Reach Out - Quiz #3

IBDP Business and Management students will be busy preparing for the Paper 1 pre-release case study.  How well do you know Reach Out?  Take the 3rd in the series of the 10-question quiz to find out…

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Human Resources strategies to motivate employees in the retail industry - a case study of Metcash

Coles and Woolworths have always been the leading supermarket chains in Australia.  Of late, IGA is rising as a third force in the grocery retail business.  The success behind IGA is attributed to the Human Resource strategies of its parent company, Metcash.  Right from having a solid internal communications process to offering professional development opportunities for employees, Metcash has taken a number of initiatives to keep its staff motivated.  This case study offers practical insights into Herzberg’s motivational factors of job enrichment and job advancement.  Read the human resources strategies used by Metcash here …………

Exam Tips for upcoming B&M exams (Tip #3)

With 5 weeks to go before many students leave school for the Easter holidays and prepare for their final IB exams, each week I will be posting a ‘top tip’ for the B&M exams.

Here’s the third in the series…

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Exam Tips for upcoming B&M exams (Tip #2)

With 6 weeks to go before many students leave school for the Easter holidays and prepare for their final IB exams, each week I will be posting a ‘top tip’ for the B&M exams.  Here’s the second in the series…

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Model United Nations Development Programme 2011, Istanbul, Turkey

In early March, I was privileged to have been invited to the Koç School in Istanbul, Turkey.  The students I met were absolutely amazing – academic geniuses with real personalities and humbleness.  This blog is dedicated to them…

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Reach Out - Quiz 2

IBDP Business and Management students will be busy preparing for the Paper 1 pre-release case study.  How well do you know Reach Out?  Take the second in the series of the 10-question quiz to find out.  BTW, next month is Austism Awareness Month…

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Rebranding Starbucks

Starbucks is set to change its logo on its 40th anniversary this year.  However, thanks to the power of the internet, fans protested this change through blogs and tweets.  Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks has unveiled ambitious plans of selling alcohol as well as coffee apart from selling Starbucks-branded goods in supermarkets. 

Will Starbucks join the likes of Gap and Tropicana (who had to revert back to their original logo after consumer protests) or will Starbucks’ new logo become a force to be reckoned with in the emerging world of alcohol as well as the entrenched market of coffee?  Read the article here……….

Current Affairs Quiz 23

So where is the best place on the planet to live?  And why are the BRICs all over the news?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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Exam Tips for upcoming B&M exams

With about 7 weeks to go before many students leave school for the Easter holidays and prepare for their final IB exams, each week I will be posting a ‘top tip’ for the B&M exams.

Here’s the first in the series…

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Reach Out - Quiz 1

IBDP Business and Management students will be busy preparing for the Paper 1 pre-release case study.  How well do you know Reach Out?  Take this 10-question quiz to find out…

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Current Affairs Quiz - first in the Year of the Rabbit

We’re back from the Chinese New Year holidays, so here’s the latest current affairs quiz…

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Current Affairs Quiz - first in the Year of the Rabbit

We’re back from the Chinese New Year holidays, so here’s the latest current affairs quiz…

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CAQ 19

China and India have been in the news again for all sorts of reasons… do you know why?  And which American bank has reported more losses, this time amounting to USD1.2bn (£769m)?  Take this week’s current affairs quiz to find out…

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Reach Out case study - BBC Four documentary

In preparing for the P1 pre-seen case study, I watched a brilliant 45-minutes BBC Four video with my students in class called “My Family and Autism”...

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Economic Freedom Index

Which country has topped this year’s Economic Freedom Index, claiming the crown to the world’s freest economy?  And which country came in bottom place?  Read on to find out…

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CAQ 18

Which US car maker has launched the ‘Volt’ to take on Toyota’s mighty Prius?  Which Wall Street bank - which remained profitble during the financial crisis - has reported an increase in profits of 47%?  And which internet website, with over 400 million hits each month, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary?  Take this week’s current affairs quiz to find out…

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5.4 Quality - starter videos

Used these two footy video clips as (light entertainment) starters for 5.4 Quality…

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CAQ 17

Which Chinese internet company has more customers than Facebook?  And what is the most popular overseas destination for French Bordeaux wine?  Having already launched the LePhone, Lenovo is about to launch a new gadget to take on the iPad – but what is it called?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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2.3 Communication

Here’s an interesting article that can be used when teaching 2.3 Communication…

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Model-Dependent Realism

Model Dependent Realism is discussed by Stephen Hawking in ‘The Grand Design’. Model Dependent Realism is the notion that there is no one version of reality. Reality is not linear or one dimensional. It cannot be known or understood to be such.

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Current Affairs Quiz #16 – first one of 2011!

Forget the traditional textbook example of product life cycles – which game caused a total storm in 2010 with sales of $360m (£227,848,101) on its first day of release?  And who is the most successful female television entrepreneur of all time with her very own 24/7 cable network?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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B&M Paper 1 - Reach Out

Useful videos from BBC Four and YouTube for the Reach Out case study (autism)...

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Teaching opportunities at Sha Tin College

Interested in teaching in the Humanities Faculty at an excellent international school in Hong Kong?  We have two vacancies for Business Education from August 2011.  There is also a post of responsibility in the Faculty for a Coordinator of Theory of Knowledge and IPSE.  Read on for more details…

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The power of Network Analysis

Right from companies wanting to improve sales and productivity, financial firms wishing to uncover fraud, police departments being able to predict crimes, to governments wanting to combat counterterrorism, NETWORK ANALYSIS is playing an increasingly useful role these days.  All this is made possible by untangling the social web and analysing social connections.  A multi-billion dollar endeavour, “Network Analysis” is now used to accurately map the spread of democracy and national security.  Read more here…..

‘For-profit’ organisations versus ‘Non-profit’ organisations - Who is efficient?

Non-profits are usually deemed to be run inefficiently by management experts and consultants.  Interestingly, this article looks at how ‘for-profit’ organizations must emulate and learn from ‘non-profit’ organizations.  Right from hiring and motivating employees to marketing.  Also the term ‘not-for-profit’ is deemed to sound better than the term ‘non-profit’.  I usually find supervising my students’ projects involving charities and non-profit organizations challenging, this article is indeed an eye-opener.  Read the article here.

The Australian grocery industry post-GFC

The two Australian supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths pursue almost identical marketing strategies. Their fresh food campaigns, price-wars and other marketing mix elements are so similar, that it is almost impossible to remember who had started it the first place.  Coles and Woolworths have reported robust growth post-GFC, mainly because consumers have become more frugal and in order to feed their growing demand for value, are prepared to shop across multiple banners and channels, are heavily reliant on price discounting and promotions. In their latest attempt, the two chains are looking at hormone-free beef and barn laid eggs as part of their product differentiation strategies, thus adding value to the consumer.  Read the article here.

Current Affairs Quiz #5

Which oil-rich country has its National Day on Thursday?  Which computer game raked in £135 million on its debut?  And which metal has hit yet another all-time high on the commodities market?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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4.3 Branding and TOK

Here’s a great online quiz that you can use with students to check their sense perception of some well known brands…

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Sweden and Singapore overtake US in competitiveness rankings

Sweden and Singapore have overtaken the United States in the latest rankings on international competitiveness published by the World Economic Forum. This BBC news interview gives the WEF’s senior economist an opportunity to outline some of the reasons.

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Prezi

During the one of the inevitable INSET sessions that marks that start of every term one of the external presenters made use of Prezi for his session.The software really caught my eye and I very much hope to use this web based presentation creator in my teaching over the coming weeks. I will upload topic based presentations once completed. The ‘Thoughts on using Prezi as a teaching tool’ is a great starting point as well as highlighting its capabilities.

Current Affairs Quiz #2

So how much does the world’s most expensive dessert cost?!  What is the latest unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy?  Why is Ferrari in the news, for the wrong reasons?  Take this week’s current affairs quiz to find out…

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Development in Ethiopia

A great TED talk here on development economics in Ethiopia:
Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world’s largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket.

Current Affairs Quiz #1

Welcome to a new academic year and a new set of current affairs quizzes for Business and Economics students…

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How do companies react to and manage crises?

In the following analysis, I have identified five multi national companies to show how they managed crisis and dealt with negative publicity.  The companies are Mattel, PepsiCo, JetBlue, The Coca Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson. 

Click here to download the article.

Pressure for higher minimum wages in Bangladesh

This BBC news video looks at demands for better pay among the three million or more workers (the majority of whom are women) who work in garment factories in Bangladesh. The country has over 4,000 textile factories and has become one of the world’s biggest exporters of clothing. But for many the jobs available offer long hours and very low pay of around $25 dollars a week - the trade unions are lobbying for average wages three times this figure. Will it threaten the competitive advantage of Bangladeshi producers looking to hold onto contracts from many western buyers?

The video is a good resource to use when teaching aspects of labour markets and globalisation in developing countries

How are companies motivating employees, in the midst of the recession?

During an economic downturn, employees want job security and companies want to stay afloat.
Companies are faced with absenteeism, de-motivated workforce, and increased low-level corporate crimes due to severe cost-cutting measures adopted by them like unpaid overtime, shrinking perks, and frozen pay besides others. Worse, some employees are leaving or considering looking for new jobs although the job market is not showing signs of a takeoff.
The solution: A win-win situation for both employees and companies, as they combat the economic crisis.
In this article, one can notice motivational methods of Herzberg in action.  Motivational methods such as job empowerment, payment by results, flexible working hours, giving more controls to employees, and consulting workers are a few that have been implemented currently by some companies to stay afloat during the economic crisis. Read the article here......

easyJet needs a new name….possibly!

Sir Stelios has told the company that it must improve its performance within 90 days or it will lose the name.

Read the article here

Enteries for a new name to be forwarded to me as soon as possible. I will compile a list a publish.

r.dolan@pgs.org.uk

US trade deficit widens to $42.3 billion in May

The U.S. trade deficit widened in May to the highest level in 18 months as a rebounding economy pushed up demand for imports of foreign-made cars, computers and clothing.

The Commerce Department says the trade deficit increased 4.8 percent to $42.3 billion, the largest imbalance since November 2008. American exports of goods and services rose 2.4 percent but this increase was outpaced by a 2.9 percent rise in imports.

American manufacturing has been a standout performer so far in this recovery, benefiting from a global economic recovery. But the concern is that export sales will be hurt by the European debt crisis, which has dampened growth prospects in Europe.

Economics Podcast Resources

I found a website that has pages of podcasts that could be useful for guided pupil learning over the holiday period or colleagues may want to download and listen to them on the beach!

Click here to be directed to the website.

Current Affairs Quiz #31

Which country has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become the world’s leading oil producer?  Which Chinese bank has won government approval for its world record breaking flotation worth at least USD22bn?  And which company makes gadgets for the likes of Dell, Sony and Apple?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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Ethiopia’s electronic market place

Coffee is a lifeline for twelve million farmers in Ethopia who are vulnerable to volatile world prices and the monopsony power of the major coffee roasting businesses. But this heart-warming report from Jonathan Dimbleby finds that a new electronic trading system is providing a superb market place for the setting of prices - connected instantaneously to the world commodities market.

Prices agreed on the Ethiopian trading floor are transmitted round the world and the farmer is guaranteed payment within 24 hours. Since the exchange was launched over $400m has been traded without a single dollar of default. Farmers are getting the price that is agreed on the open-outcry market platform. Technology as a support to the problems of real people - outstanding.

Life in North Korea - a remarkable BBC report

Sue Lloyd-Roberts has produced some remarkable reports for television over the years. Few can be as impressive as the ones available on BBC Our World and BBC Newsnight tracking her time in North Korea. She tries to gain an insight into the daily existence of people in North Korea and, despite the constant presence of government minders and security officials, she discovers private markets which for many can be the difference between a meagre life and starvation. The North Korean authorities refuse to acknowledge the existence of these markets but they are the inevitable result of the complete failure of the state planning system. She meets some North Korean defectors who are still coming to terms with the ultimate culture shock.

These video reports are remarkable and will make ideal teaching resources when discussing economic systems, living standards and markets.

Here are some links to Sue Lloyd-Roberts’ reports

Glimpses of real North Korean life behind the facade
Sampling North Korea’s version of the internet
N Korean defectors on the ultimate culture shock

USA Update

The pace and resilience of the US economic recovery has been called into question with the release of weaker than expected economic figures. There has been an increase in unemployment benefit claims for the first time in five weeks. Maybe consumer confidence is taking a battering again in the USA or is this just a blip?

Keep in mind that the labour market for all economies is a closely watched macroeconomic indicator. Poor figures on unemployment and new jobs created is a sign that the recovery in demand remains fragile. Or perhaps that the USA may be experiencing a jobless recovery - with businesses reluctant to take on extra workers for the moment.

According to the Daily Telegraph (UK)

“In the US there was a surprise 25,000 increase in jobless claims to 471,000 in the week ending May 15. The deterioration in the employment picture, coming hard on the heels of Wednesday’s drop in inflation, underlined worries that the US is exposed to a possible global double-dip recession”

Read the article here

Fiscal policies used to stabilize the Australian economy

This anlaysis shows how the Australian government has used fiscal policies to smooth out economic fluctuations and reduce its impact on consumers.  Stabilizing_the_Australian_economy_through_fiscal_policies.doc

High Street Dreams

A new series begins on BBC1 tonight that will no doubt provide some excellent material for Business Management students.

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Radio 4 Tonight - Two Development Programmes

There are two excellent programs on BBC Radio 4 this evening that are likely to be full of development and macro economics.

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Unit 4.2 - Market segmentation and targeting - video clip

Here’s an interesting 4-minute BBC video clip that can be used for teaching market segmentation and targeting (Unit 4.2).

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Theo’s Adventure Capitalists

A new series begins on BBC 2 this evening that looks ideal for the department DVD library.

Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis follows the fortunes of brave and bold British companies trying to expand in three of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets - India, Brazil and Vietnam. While Britain is still stuck in a recession, these economies are booming. There couldn’t be a better time than now for British businesses to seize these opportunities in some of the world’s fastest-expanding but risky markets - but how easy is it going to be?

Tonight Theo begins in Vietnam and it looks like a series that will be full of development and business economics.

Click here for a two minute clip of tonight’s episode.

Revision Quiz 4

A revision quiz for higher level candidates only that covers costs, revenues and profits.

Tutor2u_IB_Economics_Revision_Quizzes_2010_(4).doc

Current Affairs Quiz - 27th Apr 2010

Merger talks between which two American airlines have halted?  What is Coca Colla?  And who is the richest man in Britain?  Take this week’s CAQ to find out…

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