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...»Sniper or Machine Gunner?
One of the major difficulties with the BUSS4 paper is managing time effectively. Students- understandably under pressure- regularly neglect to take the time to understand the question before they start writing. They are unsure how best to address the essay and so try to reproduce their text book, hoping that some of their knowledge will hit the target. Another error from those who have learned the syllabus, and/or built up a vast portfolio of information on the research theme, often feel obliged to ‘show off’ in the exam room. Rather than scoring highly, however, their essays tend to read like a list of bullet points, interspersed with ‘stories’ about businesses they have studied.
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?
BUSS2 Magic Formula
I have really enjoyed being a panellist on Tutor2U’s On-Line Revision Clinics. The next one takes place on Wed 16th May 2012 for the BUSS2 exam on Mon 21st May 2012 and this post seeks to anticipate one of the common questions.
read more...»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 - Calculating and Measuring Profit
This revision presentation provides an introduction to the concept of profit and how it is measured
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...»AQA BUSS4 - ‘with reference to *** plc and your own research ....’
As you have doubtless been told numerous times, success in BUSS4 depends on having carried out your own research - this year, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions. Did you realise you cannot get a good grade in the first part WITHOUT explicitly using your research in your response?
read more...»BUSS4 - Keep Calm and Carry On…
Preparing for the BUSS4 exam involves getting yourself right mentally. Many students underestimate the influence that attitude has in determining how well they perform. They focus on learning terminology and concepts and on building a research file but don’t spend enough time getting their psychological approach right. Here are some thoughts on how you can into the right frame of mind to do your best in BUSS4.
read more...»AQA AS Business (BUSS1) - Key Term Glossary
Listed below are 50 key terms that AQA BUSS1 students need to ensure they understand and can define / explain in the exam.
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...»Revision Quiz - Cash Flow Forecasting for a Startup
This updated revision quiz contains questions which looks at the use of cash flow forecasts by business start-ups. Each time you take the quiz, 10 questions are drawn from the quiz database on cash flow forecasting.
Launch revision quiz on startup cash flow forecasting
The Biz Quiz - 11 May 2012
The Biz Quiz for 11 May 2012 is now live - good luck everyone!
Launch the Biz Quiz 11 May 2012
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.
BUSS1 - Some Topic Thoughts for May 2012
Our BUSS1 topic tracker outlines how the BUSS1 specification has been covered so far in the real exam papers. May 2012 will be the 8th sitting of BUSS1 and you can see from the topic tracker that some core topics have been examined regularly. However, there are other topics which are yet to appear in the paper and it is worth making double-sure that these are addressed in the final stages of revision…
read more...»Takeovers and Mergers - the failed takeover behind Clinton Cards’ Collapse
The collapse of Clinton Cards has been widely predicted for some time as its new CEO (recruited from Starbucks UK) attempted to achieve a turnaround and restructuring in recent months. Clinton’s administration is one of the biggest UK retail failures wince Woolworths and much of the press analysis will focus on the competitive pressures that the retail chain faced from online operators like Moonpig and Funky Pigeon, as well as the effect of weak consumer confidence and spending.
Eagle-eyed A2 students, however, will also spot that a strategic mistake back in 2004 is at the root of many of Clinton Cards problems. The mistake - buying Birthdays Group in 2004.
read more...»AQA AS Business BUSS1 Online Revision Clinic - Thursday May10 2012
Students sitting AQA AS Business Studies unit BUSS1 may find this helpful. We’re running an online revision clinic for an hour on Thursday 10 May from 8.00 - 9.30 p.m. Graham Prior and I will be there, together with some other members of the tutor2u team to provide support for students as they prepare for the BUSS1 exam.
The online revision clinic is free and will appear here - on this blog entry. You will need to login using your Facebook, Twitter or OpenID account in order to participate (e.g. ask questions and/or comment)
read more...»Same product - different prices: Greggs sausage roll costs more in Hammersmith than Hull
The Daily Mail reports that a 66p sausage roll in Hull sells for 85p in Hammersmith – that’s almost 30% more. That finding won’t surprise you perhaps, although the size of some price differences is quite a shock.
read more...»BUSS2 – Application – stay in context
Over the years, the skill of application has been mentioned in examiners’ reports numerous times. Too often, students write down all the theory they know, totally neglecting to set their response in the context of the case study provided. Although more recent reports indicate that students are getting the message, it is still vitally important to apply your responses properly; in the case of the evaluative questions, this will also help make sure that your judgement is relevant.
read more...»Exchange rate: £1 above €1.20
The pound buys more euros now than since November 2008, according to a news clip on the BBC. Any Business Studies question with an international dimension gives you scope to talk about exchange rates. This might be a story for you to refresh in your revision, so that you can make a brief reference to it when you are looking to add application, analysis or evaluation to your marks.
read more...»Shaa Wasmund to join us for the Business Teacher National Conference 2012
Geoff and I are absolutely delighted to announce that Shaa Wasmund has kindly agreed to join us as a speaker at the Business Teacher National Conference 2012 on Thursday 28 June 2012. Shaa is one of the UK’s most impressive entrepreneurs and is behind the Smarta website, undoutedly one of the best online resources for startups and business teachers!
Most recently, Shaa also authored what has become a best-selling book on entrepreneurship and personal effectiveness - “Stop Talking - Start Doing” which really is a superb read and comes highly recommended by us.
read more...»
