China and Pollution

Here is an NY Times article on the effect of pollution on kids in China’s megacities.

 

www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/world/asia/pollution-is-radically-changing-childhood-in-chinas-cities.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimesworld&_r=0

 

Quiz: Bible or Bard?

Here is a fun quiz about famous quotations. You have to work out whether the author of the said quotations is from the Bible or Shakespeare. When I did it I scored 16, which I thought wasn’t too bad. See if you can beat me.

 

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/04/bible-or-bard/

 

Avoiding Stress

An interesting article on how to avoid stress in the workplace and life.

 

http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/50-ways-to-de-stress-your-way-to-success/

 

I am sure our pupils who are ready to go off on exam leave will take heed.

 

The end of university lectures?

A warning from Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s founder on the future of online education.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22160988

 

What is your opinion? Do you agree or not?

 

Call Centre Staff Work Night Shift in New Zealand

This is an interesting article about a novel way to keep call centre support 24/7.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-22370334

 

 

The end of Tablet PCs are near... according to Blackberry's CEO

Blackberry’s CEO Thorsten Heins, predicts that tablet PCs will soon be a thing of the past and will be taken over by smartphones.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/blackberry-ceo-tablets-will-be-dead-in-five-years/2013/04/30/dd3b6446-b18d-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html?wprss=rss_social-postbusinessonly&Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

 

Personally I am unsure as smartphone screens are still too small and give many people (me included) eye strain. So personally, I think his argument may be flawed.

Graphology

In Higher Business Management graphology is mentioned briefly as a selection method in Human Resources. While the UK and USA experts do not think it is a valid, France (and Poland for that matter) take it a bit more seriously.

 

Here is an article from the BBC here.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22198554

 

Also remember to look at the differences in Richard Nixon’s signature (I have put it on the blog before). One that was taken when he was newly elected, and later when he was under severe stress of the Watergate scandal. There is an incredible difference.

 

The amazing Microsoft Excel

Amusing article on Microsoft Excel:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22213219

 

Business Facts

QANTAS is not a made up word designed to be unique because of no ‘U’ after ‘Q’ as is often said.

 

In fact it stands for Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Service!

 

Samsung behind bad reviews of HTC?

Websites that allow customers to review products and services are often criticised for allowing unfair or even fraudulent activity to appear. Trip Advisor has many counts of potential false reviews by hotel rivals. Now it seems that this dark practice has spread to the world of electronics.

 

Fair-trade officials in Taiwan are looking into reports that Samsung paid people to criticise rival HTC online. Samsung is alleged to have hired students to post negative comments about phones made by Taiwan's HTC.

 

Samsung, based in South Korea, said the "unfortunate incident" had gone against the company's "fundamental principles".

 

If found guilty of engaging in "false advertising", Samsung and its local agent could face fines of up to of 25m Taiwanese dollars (£547,000).

 

Read more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22166606

 

Customer review based websites are excellent in my opinion. For example, I always look at Trip Advisor when looking to book hotels in a strange or foreign city. How do such websites prevent false or unfair reviews from appearing? At the same time we do have to allow criticism to appear. If every review had to be approved then all the firms would do is publish positive reviews and reject negative ones.

 

It has certainly changed consumer behaviour, so it is still a relatively new concept, but in my opinion a welcome one.

Tesco to pull out of the USA

Talking of strategic decisions in Higher Business Management, here is a real life one from Tesco – the UK’s largest supermarket.

 

Tesco's annual profits have fallen for the first time in almost 20 years, as it confirmed it was pulling out of the US.

 

Tesco is winding up its US chain of 199 Fresh & Easy shops, which have never made a profit, at a cost of £1.2bn. The company has also announced a one-off UK property write-down of £804m. Pre-tax profits were down 51% to £1.96bn, but post-tax profits including the cost of the US exit were just £120m, down 95.7%.

 

Tesco said sales at UK stores in the past three months, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, rose 0.5%, a slowdown from growth of 1.8% in the six weeks to 5 January when the company hailed strong Christmas trading.

 

Read more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22179255

 

Bad Idea: Pupil Pitches

So what products/ideas have the pupils come up with?

 

You can check it out here.

 

Here is Alice’s idea: http://www.bloomvc.com/project/The-Check-U-Later

 

And here is Louise’s idea: http://www.bloomvc.com/project/The-Ultimate-Phone-Accessory-Cover-It

 

Bad Idea

Two of our stellar S6 Higher Business Management pupils, Louise Christie and Alice Wilkinson, have reached the semi finals of the first ever Bad Idea competition held at Glasgow Caledonian University.

 

Pupils come up with an idea for a product and then have to deliver a 5 minute presentation to potential investors.

 

Hamilton Grammar School are very proud of our competitors and we wish them all the best and hopefully they will qualify for the final and be in the running for the £3,000 grand prize.

 

http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/magazine/221178-bad-idea-project-with-u18-helps-young-people-into-business/

 

Global Fuel Calculator

Excellent from the BBC:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21238363

 

 

Product Life Cycle revision and Boston Matrix revision

Excellent revision quizzes from Tutor2u.

 

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/revision-quiz-product-life-cycle

 

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/revision-quiz-boston-matrix

 

 

New oil field discovered

A consortium of oil companies is to invest more than $500m (£330m) in an appraisal drilling programme which could lead to further development of a giant North Sea field. The BP-led consortium said drilling had already started on the first of five wells planned over the next two years at Clair, west of Shetland.

 

Up to 12 wells could be drilled, depending on initial results. The news came as the UK government unveiled a new oil and gas strategy.

 

BP's partners in the appraisal drilling programme are Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron. It is the latest in a series of announcements, aimed at transforming the Atlantic's role as an oil-producing region.

 

Clair is already known as a "monster" field, holding eight billion barrels of oil. Clair oil field was discovered 35 years ago, but production has only started in the last 8 years.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-21955536

 

I have often wondered when the vast Oceans like the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans will be drilled for oil. They are so vast and huge that it is possible that we have only scratched the surface of Earth’s oil reserves. The technology may not be available yet or it is too expensive at present to drill.

 

Maybe we will get to see oil drillers like in James Cameron’s science-fiction movie The Abyss.

Why working at McDonald's might not be so bad after all

McDonald’s often gets a bad rep for the low pay and the working conditions of its employees. The dreaded term ‘McJob’ was defined based on the roles and duties that McDonald’s workers do. Long hours for low pay in a job with few career prospects. However, perhaps this is very harsh on the Golden Arches staff.

 

 

I found an interesting article entitled “5 life lessons learned by working at McDonald’s” which you can read below:

 

http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/stories/5-life-lessons-learned-by-working-at-mcdonalds

 

High Street DVD Rental Store Blockbuster saved

DVD rental store Blockbusters video has been saved by Gordon Brothers and Deloitte, which will save 2,000 jobs across 264 stores. Blockbuster have been hit with similar problems that other high street chains such as HMV and Jessops have also had.

 

Blockbusters owed creditors a staggering £139 million, but now a deal has been reached.

 

Read more here:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9949948/Blockbuster-rescued-as-Gordon-Brothers-buys-rental-company.html

 

Raspberry Life of Pi

Greg Holloway is using his Raspberry Pi for a novel use. He is using it to programme a robotic boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21848104

 

Google's self driving car - potential issues

Here’s a great article on the problems Google are having with the cars that drive themselves:

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-self-driving-car-problems-2013-3

 

The iWatch

A video from Apple about the iWatch – the must have item of 2013… or 2014. Or 2015.

 

<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=dxNjNlOTrGVNvDwRYIBUMtnjovW4JTus&pbid=6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>

Footage from The Deep

The BBC have an excellent video of life at the bottom of the deepest part of the Ocean, where James Cameron explored on his own, piloting Deepsea Challenger to the famous Marianas Trench.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17521115

 

Folding Cars

We’ve had the A-bike and folding bicycles. So what now? What is the latest in transport? Folding cars?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21805068

 

Higher Business Management Exam Technique

Here’s a thing. So you are given a question to describe the benefits of staff training.

 

The command word is Describe. Now if you just listed what is in the marking schemes then you will get a Family Fortunes noise (I don’t know how to spell that sound).

 

Eg Increased productivity

 

That is not good enough.

 

However if you use words such as “as”, “so”, “because” then you will deliver the goods.

 

So you could say one benefit of staff training would be increased productivity because employees will have updated skills, making them better at their job.

 

This is a worthwhile activity to do when you have the past paper books in front of you and it is all too easy to just give in and copy it out. You need to add something to answer the questions “Why?” and “How?” or my favourite “So what?”

National 5 Business Management

I will start posting materials, ideas etc on my new National 5 Business Management blog, which can be found here:

 

http://n5business.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Please feel free to share ideas, especially I want to know your thoughts on the assignment.

 

Also any good business stories or examples we can use in the classroom, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oil in the Oceans?

The diplomatic row between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands has long interested me. I have always been sceptical that the real reason behind our interest is the potential for oil and gas deposits along the sea and ocean floors. Just think of the size of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. We haven’t scratched the surface of what could possibly exist down in the deep.

 

Now we can see the emergence of the new frontier in mining the oceans.

 

British firm,  UK Seabed Resources a subsidiary of Lockeheed Martin has joined the rush to exploit minerals in the depths of the oceans. It has plans for a major prospecting operation in the Pacific.

 

The company says surveys have revealed huge numbers of so-called nodules - small lumps of rock rich in valuable metals - lying on the ocean floor south of Hawaii and west of Mexico.

 

The exact value of these resources is impossible to calculate reliably, but a leading UN official described the scale of mineral deposits in the world's oceans as "staggering" with "several hundred years' worth of cobalt and nickel".

 

An expedition to assess the potential environmental impact of extracting the nodules will be launched this summer amid concerns that massive "vacuuming" operations to harvest the nodules might cause lasting damage to ecosystems.

 

Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21774447

 

 

New passenger rights for EU fliers

New rights for airline passengers have been unveiled by the European Commission. They include rerouting travellers with rival carriers if a flight is delayed for more than 12 hours.

The rules also clarify what are considered exceptional circumstances for compensation. For example, mechanical failures on board the aircraft do not count, but natural disasters and traffic control strikes do.

The Commission says the new rules, which are not likely to become law until 2014, will give a lot more certainty to airlines and passengers.

Many view this new law change as a consequence of the Volcanic ash disruption in April 2010. What the impact will be on airlines if something similar happens in the near future is questionable. Many airlines are struggling as it is at present.

In the US two of the major airlines have merged to form the world’s biggest airline.

 

NY Ban on large drinks blocked

A court has blocked a ban on the sale of large sugary drinks - including soda - from restaurants in New York City, a day before the law was to take effect. Judge Milton Tingling ruled that the measure was "arbitrary and capricious", after industry groups sued the city.

 

The law would forbid the sale of drinks larger than 16 ounces (473ml) in food-service establishments. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the judge was "totally in error" and has vowed to appeal against Monday's ruling.

 

He has touted the ban as a way to reduce obesity. Research suggests that 58% of adults in New York are obese or overweight.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21747568

 

Similar bans or even a so called ‘Fat Tax’ has been mooted in the UK. But would any such ban on large drinks or taxing them heavily actually stop consumption?

 

Look at schools. Many schools now offer healthy foods. However, some pupils end up eating outside the school at fast food takeaway shops. How to tackle the obesity problem is one facing developed nations without a proper satisfactory outcome. Many accuse the Governments of being the proprietors of a ‘Nanny State’ , while others say that overweight and unhealthy diets will increase the burden on the NHS.

 

Are young people lacking in IT skills?

A new report from the BBC:

 

A lack of computer skills could be damaging the career chances of young people, a charity has warned.

 

More than one in 10 young people do not think their computer skills are good enough to use in the job they want, the Prince's Trust said. The research follows a £500,000 donation by hip hop star will.i.am to the Trust last year.

 

His donation will be used on projects to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills.

 

"I was intimidated by science and advanced maths," said the music star, who donated his fee for appearing on BBC talent show The Voice.

 

"When I say, 'Hey kids, you guys should want to be scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians...' I say that because I too am going to school to learn computer science.

 

Is it the case that young adults have computer skills in using word, excel and the MS Office packages, but when it comes to IT skills can’t program and write software or indeed fix components of a machine? Just how practical are the courses we offer pupils?

 

Read the article in full here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21747206

 

I have often wondered why we don’t have a practical IT course for pupils who want to actually take apart machines and fix them rather than use software. And not everyone is keen on programming, but some are interested in getting their hands dirty with a PC.

 

BBC Announce new Dragon

Cloud computing pioneer Piers Linney has been named as the new member of the Dragons' Den, replacing Theo Paphitis.

Mr Linney is the co-CEO of Outsourcery. Linney will join regulars Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and another new Dragon, Kelly Hoppen.

In Dragons Den (a show which originated in Japan), venture capitalists leaders hear pitches from inventors and entrepreneurs before deciding whether or not to invest.

Some successes have included the iTeddy and some notable hits that escaped have been the Trunki and the Road Refresher (a non-spill dog bowl which President Obama even bought one!).