Dr Amir Qamar Department of Strategy & International Business Before the Brexit referendum, a large number of manufacturing firms within the automotive sector were re-shoring to the UK with an estimated 1/6 bringing manufacturing back home between 2011-14. Since Brexit was announced, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, declared last year … Continue reading “Jaguar Land Rover: One-week shutdown will impact the rest of the supply chain”
Can increased police power to stop and search tackle knife crime in the UK?
Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing As part of a strategy to combat knife crime, police have been given more extensive stop and search powers in the six areas where knife crime has been most extensive. This has received a mixed reaction, with many police officers welcoming this … Continue reading “Can increased police power to stop and search tackle knife crime in the UK?”
Automation and labour market creative reconstruction: from virtual teaching assistants to robotic retail assistants
By Professor John Bryson, Professor of Enterprise and Competitiveness Department of Strategy and International Business, University of Birmingham Employment is in a continual process of creative reconstruction. Existing jobs are destroyed as innovations in technology and processes reshape the nature of work. On Monday 25 March 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a report … Continue reading “Automation and labour market creative reconstruction: from virtual teaching assistants to robotic retail assistants”
The National Living Wage: Is this a ‘Real Living Wage’?
By Professor Tony Dobbins, HR Management and Employment Relations Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham Opinion: The minimum wage alone is insufficient to tackle working poverty and raise living standards, and is undermined by anti-worker policies producing the opposite. The Low Pay Commission estimates that approximately 2.4 million workers will receive close to a 5% … Continue reading “The National Living Wage: Is this a ‘Real Living Wage’?”
World Water Day 2019: Leaving No One Behind
By Dr Nana Osei Bonsu, Research Fellow Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business, University of Birmingham Water is life – and rising human daily consumption patterns is causing water scarcity in many parts of the world. This over-consumption of water comes from not only everyday domestic use but the often invisible water used in … Continue reading “World Water Day 2019: Leaving No One Behind”
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the wealth of nations
By Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta University of Cambridge In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly agreed on an agenda for sustainable development in member countries. Nations committed themselves to meet 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), involving 169 socio-economic targets, by the year 2030. To measure progress in meeting those targets, it was proposed to … Continue reading “The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the wealth of nations”
Is craft going corporate?
By Dr Scott Taylor, Reader in Leadership & Organization Studies Department of Management, University of Birmingham The alcohol industry seems able to generate controversy on just about any aspect of its activities – pricing, branding, production methods, and now the use of the term ‘craft’. The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) is about to release … Continue reading “Is craft going corporate?”
The ripple effect from the UK retail crisis: this is just the beginning
By Dr Amir Qamar and Dr Emma Gardner Department of Strategy and International Business, University of Birmingham The last year has proven to be challenging for the retail industry, with numerous firms either facing difficulties, closing stores, or retreating from the market entirely. Although such sectoral difficulties are not new, they were exacerbated by a … Continue reading “The ripple effect from the UK retail crisis: this is just the beginning”
Ted Baker: trying it on?
By Dr Juliet E. Kele, Research Fellow in HRM Department of Management and Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business, University of Birmingham Since the news first broke of the misconduct allegations against Ray Kelvin, founder and CEO of fashion chain Ted Baker, in December 2018, the company’s shares have continued to fall. A workplace … Continue reading “Ted Baker: trying it on?”
Bond Women are Forever: feminism and the evolution of gender roles
By Dr Finola Kerrigan, Reader in Marketing and Consumption at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. Dr Chloe Preece, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Royal Holloway University of London. Dr Daragh O’ Reilly, Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Sheffield. Typically, when people consider the Bond girls, what springs to mind are scantily … Continue reading “Bond Women are Forever: feminism and the evolution of gender roles”