OCR A2 Economics Unit F585 June 2013 | AQA A2 BUSS4 | AQA AS Applied BS03 | IB B&M Royal Danish Bearings | OCR AS Business F292 | OCR A2 Business F297 | OCR AS Applied F242 | OCR A2 Applied F247
Download a printable order form for your revision toolkits
EntrepreneurLIVE! 2013
INSPIRE YOUR BUSINESS STUDENTS BY ATTENDING ENTREPRENEURLIVE! 2013
Bookings are now being taken for EntrepreneurLIVE! 2013 - our hugely popular enrichment event for all business students which allows them to meet and interact with a team of inspiring, successful entrepreneurs.
After the sell-out events in 2012, we've extended EntrepreneurLIVE! 2013 to include two new venues: Bristol (Vue Cribbs Causeway) and Edinburgh (Vue Omni Centre) making five venues in total.
We're hard at work right now putting recruiting the entrepreneur panel for 2013 and coming up with the popular Enterprise Pitch Challenge which allows students attending to pitch their business concepts to our entrepreneurs in X-Factor and BGT style!
read more...»Business response to the economic environment: zero hours contracts
read more...»
The malicious focus group!
Focus groups are a great way for businesses to gain highly relevant market research - but what would happen if the focus group participants all banded together to deliberately give the business the wrong information about their product?
read more...»Runner’s Up League and Cup Double
How far did the management style of Roberto Mancini contribute to his removal after the FA Cup defeat?
Mancini was the most successful manager of Manchester City's 23 managers hired after the retirement of Joe Mercer in 1971. He took the club to 2 FA Cup Finals, and City thrashed Manchester United 6-1 on the way to winning the Premier League with almost the last kick of the 2011-12 season.
read more...»Help with the OCR F297 decision tree
We covered the topic of the decision tree in the F297 case study (Cavendish Cycles Ltd) in some detail in the toolkit supporting the exam, and some of you may be having a go at another example I prepared for an F297 mock exam that I posted earlier this week. Here's how to work out the answers...
Strategy & Technological Change: Will Google Glass be as Big as the Smartphone?
Could Google Glass have as transformational effect on our lives as the smartphone? Yes is the answer - according to leading venture capitalist Marc Andreessen - who explains why in the CNN video below.
Rory Cellan-Jones from the BBC has also been examining Google Glass. In this article Rory asks whether Google Glass is the most exciting technology product of recent years, or whether it might turn out to be the 21st Century equivalent of the Sinclair C5!
read more...»Strategy & Leadership - Harriet Green at Thomas Cook Outlines Her Strategy
We've previously highlighted the arrival of Harriet Green as the new CEO of Thomas Cook as a great research example for business students. New CEOs - particularly those recruited externally - tend to dive straight into "strategic reviews" which then result in changes in strategic direction, disposal of non-core businesses etc. Harriet Green is no exception. And in this YouTube clip, she outlines her proposed strategy for the ailing travel industry business.
The clip is almost two hours in length. However, it is the first section (from about 3 minutes 30 in) which is particularly interesting and relevant for business students. You get a strong sense of Harriet Green's personality from the presentation and a clear statement of her strategic objectives for the business.
read more...»BUSS1 Online Revision Clinic May 2013
Online Revision Clinic - Thursday 16 May 2013 9.00 pm (BST)
As part of our support for students preparing for BUSS1 in May 2013 we are once again running a one-hour online revision clinic. The clinic enables students to pose questions to our teacher panel, leaving a few days to act on the advice before the exam. The online revision clinic will be hosted here on this blog entry - so please save this URL to your favourites if you would like to participate.
Students - in order to participate (i.e. ask a question; comment on discussion threads) you will need to be logged in using your Facebook or Twitter account when the online revision clinic goes live at 9.00 p.m. GMT.
Prior to joining in with the revision clinic, students may find it helpful to test their BUSS1 subject knowledge and understanding by trying our BUSS1 revision quizzes.
We also recommend students getting hold of a copy of our BUSS1 Revision Guide.
Before submitting your question or comment, please take a few seconds to scroll through the transcript to see if someone has already answered your point.
Also, we cannot guarantee that every comment or question will get a response - hopefully most will. So please patient.
A full, permanent transcript of this revision clinic will be available a few minutes after the revision clinic ends here on this blog URL.
Don't forget that you can follow the panelists on Twitter for further support (and for other AQA AS/A2 units) - a great place to start is the BUSS1 hashtag
read more...»
Shoot the Business BasketBall - Making Revision more Engaging
Ive just blogged about this great revision game via the give it a go blog but thought it was worth sharing on the business blog. After all, thats where I used it 
Shoot the Business Basketball is a simple but engaging revision strategy. Perfect for when you want a break from past paper after past paper and the students are waning.
Write around 25 easy 'review' questions and 25 hard 'review' questions before the lesson and then split the class up into two teams. The hard questions can be analyatical and evaluative whilst the easy ones could be as simple as definitions.
Put the small rubbish bin at the front of the class. This will be the 'basket'. On the floor, about 8/10ft away from the basket put a line down (I used to use masking tape). This is the 'shoot from' line. I also had a small basketball for this activity but you can easily use some scrunched up paper.
Tell the students that each one must answer the questions that are given to them and that the easy and hard questions will be interspersed. Easy questions are worth 1 point whilst the harder questions are worth 2 points.
If a student gets a question correct then that student has a chance to 'shoot' for extra points (1 extra point if they answered an easy question and 2 extra points if they answered a hard question).
The team with the most points at then end of the activity wins.
There are a number of ways that this can be adapted. I often gave students a case study at the start of the lesson and then based some of my questions on the case study to help develop their skills of application.
Marks and Spencer invests in stock control
A couple of topics here: I’ve chosen to make the main focus one of stock control, but this blog is obviously about the rise of the online economy too.
read more...»Developing Application - The Awareness Test
This is such a superb video that is perfect to help students understand the importance of paying attention and reading everything in the case study. Its also just an amazing video.
As a very, very keen cyclist, it also has particular significance for me.
The video illustrates the importance of paying attention. Crucial when reading the case study which is full of hooks to allow students to apply their answers.
Enjoy
Leadership & Culture: The Depends On Factors that will Determine Apple’s Future?
Can Apple's CEO Tim Cook provide the right leadership to sustain the firm's reputation for innovation?
That's the question posed in this short Businessweek article which looks at three key factors which may determine whether Apple's innovative culture can be sustained and nurtured.
It's a good piece and well worth reading not just as an example of analysis and evaluation!
read more...»Exam Technique Coaching & Revision Workshops in 2014
The proposed dates and locations for our popular programme of exam technique coaching & revision workshops for AS/A2 and GCSE Business Studies is now available. The details are listed below together with important information about changes in way that bookings are processed.
read more...»Jonathan Moules to Speak at the BTNC 2013
We are delighted to announce that Jonathan Moules has kindly agreed to speak at the Business Teacher National Conference 2013 on Tuesday 25 June 2013 at the stunning Henry Wellcome Auditorium on Euston Road London.
Jonathan is Enterprise Editor of the Financial Times and is also author of The Rebel Entrepreneur.
After profiling hundreds of business owners for the FT, Jonathan Moules noticed an interesting trend: The most successful ones are often those who buck conventional wisdom about how to create a profitable company.
In his bestselling book, The Rebel Entrepreneur: Rewriting the Business Rulebook, Jonathan explains that these innovators typically don’t get loans from big banks. They don’t succumb to financial pressure and lower their prices. And they don’t deploy the same old marketing strategies as everyone else.
His insights are simply gold-dust for all business studies teachers.
Places at the BTNC 2013 can still be booked. We have a Departmental deal of just £100 per place for two or more colleagues from the same school or college. NQTs and PGCE students can attend for just 75!
You can order places directly from our online store:
http://tutor2u.net/acatalog/Busines-Teacher-National-Conference-2013.html
Or by emailing Janet Cahill in the tutor2u office with your requirements.
New to AQA AS Business Studies - CPD & Resource Booster Course
The Essential Resource-Boosting CPD Course for AQA BUSS1 & BUSS2: Tuesday 18 June 2013
Venue: Holiday Inn, Kensington Forum, London
Address: 97 Cromwell Road, London , SW7 4DN
Presenters: Graham Prior and Michelle Stephenson
We've put this new CPD course together to provide a boost for teaching colleagues who are new to teaching the AQA BUSS1 & BUSS2 units or who would like to refresh their teaching approach and resources.
New to AQA AS Business Studies 2013 is packed with teaching ideas, approaches and resources which can be used with immediate effect when BUSS1 and BUSS2 teaching resumes in September 2013.
Delegate places are priced at £190 (+VAT) to include all refreshments, lunch and a bumper pack of teaching materials!
We've also got a special rate for NQTs (up to 2 years post qualification) - at just £100 (+VAT) for the day
To book your place, please complete this online form
You can also order places directly from our online store
or email Janet Cahill in the tutor2u office with our requirements
Finance Expert Saves Struggling Zoo By Firing All Employees
Here's one for those of you wanting to practice your ... ahem ... revision progress so far. What is the finance 'expert' getting right ... and where might they be a bit misguided?!
read more...»Revision Quiz - Breakeven Basics
This new revision quiz on Breakeven Basics is designed for GCSE & equivalent courses.
Launch Revision Quiz - Breakeven Basics
Revision Quiz - Cost-Effective Operations
This new revision quiz on Cost-Effective Operations is designed for GCSE & equivalent courses.
Launch Revision Quiz - Cost-Effective Operations
Revision Quiz - Effective Customer Service
This new revision quiz on Effective Customer Service is designed for GCSE & equivalent courses.
Launch Revision Quiz - Effective Customer Service
Emerging Markets Strategy - JCB Exploits the International Opportunity
Students looking for a great example of how a UK business can transform its fortunes by focusing on the opportunities in emerging markets need look no further than JCB.
read more...»3 Businesses That Have Thrived during the Economic Downturn
It is now six years since the global financial crisis triggered a prolonged downturn in economic activity. The UK economy, like other developed economies, has struggled to escape from a period of stagnant economic growth.
However, despite the weak economy, many UK firms have succeeded in significantly growing their revenues and profits.
Here are three examples of such businesses. Their strategies for success are different – but there are also some similarities.
Can you compare and contrast these three – and also identify some other businesses that have enjoyed similar success despite the tough economic environment?
You might also consider:
- What factors have driven revenue growth at each of the three
businesses?
- Has their growth strategy been based on organic or external
development?
- To what extent has their growth been driven by international
expansion?
- Do you think their recent success can be sustained?
- What factors might that continued success depend on?
Internet boom, not economic gloom
The last few years have been a depressing time for some businesses. The majority of them have been heavily weighed down by our sluggish economy. But maybe things aren’t so bad. As summer comes, there’s talk of renewed confidence, and that our economy is in better shape than perhaps we thought.
One interesting idea is that the economy is doing very well – it’s just hard to measure.
read more...»OCR A2 F297 Mock Exam Paper
If you've been working through the F297 toolkit you'll have seen some of our 'best guesses' on the topics you might want to pay especially close attention to in your preparation for the exam, which is based on the CCL case study.
I've put together another set of exam questions (including a decision tree exercise) if you want some more practice.
The greatest living Briton?
That may be over-stating it a bit, but it's not often that the BBC's Political Editor calls a football manager "...the mastermind of one of Britain's greatest brands." Nick Robinson is clearly somewhat biased, as a self-confessed Man United fan, but the piece he wrote on Thursday to justify his off-the-cuff comment, in which he did jokingly suggest that Sir Alex Ferguson was 'the greatest living Briton', suggests that students of leadership, management and business culture should reflect on what led to his success.
AQA BUSS2 Thinking Skills Bingo
This is a great revision and teaching resource to support students preparing for AQA BUSS2 (Managing a Business). tutor2u's Graham Prior and Jon Clark have developed a thinking skills exercise that enables students to cover a huge amount of the BUSS2 specification each time they are challenged to play BUSS2 Thinking Skills Bingo!
You can order AQA BUSS2 Thinking Skills Bingo right now from our online store.
The network licence for this resource is just £15!
This engaging lesson activity is ready-to-use. Just add students!
read more...»
AQA BUSS1 Thinking Skills Bingo
Fresh out of the tutor2u Learning Laboratory! Graham Prior and Jon Clark have produced this brand new version of Thinking Skills Bingo which is specifically designed to support student revision for AQA BUSS1 (Planning & Starting a Business)
You can order AQA BUSS1 Thinking Skills Bingo right now from our online store.
The network licence for this resource is just £15!
This engaging lesson activity is ready-to-use. Just add students!
read more...»Co Op Bank’s USP vanishing trick
One of the strengths and a key component in the Co-Op Bank's USP after recent banking problems - sub-prime lending, collapse of Northern Rock and LIBOR rate fixing, was its emphasis of ethical banking.
http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/
Revision Quiz - Managing Stocks
This revision quiz looks at the basics of stock management and its role in lean production.
Launch Revision Quiz - Managing Stocks
Revision Quiz - Environmental Issues
This new revision quiz provides 10 MCQs on the topic of business and the environment. Ideally suited to GCSE students.
Launch Revision Quiz - Environmental Issues
Revision Quiz - Design and R&D
Try this 10 question revision quiz on Design and R&D - suitable for GCSE and equivalent courses.
Launch Revision Quiz - Design and R&D
Revision Quiz - Consumer Protection
This revision quiz has ten questions on the basics of consumer protection in the UK:
Launch Revision Quiz - Consumer Protection
The Biz Quiz - 10 May 2013
The latest edition of the Biz Quiz is now ready to try!
Launch The Biz Quiz - 10 May 2013
Download printable pdf version
Business Studies Revision Quizzes - Master Listing
[Updated 10 May 2013]
We're updating, upgrading and extending our collection of business studies revision quizzes here on tutor2u. Set out below is a list of the existing revision quizzes which we've grouped into some broad topic categories. Each time we add a new quiz, it will appear below on this list. Have fun, revise hard, and don't forget to save the revision quizzes you like to your favourites and share links to them on Facebook and Twitter.
Where relevant, we have indicated the qualification level for which the questions are particularly intended (e.g. "GCSE")
read more...»Organisational Culture: Six Components of a Great Corporate Culture (HBR)
This new blog entry from the HBR is useful research material for students wanting to develop the link between organisational culture and competitive advantage.
read more...»Organisational Culture: Skilling May Soon Not be the Smartest Guy in Prison
Students attending our BUSS4 exam coaching workshops on Organisational Culture will be familiar with Jeff Skilling - the former CEO of Enron which collapsed so spectacularly over a decade ago.
The Enron collapse was closely linked to a strong, through ultimately toxic organisational culture that developed at Enron, which was an online energy trading business that rose quickly to become the 7th most valuable firm in the US.
The culture at Enron, described so powerfully in the film The Smartest Guys in the Room (and Broadway play of the same name) was a tough culture - a VERY tough culture. Students may recall the infamous policy of "rank and yank" in which 15% of Enron staff were dismissed each year as a result of Jeff Skilling's PRC (Performance Review Committee).
Skilling rose to the position of CEO in 2001 only to abruptly resign six months later. Soon after that, Enron collapsed in one of the most notorious corporate scandals of all time.
Jeff Skilling was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment back in May 2006 after he was found guilty on 19 counts of securities fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors.
However, it now looks likely that Skilling will end up serving only 10-11 years of his sentence. The news clip below explains why in more detail as does this news article from the BBC.
read more...»Developing Exam Skills - Better use of the case study
The case study at the front of your exam paper. A gift.
Here, the principal examiner has written you a nice story (or in the case of BUSS2, two nice stories) on a business. Not only that, the story has all the information you need to apply your answers. Yet, many students look this gift horse in the mouth.
Possibly the worst thing that any student can do is underline everysingle line in the case study and then NEVER refer back to it. So why do so many students adopt this strategy?
Here are two strategies to improve your use of the case study which will hopefull lead to better application and therefore higher marks.
Firstly, application can only be given if it used to support an argument. Lines copied out of the case study or the name of the business shoe horned into your answer is NOT application.
Now we have that out of the way, lets look at two belting case study strategies:
SWK
When I was presenting on the recent BUSS2 exam coaching days, I saw the amazing Joe from Greenhead using an amazing technique to get the students looking more critically at the case study. SWK is a further adaption of his idea.
Rather than underlining everything in the case study, simply annotate certain sections with S, W or K.
S for a strength of the business/ product/ service
W for a weakness of the business/ product/ service
K for a key point that is neither a strength or a weakness
By focusing on these 3 key areas you will give yourself a much better chance of picking up the key issues facing the business allowing you to apply in much more detail
The line numbers
On the right hand side of the case study are what is known as line numbers (5, 10, 15, 20 etc)
Another useful strategy is to read some of the longer mark questions first. Then, as you read the case study, if there is some information relating to the question, note down the line number next to that question. Then, as you to start to complete the paper, when you get to the questions, there will already be the line numbers written down which will allow you to refer back quickly to the part in the case study where the information is contained. Again, this will help you to apply in more detail
BUSS4 Online Research Clinic Organisational Culture - June 2013
Online Clinic to Provide Support for BUSS4 Section A Research on Organisational Culture
Wednesday 22 May 2013 9.00 pm
We're holding a free online research clinic to support students completing their research on the BUSS4 Section A research theme of Organisational Culture.
This one hour session will just focus on Section A - not the other topics in Section B which we will cover in a later session in June.
Students - in order to participate (i.e. ask a question; comment on discussion threads) you will need to be logged in using your Facebook or Twitter account when the online revision clinic goes live at 9.00 p.m. on Wednesday 22 May 2013 - here on this blog entry.
Please note:
- We cannot guarantee to answer all questions submitted
- Only submit one question at a time: multiple submissions of the same question will lead to you being blocked!
- Check whether the question you want to ask has already been answered - particularly if you join us mid-way during the clinic
- A full transcript of the clinic will be available on this blog URL as soon as the clinic has ended
Ultimate Guide to BUSS4 Essay Writing
Our BUSS4 Organisational Culture Blog Channel
read more...»BUSS3 Online Revision Clinic - June 2013
Online Revision Clinic - Thursday 6 June 2013 9.00 pm (BST)
As part of our support for students preparing for BUSS3 in June 2013 we are once again running an online revision clinic. The clinic enables students to pose questions to our teacher panel, leaving enough time to act on the advice before the exam. The online revision clinic will be hosted here on this blog entry - so please save this URL to your favorites if you would like to participate.
Students - in order to participate (i.e. ask a question; comment on discussion threads) you will need to be logged in using your Facebook or Twitter account when the online revision clinic goes live at 9.00 p.m. on Thursday 6 June 2013.
Please note:
- We cannot guarantee to answer all questions submitted
- Only submit one question at a time: multiple submissions of the same question will lead to you being blocked!
- Check whether the question you want to ask has already been answered - particularly if you join us mid-way during the clinic
- DO NOT ask our panelists what is going to come up in the exam - they don't know!
- A full transcript of the clinic will be available on this blog URL as soon as the clinic has ended
BUSS2 Online Revision Clinic May 2013
Online Revision Clinic - Thursday 30 May 2013 9.00 pm (BST)
With many thousands of students busy preparing for the challenging BUSS2 exam in May 2013, it is important to focus on core exam technique to make the most of the time remaining. The tutor2u BUSS2 team are once again running an online revision clinic which enables students to get last minute advice to sharpen their exam performance. The online revision clinic will be hosted here on this blog entry - so please save this URL to your favourites if you would like to participate.
Students - in order to participate (i.e. ask a question; comment on discussion threads) you will need to be logged in using your Facebook or Twitter account when the online revision clinic goes live at 9.00 p.m. GMT.
Prior to joining in with the revision clinic, students may find it helpful to test their BUSS2 subject knowledge and understanding by trying our BUSS2 revision quizzes.
We also recommend students getting hold of a copy of our BUSS2 Revision Guide.
Before submitting your question or comment, please take a few seconds to scroll through the transcript to see if someone has already answered your point.
Also, we cannot guarantee that every comment or question will get a response - hopefully most will. So please patient.
A full, permanent transcript of this revision clinic will be available a few minutes after the revision clinic ends here on this blog URL.
Don't forget that you can follow the panelists on Twitter for further support (and for other AQA AS/A2 units) - a great place to start is the BUSS2 hashtag
read more...»Investing in Workforce Skills and Culture - the University of John Lewis
I've become increasingly convinced from recent discussions with major accountancy firms and other major employers that workplace learning is going to challenge the preeminence of universities and colleges when it comes to obtaining higher level qualifications. The emergence of some industrial-strength Higher Apprenticeship programmes recently is a sign of that. And so to is the news that John Lewis Partnership is to extend its programme of workplace learning to offer Level 6 (university degree level) qualifications for some of its management.
This story would provide the basis for some excellent analysis by students exploring how and why John Lewis Partnership has decided to extend its internal training programmes.
Some clues can be found in extracts from the JLP press release: for example;
The so-called "University of John Lewis" will also offer a number of other development initiatives through its ‘skills programme’, which will include training in product knowledge, line management and leadership. read more...»"Our partners give us our competitive edge, and if we want them to stay with us for the long term, we need to make sure that they have the right skills to meet the challenges we face in an evolving retail environment."
Exam Countdown Timer for A & AS Level Business Studies
Here's a very simple, but totally unsubtle reminder for your students on the upcoming dates and times of the AS and A level exams in Business Studies for the AQA, Edexcel and OCR awarding bodies.
Follow this link to download the 'Exam Countdown' file. There you will find a small and easy to use Powerpoint file called 'Exam Countdown'.
Follow this link for a quick tutorial on how to use the resource.
Open and run the slideshow (ensuring that you have 'enabled macros'). The screen will change to a setup slide after a couple of seconds. Click on the exam that you wish to remind your student about and the countdown timer will start. The timer shows how many days, hours, minutes and seconds remain before their exam starts. There's nothing like instilling a sense of urgency!
Please note this file is fully functional. If you would like an editable version (where you can edit the times, dates and 'event') you will find one as part of the 'Super Teacher Utility Belt' resource available from our PowerPoint games-based learning site.
Diageo and Emerging Markets - Great Section B BUSS4 Material
Here is a superb article on Diageo's approach to key emerging markets in China and India and the rationale for it's choice of entry (through acquisitions and joint partnerships).
Ethics, supply chains and consumer responsibility
The horrific Bangladesh factory disaster has highlighted a number of business issues and proved a stark reminder of the global effects our purchasing decisions may or may not have on people halfway around the world. Tom White has already put up a blog with some initial thoughts; I thought I’d pose some further questions and examine some of the issues raised in that post.
A great starting point would be to listen to the ever-reliable Business Daily, from the BBC World Service. Their programme In the Balance invites guests to debate a topical business issue, and this week, the Rana Plaza disaster was under discussion.
One of the first questions to ask is to examine the extent to which firms which are supplied by such factories are responsible. There were more immediate causes, of course, such as the owner’s actions and the culpability of local regulation and enforcement (or lack of). But this is not the first time there have been such disasters, nor are the poor conditions in such factories surprising. So is it right that chains such as Primark continue to use such suppliers? Isn’t it their fault, with their demands for low prices and increased flexibility to meet the needs of the fast fashion market? Do they have a responsibility to ensure fair and safe working practices in factories they don’t own and which they are merely customers of? A lot of people would argue that yes, they do. But isn’t that the same as arguing we as consumers should audit the supply chains of the shops which we buy from? Primark is as much a customer as we are.
Sustainability & Productivity: CEO of Procter and Gamble Makes the Link
This is a really useful two-minute video snippet of a conference presentation by Procter & Gamble's CEO Bob McDonald.
He explains that the aim of Procter & Gamble is to move to a zero waste production environment. He makes a clear link between sustainability and productivity. If P&G's factories can operate more efficiently with substantially reduced waste, then it ought to be a win-win arrangement for both shareholders and society stakeholders.
P&G is a multinational manufacturer of a diverse portfolio of product ranges including personal care, household cleaning, laundry detergents, prescription drugs and disposable nappies.
read more...»A great example of using printing technology in advertising.
When I was young, I loved having those rulers where the picture changed depending on what angle you looked at it - I remember both a dinosaur and a football version! I'm not sure whether they used the same "lenticular printing technology" as this billboard but the message and the method is a very powerful one.
read more...»The Benefits of Multi-cultural Business
This was written by Ryan Cook, a superb and extremely well written blog that is BUSS4 gold
'Traditionally concerned with the demographic make-up of society and the resulting diversity in traditions, beliefs and norms the concept of multi-culturalism appears to have an ever increasing relevance to the world of business and resulting corporate performance.
Never has this been truer than in the last week where once again the banking industry and all its ills were again on show for us all to see and no doubt criticise. Personally I struggle to remember a time when banking scandal, high profile blunders and apparent managerial felonies didn’t dominate the headlines. The latest instalment of which broke last week, firstly with the publication of the ‘Salz Review’ which reported on the working practices at Barclays (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22012261) was then followed by the Banking Standards Commission’s (BSC) report into the 2008 collapse of HBOS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22045930). The conclusion of both of these reports was that business practices had been dominated by a single-minded culture of ‘win at all costs’ and that both organisations require transformational change.
As a cultural case study things don’t get much better. Breezing through the two articles signposted in this blog is more than sufficient to enrich your studies and provide an excellent opportunity for demonstrating a sound understanding of cultural management (or lack of) and the complexities and challenges posed by organisational change in the forthcoming buss4 exam. However the real opportunity doesn’t end there. The real value of this case study (and hopefully this blog) is the opportunity to deduce themes for evaluation. Let me continue.
Neither the Salz review nor the report by the BSC take any prisoners when condemning the actions, practices and ethos of the two organisations who’s contribution to the financial Armageddon in the UK is unquestionable. Banks often cite the global nature of the credit-crunch as their primary line of defence for failure and the fact that much of the problem can be traced back to the United States. Although the author does not question the fact that financial systems are irreversibly inter-connected or the notion that ‘when America sneezes the world gets a cold’ this line of defence does not justify the actions and choices of
The internal working practices of Barclays and HBOS were ‘built on uncertain foundations’ had an ‘over-emphasis on short-term financial performance’ and ‘neglected the interests of traditional customers and clients’. Collectively these claims point to a situation where ‘winning at all costs’ in pursuit of bonuses and personal reward was simply rife, penetrating the entire
organisation and its practices to the very core. It may be suggested that all cultural paradigms exhibit a sense of organisational selfishness and that it is exactly this feature, in part, which drives competitive spirit and optimum performance. After all ‘the business of business is business.’ However, organisational paradigms are usually multi-faceted and any element of organisational self-interest is usually tempered, restrained or counteracted by other equally salient values or norms. Not in banking. The lack of a dynamic multi-cultural perspective where different organisational values exist (other than simply profit) and other stakeholder groups are genuinely valued and served produced cultural tunnel vision pre-occupied with, and consumed by, profit. Indeed, the very suggestion from an employee that banks should be even remotely concerned with anything other than profit-making activities is likely to have resulted in being culturally ostracized and ejected from the bank accompanied by the tag
‘he doesn’t fit in’. The cultural practices of banks wasn’t simply something they were doing it was something they were, part of the DNA and something which radiated, un-interrupted, from
each and every banking employee. The mis-selling of PPI and the fixing of the Libor rate are further manifestations of a culture devoid of any sense of responsibility or justice.
This is of course not the first time that cultural tunnel vision, and a failure to operate a multi-cultural perspective, has produced a high profile corporate demise. Back in 2001 Enron, an energy trading firm, collapsed following allegations of insider-trading and inaccurate
performing staff, some 10-15% a year were fired following an assessment of their financial performance. The so called ‘Rank and Yank’ method was a major tool in Skilling’s pursuit of market leadership via an aggressive and no-nonsense culture. Skilling’s questionable endeavours in relation to insider trader and financial window dressing landed him a 24 year prison sentence. Evidence that perhaps in extreme cases if left unmanaged organisational cultures, characterised by greed and self-interests, can evolve from the un-ethical to the criminal.
All of these examples share some common characteristics:
- All were financial institutions
- All had leaders with very clear perceptions of
how to win (Diamond, Crosby, Hornby & Stevenson and Skilling) and refused
to deviate from their vision. - All enjoyed short / medium term financial
success - All cultures were allowed to gather momentum and
consume the ‘architects’ who constructed it - All CEOs have now ‘stepped aside’
- All businesses adopted the shareholder
perspective rather than a more balanced stakeholder model - All were in markets where little buyer power
exists, barriers to entry are low and few competitors exist. This perhaps generated the ‘we can do
whatever we want attitude’. - All cultures were single-minded and devoid of a
multi-cultural perspective - All businesses failed!
So there you have it proof that businesses can benefit from multi-culturalism? Perhaps. The downside of this multi-cultural approach is that it can result in ill-defined strategy, brittle consensus and indecision and a situation where numerous sub-cultures damage performance. That, however, is a conversation for another day!'
Reflections on the Bangladesh factory disaster
You may not want to dwell on this topic, which is so terrible that I am sure your first reaction to what has happened will have been highly emotionally charged. The scale of the tragedy only seems to grow, with the situation perhaps made worse by the realisation that these events are very typical of working conditions in many countries.
I've been putting together some links to encourage a bit of reflection on what, if anything, we can learn.
read more...»Step Up to AQA A2 Business Studies - CPD Course
Step up to AQA A2 Business Studies is a resource-packed CPD course aimed specifically at providing a huge boost for colleagues and departments delivering BUSS3 and BUSS4 from the UK’s most popular A level specification.
This CPD course focuses exclusively on BUSS3 and BUSS4 and brings together a whole host of resources, techniques and teaching and learning strategies to enable you to deliver A2 with renewed confidence and vigour whether you are new to delivering BUSS3 and BUSS4 or an experienced practitioner.
During the day, we will be looking at some of the following key areas:
• Strategies for improving student’s exam technique, a major challenge for many students when they move from AS to A2
• Teaching tough topics. We will be looking at teaching and learning strategies which focus on some of the more challenging areas of A2 such as Critical Path Analysis, Balance Sheets, Investment Appraisal and the Economic Environment among others
• Taking an integrated approach to managing the BUSS4 Section A research theme and covering core remaining topics for Section B
As with all of our CPD events, you will be provided with a range of teaching and learning resources which can be taken back to the classroom and used immediately with your students as well as detailed schemes of work for both A2 units.
Next date for this course: London 19 June 2013
To book a place on this course, please complete this online formor contact Janet Cahill in the tutor2u office with your requirements
Three Remaining Summer Dates for TBBLE CPD
TBBLE - which stands for The Best Business Lesson Ever is the business CPD course designed for all business studies teachers...a day packed full with fresh approaches and resources for the business classroom. It's a no-hold barred, activity-intensive jamboree of brand new business studies teaching resources.
The feedback from the TBBLE 2013 courses run so far this academic year has been superb and we've still got more three courses available for you or your colleagues to attend.
read more...»Innovation: Will eBikes Power Ahead?
Pedal power has been around for a while. But are turbo-charged eBikes the way forward? The specifications of electric bikes are impressive - but will the price put potential customers off?
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