Any organisation that can create a barrier to entry which prevents new competitors entering the market can, in theory, keep prices high. Economies of scale (think Airbus or Boeing), branding (think Apple) and distribution channels (think Coke) are all excellent examples of barriers to entry but one of the toughest barriers to break through are [...]

Have you ever been to lunch with a colleague? My guess is that unless (a) you work by yourself, (b) nobody likes you , or (c) you have a serious body odour problem then the chances are that you have had lunch with a colleague. Now let me guess. What did you talk about over [...]

It never ceases to amaze me. You’re at an airport, you check-in and then wave goodbye to your luggage. When you arrive at your destination you expect your luggage to arrive on the luggage carousel at the same time you. I met an old friend last week who was telling me about a situation he [...]

It’s been a mixed year for Piet Hein Meeter the (former) chief executive of Deloitte in the Netherlands. It started well for him as he was appointed as the new CEO of the Dutch operations of Deloitte on the 1st of January this year. However within a few months his fortunes have changed dramatically. Deloitte [...]

Forget about the rivalry on the pitch between Manchester United and Liverpool. Forget about Luis Suarez refusing to shake hands with Patrice Evra at the game on Saturday. No, the key question is who has got the biggest kit sponsorship deal in the world. Manchester United’s kit is sponsored by Nike and until recently it [...]

Direct Line and Churchill are two of the UK’s largest and best known insurance brands. Unfortunately though, despite being in the “premier League” of insurance companies they have been a bit naughty and were recently fined £2.2 million. The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which amongst other things oversees the insurance industry, told the companies that [...]

Here’s a quick question for you: Companies from which of the following countries are most likely to bribe when doing business abroad? Is it China, Netherlands, Russia or Switzerland? My feeling is that a lot of you will probably be able to guess the correct answer but in case you’re struggling to identify which ones [...]

Sometimes things go missing. You search high and low and if you are lucky enough to find them again then you can be pretty happy. Germany though has just found something that it didn’t even know was missing. It’s not as though it’s simply some keys that have dropped down the back of the sofa. [...]

30 years ago he joined the British subsidiary of Olympus, the Japanese camera and optical giant, as a salesman. He slowly worked his way up through the ranks of the company until last month he became the first western CEO of the Olympus group. Unfortunately for Mr Michael Woodford his new position lasted for only [...]

3 years ago in the middle of the financial crisis when some of the best known banks in the world were on the verge of collapsing, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was rescued by the British tax payers to the tune of £45 billion. Since then the bank has been under a lot of [...]