Shareholder conflict: the story so far – and its relevance to evaluation
Two themes wrapped up together here.
Firstly, you will be sure to have noticed references to a ‘Shareholder Spring’ in which normally quiet and docile shareholders have been increasingly resistant to executives’ claims for ever higher rewards. There’s a link to a very handy summary below.
Secondly, this serves as a reminder of one of the several ways in which you can boost the evaluative component of your answers.
BUSS4 - Mergers & Acquisitions - one that went wrong. BMW and Rover
When BMW met Rover
For the BUSS4 exam this June, it is useful to understand why a merger may fail to work and a retrospective look at BMW’s acquisition of Rover back in 1994 provides a good illustration of several possible pitfalls.
Vodafone and Cable and Wireless Worldwide
Cable and Wireless Worldwide has 20,500km of fibre-optic cables in the UK, owning this would mean that Vodafone doesn’t have develop a network from scratch, estimated at £5bn. Vodafone like other mobile operators needs additional capacity to cope with the increased use of smartphones - downloads of music, video, photos etc.
read more...»Flaws in Tesco’s strategy
BUSS4 students can accumulate some useful evidence about changes in business strategy by examining the reasons for Tesco’s fall in UK profits, and their strategy to reverse the trend. There is an opportunity to do some ‘compare and contrast’ with the strategies of other businesses which are struggling to turnaround disappointing business results such as Nokia and others that have such as BA and Starbucks.
read more...»Vodafone takes over Cable and Wireless Worldwide
Last week the share price of Cable and Wireless Worldwide C&WW, slumped, after the Indian conglomerate Tata withdrew its bid for the company.
read more...»Leadership - meet the new boss of Starbucks UK
Just catching up on some research on Starbucks and I came across this nice short interview with Kris Engskov who has recently taken over as Managing Director of Starbucks UK…
read more...»Sony - Hirai’s Turnaround Strategy - in Video Clips
At our A2 Business revision workshops in March we predicted that Sony would quickly become an essential research case study for students in 2012 and perhaps beyond, as we anticipated the strategic review being carried out by Hirai Kazou as he took over as CEO of Sony from Sir Howard Stringer. Events over recent days have supported that view. Sony’s plight - and proposed turnaround strategy - is packed full with fantastic business strategy materials. Perfect for comparing and contrasting with the likes of Apple, Samsung, Google & HTC.
Hirai’s announcement has been well covered in all the business media, particularly the online business television channels. Here is a selection of clips which help explain the strategy and also provide some examples of experts analysing and evaluating the likely success of the turnaround:
Update: BBC news, May 2012: Sony shares tumble to 31-year low amid record losses
read more...»Life and leadership at BA after Willie Walsh
This is an interesting article that I came across while looking for updates on how industrial relations and strike threats have been progressing at BA over the last year or so - the article was published last September so apologies if you are already familiar with it, but I think it is well worth reading. When studying leadership for BUSS4 we often use the example of Willie Walsh, and the rather deeply entrenched conflicts that became established with BASSA (the cabin crew branch of Unite). So it is interesting to see what has happened since Walsh moved on from the position of CEO of British Airways at the start of 2011 to become CEO of IAG instead.
read more...»Organisational culture, strategy and performance in fewer than 1000 words
Tuning into the news last week I was not surprised to see the Met Police once again under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17636776). Described as suffering from ‘institutional racism’ by the MacPherson Report in 1999 it appears not a lot has changed at the Met police in the almost 20 years since the racially motivated murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence. So what exactly is going on?
read more...»Revision Presentation - Business Ethics
This revision presentation introduces the concept of business ethics. The distinction between ethical and legal behaviour is examined as are the potential benefits and drawbacks of ethical behaviour. Some topical examples of business ethics in action are also provided.
read more...»Move over Apple, Samsung, Sony & Nokia. Here Comes China’s Huawei
A great article here for students researching the competitive environment in the consumer electronics industry. Students should certainly be familiar with the strategies of Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Sony and others. But have they heard of Huawei? It looks like they might soon, if Huawei is successful in its objective of grabbing a significant share of the smartphone and tablet markets.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Change Management
This revision presentation provides an overview of the topic of change management in the context of business strategy. It highlights the main theories on change management including Lewin’s Forcefield analysis as well as providing some examples of recent change management case studies
read more...»Revision Presentation - Leadership
An updated revision presentation here on the role of leadership in business strategy.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Business Culture
This updated revision presentation provides an overview of the concept of business culture, specifically in the context of strategic decision-making and change management.
read more...»Women & Leadership
Here is a really interesting article on the qualities women offer as leaders and why research by two contributors to Harvard Business Review suggests they make better leaders than their male counterparts.
read more...»Sony - All Change at the Top with a new CEO
After seven pretty disastrous years as CEO, Sir Howard Stringer is passing the baton of Sony’s CEO to Kazuo Hirai. Stringer will remain with Sony as Chairman. Will the new CEO achieve the turnaround in Sony’s fortunes that Stringer has been attempting in recent years? It’s a tough ask - but it will be fascinating to see how Hirai goes about things…
read more...»Tata & Jaguar Land Rover - Culture and Strategy
For any colleagues and students researching the Tata Group takeover of Jaguar Land Rover in 2008 - this is a must-watch video interview. In fact, it has broader relevance to anyone wanting a concrete example of how to respect the culture of a takeover target as part of a long-term plan to increase shareholder value.
read more...»Apple’s new CEO and a new iPad - A Change in Leadership
For those of you who watched the recent Apple special event (7 March 2012), you were witnessing an event which involved too kinds of leadership. First, Apple was aiming to secure its leadership of the global tablet computer market with the launch of the “new iPad”. Secondly, the event was a showcase for a new kind of leadership at Apple. It provided quite a few clues to the leadership style of Tim Cook, leading the presentation for the first time since the death of Steve Jobs.
read more...»Takeover and merger integration: lessons from the experts (GE Capital)
GE Capital (of former CEO Jack Welch fame) is a global conglomerate that has grown through hundreds of acquisitions. I’ve just read through a detailed but fascinating article in the Harvard Business Review which outlines GE’s approach to successful takeover integration. Some great insights here for AQA BUSS4 students who need an overview of the factors that affect the success or failure of a takeover. I have summarised them below:
read more...»Can we learn lessons in business organisation from the mittelstand model
A business studies lesson gem from an unusual source here - the politics team at the BBC! Germans use the word “mittelstand” for the millions of middle-sized companies that form the backbone of their booming economy, and some in Britain reckon the model could teach UK industries a few lessons…
read more...»Takeover troubles - Has the Co=operative got Indigestion with the Somerfield Integration?
A fascinating and perfectly-timed article here in the Independent which outlines evidence that the Co-operative Group’s takeover of Somerfield in 2009 might be providing a little less successful than it originally planned…
read more...»The Strategic Challenges Facing International Airlines Group - Interview with Willie Walsh
A superb interview here absolutely packed with relevant topics for all A2 business students. Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG (the merged firm that brought together British Airways and Iberia) provides a wide-ranging overview of the strategic issues facing IAG and the airline industry. He talks at length about the strategic rationale for the BA/Iberia merger and the benefits that the merger (as part of a broader process of airline industry consolidation) is starting to generate.
This interview is perfect for students preparing for AQA BUSS4 2012 on Takeovers and Mergers. Take a look at the section starting at about 5 mins 45 seconds, where Walsh talks about the difference between mergers and acquisitions.
Walsh also explains his view on what is meant by leadership in business and explains something about what is involved in being a CEO. He talks about the need to address stakeholder concerns.
BUSS4 gold dust!
read more...»The Leadership Style of Willie Walsh - In Quotes
Willie Walsh is a fascinating and topical example to use with students as they look at the role of leadership in business strategy…
read more...»Insights on takeovers and mergers from KPMG’s 2011 global survey
I’ve spent a day reading through a detailed analysis of global takeover and merger evidence (“M&A”) written by accountants KPMG in 2011. The report is both comprehensive and complex. However, it contains some useful insights for students and teachers researching the key strategic issues raised by M&A. I have highlighted and summarised some of the key findings below.
read more...»Innovation in Business - Perspectives from Stephen Elop (CEO of Nokia)
Nokia is an essential research case study for business students and teachers and I highly recommend this excellent, longer video interview with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. The discussion focuses on the role of innovation in business, but you also get a sense of the character of Elop, a key case study in leadership and business strategy. This is a wide-ranging and accessible discussion that also focuses on the effect of technological disruption in business, with a specific analysis of the effect/influence of disruption on innovation strategy.
read more...»Happiness in the workplace still proving elusive
60 years ago we worked 30% longer and took half as many holidays. For most, pay was poor. Discrimination in the workplace was widespread, and permitted by law. Work was often hard, and for working class men it was often dangerous too. So it’s a sobering thought to think that several decades later, measures of anxiety in the workplace have risen, to the point that stress has replaced back pain as the most common cause of long-term sick leave, according to The Guardian. What’s going wrong?
read more...»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...»Integration, integration, integration
HP is an example of a firm which is struggling to integrate acquisitions, and the perils of diversification.
Leadership in a multinational business - what leadership style works best?
This is an interesting blog entry from Pekka Viljakainen, an entrepreneur from Finland who sold his IT consulting business to a multinational Tieto. Some useful insights here for students wanting to develop their understanding of how the challenge of leadership changes as a leader’s responsibilities become more complex and cross-border.
read more...»Leadership - Howard Schultz on the importance of leading an innovative culture
I’m a big fan of Starbucks as a case study for business students which provides some great examples of linkages between the different aspects of business strategy. In this clip from a recent business conference (London 2011), Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz discusses the importance of innovation in a competitive environment where businesses that stand still face defeat.
read more...»
