tutor2u Business Studies Blog

ResearchBuster: Acquisitions

2012-02-10T20:38:07+00:00

Our ResearchBuster blog posts are designed to help students identify and integrate examples of business strategy for their synoptic essays and exams. This ResearchBuster look at some of the most significant examples of takeovers / acquisitions in recent years… (updated 10 Feb 2012 with 14 new entries)

BUSS4 Research Theme - Merger and Takeover Egg Heads

2012-02-10T16:39:18+00:00

I often find that one of the key challenges with the research theme is finding ways to engage the students with the material in lessons and keeping them motivated and interested in the theme until the Summer. With this in mind, I will be blogging about some strategies that I have successfully used in the past to engage the students and applying them to the new theme, Mergers and Takeovers.

Pricing and the consumer - a question of haggling?

2012-02-10T15:23:47+00:00

I got into trouble with Mrs T2U last week when I criticised her for accepting the first price offered by a supplier of bespoke curtains. “We’ve been ripped off!” I suggested, indicating that a door-to-door salesman is there to close the sale and will always accept a lower offer before signing the customer. A period of silence from Mrs T2U ensued… I’m sure the curtains will be lovely (honest), but was I right to suggest that consumers should haggle? Do you feel comfortable...

Product innovation - extending the humble cupcake

2012-02-10T12:36:02+00:00

It is often said that if you want to find the next “big thing” in consumer trends, then take a flight over to North America to see what is popular. Cupcakes are one such phenomenon - their popularity has spread quickly over here to the UK. So, could this slightly unusual product extension idea for cupcakes take off here too?

Video resource: Do bonuses work as an incentive for better performance?

2012-02-10T12:22:55+00:00

A timely short video here from the BBC looks at the way that a simple activity-related bonus improves productivity in a small drilling business. Employees and management seem happy at D-Drill. But, can the use of much larger-scale bonuses in financial services be justified in the same way? A great starting point for discussion with students…

The history of Apple’s product innovation - in 30 seconds

2012-02-10T12:01:04+00:00

Short and sweet - this 30 second video that showcases the progression of Apple’s product portfolio. A journey that takes us from the very first Apple prototype computer through to the iPad. Great for illustrating the process of product innovation. You can always pause the video (if you’re quick) to look at the individual products.

Starter activity - Contingency Planning (Japanese Style)

2012-02-09T21:58:24+00:00

When it comes to contingency planning, no-one does it better than Japan. And here are two humorous videos that demonstrate the extents to which you can go to prepare for risky events…

The Biz Quiz - 9 February 2012

2012-02-09T11:36:43+00:00

The 9 February 2012 edition of The Biz Quiz is now available. Good luck everyone! Launch the Biz Quiz - 9 February 2012 Download printable version (pdf)

BTEC First in Business - New 2012 Specification CPD Course

2012-02-08T14:16:33+00:00

A diary date here for all colleagues teaching the new BTEC First in Business specification - Friday 15 June 2012. tutor2u is running a special CPD course at the amazing Drayton Manor Theme Park focused on the new requirements for the 2012 specification (for first teaching from September 2012). We’ll look at the new methods of assessment and provide guidance on resourcing and organising the other new units too. We’ll also have some guest speakers from Drayton Manor - a great...

Facebook vs the world at night!

2012-02-08T01:54:19+00:00

Lots of great posts on the upcoming Facebook IPO lately, including Jim’s post on what Facebook might do with the cash that it raises. But these graphics show what is really missing from the Facebook empire, and if they can crack that then $100 billion will probably look cheap!

Takeovers - the search for cost synergies

2012-02-07T20:16:54+00:00

Students researching the topic of takeovers and mergers will come across several unfamiliar terms. One of the most important for them to understand is “synergy” and we’ll write in more detail in subsequent blog entries about what these are. However, here is a useful piece of research which indicates the potential and significance of the most common kind of synergy - “cost synergies”.

A light-hearted look at induction training

2012-02-06T21:47:01+00:00

I’m always on the look out for neat little video clips I can use to bring ideas and concepts to life. I’ve just seen the latest McDonald’s TV ad for the first time and it looks a great way of getting across the concept of induction training.

Happiness in the workplace still proving elusive

2012-02-06T17:21:26+00:00

60 years ago we worked 30% longer and took half as many holidays. For most, pay was poor. Discrimination in the workplace was widespread, and permitted by law. Work was often hard, and for working class men it was often dangerous too. So it’s a sobering thought to think that several decades later, measures of anxiety in the workplace have risen, to the point that stress has replaced back pain as the most common cause of long-term sick leave, according to The...

Which is better? Aldi or Lidl? Compare and contrast these (and others) using ‘Store Wars’

2012-02-06T16:37:22+00:00

I’ve only just stumbled on this excellent resource which pits Aldi against Lidl - and takes a snapshot of the differences in customers’ opinions. In this example, Lidl won 60/40. This is a fun few minutes suitable for a starter activity, with over twenty other examples to choose from.

The story of a failed takeover - Fred Goodwin, RBS & ABN-Amro

2012-02-06T11:11:40+00:00

The catastrophic takeover by RBS (as part of a consortium with Banco Santander and Fortis) of Dutch banking group ABN-Amro has become a defining case study of how to mess up a deal. Just about everything that can go wrong with a takeover did go wrong.

Private equity buyouts - Sunday Times supplement

2012-02-06T05:30:52+00:00

Private Equity hasn’t really featured very strongly in the Business Studies syllabus before, but may come more to the fore this year in the study of mergers and takeovers. A supplement in yesterday’s Sunday Times which examines ‘private equity backed firms with the fastest growing profits’ is worth getting hold of, as it gives some help on the role of private equity in the M&A market.

HOD Opportunity - Business Studies & Economics at City of London Freemen’s (Surrey)

2012-02-05T20:32:12+00:00

Superb HOD opportunities like this don;t come around very often. Good luck to everyone who applies for this role to join the lovely team at COLF.

Takeovers in the UK - the long-term trend

2012-02-05T15:23:44+00:00

I’ve been delving into the datasets on the ONS site to pick up some evidence about the scale of takeovers and mergers involving UK businesses. Having worked in M&A during the 1990’s and early 2000’s, I remember the various short-term peaks and troughs of activity that the takeover market seemed to go through. However, I wanted to get a better sense of longer-term trends. Here’s what I found.

Buying-in to the Facebook culture

2012-02-05T08:05:34+00:00

Want to buy shares in Facebook? The desire to buy-in to a business which has had such a revolutionary effect on communications will surely be huge. It almost feels like the emotional decision that football fans make when they buy shares in their beloved club. But the canny investor will analyse what they are investing in: is this a business decision in which they can examine the ratios and then the founder’s or directors’ mission statement, in order to assess their chances of gaining a suitable...

Glenstrata - Glencore proposes merger with Xstrata

2012-02-03T09:48:55+00:00

Yesterday morning’s business news has been dominated by the proposed merger of Glencore and Xstrata. Glencore’s 34% holding of Xstrata shares had made a third party approach for Xstrata very difficult if not impossible.

Mini’s PR backfires badly in central Europe

2012-02-03T05:44:30+00:00

No doubt it seemed a jolly good idea at the time. Someone in Sassenbach, the advertising agency that handles the BMW Mini account spotted an oppportunity; the German meteorology institute offers ‘Adopt a Vortex’, the chance to name, or ‘sponsor’, weather systems and encourages people to follow the path of the weather on meteorological websites. So they decided to name a weather system ‘Cooper’, and according to the BBC report they thought that naming the front after the open-air vehicle was a...

Cadbury’s Law - Should UK Firms be Protected from Takeover?

2012-02-02T19:56:15+00:00

Back in 2010, the effect of the Kraft takeover of Cadbury’s brought business into the realms of politics as the unhappiness felt by some stakeholders spilled directly into the UK’s General Election. One proposed response from the Labour Party was the so-called Cadbury’s Law, whereby new legislation would attempt to protect UK firms from takeover by foreign companies. Was this a good idea?

Top Totty Beer - Warning the image may demean women (or not as the case may be.

2012-02-02T16:09:34+00:00

A small Staffordshire brewery may have a boost to its sales of one of its beers after a Labour MP Kate Green called for, and got a ban on sales of Slater’s Top Totty.

The Biz Quiz - 2 February 2012

2012-02-02T11:08:22+00:00

Another 10 questions on the business news here…quite easy this week; your quizmaster expects you to get at least 7 out of ten Launch The Biz Quiz - 2 February 2012 Download printable version

PEST - IAG and BMI acquisition

2012-02-01T20:07:58+00:00

International Airlines Group or BA and Iberia are trying to acquire BMI from Lufthansa. A move which would allow IAG would gain c. 56 additional take-off and landing slots at Heathrow. Lufthansa had bought up most of BMI’s shares in 2008 but has failed to prevent the group losing money.

The 7p Valentines Day Card

2012-02-01T16:43:55+00:00

With just a couple of weeks until Valentine’s Day, many shops are going into overdrive with the displays of flowers, hearts, chocolates etc… It’s a lucrative time of year to charge top prices for certain products that might have a very inelastic PED (depending on how late you leave it to purchase!) and many firms see this as a good opportunity for business - I know plenty of Young Enterprise teams in schools all over the country who see it this way as well.

Mastering the art of merger integration

2012-02-01T14:45:23+00:00

As the BUSS4 research topic reaches the students it is useful to be able to steer them towards something to get the process started. Finding something they can do alongside other work should help to motivate them as they feel their way into the topic.

BUSS2 Revision Workshops 2012 - Programme Outline

2012-02-01T14:09:15+00:00

The detailed programme for our AQA BUSS2 revision workshops in March & April 2012 is now available. Details below. Bookings for these workshops can be made here. We’re visiting Portsmouth, Hull, London (Fulham), Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and then finishing off with a visit to the Olympic area at London Stratford City.

Integration, integration, integration

2012-02-01T11:38:35+00:00

HP is an example of a firm which is struggling to integrate acquisitions, and the perils of diversification.

BUSS4 Revision Workshops 2012 - Programme Outline

2012-02-01T11:01:50+00:00

The session-by-session programme for our AQA BUSS4 revision workshops in March & April 2012 is now available. Details below. Bookings for these workshops can be made here. We’re visiting Portsmouth, Hull, London (Fulham), Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and then finishing off with a visit to the Olympic area at London Stratford City.