http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/ en tutor2u.net Copyright 2008 2008-05-15T15:26:01-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/currysdigital-to-go-the-same-way-as-dixons/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/currysdigital-to-go-the-same-way-as-dixons/#When:15:26:01Z Conditions are rapidly changing on the UK High Street.  It’s only a few months since DSG International, owners of the Dixons, Currys and PC World brands announced that Dixons was to disappear, to return repackaged as Currys.digital.  But the move has only briefly slowed the decline.  Now Currys.digital is to close 77 stores, two fifths of their total. Retailing 2008-05-15T15:26:01-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/mr-dell-comes-back-to-dell-whata/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/mr-dell-comes-back-to-dell-whata/#When:12:46:00Z Three years after stepping down as the boss of Dell, Michael Dell is now firmly back in charge.  The young entrepreneur has made a fortune from the company he founded in his dormitory at the University of Texas at the age of 19.  Now aged 43, he has spent a year back in charge, steering the company down a new path.  A recent Economist article spent some time looking at what’s new at Dell. Dell used to be the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, but had lost its crown to Hewlett-Packard.  Now it is beginning to regain market share. In the first quarter of 2008 it made 15.7% of PCs sold globally, compared with 14.8% a year ago, according to IDC, a market research firm.  Production & Operations 2008-05-13T12:46:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/renault-nissan-join-the-race-to-produce-a-2500-car/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/renault-nissan-join-the-race-to-produce-a-2500-car/#When:12:13:00Z Five years ago it might have seemed crazy.  Electric cars? Low emission ‘hybrid’ engines?  Mass production of $2500 cars?  You must be joking!  The automotive giants seemed set on producing bigger and sexier sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and battling it out in the congested car markets of the US, Japan and Europe. How times change.  After five years of high oil prices, new eco fashions and the continuing explosive growth of the economies of the developing world, the strategic direction of the volume car manufacturers has shifted radically.  It doesn’t come as a surprise to hear that Renault-Nissan has announced a joint venture with Indian firm Bajaj to produce a $2,500 car. Business Strategy 2008-05-13T12:13:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/business-studies-revision-workshops-hit-the-mark/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/business-studies-revision-workshops-hit-the-mark/#When:08:17:00Z We’ve just completed an exhausting but enjoyable tour of our AQA Business Studies revision workshops. Some fantastic feedback on these events leads us straight into planning the programme for 2008/09. Teaching Business 2008-05-12T08:17:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/travel-companies-face-the-perfect-storm/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/travel-companies-face-the-perfect-storm/#When:21:22:00Z A combination of a the credit crunch and a weak pound against the euro is leading many in the travel industry to predict a summer of business collapses amongst tour operators. Leisure, Travel & Tourism 2008-05-10T21:22:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/mobeen-evaluating-the-euroze-economic-forecasts/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/mobeen-evaluating-the-euroze-economic-forecasts/#When:14:51:00Z Evaluation of economic data forecasts for AQA ‘Mobeen’ case study Over the last five years or so that I have been teaching Business and Economics, data for key economic performance indicators have been rather dull. Inflation, unemployment and interest rates have each been low and steady, and we have seen little of the ‘boom and bust’ cycle that appears in all the textbooks. It has been difficult to see any realistic economic forecasts actually making that much difference to businesses’ plans. And so it is with the predictions for Eurozone (you did notice that they are for the Eurozone, didn’t you?) in the AQA Unit 2/3 case study on ‘Mobeen’ for Summer 2008. If these forecasts came to pass, none of them would have that great an influence on the plans for Mobeen. However - there are a couple of evaluative points that spring to mind. If you actually look at what is going on currently with the UK Pound/Euro exchange rate and with inflation in the costs of meat and wheat, you will see that in reality, Mobeen could be facing some more challenging issues. Of course, the case study will have been written some months back, but you will do yourself no harm if you have a handle on what is really happening. Teaching Business, AS & A2 Business, AQA AS Bus Unit 2&3 Mobeen 2008-05-08T14:51:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/playstation-3-and-the-product-life-cycle/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/playstation-3-and-the-product-life-cycle/#When:19:00:37Z Marketing students will be familiar with the concept of a ‘product life cycle’; the idea that successful products move through a finite life span of introduction and growth, followed by maturity and decline. One of the clearest pieces of evidence for this comes in fast moving technological markets, like the one for video consoles.  You will appreciate that the Sony Playstation 3 follows on the heels of Playstation 2 and the original Playstation.  The same is true of their Microsoft and Nintendo rivals. Watch the BBC article and video link with the head of Sony’s console division. 2008-05-07T19:00:37-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/the-biz-quiz-5-may-2008/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/the-biz-quiz-5-may-2008/#When:22:31:00Z The latest edition of the Biz Quiz is now available.  We took a break whilst the entire tutor2u team was on the road at our Economics & Business revision workshops! Biz Quiz 2008-05-04T22:31:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/the-most-controversial-ads-of-2007/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/the-most-controversial-ads-of-2007/#When:05:59:00Z A BBC web article has written up a helpful summary of the 14,080 complaints made last year to the Advertising Standards Authority.  Sex and violence predictably dominated viewers concerns.  ‘Greenwash’ is also an increasing irritation to the public. Part of the skill of advertising is to catch the attention of the public by using striking images, poses and ideas.  But how far can this go?  How far should it go?  The law stipulates in some cases (for instance, an advert for alcoholic drinks cannot go so far as to say that it will make you more attractive to the opposite sex).  In other cases, the boundary of what is tasteful is, well, a matter of taste.  I’m pretty hard to offend - I don’t think any of the controversial adverts this year are too bad – but personally, I find that the FCUK slogan makes me cringe.  See what you think: 10 Most Controversial Ads - BBC Marketing 2008-04-30T05:59:00-05:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/whoops-free-tibet-flags-made-in-china/ http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/whoops-free-tibet-flags-made-in-china/#When:18:51:00Z Optimists take note: China may face a host of human rights problems, but its society and economy are far more open than in the recent past.  With so many textile products coming from China, it should hardly be a surprise to see Free Tibet flags being made there too. Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning, but then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to one Hong Kong newspaper.  Business Ethics & CSR 2008-04-29T18:51:00-05:00