Case Studies

This case study examines the means by which the Jefferson Smurfit Group’s basic product – the box – is designed and manufactured, considering the...

Profitable and innovative commercial businesses are ones which provide customers with exactly what they need and want. Portakabin is an example of such a business. Portakabin has been...

Everyone knows about Cadbury and what it represents. The Cadbury Masterbrand is the flagship for a variety of well known distinctive products including Flake,...

Intelligent business organisations understand the 'fit' between their products and their markets. Over time, companies develop strengths that need to be developed in a...

This case study focuses on how Akzo Nobel, an organisation with many separate business units, an extremely diverse range of products and a large...

Successful companies act as role models to other businesses and the wider community. To achieve this role model status they must be committed to...

McCain Foods was founded in 1957 in Canada by the McCain brothers Harrison, Wallace, Robert and Andrew. McCain Foods is now the largest chip...

ASOS.com is the UK's market leader in online fashion retailing. It offers own-label, branded fashion and designer goods. Its headquarters are in Camden Town...

The Kellogg Company is the world's leading producer of cereals. Its products are manufactured in 18 countries and sold in more than 180 countries....

Football is the 'world game' and Coca-Cola is the brand name of the world's biggest selling soft drink, so it is hardly surprising that the two...

This case study covers the role played by Trade Associations in the UK economy. It draws on examples from four contrasting industrial and service...

other countries’ products are becoming increasingly sophisticatedinternational trade in services is set to growmodern products need a well-educated, well-informed workforce to produce themother countries...

As an organisation develops, it creates working practices within the business that reflect its way of doing things. These practices become embedded in decisions...

British Gas is part of the Centrica Group. It is the country”s best recognised energy brand. Centrica is a multinational company, with businesses in...

In 2002, Philip Green bought Arcadia for £800 million. He changed it from a public limited company (plc) to a private limited company (Ltd)....

The importance of recruitment For McDonald's, people are its most important asset. This is because customer satisfaction begins with the attitudes and abilities of employees...

Effective Human Resource Development (HRD) involves matching an organisation's needs with the needs of its employees. For example, an organisation's corporate objectives may include...

Nuclear reactors for the production of energy (electricity) were first used in the mid-1950s. In 2005 the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was set up...

What is a budget? A budget is a financial plan that sets out, using figures, an organisation's expected future results. For planning purposes, organisations can...

It was the European Commission that first coined the term ‘small and medium enterprise’ (SME) to describe businesses which employ less than 500 workers. This...

Davis Service Group is a large public limited company employing around 17,000 people. Its shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange. The business is...

PricewaterhouseCoopers was created in July 1998 by the merger of two firms - Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand - each with historical roots...

Every morning millions of people in the UK have a bath or shower, make a cup of tea and wash the dishes before they...

How much is the business worth? Are sales growing or declining? What about cash flow? These and many other vital questions are regularly tackled...

CIMA is the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Its members are trained and qualified in the vital area of management accountancy. Businesses can only...

The capital market enables individuals and organisations with spare capital (money which they want to invest) to channel these funds to businesses and other...

This case study examines the importance of futures trading and focuses more specifically on commodity futures trading. The futures market plays a key role...

This case study focuses on the way in which Britannia Building Society has continued to place its customers at the centre of all its...

It is easy to identify key competitors in a market by their goods or services. These products clearly meet customer needs in terms of...

Zurich Insurance Group provides insurance and other financial services to both individuals and businesses. The group has more than 130 years experience and is...

Most people probably think they know what Enterprise Rent-A-Car does. It is in the car rental business and operates a fleet of more than...

Gala Clubs The core business of Gala Clubs is bingo. Bass PLC originally owned it, but in 1997 it became a private limited company following...

BSI was the pioneer in creating standards. It is the UK's National Standards Body - the world's first. It also plays a prominent role...

This case study focuses on how one of this country’s major service organisations, The Equitable Life Assurance Society, has harnessed modern technology in order...

Customer satisfaction depends upon a product’s performance in relation to a buyer’s expectations. If the product’s performance falls short of expectations, the customer will...

It's a colourful world! Akzo Nobel’s products are among the most looked at in the world. Its business is colour. It is a company literally...

The textile manufacture and clothing distribution industry has seen dramatic changes in recent years. Consumers’ expectations are higher today than ever before, they expect...

Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd (SFIL) is the world's largest independently owned Forgemaster. The Company’s origins date back to the 1750’s, but it was Edward Vickers, a traditional...

Eurostar is the high-speed rail service directly linking the UK to France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel. It started operating in 1994, providing city...

Enterprise and risk Enterprise refers to all the organisational skills that go into creating a product or service. It also includes a willingness and ability...

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company and is the leading producer and marketer of soft drinks. Today, Coca-Cola is consumed throughout...

The familiar blue and yellow colours of the IKEA logo (also the colour of the Swedish flag) can be seen in stores in 18...

An entrepreneur is someone who is prepared to take a risk by setting up and organising a new business or enterprise, without the certainty...

NATS is the world’s leading provider of a range of air traffic services. This includes providing air traffic control (ATC) services for some of the world’s...

RELX Group is a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. We help scientists make new discoveries, lawyers...

Experian operates the UK's largest Credit Reference Agency (CRA). There are three in the UK. Banks and credit card companies share information about their...

Businesses and consumers in the UK are buying and selling goods and services in ever more diverse and distant markets as globalisation increases. Trade...

Governments markets are made up of the spending of National and Local governments. Each year the government spends billions of pounds on a range...

When people think of rail travel they think of trains. They do not think about the infrastructure of the train network. This consists of...

The immense pressure on the world's environment means that measures must be taken today to safeguard natural resources for tomorrow. This is the challenge...

The role of the accountant In today's increasingly competitive and uncertain business environment, organisations fighting for customers face a number of factors and issues which...

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) helps people to understand the law and, if necessary, helps them to gain their rights under the law. The...

With the discovery of a previously unknown planet, one of the first things we would want to know is its capacity for supporting any...

Businesses do not operate in isolation. They are constantly faced with internal and external factors that impact on the dynamics of their operations. Monitoring...