Marketing research figures don't add up.....

While watching the TV tonight, an advert came on for Gillette or L'Oreal men with the claim that it was the best product a man could get. At the end of the advert, the words "85% of 68 men agree" appeared to back up the adverts bold claim. Two things struck me.....

• Firstly, it seems a very small sample of men to use on which to claim that the product is the best a man could get and.....

• Secondly, when I worked out 85% of 68, the answer was 57.8!! Does this mean that 57 full men and 4/5 of a further man agreed?

If anyone can explain this strange mathematical equation, I would be keen to hear from you.

Posterous in the classroom!

During this year and following the departure of another teacher, myself and a colleague, Kenny O'Donnell, were given an S1 ICT class to share between us. Since joining St Ninian's High School, Kenny has been an inspirational exponent of the use of technology in the classroom and a great source of support and advice to me. At times, when I questioned the purpose or the value of technology in teaching and learning, Kenny often gave me examples of other ways to use it and opened up new, innovative opportunities for me and my classes.

A prime example of this was in the use of Posterous as a method of pupils creating a portfolio or record of work which they could then share with their friends and family outside the classroom. Kenny has written a fantastic review of our experiences on his blog and if the use of technology in the classroom is something of interest to you, I recommend you read it.

Posterous Review

Please feel free to post any comments.

VAT explained.....

VAT (Value Added Tax) is the tax you pay on goods and services that you buy. Some items do not include VAT - food, childrens clothing, newspapers and magazines. Some things only include VAT of 5% - domestic gas, domestic electricity and wind turbines. The coalition government are believed to be looking at raising VAT as a way of raising extra cash - raising it from the current rate of 17.5% to 18.5% would raise about £4.65 billion. As VAT is not generally charged on necessities, the government would be able to argue that a rise wouldn't affect the more vulnerable people in society although with the government finances in such a terrible state, it is something that could be considered. The current rate of 17.5% is one of the lowest rates in Europe with Denmark, Hungary and Sweden charging 25%.

The effect of a VAT increase on the customer

Cuddly Toy

17.5% - £9.99

18.5% - £10.07

20% - £10.20

Flat Screen Television

17.5% - £500.00

18.5% - £504.25

20% - £510.64

New Car

17.5% - £15,000.00

18.5% - £15,127.66

20% - £15,319.15

The effect of a VAT increase on government finances

• £700 million for every 1% increase if it decides to charge VAT on food.


• £1 billion if it decided to charge the current rate of 17.5% on clothes and small shoes for children.


• £1.3 billion if it chose to charge the full 17.5% on newspapers, books and magazines.

Intermediate Admin - Commnd Word Help

For those doing the Intermediate Admin Theory S3 Exam on Monday, I have posted examples of command word answers on the Intermediate Admin page of the blog. Hopefully these will help you with the structure expected in the exam.

If you have any questions, please post a comment and I will get back to you.

Mr Alexander

Tesco chief executive to retire in March 2011

Tesco shares dropped by 2.3% on the stock market when it was announced that Sir Terry Leahy is to retire early next year. He has been in charge of the supermarket for the last 13 years and will be replaced by the current international and IT director Philip Clarke.

When he took over, Tesco was roughly the same size as Sainsbury with just over 20% of the market share - it now has over 30%, making it easily the UK's biggest supermarket chain.

Some interesting facts and figures about his time in charge:

• The number of Tesco stores has risen from 568 in 1997 to 2482 in 2010
• Tesco has stores in China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the US.
• Pre-tax profits have risen from £750 million in 1997 to £3176 million in 2010 - up 10% on the previous year.
• Sales
• It now offers a lot more than just groceries - it now offers insurance, broadband internet, credit cards and even Child Trust funds.
• Tesco's employs approximately 500,000 people worldwide with about 250,000 employed in the UK alone.
• Tesco now has 20 million active members of its Clubcard customer loyalty scheme.

However, Tesco has come under fire from campaign groups who have become increasingly concerned about its dominant position in the UK marketplace. It has been investigated by the Office of Fair Trading on accusations of squeezing suppliers and buying up land to stop rivals building on it. These have on occasions been referred to the Competition Commission. Concern has also been raised about the growth in "Tesco Towns" where in relatively small cities, Tesco has a huge percentage of the market.

Big business news.......

The Prudential has failed in an attempt to but AIA, the Asian insurance business of US group AIG, after shareholders opposed the agreed $24.6 billion price. Although a deal had been agreed last week, a number of shareholders said it was paying too much and vowed to vote against the deal if the price couldn't be lowered. The attempted takeover could cost the Prudential around £150 million in compensation fees to AIG as well as money to banks, lawyers, public-relations firms and advice. It is also expected that the Prudential's chief executive Tidjane Thiam may have to resign following the collapse of the takeover.

Prudential fail in takeover of AIA

BP's continuing failure to stop the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico continues to cost them - their share price today closed down 13%, wiping £12 billion off its stock market value. . The total clean-up costs so far stand at £684m and there are worries that the leak could continue for another 2 months. The BBC's Business Editor said that the cost of the clean up "could wipe out at least an entire year's profit".

BP Share Price Tuesday 1 June 2010

Source: BBC Business

And some positive business news.............

Ryanair is back in profit after suffering its first annual loss this time last year. The budget airline announced pre-tax profits of £289 million for the year to March, benefitting from lower oil prices with fuel 29% lower than last year. It also plans to raise baggage fees from £15 to £20 a bag in July and August.

Ryanair back in profit

Travelling up and down to Kilmarnock every day, it is usual to see important messages about the dangers of drink driving, driving while tired or simply a warning about roadworks. However, I didn't think I would ever see this message on my daily commute!