Michael Porter is arguably the world’s most famous management theorist. His theories such as the 5 forces model and Value Chain Analysis are key parts of the syllabus for several ACCA and CIMA papers. His generic strategy approach of “differentiation” and “cost leadership” has been around for a number of years and whilst there is [...]

Here’s an interesting development. MP3 players such as the iPod Nano are getting smaller and smaller but due to advances in technology the sounds that they emit are getting better and better. Whilst music fans are appreciating the portability of the smaller MP3 players together with the flexibility of having quality music players on their [...]

When it comes to cars, things used to be simple. Most brands were known for a certain type of car. For example, Mercedes produced luxury limousine cars, Porsche produced sports cars, Toyota produced mid range cars and Land Rover made 4×4 off road cars. But that was a while ago and things have changed dramatically [...]

Love them or hate them but low cost airlines such as Ryan Air and EasyJet are here to stay. Since low cost airlines entered the airline industry 20 odd years ago they have shaken up the industry. Easyjet for example now carry more passengers than any other UK airline and the Irish airline Ryanair long [...]

Born to an unmarried interracial couple, adopted at a young age, dropped out of college and fired from him first major job. Steve Jobs went on to build two billion dollar businesses. Unfortunately, the iconic face behind Apple lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Wednesday and the world lost one of the true business [...]

If you are a singer or a member of a band there was a time when your ability to sing was the most important thing. Now there’s a bit of a debate out there as to whether the music industry is too busy creating “artificial talent” rather than identifying the people that can really sing. [...]

Running a successful restaurant is tough. Whilst a good restaurant can me it look easy, there are a lot of things you need to get exactly right to be successful. Everything from the ingredients, the menu, the chef, the ambiance and the waiting staff have to be just right. Plus don’t forget that it’s a [...]

How easy is it for you to get your product or service to your customers? Tesco, one of the world’s most successful retailers, have just released a new service which makes it easier for their customers to buy from them. They were one of the first supermarkets to shake up the “outbound logistics” of their [...]

When I was younger I can remember queuing with friends to get the latest album by my favourite group. At the risk of showing my age though it’s been a long, long time since I last did that. It’s not because I don’t like music anymore but rather that it’s now so much easier to [...]

Procter & Gamble is one of the world’s biggest advertisers but it was only last month that they started promoting their own corporate brand in the UK. P&G is the company behind numerous household brands including well known names such as Ariel, Duracell, Gillette, Pampers and Olay. Last year it reportedly spent nearly £190 million [...]