Blog and updates
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15 May 2018
Production and Operations: one-off production of a wedding suit
With weddings very much in the news this week, here is a video 'How to dress a royal groom', showing the one-off or job production of a military uniform - featuring the tailors who produced the...
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8 May 2018
The Biz Quiz - 8 May 2018
The Biz Quiz returns for the summer term with 10 questions on recent business stories.
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7 May 2018
Inside iPhone City
A hat tip to Jon Inge who spotted this Business Insider report on a visit to the FoxConn complex 20 miles outside downtown Zhengzhou where more than half of the world's iPhones are assembled by a...
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7 May 2018
Vanilla ice cream makers feel the heat
Scheduling production of ice cream for the UK market must be one of the biggest operational management challenges - volatile weather means you can't plan far in advance, and when temperatures rise...
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4 May 2018
Ops Management at Tesla - why workplace injuries matter
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is one of those business leaders who is frequently in the news - this morning, this is because he refused to answer financial questions from analysts on a routine 'earnings...
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3 May 2018
Sainsbury's suppliers and Porter's Five Forces
Not surprisingly, one of the responses to the news of the potential merger between Sainsbury's and Asda comes from their suppliers, who fear that it would make their life very difficult....
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2 May 2018
Confectionery market - Mondelez sales and profits up
Mondelez have just released results for the last quarter of the year which show that their sales rose 5.5% to $6.77 billion, which was higher than expected and has resulted in a rise in their share...
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30 Apr 2018
Sainsburys set for mega merger with Asda
Sainsburys is in advanced talks to acquire Asda which is owned by US retail giant Walmart. There is no doubt that a horizontal merger would attract the attention of the competition authorities...
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25 Apr 2018
The difficulties of digital marketing in 2018
Digital marketing is, by its very nature, a dynamic environment. Many businesses have come to base a huge proportion of their marketing communications on digital and social media, and it is...
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25 Apr 2018
Doing business in a customs union
As the UK's vote to leave the European Union took place after the 'new' A level specifications were written, issues such as doing business with a trading bloc or a customs union, and protectionism,...
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23 Apr 2018
Barclays boss faces penalty for 'conduct breach'
If you are looking at the impact of external, government regulation on businesses, the news that Barclays boss Jes Staley is facing a fine by UK regulators is a great example to use. This summary...
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18 Apr 2018
What happened to the winners of The Apprentice?
If, like me, you sometimes wonder whatever happens to those 'entrepreneurs' who win The Apprentice, look no further - Mail Online (which I confess I would never usually recommend to my students!!)...
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18 Apr 2018
Coffee in the news - discrimination, recycling and market trends
Starbucks is hitting the headlines today, with the announcement that they will close more than 8,000 company-owned branches in the US for an afternoon next month to carry out "racial bias"...
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17 Apr 2018
How BMWs are made
A sensational short video from Business Insider which visits a BMW plant in the USA that makes 1,400 vehicles a day. Over 500 robots and 450 employees work together to produce one SUV.
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13 Apr 2018
EU proposals to protect suppliers from powerful buyers, in food supply chains
Yesterday, Brussels proposed a crackdown on powerful food buyers that force predatory terms on small suppliers. As reported on AgriLand, a news portal for Irish farming industry, the objective is...
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6 Apr 2018
The sugar tax and minimum pricing for alcohol: how are businesses affected by government policy?
This important aspect of External Influences comes into sharp focus this week, as the new Sugar Tax comes into force on April 6th, and Scotland introduces a minimum price for alcohol of 50p per...
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5 Apr 2018
A Level & GCSE Business Exam Board Market Shares for 2017
Here is our analysis of the DfE data which shows the number of candidates entered for A Level and GCSE Business in England in summer 2017 and the resulting exam board market share.
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4 Apr 2018
The Secret Leaders Podcast
Here is a terrific enrichment resource from Dan Murray and Rich Martell - two of the UK's most dynamic web entrepreneurs. Their podcast series has a growing collection of interviews with business...
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3 Apr 2018
Sears - The Slow Decline of a Retail Giant
Here is a superb video on the decline of a retail giant. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, is struggling to stay afloat.
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3 Apr 2018
Trade Wars
After the US imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, it was inevitable that China would retaliate fast. They have introduced duties of up to 25% on 128 American imports worth $3bn...
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