Case Studies

Businesses both shape and respond to changes in the competitive environment. In the early 1980s, the impact of information technology was changing the nature...

Changes in society, markets and economies have intensified the need for most organisations to be more and more innovative with the products that they...

It is easy to think of global products and brand names: Coca-Cola, Mars, and Nestlé are obvious examples in the food and drink line,...

As an organisation develops a strategy, it is not making short-term decisions. Instead, it is creating a pathway that leads to a long term...

For many builders and developers, it is too costly to buy plant equipment (fixed assets) outright. Instead, they hire the equipment they need from...

Enterprising businesses must be able to re-invent themselves and their products. This is because consumer expectations change over time and other elements of the...

Cosmetics is a huge and fast growing industry comprising fragrances, traditional cosmetics, beauty and skin-care preparations as well as many different hair care and...

Businesses need to set themselves clear aims and objectives if they are going to succeed. The Kellogg Company is the world's leading producer of...

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

Tarmac was formed in 1903 as TarMacadam Syndicate Limited. The original name came from the developer of the modern road construction system John MacAdam....

UNISON is the UK’s biggest public service trade union. It represents 1.3 million members who deliver essential services to the public. These are services...

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the UK’s leading car rental company. The company offers daily and weekend car rental for private and business use. It also...

Kingfisher plc is one of Europe’s leading retailers based around three main sectors - DIY, electrical and general merchandise. The company employs over 130,000...

Specsavers is one of the best known names in optical retailing in Britain. Optical retailing involves selling spectacles and other eye care products on the...

Sodexho is the world’s largest food and management services company. Set up in 1965 by Pierre Bellon with a single catering unit in Marseilles,...

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...

A Nottingham County Surveyor, Edgar Purnell Hooley, discovered tarmac by accident in the early 20th century. He found a barrel of tar had spilled...

Constant change places demands on organisations. To meet these challenges, organisations need to be dynamic and adaptable. They need to have the right people...

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

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

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

Limited companies (those owned by shareholders) are required by law to produce Financial Statements. These statements must be published and made available to shareholders...

In order to make judgements about business activities, individuals require information. Accounting acts as an information system by processing business data so that interested...

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

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...

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

Investment decisions involve weighing up the risk and the likely rewards of various options. It is often the riskiest alternatives that yield the highest...

The background to Jaguar provides a good example of entrepreneurship - identifying opportunities, creating a winning formula and responding to consumer needs to build...

It is easy to take for granted everyday fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as bread. When consumers go to a corner shop or the...

Courtaulds is an international chemical company with annual sales of more than £2 billion, employing 17,000 people in 45 countries worldwide. It developed from...

The business world is a moving target. It has changed rapidly over the last 20 years and is continuing to do so at an...

Most of us love chocolate in one form or another and every week a typical UK citizen spends around £1.80 on it. Amazingly, UK...

A quality material, product, process, service or system is one that meets the needs of customers. Today, customers, including consumers, know what they want...

Changing customers expectations The 1980s were marked by a growth in consumer spending and a housing boom. Easy access to credit made it possible for...

Whenever market researchers report on UK consumers' favourite purchases, chocolate-based products feature strongly. Chocolate is a key ingredient of many products we enjoy e.g....

Living is a risky business. Taking risks begins in childhood, and continues throughout our lives and into old age, when many accidents are associated...

Retailers simply cannot afford to ignore these developments. However, not all retailers are equally well placed to take advantage of this changing environment for...

Returning publicly owned enterprises to the private sector is a process known as privatisation. The effects of privatisation are highly significant as organisations, which...

Michelin continues to be the world's number one tyre manufacturer. The company has a unique and famous marketing emblem, 'Bibendum', more commonly known as...

Many people dream of owning their own business and being their own boss, but most hesitate to take the plunge. Like them, you may...

Building societies date back to the late eighteenth century. The first known building society was set up in 1775. This was to enable people...

Barclays is a major global financial services provider. It operates in over 50 countries and employs more than 156,000 people. In 2008, Barclays had...

What is franchising? McDonald's is an example of brand franchising. McDonald's, the franchisor, grants the right to sell McDonald's branded goods to someone wishing to...

Web opportunities By exploiting opportunities offered by both the Internet and intranet, Cummins has pioneered some innovative methods to enhance communications with its employees and...

BT is the world’s oldest telecommunications company, with its origins in the Electric Telegraph Company in 1846. Today BT is one of the UK's largest...

CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, is the world’s leading body for management accountants. Management accountants can provide management information and insights as...

When a new technology comes along that is capable of improving dramatically the products of a whole industry, every firm in that industry has...

An Office of Fair Trading case study We live in an economic system that is generally good at channelling scarce resources towards meeting consumers' needs....

This case study focuses on the HSBC Group, which, as one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world, is able...

Consumers have higher expectations than ever before. They want products to match these expectations. They also want accurate, up-to-date and useful information about what...

There are a number of ways of developing new business opportunities and one of the most important of these is that of “recognising a...

In the past there was always a belief that large corporations with the ability to develop mass-production techniques and gain from economies of scale...

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

In the closing decade of the 20th century, the UK retailing industry has witnessed massive change mainly due to an increasing domination of major...