A2 Macroeconomics: Nokia pulls out of Romania

Having invested in 2008, Nokia's sojorn in Romania was short lived. The firm has pulled out with consequences for the area.
Here is the link to the video.

Unit 1 Microeconomics - a firm exits an industry

When firms can no longer afford to supply at the market price, they may decide to exit the industry. As a result of the recent recession, price competition in the fast food market has been fierce. Now Harry Ramsden's closes its oldest and most iconic branch, which when it opened, was targeted at day trippers. These are no longer coming in large enough numbers, neither are locals using the branch as much as before. Here is the Link.

A2 Macroeconomics - factors limiting development

In this FT video, efforts to improve conditions in Kenya's largest slum are being discussed.

British banking (2): RBS's response

Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement that the retail operations of banks will be safeguarded from any risks that their investment operations might pose, the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland outlines his view of how the two operations make sense together. Economics Unit 3 - economies of scale - are the main arguments.

Here is his argument.

British banking (1): separating retail from investment

Here's a clip featuring a speech by George Osborne. He announces plans to ringfence the retail operations - that's current accounts, mortgages, loans and savings - from the investment banking part of the business. If the investment "arm" becomes bankrupt, the retail arm will not therefore be affected because it will be ringfenced.

Here it is.

Marketing using facebook

Marketing the Mini, involving those who "like" in an actual campaign on an electronic billboard. Advantages and disadvantages? View it here.

Mass production of steel

Steel is in demand. This video shows how recyling of steel has become profitable. The industry is now so mature that it is becoming global, with high grade scrap a marketable product that is exported abroad. Here's the heavy duty video.

2 Macroeconomics - Banking business in Africa

Useful for Unit 4 (edexcel economics), this clip shows how recent economic growth in Africa has led to it being seen as a valuable market for banking business. Watch the video here.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders galore in this clip about Sonett, a soap making firm. See how many different interests are being addressed. There is also a management lesson here - how does this firm perform on Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

Watch the video.

Food waste

Between 30 and 40% of food that is grown is wasted, mainly because it goes off before it reaches the market. What is the effect of this on food prices? This clip explores some of the reasons why.

Access the link to see the video.

Demand for copper transforms Zambia's rural regions

Zambia's largest copper mine has brought prosperity to Solwesi, a rural region, where employment and both positive and negative externalities have sprung up. A classic case of a shift in the demand curve, leading to a movement along the supply curve - witness the 3-million-dollar truck. Productivity depends not only on technology, but also on having highly trained workers: Ring Catambe sends her children to high school, and those who seek work in the mine but lack the training cannot find work.

Video

Impact of the rise in the copper price on Zambians

Product Life Cycle, production methods: vinyl records

Here's a lovely story of a man who didn't dismantle his vinyl record pressing shop when CDs came in. He didn't need the space so kept all the machines, and now business is booming, with vinyls being pressed for specialist consumer markets and DJs.

Video

International Business - competition in Europe

Nokia, a Finnish company, closes plant in Germany to move to Romania with predictable economic consequences for both. The twist is that it's a German construction company that built the site in Romania, having competed against its Finnish and Romanian rivals ...Nokia invested in 2008, havingbeen promised infrastructure to support its operations.



Three years later, in 2011, Nokia has decided to pull out of Romania. Its main markets are in India and China, so producing in Europe does not make economic sense. Here is the video showing the consequences for the region.
Video.

A2 Macroeconomics - Foreign direct investment - Global car manufacturing industry - VW in Mexico

This 5-minute clip about VW in Mexico demonstrates a fair few concepts: JIT, globalisation, economies of scale and local production by suppliers. It also points out the controversies of an entire town being dependent on a single industry.

Video

A2 Economics Unit 4: Criticism of the World Bank

This is a very short and critical video about the effect that unjust loans to developing countries have had on the population of poor countries.

Introductory video for international trade

This is a super video dealing with why international trade, what is traded, three basic reasons for trade and some advantages and disadvantages, as well as ways in which governments intervene. Compulsory watching for Unit 4 Economics!


Real World Economics - The Global Economy by Blessed_Hope

A2 Macroeconomics: Economic effects of a revolution

Egypt is a medium income country. Important economic sectors include tourism and manufacturing.
The political uncertainty that goes with the regime change over the summer of 2011 has caused difficulties: tourists stay away, manufacturing orders are so low that there is 50% spare capacity, Egyptians abroad are not sending as much money back home (you will hear the term remittances mentioned, these have fallen), preferring to keep their money in safer currencies for now. With neighbour Libya also in political disarray, there is a net outflow of money - Egyptians helping those in even worse political circumstances.
Link to video

http://video.ft.com/v/946281124001/The-costs-of-Egypt-s-revolution

AS Microeconomics: factors of production

What do you need to make orange juice?



Watch the video clip and then decide what factors of production were involved in the making of orange juice.

Here is a list of many of the scarce resources that are used to produce cartons of orange juice. Draw three columns and label them natural resources, human resources and man-made resources, and then decide in which column each item should go.


Telephones
Advertising people
Cotton for clothing
Fertile soil
Squeezing machines
Orange pickers
Packaging machines
Packaging designers
Calculators
Water
Bank clerks
Oil
Lorries
Printing machines
Peeling machines
Orange trees
Economists
Power stations
Coal
Warehouse workers
Lorry drivers
Wood
Shops
Ship’s crew
Factory buildings
Drink tasters
Insecticide sprays
Oranges
Roads
Accountants
Shop assistants
Dock workers

AS AppBus Unit 2: Starbucks training (2)

Off-the-job training at Starbucks includes a number of elements. One is attendance at the "Support Centre" where "Partners" are trained in the art of coffee-making. Another is the national shut-down of all stores for three hours in the USA that is being described here. During that time, "Partners" improve their skills,receive coaching and feel motivated. Very interesting mixture of learning, teamwork, motivation, a break from work with accompanying loss of revenue, and support from head office.

AS AppBus Unit 2: Hygiene and motivating factors

In this video clip, Frederick Herzberg explains his theory of motivation. Hygiene factors prevent people from hurting or dissatisfaction. Motivating factors are about achievement and meaning and depend on the individual's ability. This is a video from 1972!

A2 Macroeconomics: Poverty in Ghana

Ghana is one of many developing countries. Here is a video showing how poverty affects women working as street carriers.



In Ghana, effective measures have been taken to grow GDP so that it may meet its Millenium Development Goals before the target year of 2015. Whether you live in a rural area or near a town is a very important factor for the poor in Ghana. Rural areas lack infrastructure and industry. Towns are overcrowded with workers having moved there from rural areas in search of work. Competition for jobs keeps wages of those who are poorly qualified low, perpetuating the poverty. Here is a website with further information.

Rural Poverty Portal on Ghana

A2 Macroeconomics, A2 EconBus Unit 4: Poverty in the UK

Being poor in the UK is a different experience to being poor in a developing country. This video show the issues that a young family is having to contend with. Many of the issues are linked to comparing themselves with other households in the country with basic survival and education enabled by income support and disability living allowance. However, these are often inadequate to fulfill the needs and wants of the family, particularly given rising food prices and the large proportion of their income that is spent on this.



How people are affected by poverty in the UK is explored here:



Here is another video that demonstrates the effect of rising food prices coupled with the recession and the fact that benefits and most low wages do not go up fast enough to keep pace.

GCSE Business Unit 3: Motivation

We are looking at how and why employers motivate their staff, using a theory of motivation by a Psychologist called Maslow. He believed that if certain needs are met in a certain sequence, people will work harder in their jobs: survival, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. You can find indirect references to many of these in Barack Obama's 2008 presidential inauguration speech: try and spot them.

GCSE Business Unit 1 and AS EconBus Unit 1: Entrepreneur quiz

Both courses have a Unit 1 that is based on entrepreneurial thinking. Here is a test that assesses whether you have what it takes to be a self-starter.

Powered by AllTheTests.com

All courses: unemployment

2.5 million people are now unemployed in the UK. Youth unemployment is particularly high: 1 in 5 people between the ages of 16 and 25 have no job. The video clip tells us how unemployment developed in the last three months of 2010.

All courses: What is the credit crunch

This neat little video is possibly not new news, but as I am still asked: What does the "Credit Crunch" actually mean? I warmly recommend it. It's a really clear, no-nonsense story on how it all started and leaves out the technical stuff. The most obvious question to ask about this video is, why did the banks lend to "subprime" (i.e. not very creditworthy) customers? And the answer is, because they thought they could make money from them. Enjoy - you will need to click the link below, as YouTube's embed code doesn't work for this clip.

The Credit Crunch Video

A2 Macroeconomics: Microfinance

Microfinance, termed microloans in this video, has become a major source of finance for entrepreneurs in the developing world. It gives you a short introduction, but is insufficiently critical. Microfinance has come under criticism too, as it can be poorly organised and regulated.

A2 Macroeconomics: the WTO

There are plenty of good documentaries on the WTO. These two are good intros by the WTO itself. The criticsm are left out of course, but the rationale for the WTO is soundly explained. I have provided the web addresses rather than embedding them as there are several file formats to choose from.

http://www.wto.org/library/flashvideo/video_e.htm?id=9

On the occasion of 15 years of its existence, this video explains the rules of the WTO.

http://www.wto.org/library/flashvideo/video_e.htm?id=65

A2 Macroeconomics: trade bloc - APEC

Here is an explanation of the Asia-Pacific trade bloc, APEC. In its nature, it is similar to NAFTA (see post there) simply pursuing free trade rather than other goals.

APEC from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: Trade blocs Mercosur

A trade bloc is an association of nations who are abolishing, or have abolished, the barriers to trade between them. Not surprisingly, they tend to be the countries in the same region as the benefits of free trade would be partly negated by the cost of transport if they were too far apart geographically.

Trade blocs exist alongside the WTO. This is because it is much easier to abolish trade barriers between a few, neighbouring countries who are culturally and politically close. In comparison, the sheer number of WTO members makes negotiations on trade much more cumbersome, so trade in the regional trade blocs has zoomed ahead.

As a result, some of the negotiations at WTO level are not now between individual countries but between trade blocs. Members have often become quite reach as a result of specialisation and trade within their own trade bloc. Opening up as new markets to countries from outside the trade bloc might displace them as the most efficient producer of a product in the trade bloc. Having become established within the trade bloc, they are reluctant to give up their position as chief exporter of a particular good and so the negotiations to liberate World trade stall.

An example of a trade bloc is Mercosur:

MERCOSUR from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: NAFTA

Nafta stands for North American Free Trade Agreement. It consists of Canada, the USA and Mexico. This is the most simple form of trade bloc, without ambitions to become more than that. This is in contrast to ASEAN and the EU, both of which have developed political union to a greater or lesser extent.

3-1nafta from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: The EU

Here's a 15-minute clip explaining what the EU is. The EU is often seen as a single economic region, especially by China and the USA. It has 27 member countries with a combined annual GDP of £17bn - bigger than any other country or trade bloc. Get tea to watch this.

EU from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: BRIC

What are the characteristics of BRICs? Fast growth rates, physically big countries with large populations, rich in natural resources. Here is our friend Plaid to explain:

6.2 BRIC from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: Trade blocs - ASEAN

Here's our friend Plaid Avenger. Despite the silly outfit, he makes some insightful comments on a trade bloc you might not have heard of yet. ASEA started by facilitating free trade but is now moving closer to political union.

Everybody Loves ASEAN! from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

A2 Macroeconomics: What is the WTO

Here's a short video by an American individual called Plaid Avenger. The first three minutes of this clip give us a brief insight into what the WTO does. The remainder explain two other institutions, the IMF and the World Bank.

6.3 WTO IMF World Bank from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

AS Macroeconomics: Benefits of international trade

I'm not really a fan of Country&Western but this video starts off with the benefits of international trade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v57xmcj5DnE
What are some examples of the benefits of :
free trade,
liberal immigration policies
larger markets

AS EconBus, A2 AppBus, GCSE Business Unit 3: Leadership styles

This clip is very useful for illustrating all the different leadership styles.

GCSE Business Unit 3: Online teacher of stock control

This lady will tell you all about stock management. It's topic 7 in your book.

GCSE Business Unit 3: Stock control

It's important to have neither too little stock nor too much. At Amazon's distribution centre, we get an insight into production and stock levels.

AS Microeconomics: Immigration cap in the UK

The conservative government will limit the number of workers from outside the EU. Watch the video.

AS Microeconomics: the labour market

New rules for bankers bonuses

The EU has passed legislation does not allow bankers to take all their bonuses in cash. Watch the video here.