BUS 3 key term glossary

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/aqa-a2-business-buss3-key-term-glossary

BUS 3 key topic revision list

http://www.tutor2u.net/BUSS3KeyTopicRevisionChecklist.pdf

4 ways to make your BUS 3 stand out

Every student sitting BUSS3 gets to answer the same four questions based on the same case study.  Everyone gets the same time allocation.  When the examiner starts marking scripts many answers will be similar; relatively few will stand out in terms of the quality of analysis and evaluation.  So how can you make yours one of the stand-out scripts?

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/four-ways-to-make-your-buss3-exam-answers-stand-out

Maximise your marks in BUS 3

BUS3 is a tough exam and a significant step up in challenge for many A Level Business students compared with the BUSS1 & BUSS2 exams at AS level. To do well at BUSS3 you need to combine good subject knowledge and understanding with excellent exam technique.  Here is some guidance which you might find helpful.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/maximise-your-marks-in-buss3

BUS 3 exam tracker

There have been six BUSS3 papers for the new specification, so it is possible to build a profile of the topics in BUSS3 which have been examined so far, and in what way.  

The link below is to the latest version of our BUSS3 topic tracker. Please note, this is not intended to encourage or condone question or topic spotting which is nearly always a recipe for exam failure. Remember that the questions in BUSS3 invite a variety of potential responses and are designed to reward students who make relevant connections between the functional areas/topics and the achievement of corporate objectives. We have allocated the exam questions to the most relevant section of the BUSS3 spec - but note that other aspects of the spec can be used as part of an effective answer.

http://www.tutor2u.net/BUSS3TopicTracker.pdf

Biz Quiz - 6th December 2012

http://tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/061212/quiz.html

Paper 3 revision quizzes

A comprehensive collection of revision quizzes below are designed to support you preparing for the A2 Business Studies BUSS3 - Strategies for Success exam.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/aqa-a2-business-buss3-revision-quizzes#extended

Workforce Planning at Dixons - Grab Staff from a Rival!

A good example here from the retailing sector of how workforce planning be affected by short-term changes in the external competitive environment.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/workforce-planning-at-dixons

Biz Quiz - 25th Oct 2012

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/251012/quiz.html

People mindmap

http://www.mindomo.com/view.htm?m=0e03b08efed4481186d50bd2513538a7

Communication: s-cool

Many managers devote a significant proportion of their time to communications both within and outside the business.

Communication can be simply defined as the flow of information from one person to another.

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/business-studies/management-leadership-motivation-and-communication/revise-it/communication

Biz Quiz 18th Oct 2012

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/181012/quiz.html

Workforce planning from s-cool

Human Resource Planning (H.R.P) is the process of forecasting the workforce requirements of the business for future years.

It looks at how many employees the business will require in the future, as well as the type of employee that will be required (e.g. graduate trainees, skilled-manual and supervisors). H.R.P. also ensures that the 'right' employee is in the 'right' job, to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce.

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/business-studies/people-in-the-workplace/revise-it/human-resource-management-hrm

Ansoff matrix examples

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/ansoff-is-everywhere

Biz Quiz 11th Oct

http://tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/111012/quiz.html

Coke's new formula launch disaster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRI80tdDKc

Another video on this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz-47sI-AYM&feature=related

Here is part of the video case study recounting the disastrous launch of New Coke. Roberto Goizueta - in his only on-camera interview on this topic - recounts the story and the lessons learned. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmQs8g9ytRA&feature=related

Bizhelp 24 - marketing planning advice

http://www.bizhelp24.com/marketing/how-can-a-marketing-plan-benefit-your-business.html

Summary - http://www.bizhelp24.com/marketing/summary-and-further-reading-on-marketing-plan.html

Biz Quiz - 4th October 2012

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/041012/quiz.html

Marketing planning mindmap

http://www.mindomo.com/view.htm?m=bee4bf0733bf473889253a5e89dcedd4

Trading internationally

Advice from Business link - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.s=tl&topicId=1079717544

Writing a marketing plan

Advice from Business link - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1073861169&r.l2=1073858842&r.s=tl&topicId=1073869186

Marketing planning presentation

Courtesy of tutor2u - http://www.tutor2u.net/business/presentations/marketing/marketingplanning/default.html

Mintel

Mintel is a privately owned, London-basedmarket research firm. The corporation also maintains offices in Chicago, New York, Belfast, Shanghai, Tokyoand Sydney. Mintel databases, analysis, and forecastsare accessible only to subscribing clients and to students in participating university libraries.
Examples of some reports from the market research company - 
http://oxygen.mintel.com/index.html
Some others:
http://library.cim.co.uk/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll&BU=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.cim.co.uk%2Fwebsearches.stm&TN=Material&SN=AUTO28919&SE=3026&RN=3&MR=20&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=1&XP=&RF=WebBriefReport&EF=&DF=WebfullDisplay&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=3&ID=&MF=&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=250106&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=ISO-8859-1

Net Present Value videos

From Khan Academy:

1. introduction to Present Value - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks33lMoxst0&list=PL9ECA8AEB409B3E4F&index=3&feature=plpp_video

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LSktB7Pk_c&list=PL9ECA8AEB409B3E4F&index=4&feature=plpp_video

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SgVUlEcOBU&feature=fvwrel

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WCfVjUTTEY&feature=fvwrel

Merger and takeovers videos

From moneyweek - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U76MGI7nppo&feature=related

Brief overview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwQ2nZMECsg&feature=related

What makes a good merger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INUfKoVyVuA&feature=relmfu

10 best and worst mergers of all time

http://www.cnbc.com/id/34467713/Top_10_Best_and_Worst_Mergers_of_All_Time?slide=5

Mergers/takeovers - Business link

Interesting article from Business Link - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074409643&r.i=1074409624&r.l1=1074404796&r.l2=1079050369&r.l3=1074407579&r.s=m&r.t=RESOURCES&type=RESOURCES

Takeover troubles - Has the Co=operative got Indigestion with the Somerfield Integration?

A fascinating and perfectly-timed article here in the Independent which outlines evidence that the Co-operative Group’s takeover of Somerfield in 2009 might be providing a little less successful than it originally planned…


What is the evidence provided?

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/takeover-troubles-has-the-cooperative-got-indigestion-with-the-somerfield-i

Mergers in Action - All Systems Go for United?

A fabulous example of some of the challenges and potential problems that arise when a merger of two substantial, similar businesses is finally completed…


This short news clip highlights the nature of the change facing management and employees working to merge United Airlines and Continental Airlines as the final stage of the merger - a transfer of booking systems - took place.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/mergers-in-action-all-systems-go-for-united#extended

Mergers - problems first, synergies later


Among these was an excellent feature on the merger in the USA between Continental and United Airlines.


http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/mergers-problems-first-synergies-later

Is an economic recovery underway?

A ‘crossover’ blog here, since most Business students will be spending at least some of their time thinking about the external environment that firms operate in. For most businesses, the dominating external issue has been the deep recession – a long period in which the UK economy has struggled. Analysis from The Economist suggests that the economy has taken so much damage we’re basically back to where we were in late 2003! A pretty depressing thought, but there are some signs that things might be picking up.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/economics-for-business-is-an-economic-recovery-underway#extended

Porter's 5 forces model

The Porter's Five Forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This is useful, because it helps you understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you're considering moving into.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm

Glenstrata - Glencore proposes merger with Xstrata

Yesterday morning’s business news has been dominated by the proposed merger of Glencore and Xstrata. Glencore’s 34% holding of Xstrata shares had made a third party approach for Xstrata very difficult if not impossible.
Xstrata bought coal mines from Glencore in 2001, and after going public in 2002, it grew by a series of acquisitions, including the purchase of the Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge in 2006. Although Xstrata had a market capitalisation of c. $50bn, Glencore’s market capitalisation was $45bn.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/glenstrata

ResearchBuster: Acquisitions

Our ResearchBuster blog posts are designed to help students identify and integrate examples of business strategy for their synoptic essays and exams. This ResearchBuster look at some of the most significant examples of takeovers / acquisitions in recent years…

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/researchbuster-acquisitions#extended

Takeovers and Mergers - the Language of M&A

Students researching takeovers and mergers will come across some terminology which might not be familiar to them. Here are some key terms which are worth understanding and using when writing about M&A:

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/takeovers-and-mergers-the-language-of-ma

Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility is given regulatory seal of approval

Google’s biggest-ever takeover has been given approval by competition regulators in both the EU and USA, paving the way for the takeover to be legally completed.
Back in August 2011, Google announced a $12.5bn bid to buy Motorola’s mobile technology division. These videos outline the strategic rationale for the takeover:

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/googles-takeover-of-motorola-mobility-is-given-regulatory-seal-of-approval

Tata and the rise of Jaguar Land Rover

The Tata takeover of Jaguar Land Rover (“JLR”) in 2008 is one of our five “must research” deals for the AQA BUSS4 research theme in 2012. And this recent article provides students with some compelling evidence about how successful the takeover has been for Tata, the private Indian conglomerate that is now the UK’s largest manufacturer. 

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/tata-and-the-rise-of-jaguar-land-rover

Kraft and Cadburys

The Kraft Foods hostile bid for Cadbury received extensive coverage in the media and many of the issues and well covered in this series of short news clips which help tell the story of the deal. Plenty in here for students, including issues around takeover pricing, strategic rationale, the impact of the deal on shareholders and other stakeholders.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/takeover-insights-kraft-cadbury-the-story-in-video-clips

This is a simply wonderful video that was produced by the bid defence team at Cadbury to record the process of Kraft’s hostile bid for Cadbury between August 2009 and January 2010. Although ultimately their efforts were unsuccessful, it shows just how much effort is put into mounting a bid defence. Some great clips and interviews too with the people involved at the end. Highly recommended.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/takeover-insights-kraft-cadbury-behind-the-scenes-of-the-bid-defence

This 10 minute interview in Autumn 2010 by Bloomberg with Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld provides some useful perspectives on the strategic rationale behind the Kraft takeover of Cadbury. Obviously presented with a US business audience in mind, but still hugely useful for A2 business students (particularly AQA BUSS4) none the less…

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/kraft-cadbury-justifying-the-deal

Would a GM and Peugeot merger make sense?

Talks of a strategic alliance between PSA Peugeot Citroen and General Motors (GM) fit neatly with two key trends that are emerging in the global motor industry.

The first trend is the changing nature of carmakers' relentless search for economies of scale.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17120631