Uber and the Unions - Are Drivers Employees?
A UK trade union is taking legal action against Uber claiming that Uber's drivers in the UK are not provided with key employment protection, including the payment of minimum wages and health &...
Getting to grips with Marketing Strategy for the new specs
The new A level specifications have taken the opportunity to update the range of promotional activities in the marketing mix, and to highlight the use of social media, which means that the range of...
Starbucks Failed $100m Takeover - Was It Really a Failure?
Three years ago, back in the summer of 2012, Starbucks announced a takeover of a small bakery chain based in San Francisco - La Boulange.
Niche v Mass Market: UK Burger Wars
Is there a layer missing in a Big Mac? No, not another layer of cheese or salad. A layer of authenticity or customisation that helps differentiate the burger product, adding more value for the...
On average each household in the UK spends £1,200 each year on energy. For the poorest households energy costs are around 10% of total spending. So it might come as an unpleasant surprise for...
Financial Motivation: Tesco's Turnaround Bonus
How important are financial methods of motivation when it comes to encouraging staff to work together to achieve strategic and organisational change?Dave Lewis, the CEO of Tesco, believes that they...
The recent strike on the London Underground perhaps inevitably caused a spike in market demand for taxis. The tubes were closed, the busses full (including the Thames river boats too). Hundreds of...
Apple - Is Tim Cook's Span of Control Getting Too Wide?
How wide should a CEO's span of control be? How many senior managers should report directly to Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple. This recent article suggests that Tim's span of control is growing and...
If your business plan requires operations to supply up to 100 million units for an important product launch, then effective capacity management is pretty vital.That's the case for Apple which is...
Microsoft and Porter's Generic Strategies: Failed Takeover Leads to Focus, Focus, Focus
What a fantastic example to help illustrate Porter's generic strategies in action. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has written to Microsoft staff to explain the strategic rationale behind a decision...
New Leadership Skills Required at Barclays
After three years at the helm, Antony Jenkins has been fired as CEO of Barclays. The Board have decided it's time for a change having disagreed with Jenkins' strategy, particularly the pace of...
Chinese firm to punish unplanned pregnancies
In most Western countries, asking a woman in a job interview if she plans to get pregnant in the near future is a big no-no with legal ramifications. Maternity leave differs from country to country...
Introducing students to Productivity
Tom White posted a link to a BBC video about the Productivity Puzzle last week, and here is another.
Drone Rangers - The Technology & Business of Drones
Amazon hit the headlines recently with this suggestion that they could use drones to deliver parcels under the Amazon Prime scheme. That might have seemed a little far-fetched (even if it was...
PESTLE - How Businesses Can Handle Political Risks
The PESTLE model is a great way to assess changes in the external environment. The "P" in PESTLE stands for Political and is all about the potential political risks that businesses need to consider.
What Does $18bn of Profit Look Like?
This short video from the BBC is a great way to illustrate the scale of the profits made by Apple - currently the world's most profitable business.
Delayering at the BBC
A topical and excellent example of the concept of delayering in the news this week as the BBC announced substantial job losses as part of a strategy of cost control aimed at also improving the...
The Challenge of Linear - Bellwork
Bellwork is simply an activity that students complete as soon as they walk into the class before the ‘bell’ actually rings for the lesson. I used to call it the early bird activity.
If you have been at our recent New to Edexcel Business CPD course, you will know that we have used the example of Magnum's new Pink and Black ice cream campaign to highlight teaching the Social...
The Challenge of Linear
The move to linear is the biggest shake-up of A Levels in more than a decade. The complete move from a modular approach to end of course examinations in Business Studies presents a huge challenge...