Business Studies Teacher Resources by Topic
Below is a list of case studies from The Times 100 organised by Topic where we have teaching resources available. Choose your sub topic by clicking the arrowed links below your selected business studies topic heading.
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External environment
- Business and the environment
- Business cycle
- Corporate responsibility
- Economy
- Ethics
- External influences
- Globalisation
- Government influence
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Business cycle
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The case study illustrates how management accountants support business decision making during all the stages of the business cycle.
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This case study illustrates how building societies manage theirbusiness during the various phases of the business cycle.
Working within the business cycle
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This case study examines how Davis Service Group, one of Britain's key service companies, has managed the recent change in the business cycle.
Managing firms throughout the business cycle
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Corporate responsibility in business
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This case study looks at Primark’s involvement in the HERproject (Health Enables Returns) which is raising awareness and delivering healthcare education to female workers in supplier countries.
Beyond corporate social responsibility
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This case study describes how the work Amway does with UNICEF supports its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.
Corporate Social Responsibility
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This case study highlights how Anglo American contributes to sustainable development through being socially and environmentally responsible.
Social and environmental responsibility
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This case study helps students understand sustainability, stakeholders and ethics as well as the links between these topics.
Working for sustainable development in primary industry
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, Students should be able to: know the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), give examples of CSR activities, understand the importance to business of being involved with communities on a local and global scale.
Meeting global responsibilities by caring for communities
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Economy in business
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This case study highlights Vodafone's activities in different types of economies and the impactof technology on both developed and developing markets
Using technology to improve economies
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Ethics in business
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This case study looks at how Tata Steel is committed to environmentally-sound practices and tackling the challenges of sustainability.
Business ethics and sustainability in the steel industry
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This case study shows how Primark sources the clothes it sells in its shops in an ethical and fair way, often at added cost to itself.
Providing consumers with ethically sourced garments
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This case study shows the challenges Anglo American faces in its industry and how it seeks to make ethical choices in its business practice.
Business ethics and corporate social responsibility
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This case study shows how market research has helped Nestlé understand what consumers wanted to know about Nestlé products so they can make informed choices. This has enabled Nestle to exercise corporate responsibility and demonstrate its business principles.
Business principles in action - nutritional labelling
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain the importance of ethics, understand how a strategic approach to ethics is more likely to be effective, understand how ethics can shape responses to change.
Developing and implementing a strategic approach to ethics
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the nature and purpose of accounting, appreciate the role of professional accountants in managing information and using knowledge for decision-taking purposes , understand the contribution made by accounting standards and a code of ethics towards providing a true and fair view of business performance.
The contribution of accountants to sound, ethical business practice
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand what is meant by ethical behaviour within business, explain the possible broad-ranging benefits of ethical behaviour, describe the ways in which Cadbury Schweppes behaves ethically towards its stakeholders.
Ethical business practices
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External influences in business
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This case study illustrates how Logica monitors its external environment using PEST analysis to adapt its own business and generate innovative and unique solutions for its clients.
Using skills to respond to the external environment
- crossword
- external influences
- lesson resource economic influences
- lesson resource political influences
- lesson resource social influences
- lesson resource technological influences
- teacher guide economic influences
- teacher guide political influences
- teacher guide social influences
- teacher guide technological influences
- wordsearch
- MP3 Audio case study
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This case study reviews the external factors that have had an impact on Jessops' operations and strategy.
Responding to changes in the market environment
- crossword
- external influences
- lesson resource economic factors
- lesson resource political factors
- lesson resource social factors
- lesson resource technological factors
- teacher guide economic factors
- teacher guide political factors
- teacher guide social factors
- teacher guide technological factors
- wordsearch
- MP3 Audio case study
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The role of the IPO is to help manage intellectual property rightsto encourage innovation and creativity. Like all businesss, it needs to take account of and respond to influences in the external environment.
Intellectual property and the external environment
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This case study focuses on the issues faced by migrant workers in the UK.
Use of PEST analysis at UNISON
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This case study looks at the political, economic, social and technological factors that impact on the Highways Agency.
Highways Agency - PEST analysis
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This case study focuses on the work of the LSC and illustrates what factors affect its performance and how it responds to these factors.
Using PEST analysis to identify external influences
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This case study looks at how Syngenta, one of the world's leading plant science businesses, is meeting the dual challenge of increasing crop yield and producing alternative fuels.
Feeding and fuelling the world through technology
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This case study describes how PESTEL analysis helps Network Rail to respond to changes in its business environment.
Using PESTEL to design effective strategies
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This case study highlights how use of a SLEPT analysis helps a company respond to changes in its external environment and remain competitive.
How McCain responds to changes in the external environment
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This case study helps students understand how effective planning is developed by understanding changes in the external environment.
Strategic planning - responding to external influences
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As a result of Carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: know that Castrol’s heritage is based on a combination of technical excellence in the development and production of oils and a focus on meeting the needs of customers, understand key elements of the dynamic marketing environment in which Castrol operates, and that Castrol has responded to this environment by providing technically superior products, know that Castrol’s oils and lubricants are designed to meet the need of a variety of market segments.
Responding to a changing marketing environment
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As a reult of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand that the business environment is uncertain and volatile, know that businesses cannot avoid taking risks, value the importance of businesses and households obtaining insurance cover against risk.
How Lloyd's responds to changes in the business environment
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the nature of competitive markets, appreciate how the external environment should provide the basis for planning strategy, appreciate how sustainability creates opportunities for businesses.
Competitive advantage through sustainable product development in construction
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: identify different activities undertaken by commercial property companies such as Land Securities, understand the meaning and benefits of urban regeneration, appreciate the importance of external influences on a firm’s activities.
Regeneration: meeting needs in a changing environment
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: appreciate the complexity of a typical organisation’s business environment, understand the importance of using marketing activities to match the competitive position of an organisation with the environment it serves, understand the various elements of a SLEPT analysis.
Responding to a changing external business environment
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Globalisation in business
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This case study helps students understand companies by meeting needs across markets.
Meeting global and local needs
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Government influence in business
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This case study describes the role of HMRC in managing taxation an dhow this supports Government financial policies.
How HMRC collects tax revenue to support Government policy
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Finance
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Budgeting in business
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This case study shows how Zurich’s careful approach to budgeting is a contributory factor in gaining competitive advantage.
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This case study shows how the development and use of budgetscontribute to Davis Service Group meeting its objectives.
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: define the term budget and explain the purpose of budgeting, outline the importance of identifying major variances and taking remedial actions, list the advantages and disadvantages of budgeting.
Budgeting and strategy
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Cash flow in business
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This case study looks at how management accountants forecast, monitor and control cash flow in order to maintain the ongoing financial health of businesses.
Controlling cash flow for business growth
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Investment appraisal in business
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This case study examines one major wastewater quality improvement investment made by United Utilities. It shows how important non-financial considerations, such as the impact on the environment, were in arriving at the best decision.
Using cost-benefit analysis to appraise investments
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This case study looks at how in 2008 Syngenta proposed an investment in new manufacturing capacity that would allow it to increase production of Amistar. It reviews the analyses that helped the company decide whether to proceed with this investment.
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This case study explores how McCain Foods evaluated the benefits of proposed sustainable energy projects before making major financial investment.
Sustainability through investment
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the importance of examining detailed data in making investment decisions, know how to set out choices involved in decision making, understand how a calculation involving an investment decision is made.
Investing in natural gas: drilling down into the risks
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Marketing
- Branding
- Customer focus
- Market research
- Marketing mix
- Marketing planning
- Marketing strategies
- Place
- Product
- Product launch
- Product life cycle
- Product portfolio
- Promotion
- Segmentation
- SWOT
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Branding in business
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: know what is meant by a product life cycle, understand research is needed to identify the best way of injecting new life into brands/products, explain the key components of a SWOT analysis.
Building a brand in order to sustain its life cycle
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain what is meant by repositioning and why Philips carried out qualitative and quantitative research to identify an appropriate position for the brand, understand why it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of an existing brand when deciding how to reposition it, describe how Philips had built a new position for its brand, based on creating products that are ‘designed around you’, ‘easy to experience’, and ‘advanced’.
Brand repositioning and communications
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Customer focus in business
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the importance of a mission statement, and know that Argos’ mission statement focuses on giving customers value for money by providing them with a convenient shopping experience, explain why segmentation helps an organisation to identify and meet the needs of customers and understand how frequency of visitors to an Argos store or site is a good way of segmenting customers, know what is meant by a growth strategy and give a brief explanation of how Argos is seeking to grow.
Identifying customers and meeting their needs
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: know that increasing numbers of people want healthier foods, understand how and why market focused companies (e.g. Nestlé) respond to such developments, know about Nestlé: its size, its products and its worldwide reputation.
Responding to changing customer requirements: the drive towards Wellness
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the sources of consumer power, understand how the forces of demand and supply work to determine market prices , describe how the OFT uses its powers to promote fair competition. ,
Making markets work well with customers
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: define the term competitive advantage, understand the importance of differentiation as a competitive strategy, distinguish between private and public sector customers.
Meeting customer needs for competitive advantage
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Market research in business
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This case study focuses on how JD (part of JD Sports Fashion PLC), the UK’s leading retailer of fashionable sports and leisure wear, uses market research to support and develop its business.
Using market research to support decision making
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The case study shows how market research enabled Barclays to improve its student account offer.
Discovering customer needs through research
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This case study focuses on the importance of market research during the development and launch of Crunchy Nut Bites, a more recent extension to the Crunchy Nut brand.
New products from market research
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This case study focuses on how Zurich has used market research to develop a business strategy of 'delivering help when it matters so that customers feel valued and taken care of'.
Providing a customer-centric service
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This case study focuses on how the FSA uses scientific and market research to provide consumers with reliable up-to-date information, enabling them to make healthy choices about food.
Market research and consumer protection
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This case study shows how first direct has used market research to revitalise its brand.
Using market research to relaunch a brand
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This case study helps students understand the importance of market research to successful, customer-led product development.
How market research helps Portakabin to remain at the cutting edge
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This case study describes the stages of market research which contribute to successful new product development and launch.
How market research supports the new product development process
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand what is meant by a product range, know the meaning of marketing and its importance to an organisation, appreciate why market research should shape the product range.
Using market research to develop a product range
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Marketing mix in business
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This case study illustrates how Infiniti formed its partnership with the Red Bull Racing F1 team to increase its global brand awareness, enter new markets and increase its market share in the luxury car market.
Using sponsorship to increase brand awareness
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This case study focuses on the marketing strategies used by Aldi to increase its market share and encourage loyal customers.
Creating value through the marketing mix
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This case study looks at how the National Trust is now adopting a new strategy and modern marketing techniques to excite a younger audience, generate new members and enhance its position as an employer with young people.
The use of social media in promotion
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This case study explores how Parcelforce Worldwide responded to increased competition by using the marketing mix or 4Ps.
Using the marketing mix to drive change
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This case study describes how JD (part of the JD Sports Fashion PLC Group of companies), a large and well-known retailer, manages the balance of its marketing mix around its consumers' needs in order to achieve business growth.
Creating a winning marketing mix
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This case study illustrates how Kia, a South Korean motor company, has used sports marketing to develop its brand identity in the European motor market.
Using sports marketing to engage with consumers
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This case study shows how McCain combines all four parts of the marketing mix to develop its marketing strategy.
The marketing mix in the food industry
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This case study looks at how Diesel promotes its products and the brand.
Live, breathe and wear passion
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This case study looks at how one technology company, Forensic Pathways, has used these legal safeguards for a new development.
Protecting the marketing mix through intellectual property rights
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This case study shows how a carefully balanced marketing mix provides the platform for launching and re-launching a brand onto the market.
The use of the marketing mix in product launch
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This case study examines how Ben Sherman uses the marketing mix to help the business remain competitive and extend its market share and influence.
Using the marketing mix in the fashion industry
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This case study helps students understand the range of choices available to companies for market and product development.
Entering a new market with a new product
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This case study helps students understand how effective sponsorship involves all 4Ps of the marketing mix.
Sponsorship as part of the marketing mix
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the cultural change brought about at Argos to boost sales, be able to identify the 7 Ps of the extended marketing mix, understand the changes made to the marketing mix at Argos,
Re-focussing a company's culture and marketing mix
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain how broadband meets customers’ need for speed, identify key segments in the gaming market, explain how BT has developed a marketing mix for broadband gaming.
Meeting customers' needs in growth markets - online gaming
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: appreciate the need to make decisions that help to manage, maintain and develop the value of brands, appreciate the importance of market research processes and the questions that market researchers seek to answer, link processes of market research with a range of products that closely meet consumers’ needs.
Using new product development to grow a brand
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: identify how the business maintains sustained financial growth through acquisition and development of the existing business, understand how a customer service programme can help to improve performance and ensure long term financial stability, explain the key components of the marketing mix and how implementation of the mix will enhance customer satisfaction.
Meeting customers' needs
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This case study looks at the Kellogg's brands and considers both the branding of the corporate image and the individual products. How have they developed and how are they maintained?
Re-branding a Corporate Image
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Marketing planning in business
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This case study shows how Portakabin uses marketing to identify and anticipate customer needs and then meet them.
How the role of marketing drives business forwards
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The study focuses on how a company can respond to changes in consumer expectations, external influences and business aims to achieve those objectives.
Developing a marketing plan
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This case study looks at how the Portakabin operations exhibit the kind of good practice that the Construction Task Force wants to see the whole industry adopt. In particular, it demonstrates how Portakabin is 'ahead of the game' by being customer-led and responsive to the changing business environment.
Responding to an Emerging Market
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Marketing strategies in business
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This case study illustrates how Enterprise Rent-A-Car has expanded its operations beyond its core business of car hire. The case study uses Ansoff's matrix to illustrate how it has developed its strategies to improve and grow the business, creating new products and extending its services into new markets.
Marketing and product strategies for growth
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This case study focuses on how Wilkinson created and implemented a marketing strategy to grow the business, using the findings of its market research.
Marketing strategy for growth
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This case study helps students understand cause marketing and its role within marketing.
Cause Marketing - Vodafone's partnership with The National Autistic Society
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This case study illustrates how Amway, after analysing its business operations and performance, moved its business forward by choosing an appropriate marketing strategy.
Developing competitive marketing strategies
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Place in business
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able toidentify key elements involved in setting up a commercial website, explain how using electronic media helps organisations to meet customer needs, understand how the Internet can be used to support customers.
Meeting customers' needs through the Internet
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Product in business
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This case study helps students understand how developing products and markets influences business growth.
Growing a business by developing products and markets
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Product launch in business
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain the innovative nature of Assure by Corus, outline the significance of testing in a research and development process, apply the Ansoff Matrix to Corus Colors development strategy.
Bringing an innovative product to market: Assure®
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: outline key stages in new product development, differentiate between qualitative and quantitative market research, explain the significance of market segments.
Developing new products
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Product life cycle in business
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This case study shows how ASOS.com uses the product life cycle to ensure its product portfolio continues to meet the needs of its customers and provide up-to-date fashions in the fast-moving online retail industry.
The product life cycle and online fashion
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This case study shows how Kellogg recognised that the Nutri-Grain brand was losing market share. It used business tools to re-launch the brand and return it to growth in its market.
Extending the product life cycle
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This case study shows how use of the product life cycle as part of a marketing strategy can lead to market leadership.
Market leadership in the 3G market
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain how and why companies extend their product range, show how promotional activity links to stages in the product life cycle, explain how BIC has sought to add value to its products.
Linking promotional activity to the product life cycle
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Product portfolio in business
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This case study illustrates how Portakabin, a manufacturer of factory produced buildings, has developed a range of new products called Essential Business Solutions (EBS). The purpose of EBS was to develop products that more closely meet the needs of its customers.
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Promotion in business
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This case study illustrates how Hi-Tec Sports developed a new approach to promoting its brand positioning and engaging with customers through a viral marketing campaign.
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This case study focuses on how UNISON has promoted its A Million Voices for Public Services campaign. It has used a range of methods and technologies designed to reach a variety of different audiences.
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This case study illustrates how Red Bull, the manufacturer of the world's best selling energy drink, uses a range of innovative promotional techniques to improve the process of communication and drive consumer engagement and loyalty.
Engaging consumers through word of mouth marketing
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This case study explores how Portakabin uses market analysis to identify customer requirements and promote its brand.
Promoting the brand
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This case study helps students understand how organisations promote with customers and communicate with other stakeholders.
Using promotional strategies to connect with stakeholders
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This case study helps students understand how companies promote above and below the line.
Using promotion to boost sales and brand value
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Frosties is one of Kellogg's core products. With Frosties comes Tony the Tiger. This case study focuses on how and why Kellogg's recently decided to revitalise Tony.
Revitalising a valued character
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This case study examines how two businesses that have global appeal are co-operating to achieve their shared visions for their companies and brands.
The advantages of sponsorship
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Segmentation in business
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This case study helps students understand how companies segment the market to meet consumers' needs.
Segmentation
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: understand the importance of customer focus, innovation and brand developmentexplain the link between rationalisation and economies of scale, explain the meaning and value of market segmentation.
Honour the past ... invent the future
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SWOT in business
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This case study will show why IKEA believes a strong environmental stance is good business practice.
SWOT analysis and sustainable business planning
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The case study shows how Škoda UK transformed its brand image and built its competitive edge using SWOT analysis.
SWOT analysis in action
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able toexplain the difference between a product-led and a customer-led approach to business, explain the importance of ongoing market research for identifying customer requirements and thereby enabling an organisation to deliver consumer focused benefits, give examples of ways in which Abbey has simplified its communications with customers.
Customer-led innovation in a competitive market
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As a result of carefully reading the case study, students should be able to: explain the basic SWOT components involved at the time of establishing the PDS, outline key strategic elements of the PDS launch: location, customer service, recruitment, IT, and quality. distinguish between criminal law and civil law.
Managing change: a new approach to legal services
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