity utilisation, productivity and efficiency.
read more...»Epic fail: how to do really badly
This is a light hearted one, aimed particularly at those of you preparing for exams. It’s got nothing to do with exams really, just reflections on Disney’s mega flop “John Carter” in The Economist, which is said to have made a loss of over £200m and cost the boss his job.
Are there any common patterns behind famous marketing failures?
A slice of the action
The Guardian on Friday featured an independent report on the sandwich market served as a “Get up and go” supplement to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the humble sandwich and the start of British Sandwich Week. It would make useful stimulus material for a low-budget research activity for a BUSS1 start-up.
read more...»Revision Presentation - the Startup Cash Flow Forecast
Every startup should consider the likely future cash flows of the enterprise in the first few weeks and months of trading. This revision presentation takes students through the basics of the cash flow forecast.
read more...»Takeovers and Mergers - A Casino Gamble?
Hot on the heels of the Vue takeover of Apollo Cinema Group, here is another significant takeover in the UK leisure sector. This one will certainly attract the attention of the competition regulators. Two of the UK’s largest operators of casinos are being brought together as Rank buys Gala Coral’s casino business for £205m.
read more...»Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup
Students can test their understanding of sources of finance for a startup with this updated revision quiz. There are 30 questions on startup finance in the database and each time you take the quiz you get 10 questions selected at random. To play a new version of the quiz, simply refresh your browser.
Launch Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup
Revision Quiz - Franchising
This updated revision quiz provides questions on franchises and franchising. Each time you take the quiz, 10 questions are drawn at random from the database of revision questions about franchising.
Launch revision quiz on franchising
Takeovers and Mergers - Vue on the Growth Trail!
News of a £20m takeover here which will be particularly relevant to colleagues and students who joined us recently for the BUSS4 revision workshops at cinemas around the UK…
read more...»
