Financial Decisions
29 mins, 1998 Three case studies show companies trying to make tricky financial decisions. Viewers are invited to consider what they should do. 1. Cash flow crisis: How can Comtex solve its cash flow problems? Should they cut costs or ask for an overdraft? The sales director, Tony Spence, proposes a radical solution – duck… Read more »
Flattening The Organisation
42 mins, 1993 What does a company do when it wants to flatten its hierarchy? Lloyd’s Bank decided to send some of its information technology staff on an extraordinary training weekend to prepare them for revolutionary change. They dress up as King Arthur and his men, and undertake all kinds of strange “quests”, designed to… Read more »
Human Resources Strategy: Theory & Practice
37 mins, 2012 What’s meant by a human resources strategy? How does it work in practice? INTRODUCTION 14 mins You need a strategy for managing people – but what should it include? What’s meant by soft and hard HRM? Why do strategies fail? This is illustrated using examples drawn from the Centor insurance company and… Read more »
Health & Safety At Work
23 mins, 2012 PART 1: Introduction The Health & Safety At Work act is one of the most important pieces of employment legislation – but what does it mean to employers and employees? Employers are obliged to make risk assessments at the place of work and take steps to manage and minimise dangers. They must… Read more »
How A Business Works
23 mins, 2004 What makes a company tick? This video explains basic business functions inside Cameron Balloons, the world’s largest maker of hot air balloons. Marketing: Like all firms, Cameron has to market its balloons. Specialist publications, “word of mouth” and the internet are vital parts of its “marketing mix”. Production: We show how a… Read more »
How A Factory Works
30 mins, 2001 How does a factory work? This describes how Leisure Consumer Products makes its cookers. Production at LCP starts with the design for the product, in which appearance and healthy eating are the key considerations. Manufacturing begins with batch production as sheet metal is formed into batches of key components. In the assembly… Read more »
Health & Safety In The Office
34 mins, 1999 People usually think factories and building sites are the most dangerous places to work, but the modern office presents new hazards. The appearance of call centres means that hundreds of people now work under constant pressure in huge, open plan offices. Offices now resemble factories. Stress is endemic. Sick building syndrome, “hot… Read more »
How To Do A Business Plan
30 mins, 1997 Every business needs a business plan — but how do you put one together? Jay, a clothes designer, and Robin, in the forestry business, explain how they wrote their business plans. Objectives: the business plan has to state what the business has been set up to do. Marketing: the plan describes the… Read more »
The Holiday Resort
32 mins, 1996 This is a profile of the traditional holiday resort of Broadstairs in Kent. Once a thriving seaside town, it has been hit by the general decline in the numbers of people opting to take holidays in Britain. The video examines how its businesses are adapting to times of economic change. In its… Read more »
Impact Of Globalisation 4: Food
32 mins, 2014 How the clean, bright displays in our supermarkets hide a murkier story of exploitation in the supply chain. ITALY’S ROTTEN TOMATOES If you buy a tin of tomatoes chances are they come from Southern Italy – picked by migrant labour usually from Africa. They’re paid a pittance, have no rights and live… Read more »
Inside China: 1. The Rise Of A Superpower
25 mins, 2014 How has China transformed, inside 30 years, from developing nation to the world’s next largest economy after the USA? Includes interviews with historians, eye-witnesses and party officials. TIANANMEN SQUARE A dramatic turning point was the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 – the communist party decided to bring in economic, if not political,… Read more »
Inside China: 2. China The Future?
25 mins, 2014 China is flexing its economic muscle, investing all over the world. What does this mean for the West? AFRICA China needs access to energy and raw materials – that’s why it’s pouring huge investment into Africa. Mozambique’s economy, for example, is booming, with Chinese-led construction and agriculture projects. Is this part of… Read more »