Tesco to end trade with Zimbabwe

The BBC reports on how Tesco responding to political and consumer pressure it to no longer source products from Zimbabwe.

Supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe while “the political crisis persists” there.

The retail giant buys around £1m ($1.9m) worth of goods, including vegetables, from Zimbabwe.

Tesco said it was looking for other ways to support workers there.

This is an example of how in the business environment, political and consumer pressures can force business organisations to change the way in which they do business.

River Cottage 0-1 Tesco

Following on from my earlier post, found an interesting article in the Guardian about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s attempts to change Tesco’s chicken policy.

The campaign to improve the welfare of chickens sold in Tesco stores, led by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, hijacked the company’s annual meeting yesterday, drawing groans from the pensioners and standard bearers of middle England there to pose a question about their local store or to take advantage of a spot of free lunch.

Well worth reading.

Profits over welfare

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, he of River Cottage fame, has alas failed in his attempt to get Tesco to change their chicken policy.

The BBC reports on his attempt at the Tesco shareholders meeting.

Tesco shareholders have not backed proposals to improve welfare standards for chickens championed by TV cook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

The chef wanted investors to adopt new standards for rearing birds, but the plan got fewer than 10% of votes at its annual general meeting in Solihull.

Read more.

Though this is a setback for Hugh’s campaign, a lot of consumers are changing their own buying habits at the supermarket. Over the last few years virtually all of the chicken I buy has been organic for me the main reason has been flavour and concerns about chemicals used.

I have noticed recently in both Sainsburys and Morrisons the amount of shelf space they give free range, organic and RSPCA Freedom chicken has really increased.

However with the continuing economic pressures on consumers, will price give way to quality and taste? According to an article I read in the Guardian, the answer is no, as what goes first with an economic downturn is going out to restaurant.

Airbus unveils carbon fibre plane

BBC reports on the roll out of Airbus’ new transport plane for the airforces of the EU.

…the King of Spain will unveil the Airbus A400M, built for air forces across Europe including the RAF.

One of the key technological innovative parts of this plane is the wings.

They are made mostly of hi-tech carbon fibre and are manufactured in the UK.

New technologies and ways of working allow companies to improve their products making them more attractive to customers and often cheaper and easier to manufacture.

Watch video of the rollout.

More links on Airbus. Photo source.

Ford ‘to make fewer big vehicles’

BBC reports on how Ford is going to focus on smaller cars.

Car giant Ford has said it will cut its production of large trucks and large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in favour of more fuel efficient models.

This is very likely a response to the impact of growing concern about the environment from consumers.

Nokia buys out Symbian

The BBC reports on the Nokia buyout of Symbian:

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia is paying 264m euros ($410m; £209m) to buy out the other shareholders in handset software firm Symbian.

Nokia, which already owns 48% of the UK-based firm, intends to develop its software to compete with Google’s planned Android operating system.

This is (probably) in response to both Google’s Android phone operating system and the continued sucess of Apple’s iPhone.

Technology can have a postive and negative impact on the functions of teams. Being able to use a mobile phone as a mini-computer can allow members of a team out in the field communicate, collaborate and work more effectively than if all their phone did was make phone calls!

The ability to check e-mail, read and edit documents, allows teams to work more effectively when out of the office.

As well as teams, technology such as mobile phones can impact on the performance of the business. If competitors start using technology in innovative ways, this can give them a competitive edge and other businesses will need to respond accordingly if they are to retain market share.

Technological changes need to be noticed and acted upon in the business environment, in order for businesses to retain their competitive edge.

Networks and virtual teams

In the traditional business world, teams would either be formed in physical locations, or would need to spend time travelling in order to meet in physical locations.

In the modern connected world, it is easier for teams to communicate and network.

It is possible to create virtual teams which never (or rarely) meet in physical locations and use a range of web tools to communicate and collaborate.

Modern tools such as Adobe’s ConnectNow allow teams to communicate, share and collaborate in ways which were never ever possible before.

Online word processors such as Buzzword allow teams to collaborate on documents and share information in new ways.

There are a range of ways in which technology impacts on the function of teams, read more.

So what’s in your cereal bowl?

The Guardian has published a really informative and interesting article on breakfast cereals.

Britain is one of the world’s largest consumers of puffed, flaked and sugared breakfast cereals. How did that happen when many were said to contain less nutrition than the boxes they come in?

Personally I avoid most breakfast cereals, as most have way too much sugar in them, or they have huge amounts of salt in them.

Corn Flakes for example are more salty than some good quality sausages!

It should be noted that bread (for toast) is also very salty in comparison.

Consumers often are unware of what large food companies try and do to sell products, often hiding the cheap and unhealthy ingredients and upselling the positive messages.

Most fat-free or low fat products for example, though low in fat often have a very high sugar content.

Some so-called dieting foods are even more misleading, a diet biscuit which is 85% fat free means that it is 15% fat, which is (per 100g) has three times the fat of oven chips or a grilled steak!

Having said that organisations must operate within a complex and dynamic competitive business environment.

So what’s in your cereal bowl?

Photo source.

Vodafone complaint upheld, on “unlimited” ad

The ASA have upheld a complaint about a Vodafone advert which according to the ASA implied unlimited mobile internet.

The advert said “Any website, any time. £7.50 a month. Make the most of now.” It was only in the small print at the bottom of the advert which said that there was in fact a 120MB limit!

The ASA said

However, we considered that consumers would also infer from the headline claim that they could access the internet as often as they liked for £7.50 a month.

We noted there was a disclaimer stating “120MB UK data allowance per month” at the bottom of the ad, but considered that this was not prominent enough to avoid being overlooked and also that it contradicted the impression created by the headline claim. We considered that the download allowance was a significant condition attached to the service and was likely to influence consumers’ decisions about whether to purchase the product. Because that information was not stated in, or immediately next to, the headline claim, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead about the nature of the service being offered.

I have to agree with the ASA, the implication of the advert was any time, any where, when ever you wanted. However a 120MB download limit in this era of photographs, YouTube’esque video, audio podcasts and other media-rich internet means that 120Mb (even on a phone) would not really be sufficient for a month, and I suspect a lot of users would go over this limit and then be hit with high charges.

When marketing new goods and services to customers you need to ensure that not only do you upsell the benefits and features of  your product, but that you do not breach ASA codes on advertising, by “hiding” or “misleading” consumers on the full details of the product.

The role of the ASA and other regulatory bodies is to ensure that companies do not breach either legal regulations or voluntary codes when operating in the business environment.

Full adjudication.

Toyota Yaris named “Green Car of the Year”

Marketing Week carries news on ETA’s Green Car of the Year.

The Toyota Yaris has beaten 1,300 cars to be named the Green Car of the Year 2008 by lobby group Environmental Transport Association. The Dodge SRT-10 was named as the least green ca

Okay can any car be called green?

With the public’s concerns over the environment and global warming, many different companies are boasting about their “green” credentials in order to ensure they retain (or increase) market share.

Awards such as these which would have been ignored even just a few years ago, are vital for car companies which face a constant negative press and pubic pressure on their environmental record.

Customer perceptions are important for any business if they are to succeed in a dynamic changing environment.