Business Case Studies Blog

It's a fact - mistakes happen in all walks of life - but when a mistake by a company affects its users or customers, it may have serious consequences for the business.  In 2007, Bernard Matthews, the UK's largest turkey producer, faced a lack of consumer confidence and falling sales...

Earlier this year, Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years as manager of Manchester United Football Club.  During that time, he has played a pivotal role in creating a high-achieving team. (BBC, 3rd November 2011) Although the individual players' abilities are vital during each game, as manager, Alex Ferguson is responsible...

Rugby star Jonny Wilkinson last week announced his retirement from international rugby union.  Wilkinson is England's all-time leading scorer with 1,179 points and is probably best known for kicking the winning drop-goal in the final seconds of the 2003 World Cup final.  He gained 91 caps for the England team...

The recent defeat of Aberdeen Football Club by Kilmarnock sent Craig Brown's side to the bottom of the table - the position they were in when he and assistant Archie Knox took over one year ago.  Manager Brown accepts responsibility for the club's current plight but pointed out that his...

Having the appropriate structure is vital if an organisation or project is to meet its objectives.  The filming of the recent BBC TV series Frozen Planet is a demonstration of how a matrix organisation structure operates.  Individuals with different capabilities and experience and from different backgrounds have been brought together...

During November, animated film ‘Puss in Boots’ topped the North American box office.  The 3D prequel to the Shrek series of films, with Antonio Banderas repeating his role as the voice of the swashbuckling feline, took around $70 million in its first two weeks of ticket sales. As box office...

UK service sector activity picked up in November after falling in the previous month, although the rate of job losses was the fastest in 15 months, a closely-watched survey suggests.  The modest increase in overall activity in the sector was due to higher volumes of new work and a rise...

Civil servants are preparing a business plan for a single body to replace the Environment Agency, Countryside Council and Forestry Commission in Wales. The plan states the benefits of a single environmental body (SEB) as giving better delivery on environmental issues, a single point of contact, shared resources and combined...

Sir James Dyson, the bagless cyclone cleaner inventor, has put up 1.4 million GBP over a 10-year period to sponsor an engineering professorship post in fluid mechanics at Cambridge University. The appointed professor will be charged with investigating ways of boosting the efficiency of any fan, be it in a...

Stakeholders may have a significant effect on the decisions that organisations make. Edinburgh's Telford College is starting merger talks with two others in the city, Stevenson and Jewel & Esk.  Telford’s chairman, Jim Donaldson, said: ‘All three Edinburgh colleges work collaboratively already, but we consider that the best way now...