Buying-in to the Facebook culture
Want to buy shares in Facebook? The desire to buy-in to a business which has had such a revolutionary effect on communications will surely be huge. It almost feels like the emotional decision that football fans make when they buy shares in their beloved club. But the canny investor will analyse what they are investing in: is this a business decision in which they can examine the ratios and then the founder’s or directors’ mission statement, in order to assess their chances of gaining a suitable return on their investment?
read more...»Glenstrata - Glencore proposes merger with Xstrata
Yesterday morning’s business news has been dominated by the proposed merger of Glencore and Xstrata. Glencore’s 34% holding of Xstrata shares had made a third party approach for Xstrata very difficult if not impossible.
read more...»Mastering the art of merger integration
As the BUSS4 research topic reaches the students it is useful to be able to steer them towards something to get the process started. Finding something they can do alongside other work should help to motivate them as they feel their way into the topic.
read more...»Integration, integration, integration
HP is an example of a firm which is struggling to integrate acquisitions, and the perils of diversification.
More perspectives on our changing shopping habits
There have been plenty of recent blogs on the problems faced by struggling firms on the UK “High Street”. You’re all encouraged to think through these problems, perhaps using a framework like PEST analysis.
This blog adds a couple more perspectives, from recent articles in The Guardian and The Economist that paint a pretty grim future for the High Street - at least in its current form. All is not well for the out-of-town grocery chains either.
read more...»Leadership and Strategy - All Change at the Top for Blackberry
A fantastic quote here from the departing co-CEOs of RIm (owner of BlackBerry) as they depart for pastures new…
read more...»External influences: the threat that is China
Most A2 Business students have their sights firmly set on BUSS3 this week, which is very much as it should be. However, next week their attention will turn to the wider world of BUSS4. In planning for that, it looks as if the three-part series of reports about China that Newsnight will be running this week would be very useful, and worth recording or at least picking up on i-player.
read more...»What’s gone wrong for Kodak?
Ever heard of Coca-Cola? How about Google, Microsoft or IBM? What about McDonald’s? They sound familiar, and the amazing thing (to me) is that even in the 1990s, you would have heard Kodak mentioned in a list of the world’s five most valuable brands. Kodak was the Google of its day and by 1976 it accounted for 90% of film and 85% of camera sales in America. How the mighty have fallen, with the announcement that Kodak files for bankruptcy protection.
I was reading about Kodak’s decline and here are some of the key points that made an impression:
read more...»Keeping the ageing workforce healthy
If we are all to work until our late 60’s, or beyond, how much will the workplace need to be adapted to ensure that older workers can continue to contribute fully to the bottom line of their employers profits? The World at One today carried a 4-minute report from a BMW factory in Germany where works councils, unions and employers are collaborating to ensure that the factory is a healthy place that allows employees of all ages to work at the optimum rate, without holding up the production line and with as little physical and psychological stress as possible.
Sadly I cannot find this as a stand-alone report on i-player. However, the full programme is available here for the next 7 days - this report starts 37 minutes into the programme.
Investment in People - Google and Human Capital
Here is a link to a recent article on Google’s approach to investment in people. Written from a Google perspective inevitably there are none of the criticisms that others have made of human resource management in the Googleplexes around the world.
However, the article is useful in explaining the huge emphasis that Google places on being transparent with their workforce and in giving employees freedom, autonomy and purposes in their jobs. I am sure A2 students will be able to draw some useful insights from reading through it.
read more...»Managing an ageing workforce
2011 has certainly raised a number of Business issues right to the top of the political and social agenda. One is the gradual realisation that our society is definitely ageing. It’s a cause for great celebration, but one obvious consequence is that we can’t really afford to fund generous pensions for a huge group who may be drawing that pension for thirty years. This means that it’s likely that we will have longer working lives than our parents.
As firms recognise this fact, they too are having to adjust their human resource plans.
read more...»Strategies to revive the High Street: Mary Portas reports
The woes of the UK High Street had begun long before the Credit Crunch and recession. It seems that a combination of factors (think PEST analysis) have combined to create the difficulties that are squeezing this traditional sector of business activity. Nobody has the answers to saving the High Street, but Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas has given it a go.
Why not try this exercise for yourself?
Firstly, use a form a marketing analysis like PEST or the Porters’ 5 Forces model to identify where the problems lie. Secondly, make 3 recommendations to either firms or governments as to how they might resist the decline (there’s some background here to help). Then read on…
read more...»Corporate Irresponsibility at Olympus
Recent problems at Japan’s Olympus Corporation highlight the importance of corporate culture, ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and management responsibility to shareholders and other stakeholders.
Steve Jobs 1955-2011
Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple Inc died today.
The short video sums up some of his leadership characteristics, charismatic, driven, dictatorial and visionary.
Leadership styles for effective change management - Morgan Freeman style
Many thanks to Tom Candler from Blundell’s School for suggesting this excellent movie clip which he uses when covering leadership styles. A good example of autocratic management in action and, as Tom points out, it’s a lovely reminder for all teachers that life just isn’t so bad after all…
read more...»Leadership, Culture and Trust - A Letter from Sir Richard Branson
Many thanks to Louise Lucas who has alerted me to this fabulous resource which can be used to help teach a variety of topics, including leadership, employee relations, corporate culture etc.
read more...»Hardship on the High Street – what’s the problem?
We’re currently receiving daily reminders of the problems on the UK High Street. Today it’s Thorntons, following on from Jane Norman, TJ Hughes and Homeform, which controls Möben Kitchens, Sharps Bedrooms and Dolphin Bathrooms. Habitat, HMV, Waterstones – the list goes on and on. Do these high profile business failures threaten the High Street? And what is behind their problems?
read more...»Retrenchment for Thorntons following strategic review
The words “strategic review” should be enough to alert all business teachers to a potentially rich seam of teaching material. And today’s announcement of a significant retrenchment by Thorntons is no exception.
“Strategic reviews” almost inevitably follow the appointment of a new CEO. The process of a new leader evaluating the competitive position of a firm and its products/brands provides very often results in a shift in strategic direction (particularly where the new CEO has been appointed with a mandate to effect change).
read more...»Nokia and Strategic Change - the Essential A2 Business Case
I can’t think of a better case study than Nokia for students to research as an essential part of their advanced business studies. Nokia is a global brand, a market leader and a firm rich in heritage. But it faces a strategic crisis which is caused by a range of external and internal factors that are core to A2 and similar business strategy specifications. In this note, we’ve outlined some of the main strategic issues facing Nokia and linked to recent supporting resources which students should examine. A well-prepared student getting ready to wow the examiner with relevant evidence-based research in an essay should be ready to include Nokia in an answer!
read more...»CSR & Strategy - Why the Cooperative Group changed to survive
A brilliant article here from the excellent UK team at Ernst & Young which features an interview with Peter Marks, the CEO of The Co-operative Group. Perfect for last minute revision for AQA BUSS4 students…
read more...»Corporate longevity: the lessons from IBM’s 100th birthday
There’s lots of press coverage of this corporate milestone, with commentators wondering what conclusions can be drawn from the exceptionally long life of this business giant. In particular, it’s interesting to think which of today’s technology champions will be around in 100 years.
read more...»Stop Press - Business Nightmares on TV
I have just seen details of a new series starting on BBC tonight, in which “Evan Davis uncovers the scarcely believable stories of how some of the world’s most successful businesses have made monumental mistakes.”
In the first episode, titled Doomed Designs, they are looking at “changing the formula of one of the world’s favourite soft drinks (Coke), launching a detergent so powerful that tests showed it shredded consumers’ clothes (Persil), and pricing a certain car model too low (Mini)” - some more background on these three stories here. Contributors to the programme include Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson - if you miss it tonight (BBC2 at 8pm) it will be on again overnight on Thursday - times shown in the link here. The second episode next week is to be called Marketing Mess-ups.
Sounds like essential progamming for A2 students in particular - perhaps as a good break from revision? And of course that other business nightmare, The Apprentice, starts again on Tuesday at 9 on BBC1.
If you can spare the time between past papers, there was another good programme last night, Lord Sugar Tackles Football. The BBC blurb about it says “Lord Sugar, one of the country’s leading entrepreneurs and a football fan, investigates the business side of the beautiful game. Despite generating billions in TV and other income, the professional English game is struggling to make ends meet. Most Premier League clubs are in the red, and debt stands at 3.3 billion pounds. Lord Sugar interviews bosses, owners, agents and players and asks what has gone wrong, who is to blame and what can be done. In typically forthright fashion, he delivers his verdict and his own business blueprint designed to help the game he has followed since childhood.” I heard him being interviewed about it yesterday morning and it did sound worth setting the recorder for - repeated on BBC2 at 23.30 on Tuesday 10th.
AQA unit 4 - some really good evidence here
Wake up to Money, which is broadcast every morning at 5.30 on Radio 5, is often a good source of stories and anecdotes. It was particularly good today - and the excellent news is that you don’t have to set the alarm for that unearthly hour to hear it as you can download the Podcast. It will be well worthwhile for all AQA unit 4 students spending 20 minutes taking notes from today’s programme - they will start with a useful preview of the release of the updated GDP figure for quarter 4 of 2010, giving some good background data.
The interview that follows, with the CEO of Pret a Manger is gold dust - he talks about the figures that Pret have just released which show a big rise in sales and profits, despite rising commodity prices and a tough climate on the high street. His description of the relations with suppliers and marketing mix strategies that Pret have followed to allow them to achieve this through the recession should be noted and quoted as evidence in BUSS4 essays.
Finally, figures out this morning from the Internet Advertising Bureau show online advertising grew nearly 13% last year and now accounts for 25% of all advertising spending in the UK, and some more background is given for that data. Here is another little nugget that could be useful to prove to the examiner that candidates really know what they are talking about when it comes to strategic management - so please do use the links below!
Wake up to Money 29th March on i-player - available for 6 days from now
Wake up to Money podcast
Brief TV interview with Clive Schlee of Pret a Manger (...but the radio interview covers more ground)
Report about the study by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)
Japanese earthquake – business aftershocks
As Japan struggles to get to grips with the scale of the human tragedy and the long term damage to its infrastructure, you may be thinking through some of the more immediate impacts on business.
read more...»Kraft & Cadbury - Justifying the Deal
This 10 minute interview by Bloomberg with Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld provides some useful perspectives on the strategic rationale behind the Kraft takeover of Cadbury. Obviously presented with a US business audience in mind, but still hugely useful for A2 business students none the less…
read more...»Change management - Kraft and Cadbury One Year On (FT)
It is a year since Kraft Foods completed its takeover of Cadbury plc. At the time of the acquisition, there were many fears raised about how Kraft would manage the integration process. What has happened?
read more...»Takeovers: What happens next?
Teaching takeovers or change management?
read more...»Nokia: a business culture problem?
As Jim points out in his blog, there’s plenty of material in Nokia’s recent announcements to keep business students busy. I’ve picked up on a link that looks at their problems and presents them as a case study in a failing business culture.
read more...»Starbucks and our hostility to rebranding
I doubt I can say anything new about the Starbuck’s rebranding exercise (that Michael Owen covered here) but there has been some interesting coverage discussing why consumers seem to get be so enraged when rebranding occurs and new logos are launched.
read more...»What strategy should HMV employ next?
The most recent financial reports on HMV are pretty grim. As The Guardian reports, its like-for-like sales in the music stores fell 13% in the last five weeks of the year and snow explains only a few percentage points of the decline. The problem is basic: HMV has too many shops and too many fierce online competitors.
read more...»
