Business Studies

Interactive Opportunity Cost

2009-11-21T14:16:00Z

This a cool activity to use when teaching opportunity cost.

I walk around the room with two different types of sweets. I usually use maltesers and lollies. As long as there is a choice involved it doesn’t really matter.

I tell each student they can have one sweet and one only, forcing them to make a choice. Once they all have their sweet I let them eat it.

After this little treat, I give them a post it note each. I ask them to write on the post it note all the good things or benefits of that sweet. So, for maltesers they write down thngs like ‘chocolate’, ‘honeycombe centre’, ‘the crunch’ etc etc.

I then have a picture of each sweet on my interactive whiteboard and then they come up and stick their note on the relevant picture.

I then go through the post it notes explaining what they have missed out on. Bingo. Opportunity cost.

Yes, there is a chance that they will all take the same sweet. But, its never happened to me.

I then develop the concept from there.

Job done..........

Starter Activity - Business Wipeout (1)

2009-11-21T07:49:00Z

Here is an updated version of our popular Business Wipeout challenge…

Download Business Wipeout Challenge 1 (right click - save as a PowerPoint 1997-2003 Show) - the file size is approximately 4MB

This version of Wipeout now contains four quizzes:

- Which 10 of these made it to the top 10 Superbrands in 2009/10 for UK consumers?
- Which of these businesses operates as a franchisor?
- Who has appeared as a contestant on The Apprentice in the UK?
- Which of the these businesses are private, not publicly quoted businesses?

How to play:
The challenge is to identify the correct answers on the board and earn points - 10 points for each correct answer.

Using any method you wish determine which team goes first.

Team 1 has first go at a Wipeout board.

The team chooses the first answer that they think is correct (from the question posed at the bottom of the screen.) The games master then clicks on the teams answer. If they are correct they will get a ‘star’ symbol.

With a correct answer under their belt, they can choose to pick another answer and continue until they feel they cannot identify anymore correct answers, at which point they may choose to stick on their current point score.

The risk for students is in choosing an incorrect answer - they will get the “W” wipeout symbol and any score achieved is completely wiped out.

Will the students play it safe or go for the maximum score and risk being wiped out?

You can choose to allow the next team to take on the remaining entries on a board - even once a wipeout has happened - as a way of extending the quiz and including more students.

Each quiz has a slightly different number of correct answers, and they are in different positions too.

Technical Point - The download file is a PowerPoint Slideshow, which will run when clicked, but is not editable.

Bankers get their come-uppance - shame

2009-11-21T07:31:00Z

A great example of viral marketing from Strongbow Cider…

The ad agency for Strongbow took time out during the filming of their popular TV advert to film this special online version - which wouldn’t have been allowed to be broadcast on TV due to the mildly-strong language. Watching it certainly makes me feel better about the Credit Crunch:

I’m told by someone who was there for the filming (two days on a windy hill near Halifax) that some other versions were filmed too - perhaps those will be released later

The Biz Quiz - 20 November 2009

2009-11-20T07:03:00Z

The latest version of the Biz Quiz is now available

Launch interactive version of the Biz Quiz

Download printable version (pdf)

Download VLE Import file

3 - 2 - 1 Lesson Lift Off!

2009-11-19T21:00:00Z

Just put this on TES and thought I would share it with everyone. I did it today with my Year 10’s.

3 2 1 Lesson Lift Off is a great bellwork activity to get the students working as soon as they walk through the door…

I have a picture of a cool space rocket on my IWB.

Next to it I have something along the lines of:

3 Methods of collecting primary research

2 Benefits of primary research

1 Limitation of primary research

This is also an excellent activity for differentiation as all students should be able to get at least 1 of the 6 points.

Great for all year groups this one.

With my A2 students I did.

3 Financial Efficiency ratios (with formula’s)

2 Liquidity Ratios (with formula’s)

1 way of improving a firms liquidity position

Give it a go.

What’s behind the BA and Iberia Merger?

2009-11-19T16:32:00Z

There are lots of resources available (and a video clip to follow) for an interesting business merger case study. What factors have encouraged BA and Iberia to merge? What will it mean for the firm and for its customers?

Both firms have had a miserable time over the last few years and stacked up heavy losses. And these two firms are not alone – the International Air Transport Association, an industry body, estimates that total losses for the world’s airlines this year will be some $11 billion. The credit crunch has hammered ticket sales (especially of premium priced Business class tickets) and fuel has been expensive. By agreeing to join together the two firms will join the trend for big European airlines to grow through mergers.

The first motivation is probably cost savings: the pair reckon that by the fifth year the new group will save some €400m annually by cutting overlapping routes, and by combining maintenance, office functions and business-class lounges. The pair may also have more muscle when it comes to negotiations to buy new planes from Boeing and Airbus. You would group these ideas together under the heading of economies of scale.

What problems lie ahead? According to reports, Iberia’s cabin crew have just finished one round of strikes and are promising more in a dispute over changes to their jobs. BA’s attempts to cut cabin crew and freeze pay could also result in strikes over Christmas. Ground staff and pilots are equally willing to use industrial action to get their way.

I also suspect that the attempt to keep two separate brands alive, with separate corporate operations could eat into some of the advantages of the merger – and even prove to be a potential diseconomy of scale.

Watch out for still more mergers in the years ahead in this troubled industry. It has plenty in common with the car business: over capacity, falling sales, high costs and environmental hassles. Politics has a big part to play too.

See an accompanying BBC video clip

HR Professionals stock up on free pens, and debate their future

2009-11-19T09:58:00Z

Today is the final day of this year’s annual HR Conference and general knees-up, held for the first time in Manchester, having relocated there from its former home in Harrogate.

The CIPD Conference is the opportunity for HR professionals to keep in touch with current developments and trends in HR best practice as well as stock up on free pens, paper-clip dispensers and other marketing freebies.

So what’s been exercising the minds of the nation’s HR Managers this week?

Speakers from the widest possible spectrum of international organisations (including Royal Bank of Scotland, Starbucks, McDonalds, Oxfam, Marks and Spencer, Microsoft and British Airways) have been covering 10 key streams of subjects, deliberately focused on the 10 key areas of the recently developed HR Profession Map (note to self: must finish off the last couple of subjects on this for the esteemed readers of tutor2u)

Here’s a list of some of the most popular seminar sessions, which should give you a good impression as to the issues which are uppermost in the minds of today’s senior HR Professionals:

Developing Meaningful Partnerships with Unions
Addressing Dysfunctional Leadership Behaviours
Getting the Outcomes You Want from the Conversations You Don’t
Developing Your Talent Strategy
Demonstrating How Performance Management Drives Organisational Improvement
Turning Appraisal into a Vital Management Tool
The Death of Performance Related Pay and the Bonus Culture?
Harnessing the Power of Social Media in the Workplace
Using HR Metrics to Demonstrate Improved Efficiency

For further information on the CIPD Conference, here are a few links:

CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009 website

Jackie Orme speech to the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition Manchester, 17 November 2009

HR Case Studies: HR once more questions its future

Starter Activity - 15 Word Challenge

2009-11-18T21:21:00Z

Ask any pupil to read something, chances are that when they do they do so passively, thinking about what time the lesson finishes or what tonights bush tucker trial will be. Will they read it properly or critically?

I saw this activity done whilst observing another teacher and I did it today with great results…

I gave the students an article on flexible working at BT lifted from a textbook...edge of your seat stuff it was..I knew they wouldnt be able to contain their excitement when they read the text.

When I gave them the article, I asked them to choose what they thought were the most important 15 words (I chose 15 as the article contained around what I would have considered 20 - 25 key words). I then told them they would have to justify their choices to the rest of the class. This then presented the students with a dilemma. They would need to make choices about which words they thought were the most important and then justify them (I’m sure they call this evaluation).

When they were done, we brought the key words together on the board with the students justifying their choices.

Did they enjoy it? It didn’t really matter. They engaged with the text, did some thinking, did alot of talking and did some justifying. Not bad at all.

This would also work well by putting the students into pairs after they have each read the text and then coming up with a joint set of words. You could even go pairs to four.

Not sure about anyone else, but I always detest giving students stuff to read in lessons. I just know whats going on when they read it. This activity (along with Beat the Teacher) goes someway to ensuring that at least they need to think whilst they do it.

Enjoy.........

BOGOF becomes BOGOFL (or BNFNT)

2009-11-18T17:23:00Z

BOGOFL hasn’t quite got the same ring to it has it - but it’s a development that is being used in the latest round of supermarket wars.

BOGOFL stands for “Buy One Get One Free Later”, and involves the customer receiving a voucher at the till which entitles them to a second product free at a later date. It is also referred to as BNFNT (Buy Now Free Next Time)

The idea was first announced by Tesco in October as a response to criticism that BOGOF offers created waste as many of the foodstuffs were going off before customers could use the free product. However, today Tesco’s arch rival Sainsburys, which has seen some positive signs lately, were able to implement the idea before Tesco and launched the offer on two products.

The first two products to be promoted in this way are Nappies and Baguettes - exactly the type of products that Sainsbury’s claims that customers want the delayed offer. Nappies because they are bulky which makes them difficult to carry and store if you have to take two packs, and baguettes because few people would need a second baguette on the same day.

However, some people are a little cynical about the BOGOFL ploy. Firstly, the customer must remember to bring the voucher back into store within the time the voucher is valid - so how many will get lost or forgotten. The second reason is that supermarkets are using it as a method of ensuring that customers return - something that doesn’t hold true for the traditional BOGOF.

There is of course another business studies slant on this story. Tesco’s idea would be classed as an innovation - but did they make a mistake in announcing it too early? Have they handed a major rival a competitive advantage?

Advertising Coming To A Windows 7 Desktop Near You

2009-11-18T11:39:00Z

In an interesting move, Microsoft has announced the launch of a pilot program that involves selling advertising space on Windows 7 desktops.

A number of high profile brands, including Coca-Cola and Porsche, are participating in the pilot scheme. Advertising will appear in the Windows 7 interface itself as well as add-ons to the Internet Explorer browser, according to Microsoft. There will also be downloadable Windows 7 Themes designed by the brands.

Why are Microsoft making such a move, and will it be effective?

There are two main reasons behind the move, according to industry analysts. Firstly, Microsoft has been hit by the decline in PC sales worldwide and the increase in netbook sales, which provide a lower profit margin. In the latest quarterly results Microsoft’s revenue was down 14%. The second reason is that the success of Windows 7 is crucial for Microsoft, given the marketing disaster that was Vista, and as such they need to squeeze every last drop of revenue out of the Windows 7 operating system.

How are consumer’s likely to react to this news. Many are likely to be unimpressed. One blog entry has already said what many will be thinking: “If I pay for a product I expect it to be advert free. I will be putting of Windows 7 for as long as I can and hopefully this will meet with such a negative response, Microsoft will be forced to drop it.”

On the other hand, Microsoft is keen to stress that this is an “opt-in” process. Users will choose to download the themes from the Windows 7 Personalisation Gallery. That being the case, though, questions have to be raised about how cost-effective it will be in terms of advertising reach. The answer to that lies in how much Microsoft charge - something that they are not keen to disclose.

Starter Video Clip for Motivation

2009-11-17T21:00:00Z

This is an amazing, amazing clip to introduce the topic of motivation....

I plan to show it to the students and ask them to think of the topic we are about to learn about.

Good for all age groups, especially sixth form, where you could ask them to note down the films/ characters on show.

God bless youtube...what did I do before you entered my life.............

A tale of two bakers

2009-11-16T20:38:01Z

Tom White’s excellent piece on the rapid growth and success of Greggs could be used to compare and contrast with a piece of bad news for those of us here in Yorkshire used to getting our lunchtime nibbles from Ainsley’s…

Around 300 jobs are now at risk after 29-store Yorkshire bakery chain Ainsleys went into administration last week. Ainsleys management blamed rising ingredient prices, energy costs and “severe competition” on the High Street (there’s the neat link to Greggs). To that list, management might have added (in my experience of shopping there for the last 20 years):

- Grumpy customer service
- High prices and poor value for money
- A boring product range
- Dreadful soup
- Lack of innovation

Ainsleys is supplied by its own bakery in the Sheepscar area of Leeds, and employs 263 full and part-time workers and a further 30 temporary staff. Ainsleys’ announcement comes less than three weeks after Greggs revealed plans to open 60 new branches in Yorkshire as part of a major nationwide expansion programme. Perhaps Greggs are the obvious buyers for Ainsley’s outlets, though there would have to be some rationalisation, as several are right next to each other.

A bit more background on the Ainsley’s business failure here

Emerging markets drive demand for oil

2009-11-16T20:26:00Z

A neat graphic on The Economist website this week helps illustrate the rapid economic growth of emerging markets such as India & China. It breaks down the historical demand for oil from the key economies, highlighting the changes between 1980 and the latest forecasts for 2030 by the International Energy Agency. The oil market is a good example to use when illustrating the dynamics of changing supply and demand on market prices. And there is a good discussion to have with students about why an emerging economy such as China, Malaysia or India would experience such a significant increase in demand for oil (rapid industrialisation; wider car ownership etc)

Beating the import threat - luxury furniture

2009-11-16T17:25:00Z

I came across this super short case study in the FT (Oct 09) which is a great example to use to illustrate one strategy of dealing with cheap imports....

The UK furniture industry has suffered terribly in the last couple of decades from import penetration achieved by low-cost producers in countries like Poland and China. Much of the UK furniture industry has been wiped out.

But this business - Ben Dawson Furniture - is fighting on by focusing on premium segments of the market, where customers prefer a high-quality bespoke furniture solution.

The Biz Quiz - 13 November 2009

2009-11-15T16:52:00Z

Here is this weel’s edition of The Biz Quiz

Launch interactive version of The Biz Quiz - 13 November 2009

Download printable handout version

Download SCORM-VLE import file