Business Case Studies

Hello,

Over the years, I've helped a few executives successfully complete their MBA programs. It was mostly providing editorial advice for their essays and tailoring discussion activities around their assignments. One of the key takeaways for me after reading so many of their assignments was the usefulness of business case studies to stimulate new ways of thinking.

While I don't think it is inevitable, there does seem to be some degree of "groupthink" in large companies. Whether it's a case of yes-men (or yes-women), the fear of rejection in offering divergent ideas, or not wanting to upset a supposed winning streak, people can get into an idea rut.

It is in fact one real value of MBA programs in that they offer students the chance to revisit their thinking by examining real cases of best practice and failure.

Anyways, the British paper, The Times, offers 100 free business case studies for UK business studies students taking GCSEs and A-levels. This places them within the BEC Higher range although I would suggest they would be suitable for BEC Vantage even. At any rate, they offer a wealth of easily accessible, readily discussable, relevant business topics.

http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/

Enjoy the lesson(s)!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One
www.voiceone.fi

Real Material: Create an ad on Idea Bounty

Hello,

I had a great idea for an activity that is sure to get your business and marketing English students highly engaged and motivated. Go to www.ideabounty.com.

Idea Bounty is a crowdsourcing platform where anyone(!) can submit ideas for new advertising and marketing campaigns. Every month, there are several new briefs from different companies, mostly multinationals. The format can range the full gambit from TV commercial scripts and print ads to web campaigns and guerilla marketing campaigns.

To get started, you will need to register on the site to obtain the briefs. This is free to do. Once you download the brief, you can assign it as a classroom activity for students to do in small groups or individually. Use the activity to highlight marketing language. I might also suggest looking at different ad sites to view print copy.

At the end, get students to submit their entries by the deadline. They can have a chance to win several thousand US dollars. (It's an open international competition.) If they don't win, they may still qualify for certificates showing how well they ranked - silver and bronze. (I received 2 bronze awards for the Peperami campaign in 2009 and came 46th out of 1100 entrants. It was a lot of fun.)

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
Voice One Oy
www.voiceone.fi

The Dangers and Opportunities of Google Sidewiki

There has been a lot of buzz in the advertising and marketing community lately over the launch of the Google Sidewiki in September 2009. This new free Google toolbar app allows anyone to leave comments on websites that other Sidewiki users can later read. Thus, in one fell swoop, Sidewiki creates a whole new era of company transparency and consumer feedback, both positive and negative. Companies will not have ownership over their website's Sidewiki information which means they will need to do an even better job at managing their customer relationships. 

Advertising Age was one of the first media outlets to warn companies about this powerful new social media tool. The article is available here:

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=139768

You can find the discussion activity here:


Dangers and Opportunities of Google Sidewiki    

You can see a short introductory video here:



Enjoy the discussion!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Lottery Winners and Sound Financial Advice

Ok, I admit I have been known to play the lottery on occasion. I don't think I ever really expect to win but it's a nice distraction to dream about what you might do with that kind of money. After reading this article, I'm not so sure I would like to win.

This article discusses the real life difficulties that some Americans have had after winning the big one. One cultural point to understand about the article is that in many states in the US, lottery winnings are paid out on an annual basis rather than a lump sum. Consequently, a $1,000,000 lottery win is actually a promise to be paid $50,000 per year over 20 years.


You can find the article here:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx

The discussion activity is here:

8 Lottery Winners

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Weird Hotel Signs

I adapted this activity from a very funny book called "Broken English Spoken Perfectly" by Stewart Clark. (Edda UK, 2005) The book is a collection of very humorous, often embarassing, English mistakes found in public spaces.  Students will have a good laugh trying to understand and correct these.

You will need to explain some words such as cock (In this case, it should be faucet (AE) or tap (BE). Cock (aka stopcock or stopper) is a precise word used by scientists or chemists for the valve to control liquid flow in lab equipment.)

Weird Hotel Signs


Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,

Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Gene Simmons Talks Business with Michael Eisner

Okay, you might be thinking this is an odd post for a Business English blog. What does Gene Simmons or KISS have to do with business? Well, think music industry. This is in fact a fantastic interview between Eisner and Simmons on business, the KISS business empire, Simmons' personal projects and Simmons' views on success, life, and love. And Simmons' self-promotion is very funny.

I usually pair this with a vocabulary activity on music. (It is always good to broaden your student's vocabulary.)

The video is available for free on iTunes or you can watch it here.




The discussion activity is here. You will need to brainstorm music genres (rock, classical, jazz, pop, hip hop, country, world music, reggae, heavy metal, etc.) when you fill in the chart.

01.09.2009 Interview With Gene Simmons

Listening Comprehension answers: 80 million albums; Beatles on steroids; Music Trade Magazines (Record World, Cash Box, Billboard), Wall Street Journal; his mother survived the Holocaust; 5000 women; Cher, Diana Ross; If you don't take care of business, it will take care of you; Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, the Apprentice, My Dad the Rock Star (cartoon); for Simmons to get married.

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Little Sweetie's Fortune - Hong Kong Billionaire and Inheritance Law

Article Discussion: The Fight for Little Sweetie's Billions Is Getting More Than a Little Weird

You can find the article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124217178156212899.html#

The Discussion Activity Sheet is here:
28.09.2009 the Fight for Little Sweeties Fortune
Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Using Business Articles for Discussion in Class

Like most Business English teachers I rely on current news from leading newspapers and magazines to stimulate discussion in class. Here's some general tips for using articles in the Business English classroom.

Tip 1: To avoid getting in trouble over copyright, it is best to send your students a link to the article for the following week's class and let them print their own copy. You are allowed to print for personal use. Otherwise, newspapers and magazines expect payment for reprints.

Tip 2: I get students to take turns reading paragraphs from the article aloud in class. You can correct pronunciation as you go. And by alternating students, they will understand the article more. I've noticed that when people read aloud, they are actually too focused on their pronunciation that they do not actually catch or follow what they are saying.

Tip 3: It is better for students to try to understand the meaning of the words in context. That is why I often wait to explain difficult words after we have read the text.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi