Cashless payments greater than cash itself

The future is here… at last!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32778196

 

McDonald's and employees clash

Employees of the world’s number one fast food restaurant aren’t happy with their ‘McJob’ in terms of pay:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32822464

 

Advanced Higher Business Management

Next session our school are hoping to offer AH Business Management for the first time in a while. Particularly interested in the Business Current Issues side of the Advanced Higher as at present there are many interesting stories relating to business which will capture student’s imagination. The most obvious ones are the rise of the BRIC countries, the continuing EU economic crisis as exemplified by Greece, and of course the whole ‘Brexit’ scenario, where the UK may or may not leave the EU. A referendum on the EU was in the Conservative manifesto, so it will be extremely likely this will take place either in 2016 or in 2017.

 

Other issues we will have to look at will also be the changes in technology and the impact new technologies could have on our everyday lives. Simple ideas like paying for goods and services by using your mobile will revolutionise how we shop. But as with anything, it will have an impact on people and jobs.

 

The living wage is another issue which has become important to many. And finally, it will be interesting to see how the Arctic Oil Drilling campaign will unfold, with consequences for our planet.

 

Looking forward to it as much as the pupils!

Google HQ to be built by 'crabots'

Robots to build Google’s new HQ.

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1479509/robot-cranes-called-crabots-to-build-google-hq

 

Shell to drill in the Arctic

Expect the fallout from environmental protesters to continue for years as the US Government has given Shell the green light to drill for oil in the Arctic. What next?

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1482301/shell-given-go-ahead-for-arctic-oil-drilling

 

Motivation

A follow up piece to the character assassination of former England manager Fabio Capello. In the comments section he receives a lot of support from England fans who lay the blame at the poor attitude and motivation of England’s senior players. How do you motivate a player who earns £300,000 a week?

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2664589/Fabio-Capello-lacked-warmth-rigid-I-fear-Russia-struggle-against-Belgium-changed-approach.html

 

The article by Rio Ferdinand slates Capello, yet as mentioned, the fans in the comments defend Capello’s stunning CV and criticise the International records of players like Rooney, Terry and Ferdinand himself.

 

What would motivational theories such as Taylor, Maslow, McGregor, Herzberg, or Mayo make of all this? How do you motivate such wealthy players who possibly do not want to risk injury which would affect their club careers? If you give in to all their demands you will be viewed as weak, yet if you are too strict and inflexible you may have a player mutiny on your hands, something the Netherlands have experienced in several International Championships.

 

Perhaps it is all in selection? Choose team players and not players who are in it for themselves?

 

Kraft and Heinz to Merge

A rumoured $40 billion merger brokered by Warren Buffet and an event which will create the World’s 3^rd largest food and drink company… the breathtaking merger of Kraft and Heinz!

 

Kraft bought UK chocolate giant Cadbury and also own such brands as Kenco coffee. But to merge with a brand as famous as Heinz is really taking things to a whole new level:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32050266

 

Management Styles

Interesting football examples here: Capello (Autocratic) vs Hodgson (Laissez-Faire or Democratic)?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32056733

 

However, it can be said that both styles underachieved in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Capello did emerge from his group before bowing out to Germany.

 

Football has thrown up some excellent examples of Autocratic managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and the new Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat. Laissez-Faire approach seems to generate few successes in sports, perhaps down to the pressures and rigour of practice/training required.

 

I wonder what style Dave Brailsford (Team GB Cycling supreme) or Sir Clive Woodward (England’s Rugby World Cup winning boss) would be regarded as?

 

Alibaba beat Amazon to the Air

Most people will have seen the excellent demo video for Amazon Prime Air. It was thought to still be fanciful and a few years off. Well, welcome to the future! Alibaba, the biggest internet retailer in China, has already begun 3 day trials in Beijing and its surrounding environs. Aside from the capital, they are also trailing in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The flights will only deliver to places within an hour of these mega cities, but since these population centres are so massive, it is an incredibly large market that Alibaba is promising to deliver to.

 

Will it be successful? How will they cope with all the teething problems of how to deliver into an urban area? How do you deliver to a high block of flats with no garden? How do you prevent people stealing deliveries, or damaging the drones in midair?

 

Do delivery drones present a wider security risk?

 

All of these questions may be answered or not. But it does seem the first steps into how we shop in the future has already spread its wings.

 

Read more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31129804

 

Google building driverless cars in Detroit

Perhaps the Motor City is making a well deserved comeback? Google are apparently already in the process of building driverless cars in Detroit:

 

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/26839/20150115/google-already-building-self-driving-cars-in-detroit.htm

 

Google: Driverless cars on the road by 2020

Another big step by Google: they now plan to have test cars on the public roads by 2020. Naturally, such cars will be driverless.

 

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/27236/20150119/google-pushing-for-driverless-cars-in-the-market-by-2020.htm

 

Google Translate... in real time?

It sounds like the realm of science fiction, but Google claim that their Translate tool can now be used in real time:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30812277

 

I will download the app when I get home and trial it to see if it is really as good as it seems. The possibilities are endless.

World's Biggest Cargo Ship

The amazing information on The Globe, currently the world’s biggest cargo ship:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30696685

 

The article also points to around 22,500 tonnage being the maximum ships can carry, not down to anything other than the ability of modern ports to accommodate them.

Tesco closing stores

Troubled Tesco have announced they are going to close 43 stores:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30712762