Category
In the News
Who makes key parts of the iPhone?
This article contains a fantastic graphic on how the iPhone is a great example of the process of globalisation, with components from a variety of companies with, surprisingly, some made by...
Employee benefits - grow-your-own healthcare
How often do you hear a CEO saying that 'our most important asset is our people'? If that is the case, then keeping those people in good health is critical to the success of the business, which...
Will Roy's Rolls come a cropper?
Knead a perfect soap case study for the business classroom? Today's breaking news fits the bill! Analyse two ways in which Roy's Rolls could respond to the increase in competition.
IKEA founder Kamprad passes away
Hard to think of a better example of strong organisational culture that is formed and shaped by the founder. Ingvar Kamprad has died today.
Going nuts for Nutella
French consumers are showing what must be almost infinitely elastic price elasticity of demand for Nutella. Supermarket Intermarche have discounted the price by 70%, from 4.50 euros a jar to 1.40...
Pets at Home shuts Barkers stores
This market development strategy by Pets at Home didn't work as well as planned. Pets at Home is closing its upmarket (premium) dogs-only grooming and accessories chain - Barkers. Presumably...
"We're Man United - we're top of the league"
If you follow football, you may think I have that wrong - at the time of writing, Manchester United are actually second in the Premier League, a full 12 points behind noisy neighbours Manchester...
Netflix Finishes 2017 With a Record Profit
A staggering chart highlighting the surge in Netflix profits over the last twelve months. Having generated $11.7 billion in revenue, Netflix posted a record profit of $559 million in the last...
Delayering at Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's have announced that they are changing the way they manage their stores across the UK and scrapping some management posts - and that 'thousands' of employees may be affected as a result.
Ansoff: Inside Amazon's Store of the Future
Here is a solid example of Ansoff's Matrix. Amazon has opened a supermarket in Seattle with no checkouts although that hasn't prevented the obligatory queues! For the record, the new Amazon Go...
Lessons from the collapse of Carillion
What can we read into the collapse of Carillion? It is clearly a story with many, many different aspects; here are a few thoughts about where it touches the syllabus for our Business...
Bag tax extends to small shops
We all know that, when we're shopping, we have to pay 5p if we need a carrier bag. But have you spotted that you don't pay that charge if you are in a small business with less than 250 employees?
The dangers of short-term strategy
There is a brilliant article in the FT about the long-term disadvantages that can accrue from setting strategy for short-term benefit. (If you don't have access to articles from the FT, you can get...
Falling car sales
The fall in sales of new cars, following six years of sales growth, is widely reported today. This BBC article which offers six charts illustrating possible reasons for the decline is useful for...
Digital disrupters using AI
If you have access to FT for Schools, this collection of articles about the impact of Artificial Intelligence in real workplaces is worth a look.
Pret doubles the discount for using reusable cups
Working on the waste hierarchy principle that reducing trumps recycling, Pret has boosted their CSR credibility by doubling the discount given to customers who bring reusable cups into their...
New approach to advertising: 'Please don't buy our product'
You would think that a tobacco manufacturer would find the UK government's Tobacco Control Plan, aimed at cutting smoking rates from 15.5% to 12% of the population by 2022, and at paving the way to...
Location, location, location in Birmingham
Why is Birmingham so pleased to be chosen as host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games? Because of the massive boost it can bring for local businesses, and over a long term way beyond the games...
Years it took products to reach 50 million users
A festive hat tip to Phil Hensman for spotting this tremendous graphic which highlights creative destruction and the power of network effects in driving technology adoption in the digital age. It...
HRM: Travelodge and their Overseas Workers in the UK
What a wonderful example of human resource management! TravelodgeUK has written to its EU employees in their own languages to say how much they value their contribution and also guarantee a refund...